With our fingers crossed for some sunshine, we have planned a very busy end to the academic year and we hope that you will be able to join us for some of the events.

Pink day

On Friday 19^th May we will have a non-uniform day and ask the children to wear something pink in support of our staff team who undertaking The Moonwalk to raise awareness and funds for the breast cancer charity. We will have a donation bucket in the school office and I am sure that you will join me in wishing the team the very best of luck.

Sports Days

We are going to organise our sports days a little bit differently this year. Weather permitting, we would like to invite parents to picnic with your children either before or after their races – please see below for exact times and dates. The school kitchen will only provide packed lunches on Friday the 30^th June and 7^th July.

Breakfast Club

Please remember to book your child’s place at Breakfast Club using the online Arbor system. For safety reasons there is a limit on the places available and if a child is not booked we may not be able to accommodate them. If you have difficulty with booking a place, please call the school office to check availability and they will be happy to help with any IT issues.

 School Photographs

The school photographer will be visiting on Thursday 22^nd June for individual and class photos.

Open afternoon drop in

On Wednesday 28^th June we would like to invite you to visit your child’s class at any time between 3.30 – 4.45 pm to see their workbooks for this year. The teachers will be available for general discussion, but if you have a particular matter regarding your child, please arrange a separate appointment through the school office.

Multiply maths events

Multiply is a government funded organisation that offers adults free maths courses with opportunities to gain qualifications, and build confidence in using numbers at work or in everyday life. As part of their work, they are offering games nights for families to show how maths skills can be developed at home through play. They will also be providing parents with children in Year 3 and 4 with an opportunity to attend a workshop which will support in helping children with their maths homework. Look out for the flyers that we will send home with the children and then book your place through the Arbor system after half term.

Sunny weather

In the hope that sunnier weather is on the way, please make sure that on the warmer days your child has applied sun block prior to attending school and has their water bottle with them.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

We hope that you enjoyed the half term break and we are hopefully looking forward to the lighter days and warmer weather that this half term usually brings.

Parents Evenings

It was fantastic to see so many of you at the recent parents’ evenings. Please do remember that if you have a question or query about your child’s learning or time in school then you can contact us at any time. The staff in the school office will be happy to arrange a telephone conversation or meeting.

World Book Day

We will be celebrating World Book Day on Friday 3^rd March. This year we will be sharing and enjoying our favourite bedtime stories. With this in mind and to get us fully in the spirit, we will be having a pyjama day. Along with your child’s favourite PJs please make sure that they also have sensible footwear and will be warm enough as we will still be outside at break and lunch time. Further details will be shared in a separate letter.

Our book shop will be open after school this Friday (24^th February) in the school hall and also on Monday 6^th March for Infant and Tuesday 7th March for Junior children to be able to exchange their World Book Day tokens.

Industrial Action

The next planned date for industrial action by the NEU teaching Union is Thursday 2^nd March. We are confident that we will be able to keep the school open on this day for all children.

As things stand at the moment, it is likely that the school will close for some or all year groups on Wednesday 15^th and Thursday 16^th March due to the industrial action. Please make provisional arrangements for your children to be at home on these days. If for any reason the industrial action does not go ahead or circumstances change, we will inform you at the earliest opportunity.

For those parents who are critical workers and have no other alternative arrangements we will endeavour to provide cover for your children on Wednesday 15^th and Thursday 16^th March. This will not be their usual curriculum or classwork, it will be activity based sessions. If spaces have to be prioritised due to staffing levels and health and safety, priority will be given to those working in front line positions for health, social care, education and key public services. To request a place, a google form will available from Tuesday 7^th March which needs to be completed by going to the school website, click the parents tab and select online forms, or go to the notice board section, also on the school website. This form must be completed by midday on Friday 10^th March. Please only request a space if it is absolutely essential.

We will provide Breakfast Club and Kids Club after school as usual for the children of critical workers who attend routinely and these places should be booked in the usual way through Magic Booking. Online learning resources can be accessed on the children’s section of the school website or children may wish to use Education City during this day.

 Safeguarding

You will have seen that following a Local Authority review, we have changed the exit buttons on the pedestrian gates to an intercom system in order to make the school site even more secure for the children. At the present time, the main school gate exit intercom connects directly to the school and the Sure Start gate exit intercom connects directly only to the nursery. We are waiting for this to be corrected so that you will be able to select the school or nursery at each gate. We hope that this will be rectified very soon and in the meantime your patience is much appreciated.

Farewell

It is with sadness that we will be saying farewell to Jane Taylor our Home School Link Worker. Jane has supported children and families for 15 years as part of our Warren Park family and she will be very greatly missed. I am sure that you will join me in sending her our very best wishes for the future. Miss Danielle Read will be taking over the role of supporting good attendance and our Inclusion team will continue to support families with any Early Help referrals. Please contact Mrs Lofting in the first with any queries.

Cleaner Vacancy

We have a vacancy to join our cleaning team. This involves 2 hours a day between 4 – 6pm during term time with 2 additional weeks during the summer holiday. If you are interested in this post then please contact the school office.

Water bottles

Please make sure that your child brings in a water bottle to school every day. It is really important that the children remain well hydrated. We are happy for them to refill their bottles if needed but we are not able to provide water bottles for the children.

Dates

On Friday March 17^th we will be supporting the Red Nose Day appeal by wearing anything red. Donations to support this charity will be collected in class and at the school office.

We will be having an Infant (4pm – 5pm) and Junior (5.15pm – 6.30pm) school disco on Thursday 23^rd March. Further information will follow shortly.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

The children have made a fabulous start to 2023, settling back into school routines and their learning superbly.

Parents’ Evening

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the Parents’ Evening sessions next Tuesday and Thursday. These are very important meetings as this is an opportunity for us to share your child’s achievements so far and how we can work together to ensure that they get the very best out of all of the opportunities that lie ahead this year. If you haven’t already made an appointment, I would urge you to do so by logging on to: www.parents-booking.co.uk/warrenpark

You can access the letter previously sent with all of the details about how to make an appointment on the school website or call the school office and they will be more than happy to help you book an appointment.

Join our Governing Body

Our Governing Body will be sending out an advertisement for a new parent governor. It is a fantastic way to get involved in the life of the school and to make a difference for our wonderful children and amazing staff team. If you are interested, please look out for the advert and come and have a chat with some of our existing governors at the Parents’ Evening. They will be happy to talk about the role and answer any questions that you may have. Please don’t let child care be a barrier as we will provide a free Kids Club place for attendance at governing body meetings.

Speech and Language

The way that we will be working with our Speech and Language Therapist, Sarah James, will be changing. In future she will be coming to work with us on a half termly basis to assess children and recommend programmes that our team will implement. We will continue to provide high quality support and intervention for any children with speech and language needs.

Industrial Action by the National Education Union (NEU)

The National Education Union have voted to take strike action on the following days:

Wednesday 1^st February

Thursday 2^nd March

Wednesday 15^th March and Thursday 16^th March.

It is likely that some or all classes will be closed on these days. We would advise that you make plans for these days and we will confirm school arrangements as soon as we are able to do so in an additional letter.

Art Competition

Very well done to everyone who entered the Art competition. The quality of the entries was incredibly high and the judges had the almost impossible task of choosing the winners. We hope that their prizes will inspire them to follow their artistic talent and enjoy becoming artists!

Attendance

The government introduced new attendance guidance for schools for this academic year to ensure that children are in school as much as possible following the pandemic disruption. We were delighted to be able to give out our gold, silver and bronze certificates to all of those children who have had fantastic attendance during the autumn term, many with 100%, which is brilliant! We have many rewards in school which are given out weekly for individual and whole class attendance as well as for the least lateness. Thank you so much for supporting us with attendance and punctuality because there is a very strong link between both academic success and happiness when at school for those who demonstrate high attendance and good punctuality.

We analyse individual attendance regularly and the government require us to put in place supportive measures for any child who has poor attendance. Our Home School Link Worker, Mrs Taylor, or your child’s teachers will get in contact if your child’s attendance falls below an acceptable level to find out how we can help. We want to help in any way that we can in order that any formal legal action can be avoided. By working together, we want to make sure that your child has the very best education possible during their time at Warren Park.

Ventilation in classrooms

I would like to reassure parents that we follow DfE advice regarding good ventilation in schools. This is managed very carefully during cold weather to ensure that classrooms remain warm and comfortable for the children to work in. During the pandemic the DfE issued all schools with CO2 monitors. This simply measures the CO2 that we all breathe into the air. It helps to signal if some fresh air through open windows may be needed and schools are expected to take a common sense approach to this. During cold spells this may mean that teachers open the windows to allow fresh air into the classrooms during break and lunch times. The guidance was originally issued to prevent Covid from spreading within the atmosphere. There is no issue or additional risk at school with ventilation and our approach is no different than it has been for a number of years.

Clubs

Please remember to look at our clubs list on the school website and sign your child up via the magic booking system. If you have any problems with this, please call the school office and they will be happy to help.

On the parents’ evenings, as well as being able to talk to governors, Mrs Lofting and I will be available in the main reception area if you have any queries or just fancy coming to say hello and have a cup of tea. We look forward to seeing you next week.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper