I hope 2024 has started off well for you all. The children have made a great start back! I have seen Red Kites being fantastic reading partners this week, and year 3-5 have started rehearsing for the Opera 'Hansel and Gretel'. KS1 have been practising balance through playground games in PE and at the upper end of the school, year 6 are going the extra mile to earn their hoodies and 'Team Player' PE t-shirts.
Safeguarding Spotlight
Shockingly, a quarter of our pupils would not tell a trusted adult if they saw or experienced something troubling/ worrying online according to a survey done at our school. In discussion, we discovered that pupils worry that they will get into trouble, be banned from sites or devices so therefore wouldn't seek help.
It's important to have open and honest conversations about social media and their gaming activity. Nationally, concerns have been raised about the use of gaming to groom young people and promote extremist agendas.
If your child, has access to the internet, talk to them about what they use. You can use this knowledge to find out about the functions in the apps. For example, did you know that What's App has a feature where you can hide certain chats?
5 things to teach children to do if they are having problems online:
Maths Week at Ingoldsby
As part of our commitment to make maths exciting and high profile in our school, we are taking part in a friendly competition involving schools in the United Kingdom for NSPCC Number Day. The competition runs from 07:30 to 19:30 GMT on Friday 2nd February. It's all done online via play.ttrockstars.com.
Children can play in any gamemode with every correct answer to a multiplication or division question, earning themselves, their class and the school a point. The Times Tables Rock Stars platform will calculate the class average (the number of correct answers per pupil in the class who play during the competition hours, subject to a 60-minute limit (see below)). Winning classes in the school and in the competition as a whole will be the ones with the highest average.
To support player well-being, there is a daily time limit of 60 minutes per player. Once the player goes beyond 60 minutes of play on that day, they will still earn coins but will no longer earn points towards the competition.
In the spirit of the competition, please don't play on their behalf but by all means, encourage and support them to the extent that it doesn't cause high stress levels or impact on family plans.
Numbots vs TTRS day 5th Feb
Dress up day and activities!
Dress as a Numbots or TTRS character or a number for the day!
Year 4 Multiplication Check
PTFA
Attendance Matters
Some key data:
Pupils with higher attainment at KS2 and KS4 had lower levels of absence over the key stage compared to those with lower attainment.
Pupils who did not achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2019 had an overall absence rate of 4.7% over the key stage, compared with 3.5% among pupils who achieved the expected standard and 2.7% among those who achieved the higher standard.
Pupils who did not achieve grade 9 to 4 in English and maths GCSEs in 2019 had an overall absence rate of 8.8% over the key stage, compared with 5.2% among pupils who achieved a grade 4 and 3.7% among pupils who achieved grade 9 to 5 in both English and maths.
Generally, the higher the percentage of sessions missed across the key stage at KS2 and KS4, the lower the level of attainment at the end of the key stage.
Among pupils with no missed sessions over KS2, 83.9% achieved the expected standard compared to 40.2% of pupils who were persistently absent.
We will contact you if your child is persistently absent of at risk of being persistently absent.
We want to support your child to attend school as much as possible so that they can get the most out of their education and do well. We will work with you to support good attendance.
SEND Focus- Anxiety- Making a self-soothe box
This is a box you can make that contains things that ground you, make you feel more relaxed and reduce symptoms of panic, anxiety or low mood.
Safeguarding Spotlight
Parental conflict and domestic violence
Conflict can impact parents and carers who are in a relationship, and also those who are separated or divorced. Some parents or carers may find themselves stuck in a pattern of frequent and stressful conflict, and this can be difficult for everyone in the family. It can be particularly upsetting and confusing for children and young people when their parents or carers argue, and they can often feel caught in the middle or in some way responsible for the conflict.
There is information on our website, including links to support but i have pulled out a couple of videos that may be of use to you if you experience parental conflict.
Money
The Government has announced that Household Support Fund payments have now ceased. Children eligible for 2-year-old disadvantaged funding or Early Years Pupil Premium, will have received their final £75 vouchers in December for the 2023-24 financial year and no further payments will be made.
Helpful links: