December 2023

After a hugely successful term we have finally made it to the Christmas holidays. The children have had a wonderful time preparing for Christmas and taking part in festive activities over the last few weeks. The Christmas productions have been absolutely amazing this week and we were delighted with the amount of parents, carers and friends of Lea Forest joining us each day.  The daily raffles have been a huge success and we’ve taken lots of pleasure in awarding bulging hampers each and every day.  

The amount of money raised from our Christmas Fayre and raffles has been remarkable. Thank you so much for your support.  Reception, Year 2 and Year 3 have had the opportunity 

to visit the theatre and Years 4, 5 and 6 have visited local secondary schools (Greenwood and Cockshut Hill) to see their Christmas shows.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to reflect on the last term and celebrate all of the achievements. We are so proud of the academic excellence and opportunities we offer here at Lea Forest. The children receive an exceptional education in every classroom each and every day. 

In true tradition, the staff team have created a Christmas video to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Click on the link to view: https://youtu.be/D-qdZBNg0fw

Attendance Expectations

Children are expected to come to school every day and on time and aim to have 100% attendance. Good attendance is essential to guarantee the highest possible achievement. Lateness and attendance below 100% will have a negative impact on their learning, friendships and life chances.  Regular attendance at school enables children to make the best of the educational opportunities available to them. Parents and carers have a legal responsibility to make sure their children attend school regularly and if they allow their children to stay away from school without good reason they may be prosecuted. Poor attendance has been closely monitored this term and any pupils below 96% attendance to date will be supported to improve their attendance in the new year.  

Reception places (September 2024)

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they will be able to start school in September 2024. Parents must apply online for a reception place at Lea Forest via the: Birmingham City Council website.  The closing date is 15 January 2024 at 11:59pm.  It is really important that you apply on time. If you apply late, you are less likely to get offered a place at any of your preferred schools.

I would like to wish each and every one of you a truly special Christmas. We hope that our children have a special time with their families and loved ones over the Christmas period. They have 

been a credit to you this last term and we look forward to seeing you all safe and well on Tuesday 9 January 2024.

Mr. Clarke-Castello

We are pleased to say that the majority of children have still been attending school regularly and DfE advice has been followed by parents who understand that it is appropriate to send children to school with mild respiratory illnesses; for example general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat.

Please remember that even when absence is authorised due to illness, this still impacts your child’s overall attendance. If the authenticity of illness is in doubt, school can request parents to provide medical evidence and the FAST TRACK legal process will be followed.

t’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve our 96% target.  

We can only do this if we all work together!

Our attendance for 

the week is

94.03%

Our attendance for 

the year to date

96.79%

Keep up the great work!

With the festive period in full swing, voters have been sharing their thoughts on the way Christmas is often depicted. Younger voters have discussed the chaos that often accompanies Christmas and decided on: “Should Christmas be messy?” Meanwhile, older voters have taken a look at some of this year’s advert offerings and have had their say on: “Have Christmas adverts lost their magic?” 

We've been busy recording our trips to school this week and have recorded 6508 active journeys to school so far this month.  Our most active classes this week are: 6CH, 4NN and 5SJ.

It has been amazing to see so many of you practising your fluency of your number facts and times tables in school and at home. 

Here are this week’s Numbots stars:

Year 1 - Shanaya Ahmed Hussain

Year 2 - Yassine Ali Mohammadi

Gruffalos - Adil Rahim

This week’s Rock Legends are:

Year 3 - Cassius Smith

Year 4 - Saalihah Hussain

Year 5 - Mia Evans

Year 6 - Amina Beg

The children in nursery and reception have had an amazing start to their learning journey at Lea Forest. Everybody comments on how settled, engaged and independent the children are. Nursery have had the opportunity to learn and explore inside and outside and to develop their communication and social skills. We are amazed by the progress they have made.  Reception have learnt all of the Phase 2 phonemes and are able to apply these sound in their reading and writing. The writing across Reception is truly remarkable.

We can’t wait for 2024!

Children in years 1 and 2 have settled well into KS1. They have enjoyed visits from The REP Theatre and visiting Wonderland and the Lego Discovery Centre.  We are relentless in helping our children to transition from ‘Learning to Read’ to ‘Reading to Learn’. Our daily ‘Hit Squad’ session in KS1 have contributed massively to lots of our children improving their fluency.  We have introduced a new approach to our writing sequence which is allowing our children really secure those vital writing skills.  There are lots of exciting things to look forward to in the Spring term, Year 2 will be visiting Hatton Country World and Year 1 will be visiting the Botanical gardens.

The children across KS2 have settled brilliantly into this academic year. It was a delight to see everyone return back in September with the new school colour of blue and it has be great to see the high standards of uniform kept up throughout the term. Each child looks prepared and ready to learn and as a result it has been a fantastic start to the year for years 3,4,5 and 6 and a rather enjoyable one too. This academic year has been kick started with lots of fun opportunities, with many wonderful trips and visits including: Cadbury world, various art galleries, different places of worship and even a residential. These opportunities really encapsulate one of our core principles, which is to ensure we deliver the ‘fun and fundamentals’ to our pupils and their learning. 

KS2 have also been embedding a new English approach this year, and we are so stunned by the impact it has already had on the enjoyment for reading and the craftsmanship for writing. The work produced is to a phenomenal standard and we are so proud of how well the everyone has adapted to this curriculum. We look forward to all that the Spring term has to offer.

Elmer’s and Gruffalo's have had a remarkable term. The children have had the opportunity to work with Will our Actor in Residence each week and have had weekly and individual sessions with Caleb our Speech and Language Therapist.  It has been wonderful to see all the children making excellent progress towards their personal goals and see their speech, language and communication skills developing. 

Alongside this, the children have also developed their social skills. The children will continue to work with Will and Caleb and I look forward to celebrating their individual achievements in the New Year. 

This week’s free online safety guide, provided by the National Online Safety (NOS) website, focuses on ‘Among Us’. A multiplayer ‘social deduction’ game set in outer space, Among Us enjoyed a surge in popularity in 2020 and has since maintained a dedicated fanbase (globally, around 60 million regular players each month) thanks to its unique nature, simple premise and ease of access across numerous platforms. The game’s onscreen action revolves around danger, disguise and deception - and there are certain parallels to be drawn with some of the real-life risks that parents and carer of need to be aware of.

Positive Parenting

This week our safeguarding focus is positive parenting and  techniques to help support with managing challenging behaviour at home. A child’s needs and behaviours can change as they grow and it is how we respond to those changes that can make a difference. Every child needs love, guidance, rules and boundaries. It is important to have set routines and be consistent with these. Rewards and sanctions can be used effectively to manage challenging behaviour. It is important to clearly define  the rewards and sanctions that you are setting and then ensure that you are seeing these through. Always remain calm and try not to get into a confrontation with your child. Talk to them about the behaviours being displayed and try to find the underlying cause for these behaviours. Birmingham City Council provides a free online parenting course: From Birmingham with Love.

Wash With Cold Water

     About 90% of the energy the washing machine uses goes towards heating the water. Washing your clothes with cold water saves energy and reduces wrinkles, fading, and wear and tear on your clothing.

Reception places (September 2024)

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they will be able to start school in September 2024. Parents must apply online for a reception place at Lea Forest via the: Birmingham City Council website.  The closing date is 15 January 2024 at 11:59pm.  It is really important that you apply on time. If you apply late, you are less likely to get offered a place at any of your preferred schools. Applications received after the 15 January 2024 will be classed as late applications and will not be processed until after the offer of places on 16 April 2024.

Final Day of term

On the last day of term (Friday 22nd December), we will finishing at 1:30pm.  Please make arrangements for your child(ren) to be collected on time on this day.  Early Years will be dismissed from 1:00pm, Key Stage 1 at 1:10pm and KS2 at 1:20pm.   

We have ended the week, celebrating Have a great weekend! 

Mr. Clarke-Castello

We would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of our families who consistently ensure their children’s attendance and punctuality is good. Getting these important habits established early on in your child’s life will make a difference to their future.There is a proven link between attendance and achievement and we want your children to have the best possible start in life. A child should attend school every day that they are well enough. Unnecessary absences can affect them in many ways, for example by damaging friendships or them missing out on exciting activities.

It’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve our 96% target.  

We can only do this if we all work together!

Our attendance for 

the week is

95.7%

Our attendance for 

the year to date

96.8%

Keep up the great work!

We have had a remarkable term with children attending the Children’s University Clubs. Each child has been rewarded with a star sticker to place inside their own Passport to Success. There will be clubs during the Spring term and a booking form will be sent out on class dojo at the end of this term. 

Monday

Year 1 & 2 - Yoga

Year 1 & 2 - Art

Year 1 & 2  -Lego

Year 3-6  -TTRS

Wednesday

Reception -  Music

Reception Lego 

Year 1 & 2 Numbots/TTRS

Year 3-6 Cookery

Reception - Year 6 Library

Friday

Reception -  Portal

Year 1 & 2 - Dance,

We will be offering a range of sports and children's university clubs next term from Tuesday 9th January 2024.

Confirmation texts will be sent on Monday 8th January 2024.

To see the list of available clubs and book a place please click on the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/LeaForestClubs2024

Year 6 took part in a Mental Health workshop this week with David who from Forward Thinking and a member of the STICK team. The children were very knowledgeable and David was very impressed with their maturity and contributions when discussing mental health. They were enthusiastic and participated brilliantly in the role play sharing strategies for coping with everyday life situations that could impact someone's mental health.

Overall, they were remarkable ambassadors for our school and David commented on their participation and said that he is looking forward to his next visit to Lea Forest.

t has been amazing to see so many of you practising your fluency of your number facts and times tables in school and at home. 

Here are this week’s Numbots stars:

Year 1 - Hareem Khalida Malik

Year 2 - Nimrah Shah

Gruffalos - Abdullah Hussain

This week’s Rock Legends are:

Year 3 - Lacie Betty Butler

Year 4 - Zarina Zaheer

Year 5 - Layla-Lei Murphy Atkins

Year 6 - Carimo Lopes Camar

We've been busy recording our trips to school this week and have recorded 4390 active journeys to school so far this month.  Our most active classes this week are: 

6CH, 4NN and 5SJ.

Following news from the Senedd that Wales’ academic year could be altered in favour of a shorter summer break, this week voters have offered their views on the redistribution of time off. They have thought about the different factors at play when it comes to school holidays, including their own wellbeing, costs, and childcare. They have then decided on: 

“Should school holidays be spread out?”

This week’s free online safety guide, provided by the National Online Safety (NOS) website, focuses on Overwatch 2. A long-awaited sequel to 2016’s massively successful Overwatch, this is a futuristic shooting game with a focus on teamwork and strategy which gives it an extra dimension to the majority of titles in the genre. Its cast of characters is diverse and memorable, while there’s a definite (and rewarding) learning curve to players improving their skill. Created by established developers, Blizzard Entertainment, Overwatch 2 is free to play, with an emphasis on competitive multiplayer action.

Gangs

This week our safeguarding focus is gangs. The word ‘gang’ means different things in different contexts, and the government distinguishes between peer groups, street gangs and organised criminal gangs. It's not illegal for a young person to be in a gang, however, gang membership can be linked to illegal activity, particularly organised criminal gangs involved in trafficking, drug dealing and violent crime. Young people may become involved in gangs for many reasons, including: peer pressure and wanting to fit in with friends; they feel respected and important; they want to feel protected from other gangs or bullies or they want to make money and are promised rewards. For more information visit the NSPCC website.

As we approach Christmas, it is full steam ahead here at Lea Forest.  It’s been a bumper-packed week with so many visitors, trips, workshops, awards and celebrations - our feet haven’t touched the ground! 

Attendance

Unfortunately, our attendance has fallen well below our expectations this week.  Please make every effort to ensure children are in school every day! I am aware that it is that time of year with lots of  bugs lingering around, but if your child is well enough to come to school, please send them in. If they are too poorly during the school day, we will contact you.  The challenge for next week is to see how many classes can achieve 100% - allowing children to learn more, supporting them to reach their full potential. The children are so excited about earning stars for their passports., but they can only do this if they are in school EVERY DAY. 

Punctuality

At Lea Forest, we monitor punctuality as well as attendance. The law treats some persistent lateness in the same way as irregular attendance and parents may be prosecuted by the Local Authority if late arrival is not resolved.  The school gates open daily at 8:45. Please make sure your child is at school on time so that they do not miss out on learning time.

Poor punctuality can lead to your child…

• Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day

• Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends

• Missing the beginning of vital lessons

Festive Crafternoon

Thank you to the children, parents, carers and family members that joined our Early Years and Key Stage 1 Crafternoon this week.  We were so impressed by attendance and were delighted that everyone had such a wonderful time. More of these to come in the Spring Term.  We will be holding some DT workshops for our Key Stage 2 classes very soon, so look out for invites from class teachers. 

Bring it On Brum

There are still places available at free holiday clubs over Christmas - many of these provide lunch for your children too. Please do take a look and contact venues for more details: https://bringitonbrum.coordinate.cloud Our School HAF code which you require for booking is: 3302096 

Reception places (September 2024)

If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they will be able to start school in September 2024. Parents must apply online for a reception place at Lea Forest via the: Birmingham City Council website.  The closing date is 15 January 2024 at 11:59pm.  It is really important that you apply on time. If you apply late, you are less likely to get offered a place at any of your preferred schools. Applications received after the 15 January 2024 will be classed as late applications and will not be processed until after the offer of places on 16 April 2024.

Final Day of term

On the last day of term (Friday 22nd December), we will finishing at 1:30pm.  Please make arrangements for your child(ren) to be collected on time on this day.  Early Years will be dismissed from 1:00pm, Key Stage 1 at 1:10pm and KS2 at 1:20pm.   

We have ended the week, celebrating Have a great weekend! 

Mr. Clarke-Castello

We would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of our families who consistently ensure their children’s attendance and punctuality is good. Getting these important habits established early on in your child’s life will make a difference to their future.There is a proven link between attendance and achievement and we want your children to have the best possible start in life. A child should attend school every day that they are well enough. Unnecessary absences can affect them in many ways, for example by damaging friendships or them missing out on exciting activities.

It’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve our 96% target.  

We can only do this if we all work together!

Our attendance for 

the week is

95.1%

Our attendance for 

the year to date

96.9%

Keep up the great work!

“Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.” (Pearson 2021)

At Lea Forest, we place high importance on daily reading. Each child is provided with a reading record and books to take home. We ask that the reading records are signed daily and brought into school where they will be collected in, checked and signed by an adult. This is a non-negotiable expectation.

It might seem like everything has gone digital, but books still play a very important part in school life. As well as giving your child a head start, developing a love of reading can be really enjoyable. Make books and stories part of everyday life:

• Build a reading story into a routine, e.g. a story at bedtime.

• Stick your feet up and let your child see your reading a book.

• Go to the library so your child can choose some books to borrow for free.

• Read in fun places, e.g. a den made from blankets.

• Give books as birthday presents - this will show you value them.

• Keep books in your bag or the car. 

It has been amazing to see so many of you practising your fluency of your number facts and times tables in school and at home. 

Here are this week’s Numbots stars:

Year 1 - Shanaya Ahmed Hussain

Year 2 - Nimrah Shah

Gruffalos - Aadam Nawaz

This week’s Rock Legends are:

Year 3 - Alex Thornton

Year 4 - Aisha Afzal

Year 5 - Amelia White

Year 6 - Skye Warr

Our Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) ‘Statement of Intent’ at Lea Forest is to "To develop creative and confident communication within another language, understanding and responding verbally and in written form, with increasing fluency and ambition." 

The ability to speak other languages opens up new and exciting opportunities on a global level. At Lea Forest, we aim to deliver language rich lessons that are fun and engaging, that both inspire our learners and lay the foundations for successful language acquisition in Key Stage 3. Children are taught Spanish weekly in short-burst, 30 minute sessions. These lessons focus primarily on the acquisition of speaking and listening skills, whilst also incorporating opportunities to develop reading and writing abilities. Our approach to learning a language puts emphasis on a fun, relaxed atmosphere where praise is given to all abilities and children feel confident to push their limits. Mediums such as ICT, games, flash cards and cultural exposure are consistently used to support children in their learning. To find out more about MFL, check out the website.

This week, voters have been celebrating International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPWD), which took place on 3rd December. At both levels, they have considered the ways in which technology can improve accessibility for all, taking time to explore everyday tools found in our homes and communities, as well as future innovations that could improve our lives for the better. They have answered “Do you know how technology can make life easier for you?” in KS1, and “Is technology the answer to improving accessibility?” in KS2.

We've been busy recording our trips to school this week and have recorded 2163 active journeys to school so far this month.  

Our most active classes this week are: 

RFH, 2BS and 3KR

This week’s free online safety guide, provided by the National Online Safety (NOS) website, focuses on Grand Theft Auto. GTA is an action-adventure video game series where players control criminals and wreak havoc in order to complete missions and progress through the game. During the early stages of the game, it solely focuses on completing missions, however as the game grew more  popular the makers of GTA decided to introduce a narrative to each edition of the game. Grand Theft Auto is accessible on a number of devices including: Playstation, XBox, PC, Switch and mobile…

County Lines

This week our safeguarding focus is County Lines. County Lines is the police term for urban gangs exploiting young people into moving drugs from a hub, normally a large city, into other markets - suburban areas and market and coastal towns - using dedicated mobile phone lines or “deal lines”. Children as young as 12 years old have been exploited into carrying drugs for gangs. This type of exploitation can involve children being trafficked away from their home area, staying in accommodation and selling and manufacturing drugs. In some cases the dealers will take over a local property, normally belonging to a vulnerable person, and use it to operate their criminal activity from. This is known as cuckooing. For more information visit the NSPCC website

At Lea Forest we aim to develop our pupils’ character through the growth of relationships that define us as human. Through our curriculum, we develop a set of competencies (behaviours) which enable each and every one of our pupils to lead a remarkable life. These competencies can be found at in the ‘Character Curriculum’ section of our website.

In addition to the tasks provided by individual class teachers, a ‘Character Curriculum Challenge’ will be set fortnightly on the newsletter. On this occasion, we would like you to play a board game or design your own. Some fantastic (free) board games templates can be found on the Museum of Gaming website. The website offers a variety of boards and rule suggestions that can be adapted to suit new or existing games. So will you create this years must-buy game in time for Christmas? As always, remember to share pictures with Mr Croxon or your teachers via Class Dojo, Twitter and Facebook. 

Ditch The Takeaway

Plastic, wrappers, cutlery and styrofoam takeaway containers dominate ocean plastic waste, accounting for up to 88 per cent of the waste polluting shorelines. Unfortunately, waste is almost unavoidable when ordering a take-away, so it is almost always better to dine-in.   

It has been an extremely busy week, with just 3 weeks left until we break-up for the Christmas holidays.  The week started with a regional training day, with staff from 5 other AET Midlands schools attending.  This was a great event which gave us the opportunity to host over 150 teachers and leaders.  As always, everyone was blown away by the wonderful learning environments we have on offer here at Lea Forest. More importantly, it was an opportunity to network and share excellence across our region.  

The children have been hard at work this week, but I have also heard lots of singing and rehearsals taking place in readiness for our Christmas productions. Please make sure you have checked the dates for these events.       

Inclusion Quality Mark Report

A few weeks ago, we were visited by Amjid Zamen, an IQM Assessor.  During his visit, Amjid visited lessons, spoke with staff, children and parents and looked and samples of children’s work.  Miss Ward has done a wonderful job as our Inclusion lead in school. Here is a quote from the most recent report, which identifies Lea Forest as an IQM FLAGSHIP SCHOOL:“Lea Forest fully meets the standard required by the Inclusion  Quality Mark's Inclusive School Award.  Following three years as a Centre of Excellence  the team at Lea Forest Primary Academy has established a commitment to the Inclusion Quality Mark and to continually self-reflect to improve as one school.  From discussion  with leaders, I  would recommend that Lea Forest Primary Academy moves to being an IQM Flagship School.”

Parent Mental Health Awareness Workshop

On Monday 4th December (9am – 10am) we will be holding a 'Parent Mental Health Awareness Workshop’, where practitioners from the STICK team (part of Forward Thinking Birmingham) will be in school to deliver key information to parents.  This session will offer practical techniques and advice for building resilience and supporting mental health.  It will also go through opening up conversations about mental health and allow parents to ask questions and seek support.

Winter Crafternoon

We will be holding a ‘Winter Crafternoon’ on Tuesday 5th December (3:30 - 4:30pm,) whereby you have the opportunity to come along and work with your children on some winter craft projects.  We will provide all of the resources, all you need to do is turn up and be prepared to get your hands dirty! We will also be selling mince pies and hot drinks during this event, so please bring some loose change.

Christmas Fair

We will holding our Christmas Fair on Friday 8th December 2023 from 3:00pm - 5:00pm.  Entry will be via door 4 on Eddish Road.  There will be lots of stalls, food, games and crafts and even the opportunity to meet Santa.  In preparation for this, we are holding a number of non-uniform days in order to collect some of the items required.  Please note: School will finish for children at 2:30pm on this day to allow us to get the stalls prepared. We look 

forward to seeing you all!

Final Day of term

On the last day of term (Friday 22nd December), we will finishing at 1:30pm.  Please make arrangements for your child(ren) to be collected on time on this day.  Early Years will be dismissed from 1:00pm, Key Stage 1 at 1:10pm and KS2 at 1:20pm.   

We would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to all of our families who consistently ensure their children’s attendance and punctuality is good. Getting these important habits established early on in your child’s life will make a difference to their future.There is a proven link between attendance and achievement and we want your children to have the best possible start in life. A child should attend school every day that they are well enough. Unnecessary absences can affect them in many ways, for example by damaging friendships or them missing out on exciting activities.

It’s great to see everyone working so hard to achieve our 96% target.  

We can only do this if we all work together!

Our attendance for 

the week is

96.4%

Our attendance for 

the year to date

97.0%

Keep up the great work!

This week, Year 5 visited Wolverhampton Museum to explore and appreciate artwork in all its different forms. 

We had an amazing time finding out the background to our favourite pieces of artwork, but we were especially keen while exploring the electronics gallery. This experience gave us inspirational ideas for when we create our own ‘amazing animals’ creations, during our DT topic.

Miss Jones   

We are pleased to announce that this year’s Christmas Fayre will be held on Friday 8 December. To make the fayre as successful as previous years, we will be holding non-uniform days and asking for an exchange of a small gift for the stalls, as listed.

Friday 17 November

Bottles

Friday 24 November

Tins, Cans & Packets

Friday 1 December

Sweets and Chocs

Friday 8 December

Cakes & Bric-a-Brac

It has been amazing to see so many of you practising your fluency of your number facts and times tables in school and at home. 

Here are this week’s Numbots stars:

Year 1 - Abigail Adhanom

Year 2 - Aaminah Khan

Gruffalos - Abdullah Hussain

This week’s Rock Legends are:

Year 3 - Aydan Salahuddin

Year 4 - Aisha Abbasi

Year 5 - Bilal Diirane

Year 6 - Lillie Mae Riddell

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education is a school curriculum subject designed to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes students need to manage their lives, now and in the future. 

At Lea Forest Academy, we have aim to have a positive impact on a number of outcomes for our young people, including

their physical and mental health, safety, careers, financial capability and economic well-being.

Our ambitious PSHE curriculum covers a range of topics, including many pressing issues facing young people today

including: mental health; staying safe online; positive relationships; drugs; alcohol; challenging extremism, careers and financial literacy.

Our curriculum is designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills to manage their lives effectively. We want our students to develop an understanding of the ever changing world in which we live, so we encourage them to utilise these skills by playing a positive and active role in their community.

We've been busy recording our trips to school this week and have recorded 5713 active journeys to school so far this month.  Our most active classes this week are: 

RFH, 2BS and 5SJ