This week’s message (Friday 22 December 2023)

Following an earlier message this week, this one is just to say a couple of things…

First: in case you missed it, we raised £370.94 at our Christmas productions for our chosen charity, Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. If you came, thank you for your donations and we hoped you enjoyed the show!

Second: all of us here at Scholes (Elmet) Primary wish you a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

We look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 08 January.

An early weekly message (Wednesday 20 December)

This week’s message comes early, and it’s an unusual one because it comes from Miss Beatson, the Head of School at St James’ CE Primary, one of our sister schools in Sphere Federation:

Recently, I visited Scholes (Elmet) Primary School to talk to some children about safeguarding. The children were welcoming, friendly and they engaged really well in conversation. We spoke about a range of topics including being safe in school, equality, behaviour and staying safe online.

All the children said that they felt safe in school and the children in Years 3 and 4 described comprehensively how they learn to stay safe in different subjects such as Science and DT Cooking and Nutrition. They felt that behaviour was good in school and they could confidently tell me the school rules and the school policy STOP in terms of bullying.

When speaking about online safety, the children were knowledgeable about what they do if they see or hear something upsetting online. It was evident that the children have good supervision at home and many of the children talked about ‘time limits’ on their devices so they don’t spend too much time online.

A real strength was our conversations about consent. One pupil talked about consent as setting boundaries and asking permission because some people may not want to have a photograph taken or be hugged.

The older children impressed me when they were talking about equality and the importance of treating everyone the same in terms of protected characteristics.

It was a pleasure talking to the children and I had a wonderful morning – thank you.

Amazing donations

A huge thanks to everyone who donated to our chosen charity Children’s Heart Surgery Fund after our Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 performances, this week.

We raised  £370.94

We hope you enjoyed watching your children perform as much as they enjoyed performing!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

This week’s message (Friday 15 December 2023)

This week’s message has three healthy-themed messages…

Living and Learning

In Living and Learning sessions, your child has been considering mental health. As we come to the end of this unit of learning, it would be a great time to reflect on this more at home.

Self-care is all about what you can do to help yourself feel better or to keep yourself feeling good. It’s a way that we can look after our own mental health and wellbeing. It can help your body and mind to relax, drift away, or be more energised.

This self-care plan from Anna Freud walks children through a series of steps, helping them to create a simple self-care plan that works for them.

There are lots of different ways you can try self-care: dancing, spending time with friends, playing sports, laughing, drawing, spending time with pets – anything that makes you feel good! We have listed some activity suggestions in this booklet – give them a try and see what works for you.

Let us know what you think…

We’ve recently updated our policy around food in school. Our Food in School policy sets out key points for parents/carers and staff. For parents/carers, this includes guidance around special occasions, birthdays, rewards and the importance of alerting us if your child has a food allergy.

Please let us know your thoughts.

Don’t skip breakfasts

Research suggests that having breakfast every day has a positive impact on diet quality, weight status and even learning. You might like to read this recent article about the importance of breakfast for school children.

And one final message, this time from Wetherby and District Foodbank…

Wetherby and District Foodbank is here for anyone who is in need or hardship. All information shared is private and strictly confidential. The foodbank not only provides food and a listening ear but can also arrange free face to face local appointments with Moneybuddies who can help with debt advice and budgeting support. Get in touch with the foodbank: 07840 455725.

Have a good weekend.

This week’s message (Friday 08 December 2023)

We’ve two full weeks of term left. As we said last week, please do check out our calendar so you know what’s going on in the last week of the year – it’s a busy one!

Non-uniform day

One of the things coming up is a non-uniform day on the last day of term – Friday 22 December. Just like a place of work would have standards for a dress-down day, so do we – our Uniform Policy sets out expectations:

Pupils should dress appropriately and respectfully for school, even on non-uniform days. Clothes are inappropriate if they, for example, glorify violence, feature bad language, are very short (eg crop tops), or relate to age-inappropriate topics (eg computer games). When consulted (18.03.21), junior leaders described this as ‘setting appropriate’ clothing and clothing that is ‘well-judged’. Make-up (other than face paints as part of a specific costume) is not allowed. Flip-flops or high-heeled shoes are not allowed, even on non-uniform days, because they’re dangerous when running.

Thank you for following our policy.

Get reading

For those who celebrate Christmas, a book or two makes an ideal stocking filler or present. (And for those who don’t celebrate, reading over the forthcoming holiday is an ideal way to spend some time on cold, dark days!) Our Reading Curriculum Guide has a list of what we read in school:

• page 7 (Year 1 and 2)
• page 8 (Year 3 and 4)
• page 9 (Year 5 and 6)

The guide has a list of books we read as class novels and extracts from other books, plus poems and picture books. It doesn’t matter what you choose. You might want to get something by the same author, for example.

And finally, one more suggestion…

Last year, we recommended a play at Leeds Central Library. The recommendation went down well – we had a few families thank us for the suggestion and commented that it was really good value. Here’s the tip again. Check out Cinderella at Leeds Central Library. It’s a pay-what-you-decide family-friendly event suitable for children aged 5+. Hurry though – there are only a few seats left.

Have a good weekend!

This week’s message (Friday 01 December 2023)

It’s the first day of December and the weather certainly matches the season!

We’ve still a while to go before the end of term and there’s lots of learning and socialising to be done in the next few weeks. The last week of the Autumn term – coming up in three weeks’ time – is always a busy one. Please check our school calendar for all the events happening so you don’t miss out.

Talking of events…

Today’s been a busy one in school.

We started the day with the last of three open sessions for prospective new parents for a September 2024 Reception place. If you know of anyone who has a child start school, please mention us!

And we ended it with another open session – this time for you, our existing family of parents, to check out all the learning in our topics so far this year. If you managed to come along, thank you! There’s another topic review on Monday 18 March, and before then, a Watch Us While We Work session on Friday 26 January.

Just two more things in this week’s message…

First, a quick reminder: if you’ve got 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.)

Second, here’s an extract from an Ofsted blog…

Persistent school absence is one of the most significant ongoing impacts of the pandemic. The latest data shows that nearly 1 in 4 pupils were absent for 10% of school sessions in autumn 2022, nearly double the position in 2019. We remain very concerned about the effect this will have on children.

As the Department for Education (DfE) points out in its blog Why is school attendance so important and what are the risks of missing a day?, we know that the highest attendance rates are linked with the best outcomes at all key stages. Even missing small amounts of education can mean a child misses important sections of the curriculum and may therefore struggle to learn concepts that are built on what they missed.

And it’s not just about the academic opportunities. There’s value in the whole school experience. Learning with peers, enjoying sport and music, building relationships with adults beyond their families, and building friendships – these are the building blocks of well-being and a good life. School contributes so much to this.

It is therefore vital that children are in school as much as possible.

Thank you for helping to make sure your child’s in school. Don’t forget to check the NHS site to decide – in most cases, it’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold.

Have a great weekend – stay warm!

Our new school charity is…

…The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

A recent homework was to discuss with your child about charities and how charity is the act of giving help to those who need it. There was a list of charities for you to consider. Children came to school last week ready to discuss these with their peers. A democratic vote was made in each class and the result was brought to the Junior Leadership Team. They discussed the votes and settled on The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

The main objective of the charity is to enhance the quality of care and support available to babies, young children and adult congenital cardiac patients who are treated at Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, based at Leeds General Infirmary.

Fundraising that takes place this year will be donated to this charity.

Thank you for discussing this at home.

Year 4 Football Team

We’re so proud of the Y4 footballers who represented our school for the first time recently. As well as coming away with a very impressive 3-3 draw against a local school playing their 5^th game together, they represented our school with pride, humility, confidence and resilience. Most of all, they were genuinely happy to be playing alongside each other.

For some of our children, it was their first ever game of competitive football – although you’d never have known! For others, who might play a lot outside of school, it was their first taste of representing our school. For all of our children who played, we’re incredibly proud of how you represented our school; you were respectful, supportive, humble and giving it your all!

Here’s what a few of the team had to say afterwards:

‘Playing in the game was the best thing I’ve ever done. We had a lot of fun. It wasn’t about winning it was about having fun and doing your best!’ Korewa, Y4

‘The game was really fun and really positive. Even though we didn’t win, it was still great to play and compete against another school!’ Grayson, Y4

‘It was fun. Everyone on the team was helping each other and motivating each other to do their best and enjoy it!’ Rudi, Y4

Bring on the next game!

We’d also like to give a massive thanks to Mr O’Loughlin who has been instrumental in making this happen. We’re all super grateful for the time and effort you’ve put in to this so far!

This week’s message (Friday 24 November 2023)

On these darker, colder mornings, it’s still a highlight of our day to stand at the school gate and be greeted by happy and healthy children ready for a day of learning in class and socialising in school.

This week’s message has various things to check out…

Check out these seven top tips

The week’s Living and Learning statement has been I know how important it is to make careful choices when online. Use this page from Childline to support your discussions at home – just reading the website alongside your child will help. Check out Childline’s seven top tips.

Check out the checks

Children in Year 1 and in Year 4 take part in national assessments – the Government calls these ‘checks’. They take place towards the end of the school year.

If  your child is in Year 1, they’ll do a phonics screening check. Someone in school will carry out this with each child on a one-to-one basis in the week beginning Monday 10 June 2024. The phonics screening check is an assessment of your child’s phonics knowledge – a fundamental key to learning to read.

If they’re in Year 4, they’ll do a multiplication tables check. This is carried out online. It’ll take place in the first half of June 2024. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12 (including the division facts), which is essential for future success in Maths.

Read more about these assessments by clicking on the links.

Check out the dates for all national assessments.

Check out these ways to support good mental health

Young Minds is a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents. They’ve produced this advent calendar full of top tips for wellbeing. It’s worth a look, whether you use it as a calendar or just decide to give one or two of the tips a try. We like the tip on Monday 4th – easy, but so effective!

Check out The Big Ambition

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched The Big Ambition, a national survey of children and young people across England. Has your child taken part yet?

I want to ensure that the voices of all children in the Yorkshire and the Humber area are fairly represented in the findings so that I can share their views with the most senior members of the country.

I must reiterate that it is vital that all children have their voice heard through this survey because, as Children’s Commissioner for England, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. I will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children’s voices are heard.

Click straight to the survey.

Children in Need – our final total

The results have been counted and verified…. we managed to raise £436.98 for Children in Need.  Thank you so much for your generosity.