Dear Parents/Carers,

SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSED TODAY

Kind regards,

School Office

School photographers, Active Photographic, will be in school on the morning of Thursday 23^rd March to take class group photographs of our pupils. If time permits, we will ask them to take individual photographs of those children who were absent when they visited in the Autumn.

If you DO NOT want your child to have their photograph taken on the day, please click on the link below and complete an OPT OUT form:

https://forms.office.com/e/ZNjbhmVNa3

Please ensure your child comes in wearing their school sweatshirt/cardigan on the day so they look smart for the class photograph. EYFS are timetabled to do PE in the morning. They will do it in their school uniform so please have them come in in their school uniform and bring in their pumps/trainers to change in to.

Note: Your child/ren will automatically be included in their class photograph if we do not hear from you otherwise by Tuesday 21^st March.

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope that you have all had a relaxing half term break.

Thank you to those parents who have completed our Parent Survey.  We are keen to gain the views of as many of you as possible and so if you haven’t already completed the survey, please can I ask you to find time to share your views with us?  As you know, we are always looking to improve every aspect of provision here at Coleham School and we really value your views and feedback.  The survey can be anonymous, but if you have specific concerns, it would be useful to add your name so that we can address them directly with you.  Please remember that the online survey is not the appropriate place to air grievances or make personal comments: please contact me or the office if you have any serious concerns that we can address.  Please click the link below to access the survey:

PARENT SURVEY 2023

The survey will close on Friday 3rd March at 3:00pm and we will, of course, provide you with feedback regarding the outcome of the survey once we have taken time to analyse the results.

Kind regards,

Claire Jones

Headteacher

Dear Parents/Carers,

Here we are at the end of another half-term, we are also at the half-way point of the whole school year!  Lots has been happening this year so far, as Ms Jones wrote about in the letter earlier this week.

STAFFING NEWS

As we go into the half-term break, I’m delighted to be able to inform you that we have successfully appointed a new Deputy Headteacher for September when I take on the Headship on a permanent basis.  In the new academic year, will welcome Alison Turner, who is currently the Deputy Headteacher at Much Wenlock Primary School.  She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience, particularly in maths, and will be a great asset to the school.

PARENT SURVEY

As you know, we are constantly seeking to enhance every aspect of provision here at Coleham School and we really value your views and feedback, to make further improvements.  The survey can be anonymous, but if you have specific concerns, it would be useful to add your name so that we can address them directly with you.  Please remember that the online survey is not the appropriate place to air grievances or make personal comments: please contact me or the office if you have any serious concerns that we can address.  Click the link below to access the survey:

PARENT SURVEY 2023

This survey will be open for two weeks and will close on Friday 3rd March at 3:00pm.

We will also be asking the children to complete a questionnaire after half-term in order to gain their views too.  We will, of course, consider all of your views as a Leadership Team and I will write to you again with the results and details of our plans going forward.  Thank you for taking the time to fill in this questionnaire.  Your views do matter to us.

STRIKE ACTION: WEDNESDAY 1^ST MARCH

We are also able to confirm that school we be able to open as normal on Wednesday 1^st March (first Wednesday back) which is the next planned date for national strike action by NEU members.

It only remains for us to wish you a relaxing half-term break!

Yours sincerely,

Mr Larkham & Ms Jones

Dear Parents/Carers,

As we near the end of this half term, I write with some important updates and information.

Firstly, I am sad to let you all know that at the end of this term, Mr Venn will be leaving Coleham School to take up a new post at a school in Devon.  Mr Venn has taught PE for us here at Coleham for over 4 years and he has contributed so much to school life, running numerous sporting clubs, competitions and sports events.  He will be greatly missed by us all but we wish him lots of luck as he re-locates to Devon to be nearer to family.  We will, of course, be organising a sporting event to thank Mr Venn for all his hard work during his time at Coleham.  More information will follow after half term.

This half term has been a busy one.  The children enjoyed Francophone day, organised by Madame Jones, where they learnt about different French speaking countries.  They also enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year.  In addition, a number of trips have been organised by teachers, both local and further afield.  We are really keen to bring the curriculum to life through real life experiences for the children and we have even more planned for after half term, including the Year 4 residential trip to Condover and some exciting curriculum visits to Shrewsbury High School.

It was also lovely to welcome so many of you to the recent Coleham Quiz night.  Thank you to Mr Larkham, our Quiz Master.  Our recent school disco was also well attended and enjoyed by all.  We are now looking forward to the Plant and Craft Fair, which will take place in May and is part of the Belle Vue Arts Festival.  We’ll be holding a planning meeting for this after half term and warmly welcome parents and community members to come along and help with this event.  We will send more information soon.

After half term, we look forward to seeing you in school for Parents Evening.  Hopefully you have been able to book a slot with your child’s class teacher.  Please let us know if you need any support with booking your appointment.  When we return to school after the break, we are also looking forward to celebrating World Book Day and have a whole week of activities in school.  We have a storyteller visiting EYFS & KS1 and an author visiting KS2.  You are able to purchase a signed book for KS2 children on ParentPay for the author book signing if this interests your child.  Please see the separate letter from Mrs Young regarding this.  Finally, rehearsals are well underway for our school production of Jungle Book, which will be performed just before we break up for Easter.  Please look out for more information from Mrs Stennett regarding rehearsals and tickets!

Term Dates

The spring term is often a time when people look to book their annual holidays. If you are planning a trip this year, please do check our school’s website for our term dates to ensure that you are referencing the correct term dates.  We set our own term dates and so Shropshire Council’s term dates do not always correspond with ours, particularly when it comes to PD Days. Also, please be aware that we cannot authorise holidays during term.

Attendance

We are working really hard to ensure that attendance and punctuality remains high across school.  Please remember that good attendance is crucial and that most minor aliments (e.g. a cold, tiredness) can be dealt with at school.  We regularly speak to the children about the importance of punctuality and good attendance even if we are not feeling 100%.  Please can I ask you to deliver the same message at home to your children and, if in doubt, please send your child to school and be assured that if they are unwell while at school, we will call you to collect them.  Please remember that your child must arrive in good time to enter school at 8:50 am for registration and the school gates close at 8:55 am.

Uniform

Please remember to send your children into school in the correct uniform and with black school shoes (not trainers).  We are phasing out the old style red logo school jumpers and would ask you to please hand in any old jumpers so that we can swap them for new ones.  If you are having any trouble funding school uniform, please let us know; we are happy to help.

Class Assemblies

This term, a number of classes have performed their class assemblies – thank you for coming along to watch your children.  We have some more assemblies scheduled for after half term (please see below).  These assemblies are a chance for your child to share with you the work they have been doing here at school.  They will last for approximately 20 minutes and will begin at 9:10am on your allocated day.  Please head into the hall via the front door straight after drop off on your allocated day.

Finally, please remember that if you have any concerns or queries at all as the term progresses, do contact the school office.  Your child’s class teacher will usually be your first port of call but me or Mr Larkham are out on the playground most days, and are very happy to deal with any concerns you may have.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Jones

Headteacher

SPRING TERM PARENT CONSULTATIONS

Dear Parents and Carers,

Many apologies for the technical failure last week – we can now confirm that the system works and you are able to book your slot.  There is also a slight change of date, owing to the propsed NEU industrial action on Wednesday 1^st March.

Those of you who booked an appointment for Wednesday 1^st will need to rebook your slot. Those who have booked an appointment for Thursday 2^nd March will not be affected.

The two parents’ evenings will be:

• Tuesday 28^th February: 4:00 pm – 7:20 pm
• Thursday 2^nd March: 4:00 pm – 7:20 pm

To arrange your appointment, please follow the link below (which can also be found in the Parents’ Area section of our website).  Each consultation will last for 10 mins.  If you arrive a little early, you will have the opportunity to look through your children’s books while you wait for your meeting.  You are welcome to stay after the meeting to carry on looking through books if you wish.

Book an appointment here:

Click HERE to book your appointment

Where possible, we ask that you book one meeting per child.  For separated parents, we will be able to accommodate separate meetings if they are required.

Please do get in touch with the school office if you have any questions.

Kind regards,

Claire Jones

Headteacher

As you will be aware, there is planned strike action from the National Education Unioin (NEU) on Wednesday 1^st February, owing to a dispute with the DfE.

I am writing to let you know that we will be able to keep Coleham School open on the 1^st February, so please send your children in as normal.

If anything changes, we will, of course, let you know.  We will also keep you informed of the proposed strike days beyond the 1^st February when we are able.

You may be aware that The National Education Union (NEU) will be holding strike action in the near future due to a dispute with the government over pay and funding.

The NEU has announced the following dates for the potential strike action:

• Wednesday 1 February 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales
• Wednesday 1 March 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: East Midlands, West Midlands, Eastern.
• Wednesday 15/16 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.

The NEU is just one of many education unions represented at Coleham, so at this stage I do not know how this will impact classes in our school; I am writing to let you know that there may be some disruption on these dates.

Of course, I apologise for any potential disruption to your child’s education.  Please rest assured that I will write to you as soon as possible to let you know further details and if this strike action will impact any of our classes.

We are pleased to announce that Coleham School will be taking part in the Shropshire Primary Schools’ Half Marathon again this year.  This event was very popular last year with our pupils with 150 taking part ranging from Year 1 to Year 6.

This is a cumulative Half Marathon (13.1 miles) where, over the course of the Spring term, children will complete the first 12 miles of the challenge. We intend on running each of these miles on a weekly basis, during break time (any child may participate in this part at break times). The children will then complete their final 1.1 miles at the West Mid Showground on Saturday 22^nd April 2023 from 9am. Here they will get the full event experience including race bibs, a fully marshalled route, music and a start and finish line gantry. As they cross the finish line wearing their Half Marathon T-shirt they will be presented with their Half Marathon medal.

It is important to explain that this event is not a running race: it will not be chip-timed, nor will there be prizes for the “fastest” children. It is an inclusive personal challenge where, over a period of time, we hope they will develop a desire to exercise regularly, with no pressure to compete, whilst at the same time completing something as challenging as a Half Marathon – a wonderful achievement for everyone involved.

To compete in this event there is an entrance fee of £12 for each child entered and you must be able to commit to bringing your child to the event at the West Mid Showground. This event is open to all our pupils in Years 1 to 6.  If you would like your child to take part then please make the payment via Parentpay. If you require financial assistance, then please contact the school office.

The deadline for this is 12pm Thursday 2nd February as we need to give final numbers to the organising committee.

We are looking forward to being active and completing this challenge!

Many thanks,

C Lewis & M Venn

Miss Lewis and Mr Venn

PE Coordinator & Sport Coach

Dear Parents/Carers,

It was lovely to welcome the children back to school last week after the Christmas holiday.  Everyone is looking refreshed and ready for the term ahead.

We have a busy half term ahead with lots of activities planned.  On Friday, we will be hosting our first school disco since before Covid; we are really looking forward to this and hope that lots of children will be attending.  In addition, we are also organising a parents quiz night this half term (details to follow), which we hope you will support.

From a curriculum point of view, we have a number of trips planned including a Year 1 trip to Blists Hill, a Year 3 trip to Birmingham Sea Life Centre and a Year 4 trip to Engenuity as part of their Science topic.  Year 4 will also be going to Condover for a 1 night residential trip and Year 5 will be visiting the National Space Centre in Leicester as part of their Science and History work.  More details about all trips will follow in due course.

In addition, this term Mrs Stennett will be leading the School Production of Jungle Book.  Auditions for Years 5 & 6 have started this week (during lunch breaks) and the production itself will be just before Easter.  The whole school is also gearing up for our Francophone Day later this half term, organised by Madame Jones.  During our Francophone Day, the children will learn about the different countries where French is spoken.  We will also be celebrating the Chinese New Year at the beginning of February and we look forward to being able to share some images via Class Do Jo with you.

Staffing Update

This term, we have welcomed Miss Jones to teach in Whales class and we have also welcomed Mrs Mukhopadyhay to our support staff team, working across both Year 4 classes.

Attendance

We are working really hard to ensure that attendance and punctuality remains high across school.  Please remember that good attendance is crucial and that most minor aliments (e.g. a cold, tiredness) can be dealt with at school.  We regularly speak to the children about the importance of punctuality and good attendance even if we are not feeling 100%.  Please can I ask you to deliver the same message at home to your children and, if in doubt, please send your child to school and be assured that if they are unwell while at school, we will call you to collect them.  Please remember that your child must arrive in good time to enter school at 8:50 am for registration and the school gates will close at 8:55 am.  Thank you for your ongoing support.

Term Dates

The spring term is often a time when people look to book their annual holidays. If you are planning a trip this year, please do check our school’s website for our term dates to ensure that you are referencing the correct term dates: We set our own term dates and so Shropshire Council’s term dates do not always correspond with ours, particularly when it comes to PD Days. Also, please be aware that unless there are exceptional circumstances, holidays during term time cannot be authorised.

Class Assemblies

This term, we would like to invite all parents/carers into school to watch their child’s class assembly.  These assemblies will be a chance for your children to share with you the work they have been doing here at school.  They will last for approximately 20 minutes and will begin at 9:10am on your allocated day.  Please head into the hall via the front door straight after drop off on your allocated day:

We hope that you will be able to join us for these assemblies.

Finally, please remember that if you have any concerns or queries at all as the term progresses, do contact the school office.  Your child’s class teacher will usually be your first port of call but me or Mr Larkham are out on the playground most days, and are very happy to deal with any concerns you may have.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Jones

Headteacher