We are looking forward to the remaining exciting events in the school calendar and I have also included some important dates for next year in this letter.

Sports Days

We are keeping a careful eye on the weather for our infant sports day tomorrow. If the weather holds, we hope that you will bring a picnic along and join the infant children for lunch on the field at 12.30pm. Please make sure that you check the text messaging service regularly as we may need to postpone if it rains or if the track remains slippery following rain. In this event, the infant sports day will take place on the reserve date of the morning of Thursday 20^th July.

Reports

Children in all year groups, except for Year 6, will be bringing home their annual Reports today 13^th July. Year 6 children will be given their reports on Tuesday 18^th July once their SATs results have been included. We do hope that you enjoy reading your child’s report and celebrating their achievements.

Sports Team Carousel

Please ensure that your child comes to school in their PE kit on Tuesday 18^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.

Team colours are:

Charity non-uniform day

One of our Year 2 children is currently fundraising for The Little Princess Trust. This charity aims to ‘give hair and hope to children with cancer’. The organisation is also one of the largest charity funders of childhood cancer research in the UK. He is intending to donate his own hair to the charity as part of his fundraising so that they can provide wigs for children who need them.   The last day of term (Friday 21^st 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. We will be collecting donations on this day to put towards his fantastic fundraising effort so any donations will be very gratefully received.

Inset days 2023/24

The new school year will begin on Tuesday 5^th September for the children as Friday 1^st and Monday 4^th September will be Inset days.

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

Friday 24^th November 2023, Monday 22^nd July 2024 and Tuesday 23^rd July 2024 will also be inset days and school will be closed for the children.

Parents’ Evenings

Tuesday 3^rd October and Thursday 5^th October will be Parents’ Evenings. This will be an opportunity for you to meet your child’s new teacher, discuss how they are settling into their new year group and discuss the areas that home and school can support them with during the forthcoming academic year.

We do hope to see you at our events before the end of term. On behalf of everyone at Warren Park, I would like to say thank you for the support that you have given the school this year. We really value working in partnership with you to make sure that your child’s journey through Warren Park is the very best it can be. We hope that you have a wonderful summer break and we look forward to seeing you again on Tuesday 5^th September.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

We are set to have a very busy and exciting end to the school year. We do hope to see you at some of our events.

Photo Day

The school photographer will be visiting on Thursday 22^nd June for individual, sibling and class photos. Please ensure that you have returned the letter to the school office with your permission to have the photographs taken. Sibling photos will only be taken where it has been requested so please do ensure that you have sent the consent letter if you would like this to happen.

Open afternoon drop in / Reports

On Wednesday 28^th June 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.

Industrial action / Infant sports day

The National Education Union has voted to take further industrial action on Wednesday 5^th July and Friday 7^th July. 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.

To ensure that this does not have an impact our Infant Sports Day, we are changing the date from Friday 7^th July to the afternoon of Friday 14^th July. This will still include a picnic between 12.30 – 1pm with the races beginning at 1.15pm.

Multiply maths events

We have recently had the first of our Multiply events which was well attended by our KS2 families. 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. If you would like to book a place on the remaining events please do so through our Arbor system.

Scooters and bikes

It has been lovely to see so many children riding and scooting to school in this fine and dry weather. Please make sure that scooters and bikes are walked on and off the site at the beginning and end of the school day. We have recently had an injury caused by a collision at this busy time so please do support us in keeping everyone safe and reminding the children about this important rule.

Electric scooters are not permitted on the school site. Anyone dropping off or picking up children with an electric scooter must remain outside of the school gates.

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.

Farewell

It is the time of year where we say some sad farewells to valued members of our Warren Park family as they move on to new adventures. This year we are saying farewell to some longstanding members of the team. Anna Evans and Nannette Froggatt are both retiring after many years of dedicated service to our school community. Mrs Evans has supported Warren Park staff and families for more than three decades as our School Business Manager and during this time she has got to know so many of you well and in many cases watching children grow and become parents themselves. Mrs Froggatt has been a Learning Support Assistant for 16 years and supported so many children to succeed and thrive within her time at Warren Park. We will also be saying a sad farewell to Donna Carter who has supported Warren Park children and families as a Learning Support Assistant over the last 25 years and most recently, enabling our Reception children to settle, flourish and achieve as they begin school life. It is difficult to capture in words the contribution that these amazing colleagues have made to the lives of your children and our school community – they will be very greatly missed.

I would also like to say an enormous thank you and wish the very best of luck to those colleagues who are embarking on new adventures at the end of this term.

Disco / Summer Ball

We will be having an end of year disco on Tuesday 4^th July. The Infant disco will take place directly after school until 4.30pm. 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 4.45 – 6pm. Year 6 children will have their very special evening of dancing and celebration at their Summer Ball on Monday 17^th July. Further details about these events will follow in an additional letter.

Non-uniform day

The last day of term (Friday 21^st 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.

With very best wishes,

Elizabeth Cooper

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