Please keep talking to us: tell us if we have done a good job or how things could be better!

Let us know if there’s anything we can support with: if you are experiencing any worries at home, or as a family, please talk with class teachers or our Pastoral Lead, Mrs Nash.  Details of who and how to contact us are on our website:

https://colehamprimary.co.uk/home/about/find-us/

Mr Larkham (Headteacher), Miss Harris (Deputy Headteacher), Miss Othen (Business Mgr) and Miss Jones (SENDCo) are usually outside each morning or evening if you wish to speak with them about anything.

For concerns and general queries, please either email the office, or speak to a member of staff outside at drop off or collection.  Please do not use Dojo for important messages as the Dojo ‘chats’ are not routinely checked by staff and messages can be missed.

School attendance at Coleham was particularly excellent last year – almost 97% across the whole school which bucks the national trends.

Encouraging strong attendance is not about school data: we don’t praise 100% attendance as if avoiding bugs is some kind of skill, but the evidence is clear that children with higher attendance do better in the long-run and feel a greater sense of belonging in school.

If your child is unwell and unable to come into school, we trust you to make the right call.  If you are unsure or would appreciate some guidance, please get in touch with us.

Occasionally, children can become poorly during the school day.  If this were to happen, we will get in touch with you to make arrangements for them to go home.

Our Trust’s attendance policy, with specific information relevant to Coleham Primary School, can be found on our school website by clicking on the following link:

Attendance Policy

Every School Day Counts!

There are only 190 statutory school days in a year, leaving 175 days, including weekends and holidays, which are available for you to use for holidays.

If you do decide to take a leave of absence that has not been authorised by the Headteacher, this will be recorded in the register as an unauthorised absence.

The amount of time the Headteacher is at liberty to authorise in various scenarios is stated on the Request for Leave of Absence Form.  It may be that some of the absence is authorised, and some not, but each case is viewed individually.

Special Leave of Absence Form

You may print the form HERE or call into the office to collect a hard copy form.

Procedure

Parents complete a request form for leave of absence and return it to the school for authorisation at least 1 week before the requested date.

Parents are informed of the school’s decision (ideally within 5 working days) by email.

If the holiday/absence is not to be authorised, the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer (EWO) will receive a copy of this communication with the parents at the same time and may decide to explore the absence further at the next register review.

We make sure Coleham School is a lovely place to be so that children want to come to school.  Please support us in encouraging good attendance and using school holidays for family time.

Dear families,

Here we are again at the end of another school year, and I find myself reflecting on just what a special community Coleham Primary School is. Schools are, of course, about learning, but they are also about people. As I look back on this year, I am incredibly proud of the children, grateful to our families, and full of admiration for the remarkable staff who make our school such a wonderful place to be every day.

Firstly, I would like to thank our staff team. The care, commitment, patience and professionalism shown throughout the year have been exceptional. Whether teaching in classrooms; supporting children’s additional needs; preparing meals; keeping the school running smoothly behind the scenes; or helping children before and after school: every member of staff has made a difference. They give so much of themselves to ensure that children feel safe, valued and successful, and I am hugely grateful for everything they do.

I would also like to thank our parents and carers. The partnership between home and school is one of our greatest strengths. Your support, encouragement, trust and willingness to work alongside us make an enormous difference to the children’s experience. Whether helping with reading; attending events; supporting fundraising activities or simply reinforcing our values at home: your contribution is deeply appreciated.

Most importantly, I want to thank our children. They continue to impress me every single day. This year they have worked hard, shown determination when things have been challenging, demonstrated kindness towards one another and lived up to our expectations with pride. Their achievements, both inside and outside the classroom, have been a joy to celebrate.

There have been so many highlights across the year. Recent weeks alone have seen our Weather Balloon Mission successfully launched and completed, with Bernard returning safely to Earth; Year 4 enjoying pond dipping adventures at Reabrook Valley; pupils representing the school brilliantly at athletics events; our talented artists producing wonderful work through clubs and community projects; excellent assemblies for families; sports teams, school councillors, ambassadors and countless others making us proud. These moments remind us that education is about so much more than lessons – it is about experiences, opportunities and creating memories that will stay with children for years to come.

Finally, a special word for all of our leavers. Whether you are moving on to secondary school, another school, a new job or a well-earned retirement, we wish you every success and happiness for the future. To our wonderful Year 6 children: thank you for the part you have played in the life of our school and remember you will always have a place here. We are incredibly proud of you and cannot wait to see what you achieve next.

Have a safe, happy and restful summer break. Thank you for being part of such a special year at Coleham. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in September.

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Dear Families

As we reach the end of another school year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has been a truly wonderful year at Coleham.

This week, we received our SATs results and I could not be more proud of our Year 6 children. The outcomes are excellent and are a reflection of so much more than a set of tests. They represent years of hard work, determination and resilience from the children themselves, alongside the dedication of their teachers and every adult who has supported them along the way. From teachers and teaching-assistants; intervention staff to office staff, lunchtime supervisors and everyone in between: success like this is always a team effort. Most importantly, it belongs to the children. They worked incredibly hard and thoroughly deserve every bit of success that has come their way.  Precise details of the data will be on the website as soon as possible.

Reports also came home this week and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading them. One of my favourite jobs at this time of year is reading every single report before they are sent out. It takes a little while, but it is always worth it. Reading about the progress children have made, the challenges they have overcome and the unique qualities they bring to school is a brilliant reminder of what a privilege it is to be part of their journey. I genuinely enjoyed reading every single one.

It has been a great year. There have been achievements in the classroom, on the sports pitches, on trips, in performances and in the countless everyday moments that make a school such a special place. None of that happens without the support of our families, so thank you. Whether it has been helping with reading, attending events, responding to messages or simply getting children through the gates each morning ready to learn, your partnership makes an enormous difference.

There are also a couple of staff members we will be saying goodbye to this summer. Mel, our cook, is leaving after providing countless wonderful meals for our children over the years. School lunches are a hugely important part of the day and Mel has played a significant role in making sure children have been well fed and looked after. We thank her for everything she has done and wish her all the very best for the future.

We will also be saying farewell to Mrs Field, who is leaving us to take up a College Lecturer position. This is a fantastic opportunity and a reflection of the expertise and knowledge she brings to education. We thank her for her contribution to Coleham over the last 8 years and wish her every success in her new role.

We are also delighted to share that Ms Lucas with be with us full time in September to be Year 1 Hedgehogs Class Teacher 5 days a week.  This will provide greater consistency for the children and Mrs Stennett and Ms Lucas are excited to be teaching Year 1 together.  They have lots of plans to freshen up the classrooms and transform the outside area ready for September!

Finally, it is a shame about England’s men at the World Cup. As I write this, the staff have yet to take on Year 6 in the end-of-year football and netball matches. Given recent sporting events, it would be nice if the adults could actually win something for a change! Whether we emerge victorious or not, I suspect the Year 6 children may have other ideas.

We’ve talked a lot about the year, but it’s not completely over yet: three days next week sees the final goodbyes; the House Cup and the winners of the termly Values Cups – so much to be excited about!

One final important message: Thank you for all your patience re: the road the last couple of days – it’s been stressful!  As I understand it, the roundabout at Coleham Head will be resurfaced next week, but I am assured that it won’t have an impact on school.  Let’s hope they’re right!

Have a lovely weekend!

Tom Larkham
Headteacher

Dear families,

What a week of sport!  Well done to all the children who competed in the KS2 sportsday events this Wednesday.  Special well done to Greyfriars who came away with the House Cup on both occasions!  It’s always great to see the children enjoying their sport and working together as a team to win or lose.  It was also great to see such wonderful sporting behaviour with children celebrating their friends in Greyfriars.

As well as the school Sportsdays, Coleham has emerged victorious in the Shrewsbury Area Athletics on Thursday night.  An absolutely fantastic display of sporting prowess, determination, perseverance and pushing themselves to be the best they can which the competitors can be immensely proud of.  We are so proud to have children representing their school so well, and we are incredibly lucky to have such talented sportspeople, too!  A massive thank you to Miss Lewis and her team for this week’s achievements!

We have also had our first transition afternoon this week which ran remarkably smoothly and we look forward to our full day of transition on Monday.

Don’t forget: we will be launching Bernard the Pachycephalosaurs Astronaut from the school field at 8:00 am on Saturday 4th July!  All are welcome from 7:30 am to watch what’s going on.

And finally, with any luck, we can come to school on Monday celebrating another England victory in the World Cup: we will be showing the highlights in assembly on Monday morning, so if you know the score, don’t tell anyone until we’ve watched it!

Have a super weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Welcome to June’s edition of The Coleham Reading Newsletter!

As another busy and exciting term draws to a close, I am delighted to share this month’s newsletter with you. June has been filled with wonderful reading experiences across our school, with children discovering new authors, sharing favourite books and developing their love of reading every day. In this edition, you’ll find recommended reads for all ages, exciting local reading opportunities and ideas to help keep children reading throughout the summer holidays. Thank you for your continued support in fostering a love of reading at home – together, we can help every child become a confident, enthusiastic and lifelong reader. Happy reading!

Miss Harris

Dear Families,

Welcome to another Friday (our 34th this year!) and the end of another exciting week at school.

There’s been an artistic and musical flavour to this week…

Our amazing Coleham Choir on tour both at Shropshire Sings and Shrewsbury School.  Mrs Porrett has led our wonderful children in such beautiful singing which has been incredibly well-received by audiences and enjoyed by the performing children.  We are so proud of them, and they should be proud of themselves!

As well as the choir’s performances, we had our annual Music Showcase Concert on Wednesday evening.  There were so many children performing this year: music is well and truly alive at Coleham!  The children really impressed with their talent, but also their confidence in performing.  We had piano, trumpet, drums, a rock band, violin, flute, singing and parents joining in, too – it’s always a treat and we have lot to thank Mrs Porrett for!

This is also the final week of the Belle Vue Arts Festival, and is also the week of the famous BVAF Gallery opening: Miss Heap, Miss Othen and myself attended the opening event and were so impressed with the art on show – many of it produced right here at Coleham School!  Highlights include the Coleham pieces and an incredible drawing of Sir David Attenborough by a very talented former Coleham pupil.  Classes have been visiting the gallery this week – make sure you go and take a look!

And finally, please remember that we have our very first Family Forum event for grown ups to ask us questions about anything to do with school decisions, processes or systems (see below).

Have a lovely weekend!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

As part of this term’s history curriculum work on The Tudors, we have arranged for Year 4 to visit Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery on Thursday 16^th July. The visit will include a Meet the Tudors workshop and a guided walking tour of the town.  We will be setting off from school shortly after morning registration and expect to arrive back at school around 2.30pm.

Pupils will need a packed lunch for this trip – no glass bottles or fizzy drinks please. Those pupils entitled to free school meals will be given a packed lunch – comprising a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a piece of shortbread/ flapjack and a piece of fruit – by our school meals provider before departure. If your child would prefer to bring a packed lunch from home, please let the teacher know so we can instruct the kitchen staff not to make a lunch for them.

Pupils should wear school uniform and bring with them a lightweight coat or sunhat (depending on the weather forecast for that day). As they will be doing a fair amount of walking, they will also need to wear comfortable shoes or trainers. Spending money is not required for this trip.

The total cost of the trip is £7.60 per pupil, which covers both the workshop and the guided tour.  Payment should be made via your child’s Arbor account before the date of the trip.

In case of an emergency or medical incident, please ensure that your contact details are up-to-date on Arbor prior to the trip. Thank you for your support.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Free Family Fun with the Belle Vue Arts Festival.

Walk around Belle Vue and discover the Fantasy themed scarecrows.

See Locations below!

Dear Families,

Welcome back to the final half-term of the year!  This week has been as busy as ever…  I had the absolute pleasure to join Year 6 on their residential to Pioneer for the first 3 days of this week and what an incredible experience for everyone it was!  The children had a great time; the staff had a great time and the activities were amazing.  I have NEVER been on a residential trip that ran so smoothly with children that were so resilient; so brave; so supportive of each other; so sensible and so quick to get to sleep!  No one needed speaking with about anything silly – what a brilliant three days!  They can be very proud of how they have represented themselves, their school and their families!

The Belle Vue Arts Festival is in full swing and it’s been wonderful to see our children contributing the brilliant art on the shop windows around Coleham: go and take a look!  We’ll be going to see the various exhibitions soon with all the children too.

We’ve also had some theatre trips this week to see the Enormous Crocodile; designed sandwiches with ASDA; shared lunch with our Year 2 families; and had a great afternoon in Year 1 talking about the past with family members.  Thank you to everyone who came in to share their stories with the children: being part of their learning is so important and is much appreciated.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

Welcome to May’s edition of the Coleham Reading Newsletter!

I am delighted to welcome you to our school reading newsletter, created to support and celebrate reading both in school and at home. Inside, you’ll find carefully chosen book recommendations for different ages, practical tips to help encourage your child’s love of reading, and simple ideas to make reading part of everyday family life. I am also excited to share suggested apps and digital resources that can help engage children and build confidence in reading in a fun, interactive way. I hope this newsletter inspires you to enjoy reading together and helps nurture a lifelong love of books in every child.

Dear families,