Contents
- Safeguarding at Grange
- Say NO to Bullying
- PTFA
- OPAL
- Every Minute Counts!
- Warm Clothing
- Diary Dates - new dates in December added!
- Photo Gallery
Safeguarding at Grange
Last week through our assemblies we shared with the children our Child-Friendly Safeguarding Policy. This is a simple, easy to understand version of our main safeguarding policy, written with the help of our children, for our children. What is the Child-Friendly Safeguarding Policy? All schools have a safeguarding policy that explains how staff, families, and governors work together to keep children safe. However, the full policy can be difficult for children to understand. Our new child-friendly version explains the same important messages in clear, child-appropriate language.
It helps children understand: • How adults in school work to keep them safe • What types of problems or worries they might experience • Who they can talk to if they feel unsafe, worried, or unsure • How the school will help them
What is it for? The purpose of this new policy is to: • Help children recognise when something doesn’t feel right • Encourage them to speak up about any worry, no matter how small • Show them clearly who they can go to for help and support in school • Reassure children that adults are here to listen and keep them safe The child-friendly policy along with our safeguarding team posters of key adults in the school that they can talk to will be shared in classrooms, assemblies, and on display around the school so every child knows where to find it and how it can help them. A copy of the children’s policy can also be found on our school website.
At Grange, we say NO to bullying
This week in assembly and in our classes, we have been talking about bullying and what it means. At Grange, our children know that bullying is when someone hurts another person repeatedly and on purpose. This can be physical (such as hitting, kicking or pushing) or verbal (using unkind or hurtful words). Bullying can happen face to face or online. We also spent time thinking about how it would feel to be bullied. The children said they might feel "upset, worried, annoyed, anxious, embarrassed, sad, emotional, or not included." Our children know that if they think they are being bullied, or if they are upset about anything at all, they can always talk to any adult in school.
Any reports of bullying are always taken seriously in school and investigated promptly. Staff work with all children involved to understand what has happened and to resolve the situation. Our aim is always to support the child who has been hurt and also help the child displaying the behaviour to make positive changes. Disagreements or one-off unkind incidents are taken seriously, but they are not the same as bullying. Please be assured that staff support children in resolving everyday friendship challenges as part of their social development.
Our core values are KINDNESS and RESPECT and we decided that KINDNESS is our SUPERPOWER- we say NO to bullying! We tell an adult and we are kind!
PTFA
Our Winter Fair on Saturday was a HUGE success! Thankyou to everyone who made a donation, helped set up on Friday, ran a stall or who came to support us with their children on Saturday. It was such good fun and we raised an incredible amount of money... £1992.33.
Join us after school to make a wreath to kick off the Christmas celebrations and get creative.
Karen Alexander, our PTFA chair and local florist will provide everything you need to make a festive wreath and will guide you through making it. All profits are being donated to the PTFA.
Every Minute Counts!
As you know, we are working hard to make sure all our children arrive at school on time in the morning ready to start their learning. When a child arrives late, they can: • Miss introductions to lessons and key explanations • Feel unsettled or anxious joining a class already underway • Disrupt the learning of others • Begin the day feeling rushed or behind To receive a present mark, children must be in school on time for registration. Classroom doors open at 8.45am and close at 8.50am. After this time, your child must enter school via the main school office and their arrival will be marked as late. Minutes Late = Lost Learning Time We know the weather has made it difficult for many families to get to school this week. Snow is great fun (just look at the picture above!), but it can make arriving on time a real challenge. While we completely understand this, we would still encourage everyone to do their best to arrive punctually.
OPAL
As we get ready to bring some Christmas cheer to our Opal pallet houses, we would love your help! If you have any spare Christmas decorations such as small trees, tinsel, baubles, fairy lights, Santa hats, or any other festive bits and pieces we would be very grateful to use them in our houses. All donations, big or small, will help us transform our space and get everyone into the festive spirit. Thank you so much for your support, from the Opal Team & cadets
WARM CLOTHING
Just a reminder- Please can you ensure that your child wears a coat to school each day. They also need to have either a pair of wellies or a change of shoes which can be left in school. In addition a change of clothes in a named bag they can keep on their peg in case they get wet or muddy would be much appreciated. Please NAME all items of clothing- we have over 300 children in school and it makes it much easier to return lost items to the owner if they have a name on!
Photo Gallery
If you'd like to find out what is happening in these photos and to look at lots more pictures, remember to log onto our Grange Facebook page to find out. We post pictures every week.
Diary Dates
There are some new dates in December- make sure you've noted them all down! (keep scrolling down to see them)
November
Saturday 22nd November Choir to sing at St Oswald's Warehouse 9.30am Friday 28th Choir to sing at Gosforth Shopping Centre 3.30pm
December
Thursday 4th Fire engine to visit Year 2 and Year 4 Victorian day Thursday 4th Year 3 to see the ballet at Dance City Monday 8th Year 1 Safety Works trip Wednesday 10th PTFA wreath making workshop Thursday 11th December Reception & Year 1 to visit St Hughes Church Thursday 11th December CHRISTMAS Dinner Day and wear a Christmas jumper/t-shirt or something that sparkles! Christmas Parties week beginning 15th December (more info to follow) Christmas performances: Monday 15th 9.15am Year 4 Monday 15th 2.15pm Year 2 Tuesday 16th 9.15am Year 3 Tuesday 16th 2.15pm Year 1 Wednesday 17th 9.15am and 2.30pm Nursery Thursday 18th 2.15pm Reception Thursday 18th December Year 2, 3 and 4 go to church in Newcastle Christmas holidays 22nd December – 2nd January Back to school on Monday 5th January 2026
Credits:
© Grange First School