BPS Newsletter

Please report absences using the absences@byfleet.surrey.sch.uk email by no later than 9am.

Latest News

I was immensely proud of our children, team and community last week as we continued to provide safe, purposeful and engaging learning whilst dealing with a heatwave. We can only apologise if any children were 'accidentally' squirted with the hose during the heat, we can confirm that it might happen again!

There has been a real focus on new beginnings as we welcomed our new Squirrels class into school and children were able to meet their new class teachers. It has also been the beginning of the end for our amazing Year 6 children as they visited their secondary schools and began their leaving celebrations with an amazing performance of The Lion King. Reception had their WOW day where they turned into all kinds of weird and wonderful sea creatures, and Year 5 had a very different experience as their classroom was turned into a Victorian classroom. Year 4 enjoyed cooking soup using vegetables grown on the Byfleet Allotment and then immersed themselves in Mayan culture by making traditional Mayan chocolate. Year 3 finally got to go to the river and what should have been a 45 min session turned into a two hour field study!  They spent time identifying different woodland species and surveying the river for depth, animal life and flow rate. Mrs Cosentino enjoyed her time in the river so much that upon their return she went and stood in the pond which is where I found her working with gardening club! Gardening club delighted to find four newts in the pond earlier on in the week - along with Mrs Cosentino! A special mention must go to Miss Thomson, Mrs Wyatt, Miss Ward, Mrs Cosentino and Mr Hagen for all of the work going on behind the scenes to bring our school site to life and encourage learning outside. The enrichment continues next week with Year 5 and Year 1 visiting the British Museum and London Eye respectively, and I will have the pleasure of accompanying Year 6 on their Residential to the Isle of Wight for the week. Mrs Hurford will be in school all week in my absence.

Finally, please can I gently remind parents/carers to complete our community values survey. This will form a key component of the work we will do to revisit and revise our school values. I am keen to establish a set of values which resonate with the community we serve and play an important part in providing the children and families with a sense of belonging. If you haven't already done so the link to the survey can be found here, there are only six questions but your contribution is very much appreciated. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Mr Bowman

The last two weeks in Reception have been full of excitement, learning and memorable experiences! We successfully survived the heatwave by keeping cool with plenty of water play, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. It was the perfect way to have fun while staying refreshed in the sunshine.

One of the highlights of our fortnight was watching our caterpillars complete their incredible transformation. We carefully observed them form their chrysalises before eagerly waiting for them to emerge as beautiful butterflies. Once they were ready, we released them into the garden, wishing them a wonderful life as they continued their amazing life cycle. It was a fantastic opportunity to see nature up close and learn about change and growth.

We have also been working very hard practising for our upcoming assembly. The children have shown great enthusiasm and confidence as they learned their songs, words and actions, and we can't wait to share it with you.

We celebrated our fantastic WOW Day by dressing up as things you might find under the sea to conclude our learning about the ocean. We were amazed by the creative costumes, including colourful fish, sharks, jellyfish, crabs, lobsters, mermaids and sea turtles. We held a fish parade around the school, took part in fish races and played a variety of fish-themed team games. It was a wonderful way to celebrate our learning and have lots of fun together!

Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed their river study trip to Horsell Common. They investigated the flow and depth of the water, measured the river's wetted perimeter, and took part in exciting mini-beast activities. Everyone had so much fun while developing their scientific and geographical skills through hands-on learning! 

Year 4 had their WOW Day where they immersed themselves into Mayan culture and took part in: cracking the code in Mayan hieroglyphics, creating a headpiece, making chocolate, eating like a Mayan and playing the Maya ball game Pok- ta - Pok. 

In design and technology, Year 4 created a shopping list, recipe card and a menu in preparation to make vegetable soup and soda bread. In addition to this, they practiced their knife skills by using the claw and bridge technique. Finally, Year 4 worked together as a team to prepare, make and wash up their vegetable soup and soda bread. It was very tasty!

Some vegetables we used in our soup came fresh and straight from the Byfleet allotment!

The Year 5 children stepped back in time to experience a day in the life of a Victorian child. They explored a fascinating collection of authentic Victorian artefacts kindly loaned by Chertsey Museum, discovering what school life was like over 100 years ago. The children also enjoyed making traditional butter and creating their own wooden stick dolls, just as Victorian children might have done. It was a fun, hands-on day that brought history to life and created lasting memories.

Wow! Year 6 were amazing! Year 6's Production of the Lion King showcased just how brilliant they are. They all learnt their lines and played their parts fantastically, ensuring their voices were loud enough to be heard by everyone and following stage directions independently. As well as, the Production was completely managed by the children, meaning Year 6 were in charge of the music, backgrounds and lighting. They handled it all with maturity and should be incredibly proud of themselves - not only for excellent perforamances but also for the effort they've put in in the weeks leading up to them. Well done, Year 6!

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 10 or more unauthorised sessions during the preceding 10 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 the letter from Surrey Inclusion Services and our Attendance Policy for further information.