Croeso yn ôl!
What a lovely first week to the summer term it's been with the sun shining throughout. The Year 6 football team did us proud on a beautiful afternoon up at Islwyn High School and we've had a fantastic day marking the 80th Anniversary of VE Day. Thank you parents for sending the children in wearing red, white & blue. We've created a display in the main hall to mark the occasion. Mr Davies has created a Union Jack background and the children have all written / drawn messages for peace, thanks or remembrance on luggage labels that have been pinned to the display. The labels represent the children from Dover and the East End of London who were evacuated to Pontllanfraith during the war. At one point our children shared the school with them: one week we would do mornings and they would do afternoons and the next week they'd swap over.
A few things haven't gone to plan this week. The outdoor classroom is no where near finished: there have been delays with the contractors. However they have been back on site today and the walls have begun to go up so we hope to be using it soon. The delay means that we haven't been able to make use of the field or grounds this week which is frustrating given the weather. We had an Arts Council for Wales music workshop booked for Dosbarth Gwyrdd on Tuesday and the provider had an emergency and couldn't attend - we hope to rearrange for later in the term. Also there has been a delay to the start of the CCBC Multiply Project (Dosbarth Melyn) and Craft Workshops (available to all parents). They will both start next week. Parents of Dosbarth Melyn are all invited in for the afternoon on Thursday 15th May from 13:30 for the Multiply session for parents. Information (with dates updated other than on the original flyer) linked here.
The flyer for the Craft Workshops is below (now starting next week, Thursday 8/5/25) . Original information linked here.
Dates
Dates for the term are on our school website and include Sports Day & the reserve dates if the weather is poor. The PTFA fete will go ahead regardless of weather (we will bring it in doors if we need to).
Swimming starts on Tuesday for Year 3 & Reception have a football workshop with Pentwynmawr Under 5s booked for Friday afternoon.
Parent Forum
Next week we have Parent Forum on Tuesday afternoon looking at the results of questionnaires at the end of last term (some really lovely responses following the Coch & Oren PaCT sessions - thank you!), our range of school trips and learning experiences, our use of social media and looking at what else we can do to increase parental engagement. We'd love more parents to attend: please email Mrs Tucker if you are interested.
At Parent Forum we have a chance to address issues in greater depth than I can in a newsletter. For example, at the last meeting I demonstrated the reasons why the class organisation policy is as it is. What came across in a few questionnaires was that some parents struggle to accept the position we are in because most other schools are not in the same position. I showed members of the forum the diary / staff availability for the end of term last summer & also the actual pupil numbers for last year and this coming year which enabled them to appreciate the reasons why it is not possible to announce classes earlier or to change class composition once it has been set.
Please remember that if you have a child going into Year 3 - Year 6 and have strong views about class organisation that you need to let your child's teacher know before half term if you haven't already done so. We cannot promise to accommodate all requests. The younger classes are organised by dates of birth only. Please see policy and information on our website.
Sports Days
Sports Day organisation was discussed with the Parent Forum in the Autumn Term following some feedback from a few parents. In recent years we have sent out detailed information ahead of Sports Days to aid smooth running. We will enhance the information this year to explain some of the things that were queried last year. It is important that parents read this.
Things that would really help us!
As it is summer term and the weather will (hopefully) be better, please can parents ensure children are equipped for the weather: children should wear trainers every day (so that we can do PE / Sports Day practice when the opportunities arise); have water bottles (sports top and no squash) with them and wear long lasting sun cream on days when the weather is hot - a hat would be appreciated too. We are finding that we are spending more and more on disposable cups because children are not bringing water bottles: we can't afford this.
Please contribute to the cost of school trips / transport for swimming: we appreciate that not everyone can afford the full amount for the most expensive trips but please pay a contribution. The school budget is under huge pressure and it has become a battle to stay out of deficit. We do not have surplus funds anymore. You may have seen in the news that 50% of schools in Wales are forecasting a deficit for the 2025/26 financial year. The NAHT are campaigning for greater transparency from Welsh Government as there are fears that in Wales we are being short changed. Link here. Please note: the school pays for swimming lessons, it is the cost of transport to the pool that we ask parents to support.
Staff in the office would really appreciate it if parents could complete the dinner order form every week; don't be late and if your child isn't in school report them absent by email or by leaving a message on the answer phone. They have a lot to do in the mornings. We try really hard to make sure all children can have a lunch they will like. Not all schools do this. The number of parents not completing the form is putting additional pressure on the admin staff. Similarly children arriving late (as staff have to leave the office to take them to class if they are younger) - especially if their parents haven't completed the dinner form. If you do arrive late please be patient if the gate isn't released straight away (staff are not at their desks if they are taking children to class). It is also time consuming to go through the registers and text parents who haven't reported their child absent. Leaving an answerphone message or sending us an email makes a huge difference.
And finally, please park safely and legally.
Caerphilly 2K Sunday 11/5/25
Last term (newsletter 4/4/25) I advertised the 2K race as an opportunity to fundraise for the School Fund or win a prize for the school. If your child has entered please can you complete this form linked here to let us know. Myself and Mrs Rodway have entered and plan to run with the children if they would like company! Entries are now closed.
Attendance
In assembly this morning children with 100% for the Spring Term were given certificates and a token prize. There were 37 of them, which is fantastic: well done all!
We recognise that to get 100% attendance does involve an element of luck. All with 95% up for last term were also awarded with certificates.
Please note it is possible that a child may have had a certificate today but that you also received a Callio email at the end of last term. This is because the Callio emails are sent out according to overall attendance. We look at termly attendance for certificates as this rewards improved attendance. A child may have had 95% plus for the Spring Term and get a certificate but because of low attendance in the Autumn Term they are still below 95% overall.
Thank you to all who have contacted us in response to the Callio emails. We haven't had the opportunity to respond individually. One email did express the view that attendance should be rounded to the nearest whole percentage. This would effectively mean that the threshold would be lowered by 0.5% to 94.5% and so would require a change of policy as this is determined by the Governing Body. The reasons for 95% as a target are clear. 95% is equivalent to approx 10 days absence over the course of the academic year. In primary schools, around 90% of children with good attendance (95%+) make good progress in Literacy and Numeracy. But less than 65% of children with around 15 days absence make the same progress. Parents can be very surprised at how quickly their children can accumulate 15 days absence within a year.
Swimming
Whilst Year 3 are swimming over the next 3 weeks Miss Wills will teach Dosbarth Porffor for the first lesson whilst her Year 4 children go to Miss Ferguson. Year 3 will return to school just after breaktime. Mr Davies accompanies swimming so that we have both a male and female member of staff at the pool. Miss Wills will be setting the work covered by her Year 4 children.
Teachers Emails: remember teacher's email addresses are all available on our website under Classes.