Our weekly message: Friday 13 February 2026
Swimming
This is a reminder about changes to Swimming lessons…
Previously, children in Year 3 attended weekly swimming lessons at a local pool. However, once travel and changing time were factored in, these lessons took up a large part of the afternoon – often for just a short amount of time in the water.
We’re introducing a new and improved approach: a pop-up pool – a purpose-built, heated, temporary swimming pool, located right on school grounds. Scholes (Elmet) Primary and Moortown Primary (another Sphere Federation school) will share this pool in an alternating cycle each year.
Each school will have access to the pool for a three-week block. During this time, children in Years 3 and 4 will swim every day for 45 minutes. Lessons will be delivered by fully qualified, external swimming instructors. This means your child will get 15 high-quality swimming lessons in just three weeks – a more focused and effective way to learn.
In Summer 2026, Scholes (Elmet) Primary will use the pool. (In Summer 2027, it’s the turn of Moortown Primary.) Over this two-year cycle, all children in Years 3 and 4 across both schools will benefit from this enhanced model.
We understand this may seem like fewer lessons overall. However, the intensive daily format has been shown to significantly boost children’s progress.
We’re confident that this change will give children a stronger foundation in swimming– and do so in a way that’s efficient, inclusive, and enjoyable. We’ll let you know more about swimming for Year 3 and 4 children nearer the time.
Our weekly message: Friday 06 February 2026
Don’t forget the parent-teacher meetings happening next week on Tuesday and Thursday after school – we’re looking forward to seeing you there.
Also next week…
Number facts challenge
Does your child know their times tables and other number facts?
On Wednesday next week, we’ll be doing the challenge for the first time with no preparation. After this, your child will bring home the challenge, their score and sponsor forms.
Please help your child improve their score for the next part of the challenge which will be on Wednesday 25 February. Help us raise lots of money for our school charity and for PTA – funds raised will be split 50-50.
Safer Internet Day 2026
Next Tuesday (10 February) is Safer Internet Day. This is an annual, global awareness day that encourages children, young people and adults to think carefully about how we use the online world and digital technology.
At home, it can be a powerful annual prompt to refresh conversations about online safety, wellbeing and responsible digital behaviour. Use these top tips for parents and carers from the UK Safer Internet Centre.
Sticking with the staying safe theme…
Blue lights
This week’s Living and Learning theme has been ‘I know the importance of the emergency services’.
Children in Key Stage 1 should watch this BBC Bitesize clip called “The different people who help us’. Have a chat about what they’ve watched. Can your child name any other people who help us?
Children in Key Stage 2 should watch an alternative BBC Bitesize clip: ‘How to make a call to emergency services’. On the same page are lots more short clips in the same series – how to deal with burns, choking, bites and stings… Aim to watch them over the next few weeks.
Have a happy and healthy weekend.
School Journalists: In the Spotlight
In the spotlight this week is Miss Bennett. Miss Bennett is a teaching assistant who works across Y1,2 and Y3,4.
What got you into working in schools?
I feel very passionate about helping children.
What’s your favourite thing about working in a school?
Favourite? I’d say seeing the children reach their full potential and I find it very rewarding.
What is your favourite subject?
In Key Stage 1, I’d say phonics. In Key Stage 2, I’d say writing.
What is it like to see all the children’s smiley faces?
It’s very rewarding and seeing children happy makes me feel happy, too.
And last, do you like working at Scholes?
I love working at Scholes!
Our weekly message: Friday 30 January 2026
We’re fast approaching the end of half-term, marking the half way point of the school year. Despite the dark and cold mornings (this morning being one of them!), it’s lovely to see our children coming in happy and healthy with a smile on their faces. The positive energy in school was noticed this week by our Chair of Governors who paid us a visit.
2026-27 training days
Last week, we let you know that the 2026-27 holidays are in our school calendar. We can now confirm the five training days are all confirmed and in the calendar, too. They are:
- Tuesday 01 September 2026
- Friday 02 October 2026
- Friday 23 October 2026
- Monday 07 December 2026
- Friday 28 May 2027
There are three in Autumn 1 half-term because this is a long half-term (eight weeks), giving children a chance to have a couple of longer weekends to rest.
A happy and healthy place to work
As well as welcoming helpful constructive questions, comments and concerns, every year we invite you to complete a survey. We do the same with staff – sometimes just teachers and sometimes all staff. Here’s a couple of comments from this year’s survey of teachers:
- ‘It feels like staff wellbeing is considered across the federation. Everything seems well considered and you can see the impact in the children and their learning.’
- ‘I feel very well supported by the school, and I really value the open communication and guidance from leaders and colleagues. There is a strong sense of shared responsibility and teamwork, which makes it easy to ask questions and feel confident in my role.’
Scholes (Elmet) Primary is a happy and healthy place to learn and also to work!
Charging, remissions and outstanding payments
We’ve recently updated our policy. Check this out, especially if your child attends wraparound care, after-school clubs or Nursery, or has tuition for an instrument. Main updates are around what we do if we’re waiting for a payment for these services.
Morwick Grove
At regular intervals, we like to remind everyone about the agreement that the school has with our Morwick Grove neighbours…
The long strip of grass down the side of Morwick Grove, adjacent to the school boundary hedge, is actually owned by neighbours on Morwick Grove and not school, Leeds City Council or the Parish Council. Access to the Nursery and Out of School Club is granted to us by them as a goodwill gesture – it’s not a right.
We obviously like to maintain the good relations we have. If you have to use this space, please ensure that you park and use this area respectfully. Please don’t park on the double yellow lines or grass verge, and please don’t block residents’ driveways.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Have a happy and healthy weekend.
School Journalist: some exciting updates
This week, our school journalists caught up some of our Y3 friends. It’s been a particularly exciting couple of weeks for Year 3. They have started their sessions in our new Forest School and, last week, visited The Yorkshire Museum.
Our journalists caught up some children to find out a bit more.
Forest School is a fun, outdoor education program that children in Year 3 do every Monday.
What is your favourite thing about Forest School?
That it is all about nature.
What do you want to do next in Forest School?
Make pizza with the fire (spoiler alert: Y3 did this on Monday of this week).
Are your enjoying it?
Yes, definitely.
Do you have fun?
Yes!
Here’s a summary of the visit to Yorkshire Museum:
There were sculptures and lots of Roman artefacts like swords and shields. We went in an art gallery, where we ate our lunch.
In the dinosaur section, there was a VR (Virtual Reality) headset where you could feed a dinosaur. There was also an interesting section about Mary Anning.
Our weekly message: Friday 23 January 2026
This week’s message is a busy one. However, most of the sections are short and the last two sections are just suggestions…
Online safety Zoom
Did you attend Monday’s Zoom session – Online Safety Workshop?
- If you did, thank you. We welcome your feedback
- If you didn’t, you can watch a recording
Watch us while we work
Talking of feedback, thank you for the feedback following our recent Watch Us While We Work session.
- ‘The class was well organised with useful tips to help my child with their reading at home, whilst understanding how they are taught at school and what they are focusing on this term.’
- ‘I always really enjoy the opportunity to come into school and see learning in action, but it was great today to see the learning of a different topic away from the usual core subjects (today was a lesson centred around feelings and managing them).’
2026-27 school holidays
Leeds school holidays can be found here, and they’re now also in our school calendar. What’s missing at the moment is the dates of the five training days which schools take – we’ll be confirming these shortly and we’ll let you know.
Absences in term time
You all know we don’t authorise holidays or trips away in term time. You can be fined or face legal action for taking your child on holiday during term time. Since September 2025, there have been 1,841 penalty notices issued to families in Leeds.
We’re able to authorise an absence if it’s unavoidable or exceptional:
If your child is genuinely ill, that’s unavoidable (check the NHS Is my child too ill for school?). However, if your child has had numerous absences, we can ask for evidence of an illness or simply not authorise the absence.
If you need to be absent for something exceptional, like a wedding of a close relative, please ask for a form to request the absence is authorised. We may ask for more details so we can be clear about the absence. (And please remember – the absence must be exceptional, so a second absence is unlikely to be classed as exceptional, even if it’s for a different reason.)
Big Garden Birdwatch
The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch starts today. It’s the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. It’s simple: spend an hour watching the birds in your patch, between 23 and 25 January, and record the birds that land!
Half-term suggestion
We can’t believe there are only three weeks left of this half-term before the half-term holiday. Fancy something different? Maybe consider something new, like climbing – there are sessions in Leeds and Harrogate – or something more traditional, like football.
As with all clubs and holiday activities, we strongly recommend you check out the provider’s safeguarding policies and practices. Check out the four questions you should ask – they’re at the foot of our Our extra-curricular activities page.
School Journalists: What we’ve been learning
This week, our school journalists interviewed some children to find out what they’ve been learning.
Faith met with some of our Y1,2 friends:
Did you enjoy Watch Us While We Work?
Yes – my parents came and it was nice for them to see my classroom.
Are you enjoying your class novel?
Yes, it’s a really good book. We’re reading The Tiger who Came to Tea.
What is your favourite subject to learn?
I would say reading.
Mine is writing.
Stanley caught up with some of our Y3,4 friends:
In maths, we’re learning about numbers up to 1000.
In art, we’ve been listening to music whilst we create patterns on our paper with a pencil.
In history, we’re learning about the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. Our new class novel is called Queen of Darkness – we’ll read Anglo-Saxon boy soon, too.
In writing, we’re going to write a story about us (as Celts) preparing to go into battle against the Roman army.
And, Stanley also caught up with some of our Y5,6 friends:
We’ve been learning about the Vikings. They believed in a heaven called Valhalla. We’re also reading a book called Viking Boy. The main character is a boy called Gunnar who tries to avenge his father’s death.
In science, we’ve been planning an experiment properties of materials. We’re imagining that we’re preparing a cup of tea for the king. We’ll wrap it in different materials and see which one keeps it warmest.
Stay tuned for more exciting content from our wonderful school journalists.
Our weekly message: Friday 16 January 2026
At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, we treat everything around health and safety seriously. One aspect of this is to make sure we do regular fire drills. Similar to this is to practise lockdowns and invacuations. Put simply, a lockdown is when people must stay where they are and an invacuation is when people must all go inside, possibly to the same space. We’ll be doing one of these practices next week. We explain to children reasons in a child-friendly way – for example, that this might be if there’s been a report of an angry dog or if there’s a building on fire and there’s too much smoke.
Have you been to one of our class assemblies this year? This week, it was the turn of Class 1,2B (Mrs Latham’s class). Here’s a pic of some wonderful Phonics and Writing linked to the assembly…
The rest of this message is about this half-term’s topic…
What is this half-term’s topic?
This half-term, we’re historians. We’ll be developing our understanding of Britain’s past and the wider world. Children will use enquiry skills to answer questions about the past that require opinions. They’ll be ‘time detectives’, using sources of evidence to help them answer these questions. Each phase has age-related specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they’ll learn, use and apply across the topic. See pages 23, 24 and 25.
Years 1 and 2
In this topic, children will learn about how toys and games have changed over time. They’ll develop chronological understanding by sequencing events in their own lives before learning about how toys and games were different during their parents’ and grandparents’ and great grandparents’ childhoods. They’ll look at similar toys from different times and try to sequence them chronologically using logical reasoning. They’ll use photographs and other sources of evidence to identify changes and similarities.
The key historical concept which we’ll explore in this topic is innovation. An innovation is an improvement or replacement for something
Years 3 and 4
In this topic, children will learn about the Roman Empire and its invasion of Britain. It will examine how life changed for the people living in Britain at the time of the invasion. They will learn about the Celtic warrior, Boudicca and how she resisted the Romans. Children will also consider what we know about Boudicca, how we know it and whether we can trust it.
They’ll learn about the amazing inventions and advances that the Romans brought to Britain. Finally, they’ll find out why the Romans left Britain and who the Anglo-Saxons were.
There are two key historical concepts which we’ll explore in this topic: empire and invasion. An empire is a large group of countries or states ruled by an emperor or empress. An invasion is when a country or region is invaded by an armed force.
Years 5 and 6
In this topic, children will learn about Viking Britain and an Early Islamic Civilisation centred around the city of Baghdad around 800AD.
During this period of time, Baghdad was the largest city in the world and was the centre of the world’s trade routes. Trade between Vikings and Baghdad happened and provides a real link between these two societies.
Through studying the Vikings, children will again learn about how people invaded and settled in Britain. Invasion is also relevant as it brought an end to the Islamic Golden Age.
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of great innovation. Learning and knowledge was key to their success. They built the world’s first hospitals, universities and observatories, as well as studied writing from scholars around the world. The contrast with Viking Britain during the Dark Ages is stark!
There are three key historical concepts which we’ll explore in this topic: trade, invasion and innovation. Trade is the exchange of goods and services, initially for other goods and services, and then for money. An innovation is an improvement or replacement for something. An invasion is when a country or region is invaded by an armed force.
Help at home
Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning in class. The class news page of the school website is a good place to go to find out more about what the children are doing.
Find some books from the library which match what the children are learning. This will be quite easy for children in Key Stage 2 as there will be plenty of books about Roman Britain and Viking Britain. You should also be able to find some about the Islamic Golden Age. For children in Key Stage 1, look for some books about toys over time. However, any book that looks at how an aspect of life has changed over time will be good. For example, you may find books about shopping, houses, transport, holidays. These will all help your child to sequence chronologically and explore similarities and differences.
Watch television shows about history. Horrible Histories is great – regardless of your age!
Finally, don’t forget on Monday, we’ve an online session to support you to help your child stay safe online. This is important: very frequently, we’re made aware of unsafe behaviour amongst children when they’re online at home. Join in the Zoom session using the link that has been emailed to parents/carers.
Our weekly message: Friday 09 January 2026
It’s a little late, but we wish everyone a happy new year.
New year, new details? If there are any new contact details for you or other contacts, please remember to let us know. We need up-to-date details for the people on our lists in case of emergencies. (The people on our lists are the ones you gave us when your child school – in most cases, this will be three different people.)
Attendance
Our attendance so far this year is 94.5% – this is a lower than the national figure for primary schools (95.1%) and lower than our attendance rate for Autumn 2024 (95.9%). Let’s hope it can rise across the Spring term.
Please continue to check the NHS site, Is My Child Too Ill For School.
Positive home-school relationships
Have you read our Positive Home-School Relationships Policy? It sets out reasonable expectations for meetings or emails with teachers and – occasionally – what we might do if we encounter unreasonable communications or unacceptable behaviour.
Staying safe online
Here’s an extract from an email from, Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner:
I have recently published a new guide, What I wish my parents or carers knew: A guide for parents on managing children’s digital lives.
Supporting children’s safety is a shared responsibility between families, schools and wider society. For parents and carers, this responsibility has become increasingly complex as children’s lives are now deeply intertwined with the digital world. Many parents face difficult decisions about how to balance protecting children from online harm with enabling access to spaces that are now central to learning, socialising and play.
This guide…focuses on the challenge of managing children’s everyday online habits.
This guide was written with the direct involvement of children in England. It is a reflection of their views.
When I speak to children about what they would do differently when it comes to being online, with the benefit of hindsight, I ask them: would they give a smartphone to their own teenager? Almost unanimously, they tell me no. They want to be protected from it as long as possible.
As parents, carers, and educators, our job must begin and end with our children’s care and safety. It’s what they expect and what they want from you.
As one young person told me: “Don’t be afraid to be firm… If you are worried [that] your child is seeing harmful content and you don’t know what they’re watching and it’s affecting the behaviour, just take it that you know best – they don’t.
School dinners
In January 2025, 7,724 pupils entitled to a free school meal missed out on a free, hot lunch. School meals can be cheaper than a packed lunch. Think of the time you could save, too! All of our school meals are cooked on site and freshly prepared. Find out if you’re entitled to free school meals by applying online.
Zebra crossing
This week, we’ve had reports about cars ignoring waiting pedestrians at the zebra crossing outside our school. If your child walks to school on their own, please make sure they know how to cross carefully, still looking out for traffic as they cross. (And, if they have a mobile, please remind them how important it is to concentrate as they walk to school.)
Forest school
Your child may have noticed some recent changes to the land near the Key Stage 1 playground. These are part of our exciting plans to develop a Forest School area.
Forest School is an approach to learning that takes place outdoors. It supports children’s holistic development through regular sessions that encourage play, exploration and supported risk-taking. Through hands-on, learner-led experiences in a natural environment, children build confidence, resilience and self-esteem.
We’re pleased to be working with experienced Forest School practitioners, Børn of the Forest. They will deliver Forest School sessions to pupils across school. Our intention is for all children to experience Forest School as they move through the school – currently, this will be when children are in Year 3 and Year 5. This half-term, pupils in will Year 3 attend sessions led by a Børn of the Forest practitioner alongside a member of school staff. Next half-term, pupils in Year 5 will attend the sessions.
Sessions will take place outdoors and will run in most weather conditions, unless conditions are particularly extreme. Children will therefore need suitable clothing to keep them warm, dry and comfortable, and clothes that they do not mind getting muddy. Guidance about this has been shared in advance of your child’s first session – we’ll communicate again with parents of children in Year 5 nearer the time.
If you’ve any spare waterproof clothing or wellington boots that you would be happy to donate, we’d be very grateful. We also welcome donations of items such as pots, pans, sieves or spoons for use in our mud kitchen.
Our second Watch Us While We Work session for parents of children in Key Stages 1 and 2 is next Wednesday at 9.00am. As always, there will be two parts. One will focus on a feature of our Living and Learning curriculum that we call Feelings First, and one will focus on Reading. See you then!
School Journalists: 2025 is gone, 2026 is on!
Here’s a new update from our school journalists Faith and Stanley…
We had a spectacular year in 2025. One of the best things happened was making history by having our first Zoom call from Scholes, England all the way to Antarctica.
I (Faith) interviewed Ezmae to find out what her favourite moment from 2025 was.
Hi Ezmae
Hello
What was your favourite thing that happened in 2025?
The disco
Did you enjoy becoming a Year 6?
Yes, it was amazing!
What are you most excited for this year?
Starting my high school journey.
Stanley researched some crazy new year traditions from around the world:
In Italy, there’s a tradition to throw old furniture out the window to signify ‘out with the old’.
Here’s some other traditions…
Spain – grapes and polka dots
Eating 12 grapes at midnight (one for each chime) for luck, or wearing polka dots for prosperity
Brazil – jumping waves
Wearing white and jumping over seven waves at the beach to honour the ocean goddess.
And here’s some interesting facts:
January 1st became the new year in 46BC thanks to Julius Caesar honouring Janus – the two-faced god of beginnings.
The first new year celebrations are said to have been held in Babylon over 4000 years ago – although it’s believed they were held in March.
The practice of making resolutions is also said to have began in Babylon.
If you’re making a new year’s resolution, look our for the second Friday in January. This is said to be the most common day to quit your new year’s resolution – it’s often called ‘Quitters Day’.