World Book Day – Stories that Add Up

On Thursday 5th March, the children at Newdale will be celebrating World Book Day, alongside NSPCC Number Day.

Children will enjoy a range of fun activities that combine the magic of stories with the power of numbers. They can:

  • Take part in maths-themed reading challenges
  • Solve story-based puzzles and problems
  • Explore books that bring maths to life

Dress-Up Theme:
Children are welcome to dress as their favourite book character or get creative with a maths-inspired costume (numbers, shapes, patterns – let their imagination run wild).

Please ensure costumes are comfortable and suitable for school activities.

We look forward to a day full of reading, counting, and creativity! Thank you for your support in making this event a success.

 

 

Snow day fun activities

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Snowy days are perfect for magical play and exploration! Try these exciting activities with your children.

☃️ Build a mini snowman or snow family
🖐️ Make hand and footprint patterns in the snow
🎨 Paint the snow using food colouring and spray bottles
🛷 Pull toys through the snow or enjoy gentle sled pulls
❄️ Collect snow in bowls and explore melting indoors
📸 Take snowy pictures and talk about what you can see and feel

Let us know about your snow day off school and nursery!
We’d love to hear what fun your little ones got up to—comment below or share a photo ❄️💙 you can also use your evidence me app to share your snow day adventures to your child’s key workers. We would love to see them and then share with the groups on their return next week.

Stay safe and enjoy the snow! How exciting !

Learning Support Workshop for Parents/Carers

On Thursday 29th January, we are delighted to welcome our LSAT (Learning Support Advisory Teacher) into school to deliver a neurodiversity workshop.

This will take place from 3.25pm – 4.25pm at Newdale.  Parents should wait outside the main office doors on arrival. If you are struggling for childcare, please inform the school office.

The workshop will cover the following areas:

Understanding ADHD

How ADHD affects brain function and development

Strengths of having ADHD

Techniques for managing inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

Sensory differences

How to adjust your communication skills to support young people with ADHD

Any questions that parents may have

Please confirm your attendance via Parent Pay so we have an idea of numbers prior to the event. The event is free to attend.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Communication – Arbor

From next week our main communication to parents/carers will be through Arbor using the app instant message which will be similar to the previous text message service. Our website and Facebook page will continue to be used as additional forms of communication alongside Arbor.

 Please ensure you have set up your account by next week in order to receive communication from school.

If you are experiencing any issues with setting up your account, please get in touch with the school office and we shall do our best to help.

 

Parking Concerns

Dear Parents and Carers,

As many of you know, our school is located in the centre of a busy and continually expanding residential area. This makes access and parking at drop-off and pick-up times particularly challenging, and we already struggle to accommodate all staff vehicles on site.

We continue to receive concerns from local residents regarding parking and access around the school. While we fully appreciate that the location is not ideal and that there is no simple solution, it is important that we maintain positive relationships with our neighbours. We have advised residents to contact the police if they experience ongoing verbal abuse or repeated illegal parking.

We kindly ask for your support in helping us reduce these issues. Please take extra care when choosing where to park and consider alternatives such as parking slightly further away, car sharing, or encouraging children to walk or cycle where possible.

We will also continue to contact our PCSO team to request additional support during busy periods.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding with this ongoing challenge.

Miss Cook

Headteacher

 

Share Aware Week

Dear Parents/Carers,

A key aspect of our curriculum at Newdale is to educate children about how to stay safe. One of the many ways in which we do this is through themed weeks. Last term, we delivered our Expect Respect Week, where we worked sensitively with children, looking at the importance of healthy, non-violent relationships.

This half term, we will be delivering our Share Aware Week during the week beginning Monday 12th January 2026. Over the week, we will be looking specifically at the importance of consent, sharing our worries and other safeguarding issues around sharing information online using materials provided by the NSPCC.

Lessons will be taught in an age-appropriate way. A common theme throughout each year group is centred around ‘consent’ and the PANTs rule.  Higher up in the school, children’s basic understanding of consent will then be developed through learning about cyberbullying, modern-day slavery, peer pressure, healthy and unhealthy boundaries, child criminal exploitation and grooming.

Please see below for the theme for each year group. Please feel assured that the sessions are very much age-appropriate for your child.

Year Group Theme
Nursery Consent: personal space

Songs: Emotions e.g. If you’re happy and you know it

Reception Consent: personal space

Sharing of emotions/discussing what to do if you are feeling worried

Year 1 Consent: My body is mine (PANTS Power -NSPCC Resources)

E-safety- what to do if you are worried about something you see online

Year 2 Consent: safe and unsafe secrets and surprises  (PANTS Power-NSPCC Resources)

E-safety –  what to do if you are worried about something you see online

Year 3 Consent: is it okay? (Different types of touch- NSPCC Resources)

E-safety- information sharing

Year 4 Consent: My body, my choices  (Different types of touch- NSPCC Resources)

Modern Day Slavery (Mo Farah)

E-safety- online gaming safety

Year 5 Consent: Your body is your own

Peer Pressure

Grooming

Year 6 Consent: My body is mine (UNICEF’s child rights)

E-safety- Grooming

Child Criminal Exploitation including County Lines

Healthy and unhealthy boundaries

Please click on this link to see an example of just one of the areas we address during Share Aware Week and within our daily curriculum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqqnxQzz17c

We know the value of preventative work and the real importance that early conversations can have on children and young people’s lives. We are committed to keeping our children at Newdale safe and believe that our curriculum offer helps to safeguard children from the onset. This themed week is just one of the many ways we regularly teach children about keeping safe.

If you need more information, or are suffering from the effects of any of the safeguarding issues mentioned, please contact the school or visit the NSPCC website for further support and guidance.

Yours sincerely,

Miss R Cook