The Finance and Personnel Governors met on 9th February. They listened to a data update from the assessment lead and then focused in particular on Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) eligible pupil data. They were reassured that PPG children have a strong focus this year through targeted interventions and pastoral support.

The Governors examined this year’s budget closely, along with the year‑end predictions for next year. They discussed the ongoing pressures created by the high number of pupils with complex needs and the impact this continues to have on the budget.

They also reviewed the proposed staffing structure for next year and were satisfied that it reflects what the school can afford while remaining aligned with the needs of the school.

The Health and Safeguarding governors met last week and spent a lot of time looking at the important topic of E safety. They received an update from our E safety lead which included hearing about our filtering and monitoring systems, our E Safety risk assessment and AI usage. They then went onto to interview a group of Year 6 pupils. They were impressed with the knowledge these children had in how to stay safe online.

The Governors also looked at our first aid procedures and checked our staff Single Central Record (SCR). They concluded the meeting by feeding back from their previous parent voice session linked to safeguarding. They plan to repeat this session in order to gain more feedback.

Newdale has been part of Easy fundraising since September and has already raised an amazing £99.11—all through everyday online shopping. This is a fantastic start, but with more families involved, we can boost this total even further.

Did you know that every time you shop online—whether it’s your weekly groceries or your next holiday—you could be generating free donations for Newdale Primary School & Nursery? Over 8,000 retailers are ready to give back, including eBay, Argos, John Lewis & Partners, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and every penny makes a difference.

🛒 How it works

1. Click this link: Support Newdale Primary on Easyfundraising
2. Create your account (it only takes a minute).
3. Start your online shopping through Easyfundraising and choose from thousands of retailers such as Tesco, M&S, John Lewis, Amazon, eBay, Argos and many more.
4. Each time you shop, the retailer sends a free donation to Newdale Primary School.

It really is that simple—no catch, no extra cost.

📈 Why join?

• Help fund school trips, visits and valuable resources.

• Turn your usual online shopping into meaningful support.

• The more people who sign up, the more our school benefits.

👉 Sign up today and support Newdale: Click here to join Easyfundraising

Together, we can raise vital funds for our children’s learning and experiences—just by doing the shopping we already do.

Dog fouling continues to be an issue in parts of our local area, and we are working closely with the Parish Council to help keep our community clean and safe for everyone.

To support this, free dog waste bags are now available for parents/ carers to collect from the school office. By making bags more accessible, we hope to reach a wider area of the Parish and encourage responsible dog ownership.

Thank you for helping us keep our paths, play areas, and walkways pleasant for all in our community.

Following our announcement on Friday 19th December about the Arbor App, we’re pleased to let you know that log-in details have now been emailed to parents/carers this afternoon.

We’re excited to be launching the Arbor Parent App on Monday 5^th January.

The app is designed to make communication between school and home easier and more effective.

What can you do with Arbor?

Receive instant in-app messages, replacing our current text and email system

Update your contact details to allow school to always have the most up-to-date information

View your child’s attendance percentage, allow parents to keep track of attendance at a glance

Coming Soon!

As everyone becomes familiar with Arbor, we’ll be adding even more features, including:

Parents’ Evening booking

Getting Started
All parents will receive an email with their login details and a link to get started on Monday 5th January 2026.

On Wednesday, our Finance & Personnel Governors met in school. A key focus of their discussion was the Pupil Premium Strategy, which will be shared on our website very soon.

The Governors spent time looking at how our leaders and staff teams are working to support our most vulnerable learners. Like many schools across the country, we are seeing a growing number of children with SEND needs. This naturally means we must ensure we have the right expertise and enough staff capacity to meet those needs.

The Governors reviewed both current and future staffing requirements across the school and nursery and considered how this affects the way finances are allocated. They were reassured that staffing is being directed to where it is most needed, and that our inclusive school continues to provide a strong offer for all children.