Thank you to the many of you who have recently attended our year group parent events. We hope that you enjoyed seeing how well your children have settled into their new year groups and had a chance to meet the teaching teams.

Online Safety Workshops

We are absolutely delighted to be working with Lee Haywood, an online safety expert, once again this year. Lee has a wealth of up to date knowledge and expertise that he will be able to share in sessions with our junior children as well as with parents through workshops.

The COSMIC team have sent further information regarding these workshops: Thursday 10^th October Lee will work with year 6 children

Friday 11^th October Lee will work with year 4 children

Friday 11^th October at 2pm will be the first workshop for parents Friday 11^th October at 3.20pm will be the second workshop for parents Tuesday 15^th October Lee will work with year 3 and year 5 children

The workshop will provide valuable insights into keeping your children safe online so please do complete the slip attached to the letter from COSMIC and join us on Friday afternoon. Mr Jones will be available to look after any Warren Park children during the 3.20 – 4.20pm session so that parents can attend.

Parent Focus Group

The next Parent Focus Group will take place on Friday 11^th October at 1.15 – 2pm. Miss Tester and Mr Jones, from our COSMIC team, will be joining us to share information about their curriculum. There is also an opportunity to ask questions and to suggest topics for future meetings that you would like to find out more about. Please note the amended time to enable parents to attend the online safety workshop as well as our Focus Group. We look forward to seeing you over a tea or coffee.

Warren Park Parents, Friends and Teachers Association (PFTA)

We hope that you have seen the posters from our wonderful PFTA. They are holding their first AGM on Tuesday 15^th October at 2pm in school. They will be voting for a Chair Person, Treasurer and Secretary so that they can begin to plan some fantastic events for our children and community. Please do come along even if you don’t want to be part of the committee as the group are keen to hear your ideas and if you are able to help out in any way at all. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and make a difference to your child’s school experience.

Home / School Communication

Following the letter on Friday from our Governing Body, I would like to reiterate the importance of positive home / school communication. We are so lucky at Warren Park to have such a talented and committed staff team who are dedicated to ensuring that your children have the best school experience. If you ever have questions or concerns please do raise these with your

child’s class teacher, Year Leader, Mrs Lofting or myself and we will do our very best to help you and your child. While Facebook can be a helpful platform for sharing information, it is not a good way of resolving any concerns you may have for your children, especially if the school has not been informed about your worries. The partnership between home and school is a very important one which supports your child to get the most from their education whether this is through academic learning, friendships or being part of a community. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have a question or query.

Academic Pupil Achievement

Later this term, pupil performance data will be published by the Department for Education. We are really proud of our children’s outcomes by the end of their 7 year journey with us. We remain well above the national average in all of the key areas of reading, writing, maths as well as with the phonics check in Year 1 and the multiplication check in Year 4. The details of these results will be available on our website shortly.

Attendance

We would like to say a really big thank you for supporting us with attendance. This year has seen a significant improvement on the same time last year. This has enabled your children to settle in really well, reconnect with their friends and be successful in their learning. Please do make contact if you have any worries about your child’s attendance or punctuality.

Parents’ Evenings

Wednesday 6^th and Wednesday 13^th November will be our first Parents’ Evenings. This will be an opportunity to reflect on how your child is settling into their new year group, share their progress so far this year and discuss any areas that home and school can support them with during the rest of this academic year. Further information to follow.

Reception School Places 2025

We are currently showing round any parents who would like to visit our school with a view to children starting in September 2025. Applications need to be completed by January 15^th 2025. As has been reported in the media, this cohort is a low birth year nationally and so we will have places available for children wishing to join Warren Park.

Inset days 2024 / 25

Just a reminder that Friday 29^th November 2024, Monday 21^st July and Tuesday 22^nd July 2025 are inset days and school will be closed for the children.

We look forward to seeing you at one of the forthcoming events.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

We hope you enjoyed the summer break and are delighted to welcome you back to an exciting new school year. Our Reception children have joined us for their first day today which has been fantastic and so wonderful to see so many smiling faces. Thank you for making sure that the children have returned looking incredibly smart in their school uniform. We look forward to seeing you in school this year and have some exciting ways that you can become really involved in the life of the school and your child’s journey through Warren Park.

Welcome Back Year Group Parent Invitation

Each year group will be sending parent/carers an invitation to visit their child’s new year group. We hope that this will give you an early opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and see the children in action at school. The dates for each year group are below and there will be a further opportunity to talk to the teachers at the Parents’ Evening appointments in November.

Parent Focus Group and PFTA

I would like to thank all of the parents who have been involved in getting our Warren Park Parents, Friends and Teachers Association up and running. Please see the message from Rachael and Emma below and please do come along to the AGM. The more parents that are involved, the more events we can plan for our children which is very exciting.

Please do also sign up for the Asda Cashpot for Schools as this could really help us to raise funds for the PFTA’s first project!

The first Parent Focus Group will take place on Friday 11^th October at 2pm. This is an open forum to ask questions and find out more about the school. Miss Tester, Leader of the COSMIC team, will be joining us to share information about her curriculum. We look forward to seeing you over a tea or coffee.

Warren Park Parents, Friends and Teachers Association (PFTA)

Hi, we’re Rachael and Emma and we’re both parents of children in Year 3 and Year R. We have been part of a ‘steering group’ to help set up the school’s first PFTA. 

 We are hoping to get our PFTA up and running this year and start fundraising to support the school. At the moment Asda are running a ‘Cashpot for Schools’ initiative and Warren Park currently have £156.03 in our cashpot since it started last week. This initiative runs until 30th Nov and a small % of your total spend gets added every time you shop. 

However, we can only access this cashpot if we have a PTA who are registered with Parentkind (PTA support). Luckily, we are already registered with Parentkind so we are half way there. 

On Tuesday 15th October 2-3pm at the school we will be holding our very first AGM to vote in committee members so we can access the funds. This is an open event for everyone regardless of whether you want to formally join the committee or not. We need as many people there as possible to help us vote in committee members. 

 We have lots of great ideas to help raise funds to benefit our children, however we realise we need to take things slowly at the beginning and really need your support to help our PFTA grow. 

 We really hope to see as many of you as possible on Tuesday 15th October, we’ll bring tea and biscuits!

We are very much looking forward to working in partnership with you again this academic year to make sure that your children have the very best possible educational journey that we can provide. Please remember that Mrs Lofting and I are available if you have any queries or questions.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

With the sun finally shining, we are looking forward to sharing a really exciting end to the school year with you and your children.

Hot weather

We are expecting some more hot and sunny days before the end of term so please do make sure that your child is well covered with sun block before coming into school. Adults in school will remind children about using sun block but cannot take responsibility for applying it. Please also ensure that your child has a water bottle with them every day.

Parent Focus Group

Thank you to the parents who attended our last Parent Focus Group. They have been doing some amazing work behind the scenes to begin setting up a Friends of Warren Park (FoWP) which was a key part of the discussion at the meeting. The group also talked about topics for discussion at future meetings and suggested areas where they would like to find out more about how school systems work such as the reward systems that we run in school. We have agreed that we will trial having half termly meetings with the first being held in the afternoon at 2pm and the following meeting being held at 5pm to enable working parents to attend. Our next meeting will take place on Monday 8^th July at 5pm. We will review progress towards the launch of FoWP and our school Facebook page as well as provide information about the reward systems that we use in school. If you would like to become more involved in school life at Warren Park we would love to see you. Our parent governors will also be there so please do come along and join us for tea, coffee and discussion.

Open afternoon drop in / Reports

On Wednesday 10^th July you are invited 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. You may also like to take the opportunity to pop in to your child’s new classroom and say hello to their new teachers. Before the end of term your child will be given their school report and we hope that you will enjoy celebrating their achievements with them.

Phonics Check / Multiplication check

Children in Year 1 have recently taken the national phonics check and we are so proud of them all. They have been working very hard in their Monster Phonics sessions which provide those first important steps to reading fluently and independently. The number of children who passed the check was well above the national average.

Year 4 children have recently taken part in the national Multiplication Check which is an online individual assessment of their times-tables knowledge. The children have been working incredibly hard both at school and home in preparation and this has truly paid off as their results were absolutely phenomenal and again well above the national average.

Disco / Summer Ball

On Thursday 4^th July the Infant disco will take place directly after school until 4.15pm. Those children who are attending will simply stay behind at the end of the day. The infant children do not need to wear school uniform on this day and can choose an outfit that is suitable for both school and the disco. The disco for children in years 3, 4 and 5 will take place between 4.30 – 5.45pm. Year 6 children will have their very special evening of dancing and celebration at their Summer Ball on Thursday 18^th July.

Beauty and the Beast

Year 6 are currently working extremely hard on their performance of Beauty and the Beast which they will perform at 7.30pm on Monday 15^th July, Tuesday 16^th July and Wednesday 17^th July. Tickets are available on Arbor at £6.00 each and are selling fast!

Sports Days

We are looking forward to seeing you at the remaining sports days. For safeguarding reasons, the school gates won’t be opened for the picnic until 12.30pm and the children will return to class at 1pm for their registers. The sports day events will commence at 1.15pm.

Sports Team Carousel

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their PE kit on Friday 12^th July as they will be participating within their monkey team on a range of team sports challenges. If they can wear something in their team colour that would be fantastic and add to the atmosphere of the event.

Welcome

In September we will be welcoming two new teachers, Mrs Hannah Dinnis and Mrs Erin McEvoy-Sykes, to the Warren Park Family. They are both joining us from other schools where they have gained significant experience and will be visiting to meet their new classes before the end of term.

Non-uniform day

The last day of term (Friday 19^th July) will be a non-uniform day and the children can choose what they would like to wear to school. Please make sure that tee-shirts cover shoulders and that your child is wearing appropriate footwear.

Inset days 2024 / 25

The new school year will begin on Wednesday 4^th September for the children as Monday 2^nd and Tuesday 3^rd September will be Inset days.

New Reception children will begin school full time Wednesday 11^th September.

Friday 29^th November 2024, Monday 21^st July and Tuesday 22^nd July 2025 will also be inset days and school will be closed for the children.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

I do hope that you had an enjoyable Easter break and we are looking forward to the summer term and the children being able to make the most of our beautiful field and grounds. As the summer term is always so busy, I have included quite a few important dates in this letter which will hopefully help you to plan ahead.

Congratulations

Last term Miss Cornish, Art leader, submitted a number of entries to Portsmouth Football Club for the front cover of The Pompey Chimes match day programme. Amelia Payne’s entry was chosen and during the Easter holiday her picture was on the front cover and what a time for this to happen, just before the team became champions! Well done Amelia and well done Pompey!!

Parent Focus Group

Just a reminder that if you would like to become more involved in school life at Warren Park we would love to see you at our Parent Focus meeting on Thursday 25th April at 2pm in the school hall. Our parent governors will also be there and we are keen to hear your thoughts on how we can best launch and use our own school Facebook page as well as consider starting a parent led ‘Friends of Warren Park Association’ (PTA). Please come along and join us for tea, coffee and discussion.

Local Community

Local residents have shared their concerns regarding cars speeding within the local community. Please can you help us to ensure that the local area is as safe as possible for our children and families by driving safely and promoting this with family and friends.

Holidays in term time

The government continue to prioritise the importance of school attendance and following the information that we sent out last term to reinforce this, I just want to remind anyone considering booking a holiday(s) in term time of 5 days or more, that on the first occasion the legal intervention team at Hampshire may process a Fixed Penalty Notice. Any subsequent holiday/unauthorised absence may not be put forward for a fixed penalty notice but referred directly to an attendance legal panel who may decide to prosecute.

Updates

We will be saying a sad farewell to Miss Marsh at the end of April as she moves on to a new school. I am sure you will join me in thanking Miss Marsh and wishing her every success for the future. Congratulations to Mrs Banbury who has joined the Year R team as Year Leader and Snapdragons class teacher.

Open afternoon drop in / Reports

On Wednesday 10th July you are invited 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. Before the end of term your child will be given their school report for you to read. We hope that you will enjoy celebrating their achievements with them.

Sports Days

We have included sports day information on the dates list and we will once again invite you to bring along a picnic to share with your child prior to their races. Further information will follow. In the event of poor weather, we will be able to reschedule the sports day but unfortunately not the picnic.

Dates

Please keep a regular check on the school website for dates as year groups will continue to add the exciting things that they have planned for this term.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

As we approach the end of another busy and exciting term, we are looking forward to the lighter days, warmer weather and hopefully a chance for the children to begin playing on the school field.

Farewell

At the end of this term we say a sad farewell to Mrs Pilgrim, who has been an integral part of our school community for the past 28 years. Her dedication and support to the staff, children and families at Warren Park have been nothing short of exceptional. I am sure you will join me in expressing our deepest gratitude and warmest wishes to Mrs Pilgrim as she embarks on an exciting new chapter in her life.

We would like to congratulate Mrs Banbury who has been appointed as the new Year R Leader from after Easter. Parents of children in classes where there is staff change have been sent a more detailed letter explaining the process of transition.

Vocal Ambassadors

Last week our Vocal Ambassadors represented Warren Park at the Hampshire Music Service ‘Choir Spectacular’ at the Anvil Arts Centre in Basingstoke. There were a number of choirs performing and our Vocal Ambassadors joined with those from other schools to perform in front of a packed audience. It was an amazing evening and a very joyous celebration of song. We were very proud of our Vocal Ambassadors and they shared their experience with the rest of the school in assembly this week.

Red Nose Day

On Friday 15^th March, we will be supporting Red Nose Day. Children are invited to come to school in non-uniform, wearing something red, and to bring in a donation for this fantastic charity. We are also selling red noses in the school office at £2 each. As the theme is ‘do something funny for money’ we hope the children will enter into the spirit and have lots of fun during the day.

Autism Parent Workshop

On Wednesday 27^th March at 1.30 pm, INclude will be running a parent Autism workshop at the school to raise awareness and provide support for parents. The team will be available to offer advice, answer questions and provide information. There is no need to book in advance so please do just come along.

Parent Focus Group

We will be hosting a parent focus group meeting open to all parents and carers on Thursday 25^th April at 2pm. This will be an opportunity for us to seek your views on areas that we are currently developing as well as a chance for you to ask any questions over a cup of tea or coffee. A strong home school partnership is something that we really value and we look forward to working together to ensure that your children benefit from the very best education that we can provide. Members of the school’s governing body will also be present to share their involvement in school life and consider how we can further strengthen the relationship between home and school.

Year 5 Activity Week

We hope that our Year 5 children enjoy their up-and-coming Activity Week whether they are going on the residential trip to Avon Tyrrell in the New Forest or taking part in the exciting week of activities at school. This is a really important opportunity for the children to explore learning beyond the curriculum through a really exciting range of activities which develop their independence, resilience and capacity to work collaboratively as part of a team. We will keep our fingers crossed for fine weather and I’m sure they will have a fantastic time and create lasting memories.

Easter Raffle

Tickets for the end of term Easter Egg Raffle will go on sale from Monday 18^th March. Tickets will be £1.00 for a strip of 5 with many chocolatey delights available for the lucky winners.

Breakfast Club

Please ensure that places for Breakfast Club are booked and paid for in advance using the Arbor system. We are currently often full and may now not be able to accommodate any children who turn up without a booked place.

Inset days 2024

Monday 22^nd July and Tuesday 23^rd July will be inset days and school will be closed for the children.
Just a reminder that the spring term finishes on Thursday 28^th March and we will look forward to
welcoming the children back for the start of the summer term on Monday 15^th April.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper