Welcome to Birkwood An #IncredibleCommunity

We wish you a very warm welcome to the Birkwood Primary School Newsletter.

5th September 2025

Happy new year!

I must start by saying welcome to all of our brand-new families. I hope that you are already beginning to enjoy everything that Birkwood has to offer and been made to feel extremely welcome.

I hope that anybody with children who have just started secondary school has also had a good week and that the children have settled in beautifully.

I talked to our children in assembly about the fact that this is my 31st year working in schools (it makes me feel old!) On Sunday night, I didn't sleep brilliantly - a mixture of nerves, excitement and a little bit of worry. I shared this to reassure them that even somebody as experienced as me still has the back-to-school butterflies. The excitement part of this reminds me how privileged I am to be working in this special community. 17 of those 31 first days of the year have been at Birkwood!

It is always great to see new uniforms, new haircuts and most importantly an abundance of smiles as children reconnect with their friends following the summer break. I think we all crave routine, and it really has been great to be back. I often remind the staff that we are literally only a few strides away from some joy working at our school. So, when I say that it’s great to be here, I mean it!

I also take this opportunity to welcome several new staff to our school - they have made a great start, and I know that they will continue to help us maintain the special atmosphere that Birkwood has always had.

Please remember to show great consideration to the neighbours when parking at drop off and pick up times. As we continue to grow in terms of pupil and family numbers, this becomes more important.

Over the Summer, we’ve had further work around the campus. I thank the Governors for their commitment and support in the aim of making Birkwood the best place we can be. Our site staff Mr. Jones, Mr. Preece together with Mrs. Cocking’s leadership have again been great in this regard. Our cleaning staff have also helped to keep school looking great; a wonderful team.

Don't forget to check out 'The Wee Beasties' event which is taking place this Sunday in Cudworth Park. It looks like great entertainment for the children.

As always, some reminders.

Our SEND families’ support group takes place at 1:30pm, Tues 9th Sept.

If your child is due to start reception class in September 2026 the application is now open and the closing date is 15th January 2026. Any application received after this date will be processed as late, which will significantly impact parents receiving one of their preferred schools.

Have a wonderful weekend – and as always, thank you for everything.

Please see Open Evenings for our local Secondary Schools - for Y6 Families.

Please click the button above to apply for Secondary School

• Headteachers Superstar KS1/EYFS - BJ Y2 Cox
• Headteachers Superstar KS2 - E-MJ Y4 Wonder
• Music Maestro - LR Y2 Cox
• Class Times Table Rockstars - Y4 Wonder
• PE Star - KG Y6 Simpson

• School attendance Target for the Year - 97.0%
• School attendance this week - 95.2%
• School attendance this year so far - 95.2%
• FS2 Berry - 98.7%
• FS2 Costa -90.1%
• Y1 Earps - 95.1%
• Y1 Piper - 98.4%
• Y2 Cox - 98.5%
• Y2 Nightingale - 92.2%
• Y3 Jemison - 96.4%
• Y3 Obama - 93.1%
• Y4 Lovelace - 93.3%
• Y4 Wonder - 92.8%
• Y5 Biles - 99.3%
• Y 5/6 Angelo - 91.9%
• Y6 Simpson - 97.0%

Well done to class Biles who have an amazing 99.3% attendance. Fantastic!!!

Our suite of X (formerly Twitter) Handles is here for you. Below is a link for 'all things Birkwood.'

PE & Sport

Appropriate trainers must be worn. No crop tops – Sports t-shirts please and shorts. A tracksuit may be worn – please make a judgment on temperature. NO JEWELLERY.

Term Dates Below

For current Year 6 children, their tests will be Monday 11th to Thursday 14th May 2026.

For current Year 5 children, their tests will be Monday 10th to Thursday 13th May 2027.