PTFA
A huge thank you to everyone who helped at the school fete last Friday afternoon. We are so grateful for your support. The PTFA may £837 profit.
All parents and staff are automatically members of the PTFA and we're grateful for any time that you give, whether that be in the background wrapping things for the tombola or selling sweets at a disco.
Each September we hold our AGM and all parents are invited. At the AGM the committee for the year ahead are elected and they meet regularly throughout the year to coordinate the events. The chair liaises with me throughout the year.
We'd like to encourage as many parents as possible to attend (even if you don't want to join the committee) and with that in mind would like to know whether parents would prefer the meeting to be held on either Sunday 7/9/25 at 4pm or Monday 8/9/24 at 3:45pm (at the school). If you would be interested in attending please can you vote using this link. We'll announce the AGM date at the end of next week.
The final PTFA event of this year is the Summer Disco on Thursday 17th July. As throughout the year, children should not bring phones, they should be collected by someone over the age of 16 and should not attend if they have not been in school during the day. Nursery parents must accompany their children. If your child is older but has additional needs, and will need additional support in order to attend the disco, you are welcome to attend. If you need us to provide additional support please contact the office and we will endeavour to ensure that someone your child is familiar with can support them. Please note that this cannot be guaranteed as all staff attend discos voluntarily.
Parent Volunteers
We are incredibly grateful to our parent volunteers who make our trips possible. We couldn't run them with out you! If you would be interested in joining our volunteer list (to go on trips, or to come in and help, please let the office know. We will then arrange for you to have a DBS check.
Midday Supervisor Vacancy
Mrs Lewis will be retiring at the end of term and so we have a vacancy. If you know of anyone who may be interested please contact the school office for an application form. Mrs Lewis will be staying on as a relief midday supervisor so we'll still see her from time to time!
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram to see snapshots and reels of the exciting learning, creativity, and fun taking place every day at Pontllanfraith Primary! https://www.instagram.com/pontllanfraithprimary/
It's very busy at the moment! For example, yesterday Dosbarth Gwyrdd had a visit from the Dragons Gateway Rugby coach (who will be working with us next year), the Eco Committee worked with Miss Wills to gain our Platinum Green Flag renewal (many thanks & huge congratulations to all of them!) and today we've had a special assembly and workshops from Rocksteady Music (read on to learn more about this).
On Monday Dosbarth Glas will be working with Groundwork Wales, who will deliver a workshop to compliment their Rivers topic and take them to litter pick, and on Thursday next week we have workshops for Years 3 - 6 delivered by Techniquest in conjunction with CSConnect.
CSConnect, who are funding this work (we were very lucky to have our application to take part accepted), have sent their own consent forms for photography. They have asked if they can take some photos of the children engaging with the activities and maybe do some filming with your pupils based around the workshop delivery in the form of little interviews. This footage may be used by CSconnected on their website, reports and social media, for example. If there are any children that cannot be photographed/filmed, we’ll ensure that no footage is taken of those children during the sessions.
Website
All dates are advertised on the school website calendar.
Our website has lots of information about school procedures. The prospectus for next academic year is now available under 'Information' and extracts from it are also categorised for ease of access throughout the year.
Please note the school's uniform policy ahead of the summer holidays. We advise velcro trainers until children are able to tie their laces and that the end of the summer term is the best time to get ears pierced so that it does not affect PE lessons.
Gateway Rugby is back!
We’re thrilled to announce that Gateway Rugby will be returning to work with us next year — fantastic news after a year’s break due to financial pressures. To kick things off, Dosbarth Gwyrdd enjoyed an action-packed workshop yesterday, full of energy, teamwork, and fun!
Even better — pupils have the chance to win free tickets to a Dragons game by completing the homework questions left behind by the coach. What a brilliant opportunity to get involved and celebrate the return of rugby to Pontllanfraith! To enter, please draw us an image of a Dragons player, find an interesting fact about the Dragons or one of the players and answer the following questions:
What is the name of the Dragon’s stadium ?
What boroughs do we represent ?
What Dragon’s players are currently with Wales in Japan ?
Entries to be sent in by Wednesday 9/7/25 (Dosbarth Gwyrdd have already done their entries in class).
Music Lessons: Violin & Rocksteady
This morning, our pupils had a fantastic time taking part in an exciting assembly and hands-on music workshops led by Rocksteady Music School. We’re thrilled to be expanding our music provision next term by partnering with Rocksteady Music School, a specialist company that brings contemporary music to life through fun, small-group lessons. This exciting addition responds directly to parent feedback asking for more creative opportunities—and the children are already buzzing with excitement after their workshops today! This will complement our existing violin provision with CCBC, giving our learners even more opportunities to discover their musical talents.
Our provision for violin lessons will not be changing. The school pays for this and children are selected based on enthusiasm, musical aptitude (which is tested) and availability. Some schools pass on the cost to parents but in Pontllanfraith we have always wanted to provide this opportunity to all: we are always grateful if parents are able to support with a small donation.
Rocksteady lessons focus on electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals, giving pupils a chance to experience band-style music-making in a supportive and confidence-building environment.
Next term will be a trial, and if it proves popular, we hope to continue for the rest of the academic year. The cost for a guaranteed place is £44.68 per month, which offers excellent value for high-quality, private-style tuition during the school day. Parents signing up are able to see which spots are available: lessons are organised into 5 bands according to age (Reception to Year 6), with each having up to 2 places for each instrument (so it's first come, first served according to age and choice of instrument). The 5 bands will perform in a concert at the end of term!
Whilst Nursery did not attend this morning, parents of children starting in Reception are also able to sign their child up.
If you would like to guarantee a place for your child, please visit rocksteadymusicschool.com to sign up.
To ensure this opportunity is accessible to all, the school and Rocksteady are jointly funding a limited number of supported places.
If you would like your child to be considered for a funded place, please complete the form linked here by Monday 9:30am. If there are more children than the number of places available we will conduct an aptitude test to select those taking part - those in receipt of the School Essentials Grant (formerly entitled to free school meals before Universal Provision was introduced) will be prioritised.
Reports
Reports and results from our latest round of Hwb assessments will go out with the children today. Please let us know if you do not receive it. We are so pleased with the test results and proud of the children. The scores are standardised and statistically you would expect 85% of the children to achieve scores of 85 or above and 15% to score 116 or above (100 is average). Our results (Y2 - 6) this summer are:
Pupil Groups
Congratulations to our newly trained Criw Caredig who will act as peer mediators next year. We had so many applications this year and were only able to train 11 but thank you to all who applied.
Congratulations also to our Eco Committee who did an amazing job presenting to the assessor for Eco Schools yesterday. They show cased the work that children across the school have done towards this accreditation as well as talking about the recent work they did with Learning Through Landscapes, undertaking a climate audit around our site as part our successful grant from them.
We have spoken to Year 5 today about prefect roles for for next year. As they are a small cohort we have decided to give them all the role in the first instance: well done to them! We have invited a smaller group to stand for the role of School Ambassadors. All who stand will give presentations and we will hold an election on Wednesday next week. Our Ambassadors this year have been brilliant. It is to them I turn whenever there is something that requires that we capture pupil voice.
Next Academic Year
A reminder that we do not announce classes for next year until very late because of our pupil numbers. This is not disorganisation on our part. We have met and set classes but any late admissions would mean us having to redo the lists which could be even more distressing for children.
We will announce classes for next year on Tuesday next week.
Our policy for the organisation of classes was reviewed following consultation with parents last term. As a result, this year children listed their friends at home so that parents are aware who they selected, and we will also hold more than 1 transition session. Transition sessions will be held on Tuesday next week and Monday and Tuesday of the final week of term (as long as all staff are available). We will be mindful of children remaining in the same room or with the same children.
More information about our policy is available on our website.
As we prepare for the new academic year, we understand that class placements can be an emotional topic for families. Please know that a great deal of thought and care goes into organising classes, with staff considering a wide range of factors to support every child’s wellbeing and learning. For this reason, we are not able to accommodate requests to move children between classes once they are announced. We appreciate that parents may feel a simple swap could resolve a concern, but class dynamics are complex and changes can unintentionally affect other children’s experiences. Due to confidentiality, we are unable to share the reasons behind individual decisions, but we assure you that every choice is made with the best interests of all pupils in mind. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
The structure for next year will be:
Dosbarth Coch - Early Years (Reception & Nursery) - Mrs Reeve
Dosbarth Oren - Year 1/2 - Miss Williams
Dosbarth Melyn - Year 2/3 - Mrs Tucker
Dosbarth Gwyrdd - Year 3/4 - Miss Rooke
Dosbarth Glas - Year 4/5 - Mr Davies
Dosbarth Porffor - Year 5/6 - Miss Wills
You will also notice that Miss Ferguson is not listed. Sadly she will be leaving us at the end of term. As a result of our falling role and financial position, we were forced to ask for volunteers for redundancy earlier this year. Miss Ferguson has, however, secured a position for September within CCBC and I'm sure you'll join us all in wishing her well!
Year 6
When children have their first transition visit with their new class on Tuesday, Miss Ferguson will work with Year 6. They will be given their leavers T shirts or hoodies at this session so that they have them ahead of Manor Adventure next weekend.
INSET Days & the start of next term
We will have INSET days on Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd September. Term will start on Wednesday 3rd for all current pupils. Parents of children moving into Reception were given information as to whether their children should attend for mornings or afternoons for the first three days (they will start full time on Monday 8th September). Parents of new starters to Nursery have been given start dates from Monday 8th (2 children a day). Current Rising 3s start back on Wednesday 3rd.
Trinity Fields INSET days can differ - they will communicate all relevant information to parents of children on their school role in Dosbarth Enfys.
Water Bottles
Please ensure that water bottles are sent in everyday. During break and lunchtimes children are able to use our water fountain. However we cannot accommodate high numbers of pupils going downstairs to the water fountain during lesson time and the cost of cups for children not bringing in bottles is expensive. We do have cups in school for occasions when children need a drink and have forgotten but cannot afford to provide children with cups every day instead of them having their own bottle. Bottles should contain water only (no squash as it attracts ants) and bottles should have sports tops to minimise spillage.
Gate / Site Security
Following updated security training, we will no longer be over-riding the pedestrian gate at Nursery pick-up time. We kindly ask all parents to ensure the gate closes securely behind them and not to hold it open for others. This is an important part of keeping all our children safe.
We understand that it can be frustrating if the gate isn’t opened immediately. However, there may be times when office staff are temporarily away from the desk or on the phone, and we appreciate your patience during these moments. While we know this may cause a short wait, we hope you understand that the safety and security of our pupils must always come first.
We will continue to open the gate at 3:20pm to enable parents to come on site ahead of the end of the day (please don't come on site until then).
Thank you for your continued support.