Y2 Nature Walk

Dear Parents/Carers,

Year 2 will be going on our Autumn Nature walk on Thursday 8th October. We would love if you could join us and support your child’s outdoor exploration. We will be going 10am – 11:30am. Please either speak to your child’s teacher, write in their diary or contact Newdale.year2team@taw.org.uk to let us know if you can make it.

Please also bear in mind that we will go whatever the weather and some paths are muddy so remember waterproofs and wellies for both you and your child.

Thanks for your continued support,

The Year 2 Team

Parent Governor

We are pleased to announce that David Shorter has been successful in renewing his role as Parent Governor following the recent process. David’s dedication and commitment to our school community have been invaluable, and we are delighted that he will continue to serve on the governing board for the next four years.

His new term of office will commence on the 20th December 2026.

🌟 Newdale Nursery Needs You! 🌟

Are you able to spare a little time each week to support our wonderful nursery children?

At Newdale Nursery, we are looking for friendly and reliable volunteers to help in our Mighty Oaks Room (3-4 year olds). Volunteering is a fantastic way to support young children, gain experience in an educational setting, and make a real difference to our nursery community.

🍎 Morning/Afternoon Snack Time Support Volunteer

Duties include:

  • Collecting fruit and vegetables from the central supply area.
  • Organising fruit into baskets and delivering them to tables.
  • Delivering cups and milk to tables.
  • Loading the dishwasher after snack time.
  • Supporting children with handwashing and safe lining up.

Times Available:

  • 9:00am – 9:30am daily
  • 1:45pm – 2:15pm daily

👩‍🍳 Cooking Support Volunteer

Duties include:

  • Supporting staff to collect cooking resources.
  • Gathering ingredients for activities.
  • Loading the dishwasher.
  • Cleaning tables after sessions.
  • Supporting children with handwashing and lining up safely.

Times Available:

  • Fridays: 9:30am – 10:30am
  • Fridays: 1:00pm – 1:45pm

Interested?

If you can give a little of your time and would like to support our nursery children, we would love to hear from you. Please complete the form below and hand into the main school office by Thursday 5th October.

Volunteer application form

Newdale school & nursery is committed to safeguarding all children, volunteer safer recruitment checks include online checks, interview, references and an enhanced DBS check.

Thank you for helping us make Newdale Nursery an amazing place to learn, play and grow! 💚

Reminder – Stay & Share a Story – Wednesday 23rd September

We are really looking forward to welcoming you to our Stay and Share a story session on Wednesday 23rd September at 2:45pm.

Please enter your child’s classroom through their usual drop-off/pick-up route:

Reception, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 – enter via the playground classroom doors

Year 1 and Miss Curtis’ class – enter via the decking area

Mr Jackson’s class – enter via the stairs by the Visitor Car Park

Playground gates will open at 2:45pm.

Due to limited space, we can only accommodate one parent/carer per child. Please confirm your attendance through ParentPay, so staff know how many parents to expect. The event will close on ParentPay at 9am on Wednesday 23rd September. 

For this event, the children will remain in their classrooms. If you have more than one child in school, you will be able to move between classrooms and spend time with each of them individually. The event is free to attend.

If Grandparents or different adults are attending and will be taking children home, please notify school of this via reading diaries. 

We look forward to seeing you, and the children are excited to share a story with you!

Newdale Team

Curriculum Governors Involvement within school

The Curriculum Governors’ Committee met on 16 September 2026 and began the meeting with a tour of the school’s central Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, led by the school SENDco. Governors recognised the importance of these spaces in supporting pupils’ individual needs and discussed opportunities to further enhance the provision. They suggested that the school explore potential partnerships with local businesses that may be willing to contribute funding towards future developments.

Governors then received an update on the school’s ongoing Stronger Foundations agenda. As part of this, leaders shared an end-of-year assessment grid, which demonstrated the progress made against the school’s stronger foundations priorities. Governors also learned about the targeted support provided for Key Stage 2 pupils who had not met the expected standard in the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, and the actions in place to close gaps in learning and improve outcomes.

The committee enjoyed meeting with six KS 2 pupils, who spoke confidently about their transition into a new year group. Pupils discussed the strong emphasis placed on relationship building and the explicit teaching of the school’s behaviour curriculum. Governors were able to clearly identify the positive impact of this work through the pupils’ comments and reflections.
Governors carefully reviewed the Annual Summary Report produced by the Independent School Improvement Partner and considered how its findings aligned with the priorities identified within this year’s School Development Plan.

Finally, governors received a comprehensive presentation from Mrs Shayes, the school’s Child in Care Lead. The committee was reassured by the depth of training, expertise and commitment demonstrated in this role, and by the robust systems in place to support children in care & previously looked after children effectively.

Reminder – Read, Write Inc Filming Consent – KS1

Dear Parents and Carers,

For over four years, Newdale Primary School has successfully embedded the Read Write Inc. phonics programme across the school. We are delighted to share that, this year, Newdale has been selected to become a Read Write Inc. filming school.

As many of you will be aware, your children receive QR codes which enable them to access additional phonics videos at home. These videos are provided by Read Write Inc. through an online platform and are designed to support children’s learning at home. There are also videos on this platform that are used for professional development for all staff to ensure that phonics provision remains consistent and of a high quality.

Throughout this academic year, selected children will have the opportunity to participate in the filming of phonics videos. These videos will form part of the Read Write Inc. online platform and may be used to support children and teachers in schools across the country.

We are particularly proud that Newdale has been recognised by the Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc. team for the high quality of our phonics teaching and provision. Being selected as a filming school is a wonderful achievement and reflects the commitment of our staff and pupils to developing strong phonics knowledge and reading skills.

The children will be bringing home a parental consent form, which provides further information about the filming project and the activities in which children may be invited to participate.

We kindly ask that you read the information carefully, complete the consent form and return it to school by Monday 21st September 2026.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us to develop our children’s reading and phonics skills.

Yours sincerely,

Newdale Team

Safeguarding, Health & Safety Governor Involvement

The Health & Safety Governors met this week and began the meeting with an escorted tour of our SEND provision rooms. Mr McFarland explained the purpose of each room and the different resources available within these learning environments.

Following the tour, governors reviewed the new Use of Reasonable Force policy, along with the accompanying reporting documentation. They then considered the Local Authority Safeguarding Audit Report and discussed the next steps arising from its recommendations.

The RoSPA playground report was subsequently analysed, and discussions were held regarding site manager cover while the current postholder is absent on health grounds.

Governors also enjoyed carrying out a ‘spot check’ with a randomly selected member of staff. This time, the focus was on the Pastoral Manager, Mrs Byrne-Corbett. Governors were highly impressed with her knowledge and understanding when responding to some challenging questions posed by the Lead DSL.

Governors went on to approve several key policies before concluding the meeting by analysing the Summary Report prepared by the school’s SIP.

Reception to Year 6 Stay and Share a Story – Wednesday 23rd September 2026

We are really looking forward to welcoming you to our Stay and Share a story session on Wednesday 23rd September at 2:45pm.

Please enter your child’s classroom through their usual drop-off/pick-up route:

Reception, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 5 – enter via the playground classroom doors

Year 1 and Miss Curtis’ class – enter via the decking area

Mr Jackson’s class – enter via the stairs by the Visitor Car Park

Playground gates will open at 2:45pm.

Due to limited space, we can only accommodate one parent/carer per child. Please confirm your attendance through ParentPay, so staff know how many parents to expect.

For this event, the children will remain in their classrooms. If you have more than one child in school, you will be able to move between classrooms and spend time with each of them individually. The event is free to attend.

We look forward to seeing you, and the children are excited to share a story with you

Newdale Team

 

Read, Write Inc Filming School Consent – KS1

Dear Parents and Carers,

For over four years, Newdale Primary School has successfully embedded the Read Write Inc. phonics programme across the school. We are delighted to share that, this year, Newdale has been selected to become a Read Write Inc. filming school.

As many of you will be aware, your children receive QR codes which enable them to access additional phonics videos at home. These videos are provided by Read Write Inc. through an online platform and are designed to support children’s learning at home. There are also videos on this platform that are used for professional development for all staff to ensure that phonics provision remains consistent and of a high quality.

Throughout this academic year, selected children will have the opportunity to participate in the filming of phonics videos. These videos will form part of the Read Write Inc. online platform and may be used to support children and teachers in schools across the country.

We are particularly proud that Newdale has been recognised by the Ruth Miskin Read Write Inc. team for the high quality of our phonics teaching and provision. Being selected as a filming school is a wonderful achievement and reflects the commitment of our staff and pupils to developing strong phonics knowledge and reading skills.

The children will be bringing home a parental consent form, which provides further information about the filming project and the activities in which children may be invited to participate.

We kindly ask that you read the information carefully, complete the consent form and return it to school by Monday 14 September 2026.

Thank you for your continued support in helping us to develop our children’s reading and phonics skills.

Yours sincerely,

Newdale Team