April 2022

Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance for the year so far is 96.9% and we are extremely pleased that we are exceeding our target of 96.5%. We now want to ensure that attendance remains at this high level for the remainder of the year. It is important that children are in school every day that they possibly can be so they do not miss out on valuable educational activities and opportunities. This term we will be running further initiatives to reward pupils with good attendance. This will be begin with the attendance spotlight competition on Friday 6th May. The attendance league will start again and the classes at the top of each league at the end of the half term will celebrate with a pizza party. We will be continuing to monitor punctuality as well as attendance. The school gates open daily at 8:45am and lessons start promptly at 9:00am. Please make sure your child is at school on time so that they do not miss out on learning time.If your child is unwell and not able to attend school, it is essential that parents call the office first thing in the morning to let us know. If we do not have contact and are then unable to contact you this may become a safeguarding concern and we may then need to carry out a home visit. We really value your support in working with us to improve attendance.

Local Elections

Our school building will be in use on Thursday 5 May for local elections. Therefore, school will be closed for all year groups, apart from Year 6. Year 6 children will be expected to attend for for the morning (9am - 12:30pm) for some intense SATS preparation. School will be open again on Friday 6 May for all year groups..

Year 6 SATS week

Year 6 SATS tests will begin on Monday 9 May - Thursday 12 May. Children will need to be in school by 8:00am. This is an extremely important week in the children’s academic life and they MUST attend school everyday, with no exceptions.

Wishing you all a great (and hopefully sunny) Bank Holiday weekend!

Mr Clarke-Castello

Every child has the right to reliable information from the media. This should be information that children can understand. Governments must help protect children from materials that could harm them.

We are talking about this right because it is important that children receive balanced, reliable information about factual events. Sometimes the information we see posted online is false. Watch this video from BBC Bitesize to learn about the reliability of digital media.

Following fresh revelations, fines, and apologies over the last few days, KS2 voters are discussing the Prime Minister, Partygate and Parliament. After exploring a selection of opinions surrounding Boris Johnson’s actions, they have been voting on: “Is it right that the Prime Minister kept his job after breaking lockdown rules?”

Meanwhile, our KS1 pupils have been taking a closer look at why we have rules and the circumstances in which we may think better of following them. They have been voting on: “Is it ever okay to break the rules?”

It’s been a wonderful end to the term and we’ve been amazed with the Easter bonnets and egg-cellent egg design entries. It was lovely to welcome parents and family members in for the Early Years and Key Stage 1 Easter bonnet parades. Worthy winners have been awarded Easter eggs and you can check out some of the best entries on page 6 of this newsletter. We have also provided every single child with an Easter treat as a little thank you for their hard work over the last term.

I was really proud of our musicians this week who performed in Elgar Hall at Birmingham University. More information about this event can be found on page 4 of this newsletter. Thank you to staff who gave up their time to accompany children to this event.

Trips and visits have continued this week and we have lots more planned for after the Easter break too. Please ensure that you pay the £5 contribution for events that are taking place to ensure can continue to provide such invaluable experiences.

We were visited by Nadine Abeng on Tuesday of this week. Nadine is a Consortium Partner for BEP (Birmingham Education Partnership). She wrote a lovely comment in our visitors book reflecting on her morning with us: “What an impressive school. I have been impressed by the depth of thought that has gone into the whole school curriculum offer. Children here receive an excellent deal and are clearly well prepared to take up their place in society as influential citizens of the world. Staff commitment to educational outcomes and pupil opportunities is exceptional.”

Local Elections

Our school building will be in use on Thursday 5 May for local elections. Therefore, school will be closed for all year groups, apart from Year 6. Year 6 children will be expected to attend for for the morning (9am - 12:30pm) for some intense SATS preparation. School will be open again on Friday 6 May.

Year 6 SATS week

Year 6 SATS tests will begin on Monday 9 May - Thursday 12 May. Children will need to be in school by 8:00 am. This is an extremely important week in the children’s academic life and they MUST attend school everyday, with no exceptions.

On behalf of everyone here at Lea Forest, I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful Easter break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on MONDAY 25 APRIL.

Mr Clarke-Castello

Year 5 had a fantastic day at The Black Country Museum on Thursday.

They completed a rag rug making workshop and took part in a Victorian School lesson at St James’s school. They particularly enjoyed seeing the teacher’s being tested and punished.

Also, we completed a guided tour of the museum learning about the life of children in Victorian Britain. Whilst visiting different houses we discovered who lived there and listened to their life stories.

Over 200 spring holiday clubs have been awarded funding to run between Monday 11th and Friday 22nd April 2022. The holiday clubs are designed for children who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals. Schools can issue a Bring it on Brum! code to each eligible child. Parents/carers will be asked to confirm this code when they book. Details of clubs that are open for bookings via the following link:

https://streetgames.coordinate.cloud

It’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve or beating our 96.5% target.

We can only do this if we all work together!

Our attendance for

the week is

96.1%

Our attendance for

the year to date

96.9%

Keep up the great work!

We had more visitors from other schools visiting this week to observe the exceptional teaching and learning that takes place at Lea Forest. Visitors commented on the ‘magical culture’ we have developed and the wonderful learning behaviours demonstrated by our children. As always, I am so proud of the children and staff. With just one week until our Easter break, I can’t wait to see the Easter bonnets and Easter egg entries come in ready for next Friday.

Local Elections

Our school building will be in use on Thursday 5 May for local elections. Therefore, school will be closed for all year groups, apart from Year 6. Year 6 children will be expected to attend for for the morning (9am - 12:30pm) for some intense SATS preparation. School will be open again on Friday 6 May.

Year 6 SATS week

Our children in Year 6 have been working really hard, pushing their limits in preparation for SATS week. Tests will begin on Monday 9th May - Thursday 12th May Children will need to be in school by 8:00 am. This is the expectation, it is not an option. We will provide a breakfast of a bacon sandwich or a vegetarian equivalent and a drink. Children will be given the opportunity to socialise with their friends and time to discuss the arrangements for the morning with class teachers.

This is an extremely important week in the children’s academic life and they MUST attend school everyday, with no exceptions.

Attendance Spotlight

We will be running an Attendance Spotlight on Friday 6th May with a spotlight prize of one £5 Smyths Toys voucher to be won in each class for children in school that day. Although this week is a shorter week than usual with school closed on Monday 2nd for the Bank Holiday and on Thursday for most pupils for the local elections, it is still important that children attend school every day that we are open. The attendance team will be monitoring attendance closely this week as usual. The Spotlight prizes will be awarded in our celebration assemblies on Friday morning so please make sure your children are in school and are on time so that they have a chance of winning a prize.

More Football Successes

We’ve had another great week of successes on the football pitch for the boys’ and girls’ teams. The boys’ team played two matches, managing to win both, scoring 8 goals against Erdington Hall and Saint Winifred’s. The girls’ team had an unbeaten night too, earning 3 points to our league total. Thank you to Mr Carlton who has been a fabulous coach and manager to both teams.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Mr Clarke-Castello