Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable half-term break. The school has been buzzing with excitement as we’ve dived into new learning and taken part in some wonderful activities already.

We are so lucky to have such an amazing team of staff who work tirelessly to create so many rich opportunities for the children—both in and beyond the classroom.  

Here are just a few highlights from the past two weeks:

Workshops:

• • Year 3 enjoyed a computing workshop, showing off some very clever coding to create moving robotics.

  • Year 4 travelled back in time to explore life in Roman Britain.

  • Year 5 became Vikings for the day with History Off the Page. 

It was so fun to see both the children and grown-ups fully immersing themselves in the experience.

Parent and Community Events:

• • We held our first Parent Class Representative meeting this week – thank you to all who attended. We’re excited to see how this initiative will help us to collaboratively continue to grow and strengthen our school community.

  • Mr Freeman led a very informative session on online safety. This is an area he is very passionate about; he keenly shared practical tips for keeping children safe online and shared resources to help families support positive digital habits at home.

  • Reception and Year 1 parents joined us for a phonics workshop, followed by classroom visits to see the children learning in action.

School Life:

• • We celebrated Odd Socks Day to promote and celebrate individuality.  The day reminded children that being different is something to be proud of. It also helped to raise awareness about bullying and the importance of kindness, respect and acceptance during Anti-bullying Week.

  • Nursery and Reception classes visited the local library.

  • The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) led an important anti-bullying assembly.

  • Walnut Class impressed us all with a fantastic class assembly.

  • This week, on Monday, we welcomed our Governors for a “Day in the Life” visit – they thoroughly enjoyed spending time in school and talking with our pupils about their learning.  Thank you to all their  hard work also.
    
    

It’s been a busy but brilliant start to the term and we’re so proud of the enthusiasm and positivity across the school.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Kind regards

Mrs Wright

Welcome back to a new academic year at Central Primary. It has been a positive and productive start across the school, and I am pleased to share what has been happening in Computing so far, along with our plans moving forward.

Beginning the Year With Online Safety

As in previous years, we started the autumn term with a whole-school online safety focus. All classes completed the Interland Online Safety Unit, where pupils explored key ideas around digital citizenship through four interactive worlds: Reality River, Mindful Mountain, Tower of Treasure and Kind Kingdom. These activities supported pupils in considering how the choices they make online affect themselves and others.

Introducing the 4Cs of Online Safety

This year, we are placing an additional emphasis on the 4Cs of online safety, which help children understand the different types of risks they may encounter online:

• Content – what children see

• Contact – who they interact with

• Conduct – how they behave online

• Commerce – risks related to money, spending, scams and advertising
  
  

These themes will be woven into our weekly Online Safety Starters, giving children regular opportunities to discuss scenarios, reflect on safe choices and build practical strategies for staying secure and responsible online.

Online Safety Starters Throughout the Year

Each weekly computing lesson begins with a short Online Safety Starter. These will now incorporate the 4Cs and continue to include scenario-based questions, topical discussions and vocabulary development around digital safety. This ongoing approach supports pupils in developing long-term healthy online habits.

Teach Computing Curriculum

Our main computing curriculum follows the Teach Computing scheme of work. This provides a clear and consistent progression of knowledge and skills from Early Years to Year 6 across key areas such as programming, computing systems and networks, creating media and handling data. Teachers have already noted how motivated pupils are as they begin exploring new tools and digital concepts this term.

Year 3 Coding Workshop

Year 3 had a particularly exciting start to the year with a dedicated coding workshop, where pupils worked with physical computing equipment and simple programming tools. This hands-on session allowed them to see how code controls real objects and helped build their confidence before beginning their formal programming units.

Parent Coffee Afternoon – Online Safety

Thank you to the parents who attended our recent Online Safety Coffee Afternoon. We discussed common digital challenges for children, how families can manage online risks and practical steps for supporting safe and balanced technology use at home. If you would like further information or would be interested in future sessions, I am happy to arrange additional opportunities.