A happy and healthy - and safe - place to learn
We hear so many scare stories and myths about health and safety that it’s easy to pour scorn on anything remotely related to the topic. However, as a school, we need to know that our buildings and our practices are safe and secure for your child and his/her teachers.
Just like we’re happy to invite a fresh pair of eyes into school to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning, we do the same – invite an expert from Leeds City Council – to check on health and safety aspects of our school.
We’re delighted that our school was judged to be good in terms of health and safety, with outstanding management of this aspect of school.
Scholes (Elmet) Primary is a happy, healthy and safe place to learn!
Comments from our children
From time to time, we collect the views of our pupils – they can be really helpful and interesting!
Here are a few comments from some of our youngest (in Year 1) and oldest (in Year 6) pupils:
- ‘When I did the learning I am most proud of, at first it was a bit hard and I felt frustrated. I was determined. I felt happy and felt like a winner at the end.’ (Y1)
- ‘I enjoy writing because it boosts my vocabulary and confidence.’ (Y6)
- ‘Lunchtimes are fun and fantastic.’ (Y1)
- ‘I am happy at school because I feel welcome every day and I really enjoy the lessons.’ (Y6)
- ‘I like working with a partner in Maths.’ (Y1)
- ‘Living and Learning is good because it helps me be a better person outside of school.’ (Y6)
- ‘I know what a drug is and I know medicine is a drug.’ (Y1)
Training days 2019-20
For those already planning their trips away and days out, we’ve now agreed our 2019-2020 training days:
- Monday 02 September 2019
- Tuesday 03 September 2019 (this means children are back on Wednesday 04 September, although there’s a transition period for those starting in Reception)
- Friday 25 October 2019 (this is the day before the October holidays)
- Friday 15 May 2020 (this is the last day of the Key Stage 2 SATS week – a welcome day off for our Year 6 pupils)
- Monday 20 July 2020 (the last day of the school term, meaning children break up on Friday 17 July 2020)
The dates are all published on our school calendar.
(We tell you our training days well in advance, and we’ve tried to schedule many close to existing school holidays. This means you’ve got more chance to plan and book any holidays abroad. We don’t authorise term-time absences for holidays.)
School Council - raising money and awareness
Our democratically elected School Council, assisted by Miss Parling, enjoy thinking of ideas to raise money for our school charity (Cancer Research) and taking care of the environment. We try to do everything we can in school to recycle, and have raised £84.35 for charity by recycling ink cartridges from our printers and photocopiers. We are starting to spread the word on eco-bricking too. Why not join us?
Active playtimes - helping towards the 30:30 wristband challenge
We encourage children to be active at playtimes. Skipping has risen in popularity again after our visit from Skipping School but hoops and balancing equipment are also popular.
Supporting parents with anxious children
EPOSS Cluster are running a group to support parents with anxious children. The group will give advice and strategies to support your child, provide psycho-education on anxiety and give the opportunity for you to meet parents with similar problems and share ideas.
The first session will be held MONDAY 21 JANUARY
Venue: The House
Wetherby High School
Hallfield Lane
Wetherby
LS22 6JS
Time: 8am-9am.
No need to book, just turn up on the day.
If there is sufficient uptake the group will then run every Monday until the February half-term holiday.
If you would like any further information please call:
Rachel Midgley, Cluster Therapist – 0752 617 2934
Liz Giles, Targeted Services Officer – 0791 278 4637
Fantastic Foundation Stage!
We’re always wanting to get better and better. One of the ways we’ve secured great improvements in recent years is that we work closely with LA advisors so we benefit from ‘an extra pair of eyes’ and their specific skills and expertise.
Just before Christmas, an Early Years expert visited our Foundation Stage classes. Here’s an extract from her report:
It is clear that the team work closely together and know their children really well… provision is of a very high quality and provides a stimulating learning environment; children were seen engrossed in a range of activities this morning, effectively supported by adults both inside and out.
Keeping active - skipping
All classes from F2 to Y6 enjoyed a visit from Jodi from Skipping School. Skipping is a great fun sport for all, that can be done alone, with a partner or in larger groups. Each class learnt new techniques and built on the skills they had learnt last year. F2 learnt how to listen for the click so they know when to jump with the big rope. Miss Parling is starting a skipping after school club (contact the office for details). Year 2 and Year 4 children will be entering the Leeds skipping competition this year too. Children are encouraged to bring skipping ropes into school to use at playtime and lunchtime to help them hone their skipping technique and to work towards the new Bronze Marbled Wristbands as part of our 30:30 wristband challenge.
Keeping active with the 30:30 Wristband Challenge
This is an initiative that has been developed by the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University to increase the amount of physical activity (PA) that primary-age children currently do.
The challenge is to be physically active to earn marbled bronze, silver and then gold wristband.
Schools are expected to provide half of the Chief Medical Officer’s daily PA recommendation of 60 minutes. The other 30 minutes is expected to be completed at home with the support of a young person’s family/friends/carers. This is obviously to combat obesity issues in England and to align with the government’s current Obesity Strategy.
A simple recording sheet has been devised to encourage pupils to record, on any given day, if they have done two sets of 30 minutes of PA. If they are able to tick two circles in one day, the child can colour one box of the running track to show their progress towards an award.
We want children to do a level of physical activity that makes them feel warmer, slightly out-of-breath and have a quicker heart-rate, such as a brisk walk, dancing, cycling, swimming and other sports. It’s not just about ‘official sport’ – playing on a trampoline, running up and down the steps, dancing to a music video or walking the dog all count!
Pupils will need to be physically active for 30:30 minutes for 80% of the during January and February and then bring their form back to school by the end of February to claim their wristband.
Let’s all get active! A copy of the sheet can be found here Marbled Bronze collection sheet 2018
Do you park considerately?
We would ask everyone to park considerately near school. There have been reports this week of cars parked up on kerbs and pavements, blocking drives and double parking. The worst incident involved a wheelchair unable to access the path outside her house opposite school. West Yorkshire Police have recently issued warnings for parents and carers, stating they will issue tickets for parking offences around and near schools. Please ensure you are parking considerately.
