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’.

Our weekly message: the last in 2025

Christmas came to Scholes on Thursday!  Not only did the children have an amazing Christmas lunch, we were also all fortunate to enjoy our very own inflatable winter wonderland…

Christmas productions

Thanks to everyone who came to one of our Christmas productions this week. We raised £249 for our current school charity, Woodland Trust. Thank you for all donations.

Move to Arbor

Our management information system move to Arbor is well underway. Thank you to the 94% of parents/carers who have logged into the parent portal. You should have noticed that most of the communications now come through Arbor. If you have not seen any emails for a while, please check your spam box and make sure you mark emails from school as safe.

From January, all payments should be made on Arbor. Reception, Year 1,2 and Year 3,4 all have trips coming up next term. Emails have been sent out about these, and payment can be made on Arbor.

Also, just a reminder to download the Arbor app and set up your phone so you receive notifications. Quick/short messages will be sent in-app rather than by text message (as in-app messages are free for us to send).

Get out and about over the holiday…

Over the holiday, it can sometimes be good to get out and about. There’s lots going in Leeds – check out the Child Friendly Leeds Winter Guide.

…and stay safe online

2 in 5 parents more relaxed about children’s online safety over Christmas according to this article. This might be at a time when children are even more online than normal. Check out this guide: the 12 Days of Online Safety.

Have a very happy Christmas and we’ll see you again in the new year – Monday 05 January 2026.

Our weekly message: Friday 12 December 2025

This week’s message kicks off (pun intended!) with some football news. Don’t miss the staffing update, especially if your child is in Reception, Class 2C or Class 3,4B.

Fantastic football

We’re really proud of some of our Y5,6 children who represented our school in the EFL Utilita Football Cup. They played in a competition with five other schools – and won! The team now progress to the next round of this national competition.

It was a tense affair with the final going all the way to sudden death penalties. We’re proud of their performances but we’re even more proud of their attitude: during the competition, a representative from Harrogate Town FC came over to say what ‘a credit to our school they all were’. He was particularly impressed with how well they worked as a team, how they encouraged each other and how they showed great sportsmanship towards the other teams – well done to all involved!

Staffing updates

Reception

Mrs Allen-Kelly, one of our Reception teachers, will be leaving us at the end of this term (Friday 19 December). Mrs Allen-Kelly has worked in Sphere Federation for eight years, much of that time here at Scholes (Elmet) Primary. We’ll be very sad to see her go. Whilst with us, Mrs Allen-Kelly has started lots of children off on their learning journey. Being a Reception teacher is such an important job and one that Mrs Allen-Kelly has done with dedication, patience and care. I’m sure you’ll join us in wishing her the best of luck with her new venture.

Mrs Cowgill will be taking over from Mrs Allen-Kelly in January. Mrs Cowgill has over 15 years of teaching experience, including many years working in Early Years. In Spring and Summer 2025, she worked at St James’ CE Primary, another of our federation schools, so she’s very familiar with our routines.

From January, Reception will look like this:

• Sunshine: Mrs Long on Monday and Mrs Brown for the rest of the week (Tuesday – Friday)
• Rainbow: Tuesday – Mrs Long on Tuesday and Mrs Cowgill for the rest of the week (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

Class 2C

From January, Mrs Paterson will work Monday – Wednesday and Mrs Wilkins will work Thursday and Friday.

Class 3,4B

In 3,4B, we welcome Miss Iveson back from maternity leave. Miss Iveson will work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Mrs Lake will work Thursday and Friday.

How we communicate with you

After-school club – early closing

Next Friday is the last day of term. If you use our wrapround care on Fridays, please remember it closes early: 5pm.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 05 December 2025

Did you come to our Topic Review session last Friday? If so, thank you!

And did you manage to find a couple of minutes to leave us some feedback? Again, if so, thank you. One parent described the session as ‘Very informative’ – that’s great to hear!

Tree-mendous

On Wednesday, our Year 5 and 6 children were invited to go out into the local community to plant some new trees. This means there’s now an additional 90 trees in the village – each one planted by one of our Year 5 or Year 6 children.

Best start in life

The Best Start in Life website brings together trusted advice, support and guidance for parents of younger children.

Check out ‘The Story of You’, which celebrates the journey of early childhood, highlighting the vital role they play in their child’s lives and the support available.

Subscribe to the newsletter or personalised weekly emails for tailored
updates, tips, and guidance.

Chat Health (for older children and young people)

The Chat Health service is for people aged 11 to 19.

It offers support on a range of issues such as exam anxiety, self-harming, family dynamics such as parental separation, bullying, healthy eating and general health.

This is a universal service provided by Leeds Community Healthcare NHS trust. It’s available Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm, excluding
bank holidays.

• Read more about Chat Health.
• Watch a YouTube clip.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 28 November 2025

If you came along to our Topic Review session this afternoon, thank you. We hope you enjoyed the session. If you’d like to leave some feedback, we’d love to read it. We pass compliments on to teachers and take on board suggestions.

Next up is a reminder from FOSP…

Matched funding

Many organisations offer matched funding schemes where money raised for charity by employees is matched by the organisation (usually up to a certain amount). If you work for such an organisation and are willing to help out at one of the FOSP events, we can double the amount we raise. Get in touch if you can help with matched funding.

Next up, a competition from Active Leeds…

We’re inviting children and young people across Leeds to get creative and celebrate their local leisure centres! 

At Active Leeds, we believe our leisure centres are more than just places to swim or work out… they’re spaces where memories are made, friendships grow, and confidence builds. From learning to swim to trying gymnastics for the first time, or simply spending time with friends, there are so many amazing experiences that happen every day in our centres.

We’re asking young people to share an experience they’ve had at their local leisure centre through art, writing, animation, or any creative way they like. It could be a drawing of their swimming lesson, a collage of their favourite activity, or even a short animation showing what makes their centre special.

The winning creation will receive a £50 Amazon gift voucher and be featured in our upcoming MADE IN LEEDS campaign, seen right across the city!

We want to highlight the joy, energy and sense of community that our centres bring to young people and their families. Who better to show that than the kids themselves?

Entries are open until 01 December 2025.

Simply send a photo or video of your entry to sport.webupdates@leeds.gov.uk.

Our weekly message: Friday 21 November 2025

In case you missed our earlier message… Last week was Children in Need day. Our non-uniform day raised £354.99 – thank you to all who contributed.

Attendance matters

• The national attendance rate for primary schools is 95.4% (that’s for Autumn 1 term).
• Our attendance rate is 95.5% (that’s up until 18 November).

It’s good to see that our attendance is higher, even if just a little. However, it’s lower than it was for Autumn term last year.

Is my child too ill to attend school? It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school. Check the NHS website: Is my child too ill for school?

Thinking of a term-time holiday? 468 penalty notices for unauthorised absences have been issued in Leeds so far this year. Check out the legal consequences of term-time absences, from fines to court action.

Applying for a Reception place?

The national closing date for Reception September 2026 applications is 15 January 2026.

Check out these frequently asked questions.

MindMate

On Wednesday, the MindMate Support Team held a workshop about supporting your child with anxiety.

There are three more support sessions coming up this year:

1. Support your child’s mental wellbeing – Wednesday 11 February, 5pm to 6pm at Deighton Gates Primary School, Deighton Rd, Wetherby, LS22 7XL

2. Support your child’s emotions – Wednesday 11 March, 5pm to 6pm at Bramham Primary School, Clifford Road, Bramham, LS23 6JQ

3. Support your child with transition – Wednesday 24 June, 5pm to 6pm at our Sphere Federation sister school, St James’ CE Primary School, Hallfield Lane, Wetherby, LS22 6JS

Read more about the workshops.

Year 5 reading

Scholes (Elmet) Primary has been selected to represent England in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) research.

PIRLS is an international educational assessment study which takes place in over 60 countries. Our school will participate alongside other schools from around the world.

The assessments will involve some children in Year 5 completing a computer-based assessment and questionnaire about themselves and their educational experiences.

Read more about the research in this letter from the Department for Education.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.