BPS Newsletter

• This week we had a double celebration of Antibullying Week & Remembrance Day. Our Year 5 Antibullying Ambassadors did a great job of reminding the children in their assembly about calling out 'bullying behaviour' by using STOP (Start Telling Other People). Our Year 6's did a sterling job reciting the poem 'Flanders Fields' as part of our Remembrance Day assembly. Well done to everyone involved. 

• Mrs Scott has been beavering away behind the scenes on building a new website for BPS. We look forward to our new website being launched shortly!

• Year 2 had an exciting visit from the Fire Brigade last week, learning about fire safety - perfect timing for Bon Fire Night.

• Year 4 enjoyed taking part in a wild life day as part of the work they are doing with The Wildlife Trust, following their recent trip to Nowerwood. 

• This week, Year 3, 4 and 5 enjoyed a theatre show linked to positive mental health. Read about this below. 

• Thank you to the Year 1 parents who donated baked goods for the Year 1 cake sale yesterday. The Friends of BPS look forward to purchasing new playground equipment for lunchtime play, whilst the boggy field is out of action over the winter months.

• Mr Bowman hosted our Parent/Carer Maths' Workshop last week. Despite this event being widely advertised since the start of the academic year, only 1 parent attended. We would like to encourage our BPS families to please come along to the various events the school hosts, to find out more about how you can support your child's learning at home. Staff invest much of their time, beyond what they do on a daily basis in their teaching roles, preparing for events like these so it will be great to see more parents/carers take part. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve the uptake of parent participation, please share your views at info@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk 

• It was wonderful to invite Mrs Hackney from a local Byfleet Charity, along to BPS this week. Read more about our Year 6's lovely community deed below.

• Don't forget to come along to next week's Byfleet Village Lights Switch On, which takes place on Thursday 21st November, in Byfleet Village, where we'd like as many of our BPS children to come along to sing Christmas Carols. More information can be viewed below. 

• Thank you for all your Harvest donations for Woking Food Bank.  It's great to support our local community in this way.

• We are always looking for new opportunities for our children; this includes looking at ways of increasing our extra curricular activities after school. Staff-led clubs run across the year, however as a small school, this is limited. If there are any parents who wish to be more involved in running a club, please be in touch as we'd welcome any additional support to overcome this. 

• OPEN DAYS: If you have a child who is due to start school in 25/26, please register for a school tour for the Autumn term, here. Mrs Meyrick will be happy to show you around our wonderful school, BPS! Spread the word...

• If you are interested in hiring our school hall, a classroom, our outdoor hive or swimming pool (summer term only for the pool) for an event you may have in mind, don't hesitate to speak to Mrs Scott in the office who will be able to share our pricing details. 

Year 2 had a visit from two Surrey firefighters last Thursday.  This was a very interesting session with the children learning what to do in the event of a fire.  They learnt that every family should have a fire plan, just in case and we should all check our smoke alarms once a month.  To quote one of the children, 'I loved the 'Hunt the Floot' video as it was a really fun way of learning a really important thing.'. The video showed them why they should never play with matches or lighters. 

Surrey Wildlife visited Byfleet to deliver an exciting session focusing on the fascinating world of bugs and wildlife. 

This engaging outdoor learning experience allowed the students to explore the role insects play in our ecosystems. 

Through hands-on activities and interactive discussions, the students deepened their understanding of nature. 

Scroll through our PIXL Reading for Pleasure newsletter below, which has some wonderful suggestions of new books/stories to share with your child. 

Well done to all the children who have been awarded their 'Bronze Reading Award' today, as we hit the 50 day mark since September! Keep reading everyday!

The Space Between (my head & heart) show took place this Tuesday, which explores everyday wellbeing, perspective and resilience.

When an astronaut and an alien are both stranded on an unfamiliar planet they must learn to understand each other if they want to get their feet back on the ground. Using interactive, musical storytelling, Peer Production’s play aims to give children healthy strategies to improve everyday emotional wellbeing and build self-esteem and resilience. 

The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance and we hope the production will be back next year.

The school has arranged self-paced parents session which is available from today, 15th November.

Session title: Online Safety Primary Parents

Date of access: November 15th 2024 - December 12th 2024 09:00

Session duration: 0.5 hour/s

Joining instructions:

Please find below the links to provide immediate access to the sessions. Once the attendee’s details are entered, the session will start immediately:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7550012539498949725

Important information:

• The session is 1 hour in duration, without breaks.

• Attendees must register and log on INDIVIDUALLY to be registered as attending the training.

• All forms of digital devices can be used to access the sessions. 

Byfleet Village Light Switch On:

On Friday 21st November we will be kick starting Christmas with our local community at our Byfleet Village Light Switch On. Come and support our wonderful children singing Christmas carols. On Monday 18th we will be selling light up Christmas goodies outside of the school. Cash and Card accepted. 

BPS Christmas Fair:

We are excited to be hosting an in school Christmas fair this year on Friday 13th December. We will have a fun filled afternoon from 3.15 to 5pm where we will host our Santa's Grotto, music, games, gifts and treats! Come along for some festive fun.

Tickets available via www.pta-events.co.uk/fbps 

Just to remind parents/carers that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), they will be liable to receive a penalty notice. The issue of a Penalty Notice will also be actioned where a pupil has incurred 7 or more unauthorised sessions during the preceding 6 school weeks. These also included 'lates' after the register has closed. 

**Changes to the National framework for Penalty Notices came into force for Penalty Notice Fines on 19th August 2024**

• First offence within a 3 year rolling period will incur a charge of £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days, Increasing to £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days.

• Second offence within a 3 year rolling period will incur a flat rate of £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days. 

• The third time an offence is committed within a 3 year rolling period for term time leave or irregular attendance the case will be presented straight to the Magistrates Court. 

Please view our Attendance Policy here for further information.

We would like to invite children who are due to start Reception in September 2025, and their families, to our Nursery Activity Day to make some Christmas themed crafts with our staff.....Email to reserve your space. 

We have an exciting after school club that will commence on Monday, 4th November (after the half term break)  Mia's School of Dance.  There will be two classes available :

• Mondays at 3:15pm to 4:15pm (starting 4th November) for Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and    Year 3

• Tuesdays at 3:15pm to 4:15pm (starting 5th November) for Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6

Mia is very excited about this new club and if you would like to book your child onto the club please book via info@miasschoolofdance.com

Hello BPS Parents,

With this week being Anti-bullying week, there have been lots of discussions around respect, inclusivity and tolerance of people who are different to us. On Wednesday 13th November is it also World Kindness Day, which we will talk more about in our assemblies next week! School this week has been a hub of talk around kindness, consideration and thoughtfulness. It has been delightful hearing children celebrate excellent features of friendship but also understanding and knowing what to do when it goes wrong. Every child can identify trusted adults and feels comfortable talking to an adult in or out of school. 

It is really important we reiterate to our children that bullying is defined by: several times on purpose. Around school there are posters which detail what bullying is and what bullying isn't. This information is also on the school website. If your child is worried about bullying and is unsure if it is happening to them, please encourage them to speak to an adult in school or write a note in their class worry box. Many children report being worried to report bullying in case it gets worse or they lose a friendship. We want all our children to be happy in school and feel safe, so it's really important they speak to an adult who can help through a restorative conversation. 

To further our discussions children have also watched the NSPCC Speak Out Stay Safe assembly with Buddy the Speech Bubble. This assembly teaches our children to understand:

• abuse in all its forms and how to recognise the signs of abuse

• that abuse is never a child’s fault and they have the right to be safe

• where to get help and the sources of help available to them, including our Childline service.

It is really important our children recognise abuse and know how to support themselves or their friends if they were in this situation. Teaching this information to our children protects everyone. The NSPCC website gives lots of tips and ideas about having conversations around abuse at home. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/our-services/working-with-schools/

Barnados and Childline are also brilliant websites for conversations around this topic.

https://www.childline.org.uk/
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/ 

Best wishes

Miss Oliver, Inclusion Lead