As you know, it is important that children be in a fit state to learn from the very start of the day. Having a loving/supportive home, a good night’s sleep and monitored screen time are all important, but in addition to this, ensuring that children have a good breakfast either before coming to school or at our breakfast club is key. When a child feels hungry, their concentration levels are undoubtedly affected.

We have recently carried out some research and it was interesting to find that, across the school, 10% of children (which is equal to 27 children – nearly a whole class) are not having breakfast before coming to school. It was also interesting to find that 54% of all children (which equates to 207 children) say they are hungry at the start of the first lesson in the morning despite having had something to eat.

It may well be that at the time of getting up, children state that they are not hungry. It may be linked to what they are actually having for breakfast. Porridge for example is proven to ‘keep them full’ for much longer than many other breakfast options. We are hoping you can support us by encouraging them to have something to eat before they come to school. You could link it to the fact that studies prove that the feeling of hunger distracts from the ability to concentrate in lessons.

As a school, we try our very best by offering excellent breakfast club provision and by offering toast and free KS 1 fruit as an option at playtime (KS 2 children are allowed to bring in fruit from home). We are aware however, that children who do not eat breakfast or cannot wait for break-time, are telling us they are hungry and it is those children who we need to ensure are having something to eat before school.

Thank you for your support and if you are struggling with getting your child to eat before school, do please ask us to support you, we have many ideas!

Miss Cook

Thank you for all your support with the value of the month for January, which was Independence.  We had lots of positive feedback from you about how independent your child/children were at home and it was great to see so many of them carrying their own things into school! The teachers also noticed a big difference in the classroom, as many of the children showed their independent learning side!

Our value of the month for February is Caring

What is caring?

Feeling concern or interest about someone or something.

Our focus on Caring has three strands:

• Caring for ourselves, our belongings and our pets.
• Caring for the environment (indoors and outdoors) by the things we do and how we think.
• Caring about people (in our families, our friends, others who are different or less fortunate) by our actions.

Suggestions for parents to work with children at home:

1. Explore what care is and what your child thinks it is.
2. Talk about what makes a caring person.
3. Discuss how we care for members of our family.
4. Ask your child what they can do to show they care about school.
5. Make a family list- “We show we care for…….by ………..”
6. Make another list- “I find it difficult to care for………….. when…….”and then take time to discuss each item.
7. Draw pictures showing people caring for others and the environment in different ways.
8. Talk about the sort of world we would have if nobody cared.
9. Identify all the different people who care for us and talk about how they show their feelings.
10. Discuss feelings– How do you feel when you are caring for someone or something? How do you feel when you decide you don’t really care?
11. Discuss the importance of personal hygiene e.g. brushing teeth twice a day, bathing etc.

Please let your child’s teacher know if we can celebrate any work from home, in school.

Feedback on the values and what you do at home is really valuable to us and we really appreciate all your support.

If you can support us in any way, please get in touch via the school office.

At the Bike Hub in the Telford Town Park children can learn to ride in February half term. These courses are very popular and aimed at 3 years and above.

You can book on-line here at www.telford.gov.uk/cyclingactivities”

As a Governing Body, we would like to thank all of the parents that took the time to complete a survey last term.   This year the survey could be accessed online or a paper copy could have been completed.  In total, 105 surveys were completed, 88 online and 17 paper surveys.  The results from both have been combined to create the following report, outlining the main findings and actions.  On Monday 7^th January 2019, all teachers and the senior management team spent a lot of time discussing findings from the surveys, including comments made by parents. The teaching team then came up with actions that will be addressed over the year.

Please click on the link below to view the full letter.

parent survey feedback Dec 2018

Thank you for all your support with the value of the month for December, which was Peace.  We hope you had a peaceful break and that everyone is now looking forward to a new start in 2018.

Our value of the month for January is Independence

The freedom to exercise our own personal abilities is independence.

Why is independence important?

Children are born totally dependent on adults to provide their needs, but their ultimate survival depends on their learning to be self-sufficient and independent. A healthy individual is independent yet respects the interdependence human kind needs for survival.

Suggestions for parents to work with children at home:

Help children to be self-sufficient as soon as possible. Teach them to brush their own teeth, put on their shoes, pour their own drinks, select clothes and dress themselves. Children are completely dependent at birth. Holding on to their dependent behaviours can become habit-forming for parents. We get so used to taking care of every need that we forget to turn some of that responsibility over to children. It’s also often easier to do it yourself than to suffer through the tedious chore of letting them do it themselves!

Praise children’s independence. When they put on their shoes and socks, compliment their efforts. When they button their shirt for themselves, let them know how pleased and proud you are. This way you’ll reinforce and encourage independent behaviours, and you’ll give your children much-needed acceptance and attention.

Look at your child’s Baby Book together, and point out how they have grown more and more independent. Talk about first rolling over, first smiles, first steps and so on. Make a growth chart for your child and use it to show new accomplishments and independent behaviours as well as height.

Help your children find their unique talents and encourage them to develop them. One child may play the violin, another might be good at gymnastics. One might be a natural artist; another might be good at skipping or riding a bike.

Talk with your child about being independent and what it means. Get them to name some things they can do all by themselves. How does being able to do things yourself make you feel?

Get them to name some things they want to be able to do all by themselves. How will they learn to do these things?

With your children, sing ‘This is the way I brush my teeth’. Sing the song again, each time substituting a new skill-’This is the way I comb my hair’, ‘This is the way I dress myself’ etc. Ask the children to suggest additional verses. Talk about how much they have already learnt to do for themselves and how independent they are becoming.

Provide opportunities for problem-solving and making choices. Encourage your child to choose as often as possible- which clothes they want to wear, which filling they want in their sandwiches, which activity they want to do next. If problems occur, such as spillages, invite them to think of solutions.

Let your child do as much for themselves as possible. Let them take on responsibility for the things they need in school during the day -their PE kit, swimming kit, homework folder, reading book etc.

Invite your child to celebrate their individuality and interdependence with a jigsaw-type mural. Cut a large sheet of paper into puzzle pieces – have one for each member of your family. Encourage each person to draw themselves or something about them on their piece of the puzzle. When everyone is satisfied, put the pieces together to make a family picture.

Please let your child’s teacher know if we can celebrate any work from home, in school. If you can support us in any way, please get in touch via the school office.