Belswains News

Friday 17th October 2025

Year 2's Wild Zoolab Adventure!

Year 2 had a fantastic time during their visit from Zoolab! Lottie amazed the children with a fascinating selection of animals, including a snake called Banana, Pip the tortoise, Millie millipede, Bullseye the giant snail and even Tilly the tarantula — who originally arrived at Lottie’s doorstep in a shoebox (not quite the wedding shoes her fiancé was expecting!).

The children became real-life animal detectives, following clues to discover which habitats each creature came from. They also learned lots of interesting facts, such as what the animals eat and how old they are.

The highlight for many was the chance to touch each of the animals — except for Tilly, who is very delicate (and a little grumpy at times!). It was a truly memorable experience that brought their learning to life!

Author Visit

Children in Key Stage 2 had a fantastic time last week when author, Alex Atkinson, came to visit! She kicked off the day with an exciting interactive assembly, complete with a spooky quiz that had everyone joining in. The children then enjoyed creating imaginative stories with her and took part in a fun-filled competition to see who could wrap up their ‘mummy’ the fastest! Later, Alex visited each class, taking time to chat with the children and sign their books. She was full of praise for the pupils, commenting on how polite and enthusiastic they were throughout her visit.

Celebration Assembly

What a fantastic start to our Celebration Assembly this morning! Jake wowed our entire primary school (over 400 pupils) with his brilliant rendition of a Beatles classic on the piano. The whole hall was captivated from the very first note. Well done, Jake, and thank you for sharing your amazing talent with us!

Reception Making Potions!

The children have been practising using their scissors in the provision.

The children then cut the herbs they wanted to add to their potions.

The children then used pipets, leaves and coloured water.

They told us that the wizards potion smelt amazing!

Gold Medal Success for Nashan

We are delighted to share the fantastic news that Nashan, a talented member of our school community, achieved a gold medal at the National Schools Indoor Ski-Racing Championships 2025 on Monday, 6th October.

Following this outstanding performance, Nashan has been selected for the National Schools Alpine Squad 2025–26, giving him the opportunity to represent Belswains Primary School in national competitions and further develop his skiing skills alongside other young athletes from across the UK and beyond.

We are incredibly proud of Nashan’s dedication, perseverance, and the positive way he represents our school. His achievements are an inspiration to us all, and we look forward to cheering him on in future competitions!

Lego Workshop

What an exciting three days we have had in school! Every class took part in a JuniorSTEM’s Lego Robotics workshop.

Children had the chance to build fantastic Lego WeDo models and then learn to program sensors, motors and lights to bring their creations to life! The workshops were highly engaging, hands-on, and full of learning, creativity, and fun.

From whirring robots to flashing lights, the excitement and teamwork on display were incredible. A big thank you to Book JuniorSTEM for inspiring our budding engineers and programmers of the future!

Parent /Teacher Consulations

We are very excited about seeing all our parents and carers on site next week. For those who are new to our school, we just wanted to give you some guidance on how they work:

Parent/ Teacher consultations take place in your child's classroom.
Parents/ Carers arrive through the main entrances to the buildings (main office/ main doors doors between buildings/ red bridge). Please do not try and enter from the playground directly into the classroom, as you may interrupt someone's meeting.
Your child's books will be the table in the corridor outside your child's classroom. These are for you to look at before your meeting. Chairs are also provided in the corridor.
You will have booked a time and teachers will keep to those times, as we are aware some parents have multiple bookings.
If you arrive late to your appointment, you will have what is left of your time slot.
Governors will be handing out our Parent Questionnaires. You can complete this online or on paper. You can easily spot Governors as they have their Black Governor Lanyard and ID badge, come and say hello!

What is EPOM and EPOW?

At Belswains, we are incredibly proud of the way our children take pride in everything they do. This positive attitude shines through in the effort and care they put into their classwork. To help guide this, children follow our EPOM (Every Piece of Maths) rules in Maths and our EPOW (Every Piece of Work) rules in all other subjects. Each week, classes hold a special EPOW and EPOM assembly to celebrate those pupils who have shown outstanding pride in their work. The children love receiving their EPOW and EPOM stickers as a mark of their hard work and commitment to doing their best!

Smartwatches in School

We would like to remind parents and carers that smart watches are not permitted in school. Children are encouraged to wear a simple analogue or digital watch to help them learn to tell the time and manage their daily routines.

Why Smartwatches Aren’t Allowed in the Classroom

While smartwatches can be helpful in some ways, we ask that pupils leave them at home during class. Even if features like games, videos, or photos can be turned off, the devices can still:

Distract students from learning and participating in class.
Tempt students to try games, videos, or messaging.
Complicate classroom management, requiring extra monitoring from teachers.
Raise privacy concerns with cameras or microphones and connection to the internet.

Our goal is to keep classrooms focused, safe, and fair for all students. Thank you for helping us support a positive learning environment!

Celebration Assembly

Congratulations to all the pupils who received a certificate in assembly, staff have noticed you doing something above and beyond!

Reception Robins Nuala for fantastic work in phonics using her Fred fingers.

Reception Robins Nathan for working so hard in phonics on his letter formation.

Reception Sparrows Kayla for being a kind friend and always helping others.

Reception Sparrows Carla for always working hard in Phonics and impeccable behaviour.

Year 1 Goldcrests Abigail for being a brilliant classroom helper.

Year 1 Goldcrests Kamran for working really hard in Maths.

Year 1 Firecrests Burraq for doing lots of work independently.

Year 1 Firecrests Alita for giving some great answers on the carpet.

Year 2 Starlings Sienna for having a fantastic attitude to learning.

Year 2 Starlings Grace for persevering in her learning and always doing her best.

Year 2 Swifts Elsie-Ann for being a great buddy.

Year 2 Swifts Liliana for independent working in English and Maths.

Year 3 Jays Aadam for excellent effort in Maths and some very impressive column addition work.

Year 3 Jays Noah for his participation and hard work in Maths.

Year 3 Redwings Finley for making the right choices and being a fantastic role model.

Year 3 Redwings Nikolai for fantastic threat narrative about the Iron Man .

Year 4 Owls Ezmai for sound advice in PSHE when faced with a dangerous situation.

Year 4 Owls Frankie for his great idea for a quiz to bring the community to together

Year 4 Nightingales Seth for showing excellent confidence when adding with an exchange.

Year 4 Nightingales Angus for creating a wonderful woven design using a loom in DT.

Year 5 Eagles Aneeqa for working really hard in Maths this week.

Year 5 Eagles Amelia for being a kind and supportive buddy.

Year 5 Hawks Huzaifa for always being ready to listen and showing great manners.

Year 5 Hawks Oliver for being a kind and supportive friend this week.

Year 6 Red Kites The Whole Class for showing so much support and kindness to each other.

Year 6 Red Kites Evelyn for being respectful and supportive.

Year 6 Falcons Parker for an amazing piano performance in front of KS2 and teachers.

Year 6 Falcons Louis for being a good role model to his peers in class.

Diary Dates

Tuesday 21st October

Parents / Teacher Consultations

Governor Questionnaire

Thursday 23rd October

Parents / Teacher Consultations

Y5 & Y6 Cross Country at Longdean School

Friday 24th October

PTA Halloween Disco

Monday 27th October -Friday 31st October

Half term

Monday 3rd November

INSET DAY

Tuesday 4th November

Children return to school

Saturday 22nd November

PTA Christmas Market

Friday 19th December

Last day of term - School closes at 1.30pm

Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January 2026

Christmas holiday

Monday 5th January 2026

Staff INSET

Tuesday 6th January 2026

Children return to school

Climate Reminder: Parent Travel Survey

Thank you to all parents who have already completed our travel survey! The survey link was sent via email on Tuesday, 14th October.

We are keeping the survey open for another 7 days to give everyone a chance to respond.

As part of our new Climate Action Plan, we are gathering information on how pupils travel to and from school. Your feedback will help us identify ways to reduce our environmental impact and support more sustainable travel options.

Your input is essential in helping us create a greener, more sustainable future for our pupils and our community.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey if you haven’t done so already.

Thank you for your support!

Nut Free School

We’d like to remind everyone that our school is nut-free to help keep all of our children safe and healthy. Even if no one in your family has allergies, please remember that products containing nuts, such as pesto, Nutella, and Kinder Bueno shouldn’t be brought to school.

Thank you so much for taking the time to check lunchboxes and snacks. Your care and support make such a big difference in keeping our school a safe place for everyone. 💛

FREE Mental Health First Aid

We’re excited to inform you of a FREE Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training session tailored specifically for parents and carers.

Mental Health First Aid Training for Parents/Carers
Friday, 21 November 2025
09:30 – 16:00
Hobbs Hill Wood Primary School, Hemel Hempstead

This full-day training is a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable skills in recognising and supporting mental health challenges in children and young people. Whether you're a parent, guardian, or carer, this session will provide you with the confidence and tools to support your child’s emotional wellbeing.

Please note: This session is completely free to attend, but we do need a minimum number of participants to run it. Without enough sign-ups, we’ll unfortunately have to cancel and that would be a real loss.

Don’t miss out, see the flyer opposite for more details and register your interest today!

Let’s work together to support the mental wellbeing of our children.

Wet Play Items

An excuse to spring clean!

We are looking to refresh some of the games we have available for indoor play in the classrooms. If you have anything at home that you feel may be suitable, please drop to the school office and we'll distribute across the school. Thank you.

School Tours

Mrs Claridge has begun leading school tours this term. If you know someone who is considering joining our community, please let them know that they can contact the school office on 01442 264 324 or via email at admin@belswains.herts.sch.uk to arrange a visit.

We are delighted to share that admissions to Belswains continue to be strong, bucking the national trend of falling pupil numbers due to the lower birth rate. This is a wonderful reflection of the school’s profile and reputation within our community.

For Reception 2025, we received an impressive 151 applications for just 60 places.