www.pontllanfraithprimary.co.uk
Achieve, Believe, Care
Croeso nôl! Happy New Year
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i chi gyd, a chroeso nôl! We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable Christmas break and that 2026 has started well for you and your families. It has been lovely to welcome the children back to school this week.
Estyn Interim Visit – Tuesday 13 January
We would like to let parents know that Estyn will be visiting the school next Tuesday as part of an interim visit. Interim visits are a routine and supportive part of Estyn’s work with schools. During the visit, inspectors meet with leaders and staff to look at the progress we have made so far and to offer professional feedback and guidance on our next steps. As part of their normal process, the team will also be visiting another local school next week, as interim visits are carried out in pairs. During their time with us, Estyn will be focusing on:
- our self-evaluation processes, and
- our ongoing curriculum development.
We are looking forward to the opportunity to share the work we have been doing and to benefit from their feedback.
After-School Clubs – Spring Term
As Estyn will need to meet with staff after school on Tuesday, after-school clubs will not begin until Tuesday 20 January 2026.
- There are no changes to the clubs running this Spring Term.
- Dates for the weeks that clubs will be running are up to date on the school website.
If your child would like to join a club at this point in the term, please contact the school office to check availability, as some clubs may already be full.
Rocksteady Music Lessons
We have been notified by Rocksteady that our previous teacher has moved on and that they are currently in the process of recruiting a replacement.
- Rocksteady lessons will begin on 23 January 2026.
- Rocksteady have apologised for the inconvenience caused and have already been in touch with us to arrange additional sessions later in the term.
- They remain on track to deliver the agreed number of sessions across the year for all paying families.
Rocksteady Bursary Places
We have received more applications for bursary places than spaces available this term. We will be in touch during the second half of next week to let you know whether your child has been allocated a place.
- Priority will be given to children entitled to free school meals.
- Remaining places will then be offered to children who are not entitled to free school meals, with priority given to those who have not taken part before.
- Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate all children who have asked to continue. Decisions will be made based on instrument or vocal preference, alongside availability within the bands.
ClassDojo
We spent some time on Monday reviewing ClassDojo as a whole-school communication tool. We will be launching ClassDojo the week after next, with further details shared in next week’s newsletter so that everyone is fully informed ahead of time.
Reporting Your Child Absent
Thank you for your continued support with letting us know when your child is absent. To help our office staff at a very busy time of the day, we kindly ask that when you phone the school:
- Please select Option 1 and leave a message to report your child absent,
- rather than pressing Option 4 to speak directly to the office.
Your help with this is greatly appreciated and makes a real difference.
National Numeracy Project - Homework
Thank you to all parents who completed the Google Form — we really appreciate your feedback. Fortnightly activities was the most popular option, and we will be working to reflect this. The National Numeracy scrapbooks are being sent home today, with the first family maths activity already stuck in. Please:
- complete the activity together,
- fill in the family and child comment box, and
- return the book to school within the next two weeks.
Thank you for supporting your child’s maths learning at home.
Out of School Sports
Last term, our Ambassadors attended an event organised by Sport Caerphilly, aimed at promoting participation in sport among our pupils. Following this, they have decided to create a noticeboard to highlight out-of-school sports opportunities. As part of this, the School Council will be asking children to share information about the sports they take part in outside of school. If you have any posters or flyers that could be included on the noticeboard, please email them to the school office.
Snow
Thankfully, we did not experience snowfall overnight. A reminder that our Snow Closure Procedures are available on the school website and were last reviewed for the 2024–25 academic year. The only change since these were written is that we no longer use Twitter to share information. We will be updating the procedure next week to reflect this.
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