As part of our Neuroscience week, we enjoyed having Rockkidz in school this week to promote resilience and a positive growth mindset, where they rocked out to some brilliant rock songs! 

• We sent an email this week about a Parent Governor vacancy being available. If you are interested, read the section below to find out how you can apply for this exciting role.

• Is your child starting SECONDARY SCHOOL next year here is the link to Surrey County Council's website to register your child for their secondary school place : https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/admissions/secondary 

• Thank you to Mrs Sherlock, our phonics lead, for hosting this week's Phonics/early reading workshop for parents. Please check our school website under 'Curriculum' for more resources on how to support your child at home.

• If any parents wish to join our active Friends of Byfleet helper group, please email friendsofbyfleetprimary@gmail.com - you needn't commit more than a few hours a year to help our Friends raise valuable funds for our school and it's a great way to meet new parents and make a big difference to the offer we can give our children with the funds raised!

• Thank you to the parent who attended the Reception Parents' Information Evening to find out how you can help your child at home. The information shared can be found here:

        Reception          Year 1              Year 2                   Year 4                   Year 5                    Year 6           

• We are lucky to have several adult reading volunteers work with us, who have started back this week. If you are keen to volunteer to become a reading volunteer with our children, please email the office and let them know on info@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk 

• A gentle reminder to please report your child's absence using the email absences@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk. 

Please notify school on EVERY day that you child is not in school, for safeguarding purposes. 

Last week, 3 parents did not notify us of their children's absence. Please help our admin team by ensuring you report ALL absences, for every day that you child is not in school. We have a duty of care and safeguarding for your child so will always follow up any unreported absence. 

• Please look out for little spelling book marks in your child's reading diary from next week. These words are personalised words for your child to focus on (in addition to their 10 weekly spelling words). 

• A copy of The Acceptable Use of Computing/Online equipment was sent via email this week. This agreement shows how we can work together to keep your child safe online. Please acknowledge you have received and read this by responding to the Google Form within the email - many thanks.

• Year 6 Residential to PGL Bawdsey Manor: the deadline for making a deposit payment is Tuesday, 10th October 2023. Please see new residential dates at the end of our newsletter.

• Just a reminder that we operate a one-way system at drop off/collection time: please enter via the double car gates and exit via the pedestrian gate. This will help us keep down the congestion, particularly with Year 5/6 being released from the double gates at the end of the day.

Well done to the following children for being recognised for doing something brilliant this fortnight......

Last week, BPS pupils took part in the first democratic vote of our school year by voting for their House Captains.  Each candidate made a short presentation to their Houses and then all pupils voted. Results were very close indeed! 

Year three have been working incredibly hard this term. They have all been working hard on ther presentation in books, In Writing they have been concentrating on their handwriting and have written a diary entry inspired by the book UG boy genius of the stoneage. In Maths have been looking at addition using number lines, number bonds and concrete materials. The children have been excited to share their homework and we have displayed it in our classroom, it has been wonderful to hear and see the children share there facts and use them in their topic lessons . Well done to all the children for a brilliant start to Year 3!

Pupil Premium is additional funding given to schools for pupils who have been registered as being entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years. Schools receive this funding to support their eligible pupils and narrow the attainment gap between them and their peers.  

If you are unsure if you qualify, complete the form and return it to Byfleet Primary and we will work with Surrey to check your eligibility.

Other Pupil Premiums are available to the school if parents or guardians meet the criteria. 

Free School Meals can be provided to pupils if parents/guardians meet the eligibility.

We urge you to complete this form even if your child does not take a school meal.

For any queries, please contact the school office via info@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk.

Last week I experienced an eye-opening and highly concerning website called OMEGLE.

We urge parents to check their child's phones regularly and have serious conversations about keeping themselves safe online.

What is Omegle? What parents need to know...

What is Omegle?

Omegle is one of the more popular video chat sites available online. It pairs random users identified as ‘You’ and ‘Stranger’ to chat online via ‘Text’, ‘Video’ or both.

A user can also choose to add their interests, and Omegle will try to pair a user with someone who has similar interests. If not, you could meet anyone. Chats are anonymous unless the user states who they are. It’s free and no account sign up is required.

There are many imitation apps such as ‘Chat for Omegle’, ‘Free Omegle Chat’ and ‘Omeglers’, but there is no longer an official Omegle app. All sites and apps appear to share the same features and purpose, but only some are linked to Omegle. As such, parents and carers should check to see which apps kids have got installed on their phones and the risks presented with each.

Who uses Omegle?

Like most social media sites, Omegle has a minimum age rating of 13 years with parental permission. Without parental permission, users must be 18 years or older.

Omegle is particularly popular in the US, UK, India and Mexico. It is also extremely popular among children and young people because a lot of social media influencers use and post about it. For example, the #omegle hashtag has approximately 5 billion views on TikTok.

Is Omegle safe?

Risk of sharing or viewing inappropriate content

Omegle does not appear to have powerful moderation. It also does not require registration or have age verification, which makes young people a potential target for abuse online. Its site states “predators have been known to use Omegle, so please be careful.”

Children and young people may be asked by strangers to share their name, age and location. So, it’s also important to talk to your child about sharing personal information online with strangers.

A BBC investigation found sexually explicit videos and live streams involving minors as young as 7 or 8 which spread across the site during the Covid-19 pandemic. BBC alerted the relevant authorities. However, there is still a risk of users unexpectedly coming across pornography and other types of inappropriate content.

According to the BBC’s investigation, schools, police forces and governments have issued warnings about Omegle in the UK, US, France, Norway, Canada and Australia. There were also investigations into online child abuse on Omegle along with reports of racism, extremist views, scams and cyberbullying.