Classrooms

Year 3 Message

6 days ago
Posted on 02nd Oct 2026 by

Parents’ Evening Trial for Reception to Year 6– Autumn Term

Dear Parents and Carers,

This term, we will be trialling a new format for Parents’ Evenings: each year group will now have a designated Parents’ Evening date rather than appointments being spread across an entire week. Many primary and secondary schools have successfully adopted similar arrangements, and we are hopeful that this format will provide a more efficient experience for both families and staff.

On their allocated day, teachers will be released from class at 1:00pm and will hold appointments through until 7:00pm, allowing us to offer a greater number of appointment slots in one day.

 Booking Appointments

Appointments will be booked through Arbor. As this is our first year using Arbor for Parents’ Evening bookings, we kindly ask for your patience while we become familiar with the system. Further booking information will be shared nearer the time.

Monday 19th October – Reception, Year 1 and Year 2

Wednesday 21st October – Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6

 Appointment Arrangements

  • Appointments will last 10 minutes maximum.
  • To ensure everyone keeps to schedule, teachers will need to adhere strictly to these timings.
  • Books and examples of your child’s work will still be available to view.
  • Meetings will take place in the hall rather than in classrooms.
  • If for some reason you are unable to attend, your child’s teacher will arrange a phone call appointment.
  • We recommend booking your appointments as soon as it is released especially if you have more than one child in school.

Appointments on Arbor will open on Monday 5th October at 6pm.

Booking system will close at 9am on Thursday 15th October. 

Please note that Mr McFarland, our SENDCo, will not be attending Parents’ Evening appointments in the way he has done previously. To better support families of pupils with SEND, he now has a dedicated system for meeting with parents throughout the year, outside of the general Parents’ Evening arrangements. Families requiring SEND-related discussions should continue to contact Mr McFarland directly to arrange an appropriate meeting. NewdaleSENDco@taw.org.uk

 Arrival and Departure

  • Please enter through the main office entrance.
  • Exit will be via the hall doors.
  • Due to limited waiting space, we ask that you do not arrive too early for your appointment.

As this is our first Parents’ Evening of the year, the focus is on how your child has settled into their new class, building positive relationships, engagement, discussing attitudes to learning, and identifying areas for development.

As a result, we will not be sending home our usual ‘What My Child Has Achieved’ summary during this Parents’ Evening week. Instead, these reports will be shared later in the Autumn 2 term, once children have had greater exposure to their year group’s curriculum and teachers have gathered a wider range of assessment information to accurately reflect their progress and achievements.

We believe this will provide parents with a more meaningful and comprehensive overview of their child’s learning and development.

 Children at Parents’ Evening Appointments

  • Please note that children will be unable to attend Parents’ Evening appointments during the school day (1:00pm to 3pm).
  • We understand that childcare arrangements can sometimes be challenging. Children are welcome to attend appointments after school; however, this is entirely optional. As space within school is limited, we kindly ask parents and carers to make alternative childcare arrangements where possible.
  • Any children attending an appointment after school must remain under the direct supervision of their parent or carer at all times. Thank you for your understanding and support.

 Separated Parents

We appreciate that some separated parents may wish to have individual appointments. Where possible, we kindly ask parents to attend together. However, we completely respect that this may not be suitable in some circumstances and will accommodate separate appointments where needed. On Arbor, parents will be able to make one appointment per child. Should you wish for a separate appointment, please contact your child’s teacher directly.

Please note that there will be no onsite parking for parents apart from blue badge holders during parents’ evening days.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we introduce this new approach. We look forward to hearing your feedback following the trial.

 

Miss Cook

7 days ago
Posted on 01st Oct 2026 by

Introducing Our New Go Green Days! 🌿

 

We are delighted to be launching Go Green Days for our Year 2 to Year 6 children this year.

Many of our KS2 pupils thoroughly enjoyed taking part in EKO Days last year. These experiences provided valuable opportunities to develop teamwork, resilience, independence and a love of the outdoors. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints, we are unable to continue with the external EKO provision this year.

Instead, we have developed our own Go Green Days, which will take place once each term. These special days will build on our commitment to outdoor learning and will link closely with children’s nature walks and time spent in Base Camp, all in one designated day. Activities will encourage children to work collaboratively, solve problems, explore the natural environment and develop a greater appreciation of the world around them.

Our aim is for Go Green Days to:

  • Promote a love of the outdoors and nature

  • Develop teamwork and communication skills

  • Build resilience, confidence and independence

  • Encourage curiosity and exploration

  • Support children’s wellbeing through outdoor experiences

You may be wondering why this opportunity is only available to Year 2 to Year 6 pupils. This is because our EYFS and Year 1 children already benefit from regular Forest School sessions as part of their outdoor learning curriculum, ensuring they continue to access high-quality outdoor experiences throughout the year.

Teachers will share further information and specific dates for each Go Green Day in the coming weeks, including any arrangements that families need to be aware of.

We are excited to see our children embrace these new enrichment opportunities and look forward to sharing photographs and updates from our first Go Green Days soon! 🌳🍃

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1 week ago
Posted on 30th Sep 2026 by

Finance and Personnel Governors Involvement

Governors from the Finance & Personnel Committee met in school on Monday 28th September. The meeting began with a tour of the school’s SEND provision, where governors learned more about how this additional support is meeting the needs of pupils and its impact on both the school’s educational and financial planning.

The committee then reviewed the current financial position of both the school and nursery. Governors recognised the importance of securing additional funding from the DfE & Local Authority to help sustain the provision currently in place. They also considered the three-year budget forecast and discussed the long-term sustainability of the staffing structure across the school and nursery.

The meeting concluded with a staff voice session featuring a teacher who has recently completed an NVQ in School Leadership. She shared her experiences of the programme, the positive impact it has had on her practice, and her aspirations for further professional development. Governors agreed that investing in the talented staff team at Newdale is a key strength and an important part of ensuring strong succession planning for the future.

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2 weeks ago
Posted on 23rd Sep 2026 by

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.

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2 weeks ago
Posted on 22nd Sep 2026 by

🌟 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! 💚

2 weeks ago
Posted on 21st Sep 2026 by

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

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3 weeks ago
Posted on 18th Sep 2026 by

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.