Newsletter - 22nd October 2025
As our first half term comes to an end, we have much to celebrate here at FPIS. We have had such a happy and busy few weeks, but I am sure that the children (and grown ups!) are now very much looking forward to the half term break.
We were delighted to welcome Beth Gomm to lead our Harvest Assembly earlier this month, giving us all the opportunity think about those who may not always have enough food to eat everyday. We also were so grateful to receive so many donations of food items to pass on to FoodShare Maidenhead - please read on for more details...
I have been impressed recently by the number of children remembering that we walk around our school site, rather than ride on scooters and bikes - thank you to those parents who are helping to remind their children about this too! If your child is bringing their bike or scooter to school, please use the scooter pods just outside Bumblebee classroom entrance if you are leaving them on site during the school day. We cannot take responsibility for bikes and scooters that are left outside on the driveway by our main entrance gate. It is great to see so many more families walking, scooting and cycling to school!
May I also remind you that our Log Park equipment should not be used outside of the school day. Please do not allow your child - or any siblings to play in this area before/after school or following an after school club- thank you in advance for your support.
The next half of our Autumn term is looking to be just as busy as this one, so please keep checking our diary dates for events in school. Please look out for information about booking a meeting with your child's class teacher for our upcoming Autumn Term Parents' Meetings. Dates for our Christmas Performances and other festive events in school are also in the school diary as well.
We hope that you have a restful and enjoyable holiday and we look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 3rd November :)
With very best wishes
Jane Indge
Head of School
Here is a brief look at what's going to be happening in school during the next few weeks...
Wednesday 22nd October - Term Ends
Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th October - INSET days (school closed)
Monday 27th October - Friday 31st October - Half term holiday
Monday 3rd November - Term Starts
Monday 10th November -Early Years Nursery Rhyme Dress Up Day
Monday 10th November - Parents' Evening - 3:40 - 7:00 pm
Wednesday 12th November - Parents' Evening - 3:40 - 7:00 pm
Wednesday 12th November - FPSA happy Bags Collection - 8:30 - 9:00 am
Thursday 13th November - Children in Need - Non-Uniform Day
Friday 14th November - INSET day (school closed)
Monday 17th November - Year 1 trip to Windsor Castle
Wednesday 19th November - Year 2 trip to Oaken Grove Park
At the end of each long term, school will finish earlier at 1:30pm. The dates for this academic year are:
Friday 19th December 2025
Friday 27th March 2026
Wednesday 22nd July 2026
Our main wraparound childcare provider, Wise Owls, has been informed of these dates.
For those who don't already know, SAM - our School Attendance Mascot, is our FPIS teddy bear who helps our children think about why it is so important to attend school every day.
Our children are busy learning right from the start of the day, so being in class on time each morning matters just as much too. Registration begins at 8:45am and we expect all children to be in class by 9:00am.
Each week, during our Celebration Assembly, the attendance figures are shared. The class with the best attendance overall gets to look after SAM until the following week. This week, SAM will be going to Holly Class who had a perfect attendance figure of 100%! Well done!
Our latest school attendance figures for each class are shown in the table. Our school attendance target is: 97%
You can read our full Attendance Policy here.
Our latest attendance figures
Holly 100.0%
Hazel 99.0%
Bumblebee 99.0%
Beech 98.3%
Oak 97.7%
Willow 97.0%
Dragonfly 95.7%
Silver Birch 95.7%
Caterpillar 95.2%
KS1 Harvest Assembly
We held a very special assembly to celebrate this year's Harvest. We were joined by Beth Gomm from Christian Connections in School who led the assembly. She captivatingly retold the story of the five loaves and two fishes from the Bible which highlights the importance of sharing. The children joined in enthusiastically with the story! Beth was very excited to see all of the different foods that had been kindly donated throughout the week. We look forward to welcoming Beth back to our school soon.
We were proud to support our local foodbank again this year as part of our learning about Harvest. We are very thankful for all of your generous donations which we know will be gratefully received by Foodshare Maidenhead and all those who use their much needed service. Thank you!
We are delighted to share that our much-loved school goats, Poppy and Lilly, have returned from their summer holiday at the Aylesbury Goat Centre! They were very well looked after and have come back looking healthy and happy — ready to settle back into school life and spend time with the children again.
Unfortunately, while away, Poppy had a small accident and fell on her horn, which has left it a little tender. It is healing well, but we do ask everyone to be gentle and take care when petting her. She’s as friendly as ever, but may prefer soft strokes and a little space while she continues to recover.
As part of their care, we are setting up a rota for our Year 6 FPJS pupils to help look after the goats each day. This is a great opportunity for them to take responsibility, develop empathy, and learn more about animal care.
In addition, children from across both FPPF schools will continue to have chances throughout the week to work with the goats. Spending time with animals can have a wonderfully calming effect and supports many aspects of children’s well-being, from building confidence to improving focus and reducing anxiety.
We are also looking for a small group of parent volunteers who may be able to help feed and clean out the goats at weekends. If you are able to volunteer an hour in the mornings or weekends, please contact mikewallace@fpjs.org.uk — your help would be greatly appreciated!
We’re so pleased to have Poppy and Lilly back — they’ve been missed by everyone!
In Early Years we had a brilliant first Busy Learning Afternoon! It was great to see so many different family members coming along to join in with the fun and showing their support. The Bumblebees, Caterpillars and Dragonflies took such pride in sharing their school classroom with their families. They created a self-portrait collage which is now up on the wall in the hall for everyone to see in our school! We were super impressed with how much care and detail the children put into their self-portraits to make them unique! Just a reminder that all information from the session in the hall with Mrs Wytchard can on our school website.
Our next Christmas themed Busy Learning Afternoon is scheduled for: Friday 28th November 2025 2pm-3pm. Come along to find out more! Thank you again for your continued support.
In Early Years we launched our 'Me and My Family' project with a giant game of 'Guess Who?'
Our Bumblebees, Caterpillars and Dragonflies all disguised themselves using their choice of dressing up items ready for a real life 'Guess Who' game! We took photographs of everybody and put the printed photographs around the Early Years rooms for the children to find! All of the children had great fun trying to recognise themselves and 'had a go' at explaining how they knew it was them! They also spotted their friends and even their teachers who also joined in with the fun!
What a busy first half term our Bumblebees, Caterpillars and Dragonflies have had! We have been continuing with our project 'Me and My Family' and the children have been talking about what makes our families unique and special!
We have been focusing on the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' by Michael Rosen and the children have made their very own story map of the Bear Hunt which they have stuck in their scrapbooks! They were able to retell the story using their own story map, some amazing actions and excellent expression! The children also had the opportunity to create their own small world of the Bear Hunt story, using a range of different materials to support the key language in the story. The children have also been using the Tales Toolkit model to create some of their own creative stories! They have been using the visual cues: Character, Setting, Problem and Solution to make sure that it is a super story! Some children have even 'had a go' at retelling their stories to the class!
During project time, we have been learning about homes! The children discussed what their house looks like and if it was similar or different to their friends. They had the chance to create a model of their home using their own choice of construction materials. Some children built their home independently whereas others decided to work as a team. They challenged themselves to create windows, doors, a roof and some children even gave their home a number or name! We are so impressed by our brilliant builders! The children also had a go at drawing pictures of their homes and thought very carefully about the shapes they were using. Additionally, we have been reading one of our top 20 books 'Walter's Wonderful Web' by Tim Hopgood. The children have been exploring shapes in more detail and have created shape pictures using foam stickers and peg boards with rubber bands!
We have continued learning all about autumn this term and the changes that have occurred in our woodlands. The children have been creating potions and pumpkin soup in the mud kitchen using natural objects that autumn has provided! They have been developing their core strength in the digging pit and working together to use the equipment safely. The children have also had the opportunity to 'have a go' on the balance bikes ahead of our Balanceability sessions which start next term! Reminder will be sent on Seesaw regarding their Balanceability session. Keep practicing putting on and doing up coats / hats / gloves independently as the weather is starting to get chilly!
Last Thursday, we were treated to a wonderful Diwali talk by Natasha, Sohum's Aunty! She shared the story of Rama and Sita, helping the children understand the Festival of Light. Natasha also spoke about how families celebrate Diwali and shared some Diya lamps, showed the children the yummy food that is eaten, spoke about fireworks and also let us borrow the book of Rama and Sita for the children to explore after!
We are super proud of how well all of the children have settled this term. It is so great to see them exploring, creating, designing and investigating so happily in their new environments! We are SO excited for another fun packed term of busy learning. Thank you for your on-going support :)
With the help of the friendly dinosaur Pantosaurus, this term our Early Years children have been discussing the NSPCC’s Underwear Rule, using the ‘PANTS’ acrostic:
Privates are private
Always remember your body belongs to you
No means no
Talk about secrets that upset you
Speak up, someone can help
If you would like to know more about the NSPCC’s campaign and see how you can help keep your child safe in partnership with our school, more information can be found at:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/
The Key Stage 1 children had a fantastic day launching our 'Super-Duper Heroes!' projects with our superhero dress-up day for our Brilliant Beginning. It was great to see a fantastic range of superheroes and we loved coming together in the hall for a very special superhero parade!
It was a great way to launch our new projects and inspired some brilliant learning!
Our 'Speak out. Stay safe' Assembly this term helped our Year 1 and 2 children to understand that they always have a right to feel safe, and that they can speak to a safe adult or Childline if they ever need help or support.
If you would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme activities for home, please visit:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/safety/activities-safety-kids/
In Key Stage 1 we had two brilliant Busy Learning afternoons for both Year 1 and 2. It was great to see so many different family members supporting us! The Key Stage 1 children loved sharing their new classrooms and learning opportunities with their grown-ups. Just a reminder that all information shared from the two sessions can be found via the School App.
Our next Busy Learning Afternoons are scheduled for:
Year 2: Thursday 5th February 2026 at 2.00-3.00pm - Spelling Focus.
Year 1: Wednesday 4th February 2025 at 2.00-3.00pm - Maths Focus.
Thank you for your continued support!
Year 1 have had a busy few weeks solving some veggie related crimes! We were in our classrooms when suddenly we heard some noise from our outdoor learning area! We hurried outside to discover that there were some vegetables who needed our help! We became detectives and tried to help Supertato solve the crime. Evil Pea had come to FPIS and caused some trouble! We have been busy retelling the story of Supertato and creating some fantastic story maps to help us!
During our outdoor learning we have been looking at the work of Andy Goldsworthy and exploring the patterns he creates using natural materials. We identified the shape, colour and repeating patterns in his work and then used Andy Goldsworthy as inspiration to create our own masterpieces using natural materials found in our outdoor space.
We have been working on our paired reading which is a key part of our Phonics programme too. We find a comfortable spot in the classroom and read our new book with a partner. One person points whilst the other one reads and then we swap roles. It is great for developing our confidence to try and read new texts together.
In maths we have been continuing our work on place value by thinking deeply about the numbers 0-10 and how they relate to one another. We have been working out one more and one less than a number and giving reasons to prove how we know we are correct! We have learnt the mathematical symbols > (greater than), < (less than) and = (equal to) in order to compare numbers. Throughout this half term we have also been busy learning the names of the most common 2D and 3D shapes as well as explaining how we know which shape it is.
What a busy Autumn term it has been in Year 2! We have loved being superheroes, particularly during our superhero dress up day! We have been authors, illustrators and poets and we have been so proud of the wonderful range of writing we have prodcued. This has included; becoming comic strip authors thinking about a problem which our superheroes needed to solve. They were fantastic with a range of creative and imaginative ideas! We have also loved looking at the story 'Supertato: Veggies in the Valley of Doom'. We have thought about the processes an author needs to go through to write a successful story which includes; creating story mountains, boxing up our story and writing drafts. This helped us to rewrite the Supertato story thinking carefully about where we could use a range of descriptive language such as expanded noun phrases.
We have also been busy thinking about the purposes and suitability of different materials and have been using this knowledge in different ways. One of our Lanyard Challenges over the past few weeks has been to explore different materials and select an appropriate one to design and make our own superhero objects. We have created a range of brilliant objects thinking carefully about which material would best suit its purpose. We also tested this knowledge when we learnt about the Jewish Festival of Sukkot. As part of this learning, we worked in teams to create our own Sukkah shelters using different materials and tested them against some strong winds (a hairdryer!!) to see which shelters could survive! It was a tense and exciting moment testing our shelters!
On Friday 10th October, Hazel Class attended the Active 60 Festival at Altwood School organised by the Ascot and Maidenhead School Sport Partnership. This was a great opportunity for the whole class to go on an agility adventure, inspired by the Chief Medical Officers recommendation that all children complete 60 active minutes every day (30 of which are in school) and aiming to get all young people active and enjoying being active! The children participated in a mix of activities which included running, jumping and throwing skills which all link to the ABC of physical literacy - agility, balance and co-ordination.
Hazel Class were fantastic role models for our school and had a great afternoon!
A new year brings a renewed commitment to our planet and we couldn't be more excited to introduce the incredible students leading the way at FPIS.
We are absolutely delighted to introduce to you our official Eco Team ambassadors for 2025-2026! This incredibly eager team has been selected to help champion for our school environment!
We have already hit the ground running, brainstorming fantastic ideas that will shape our school! For example, how we can continue to promote recycling across the school, welcome wildlife to our grounds and even grow our own winter wheat crop! Keep an eye out to see what we get up too!
Top Eco Tip: Stop, Look and Listen! Now is the perfect time to enjoy being outdoors and spotting signs of Autumn!
Meet our new School Council Team for 2025/2026! After finding out about the importance of having a School Council Team at FPIS, every class had a vote to elect their new School Council representative for this academic year. Our new team proudly received their badges during one of our celebration assemblies and were introduced to the whole school. We can't wait to get stuck in this year with lots of exciting projects!
In nurture we have had a great start to our Autumn term, making lots of autumn crafts for our seasons board like hedgehogs and squirrels. Also stain glass effect pictures to decorate our door and Autumn coloured paperchains. We collected leaves and with paint we made some leaf prints.
We have really enjoyed making lavender bags, first we collected lavender, then we carefully removed the dried lavender from the stalks and put it in small bags ready to take home. We also enjoyed doing a scavenger hunt in the main playground and by the pond area. We found some conkers, different coloured leaves, berries and pine cones but sadly didn't spot any squirrels!
We have been exploring the seasonal changes in our Woodland are over the past few weeks.
We made collections of the items we found around our school site - leaves, conkers, pine cones, samara fruit (or 'helicopter seeds) and twigs. We chose objects from the collections to create sculptures by pressing them into clay to make an impression. We also made our own paints by mixing Turmeric, Paprika and Cinnamon with water.
This week, we made damper bread. We wound the dough around our toasting sticks but unfortunately weren't able to cook them on our campfire as it wasn't hot enough! It was good to practise our campfire skills though and we will attempt some more recipes over the rest of this term.
We are delighted to have Year 6 librarians from FPJS running lunchtime library sessions for our Year 2 children again this year. Our children are really enjoying having the opportunity to spend extra time in the library - and the Year 6 children have been excellent role models for our younger ones. It's great to see our Junior and Infant children working together!
Well done Joseph for completing the Summer Reading Challenge. you are a superstar!
Well done Daisy for completing the Maidenhead Boundary Walk 2025! "My legs were so tired at the end!!!" Brilliant job Daisy, we are so proud of you! :)
Jorja achieved a certificate from her first gymnastics class for being star of the week! Well done Jorja, we look forward to seeing your gymnastic moves!
Flora received a band from swimming for doing some good kicks. Well done!
Jack has been scoring lots of goals in football and has been recognised for helping his team mates during football. He has received a medal for his efforts. well done!
Som has performed cultural dances on a stage and been recognised for his efforts with a certificate. What a superstar!
Congratulations to Cece who completed the Summer Reading Challenge. Well done Cece!
Well done to William who received his wristband for, "Excellent Swimming. I worked hard." Congratulations William!
Yusuf received his medal for, "Being a good goalkeeper at football!" Well done Yusuf!
Jessica received her certificate for, "Excellent forward rolls!" Congratulations Jessica!
Congratulations to Zac for completing the Summer Reading Challenge! What a great achievement!
Well done to Imogen who received a swimming wristband for all of her hard work! Congratulations Imogen, keep it up!
Sammy is proudly sharing his wristband he received for swimming. "I had to do very good swimming." Well done Sammy!
Congratulations to Lukas who is proudly sharing not one but two medals. "I got these for doing some good passing in rugby and scoring lots of trys." Great job Lukas!
Well done to Hannah who is proudly sharing her certificate from Squirrels. "I got this because I have finished Squirrels and now I will be doing Beavers." Well done Hannah!
Orla is proudly sharing her certificate she was awarded from her Martial Arts club. "I had to do kicks and it was my first class and now I will be doing my second class. I even have a new kit!" Great job superstar!
Congratulations to Nikita for proudly receiving a Star of the Week award for gymnastics! Nikita has showcased fantastic forward rolls and brave backwards walking on the beam!
Congratulations to Lucas for completing stage 1 of Swimming! Well done Lucas! What a great achievement! :)
Many congratulations to Monoceros house team for having the most house points awarded for this half term - an impressive 935 overall. Well done everyone - a great team effort! :)
Every Friday, during our whole school Celebration Assembly, Head of School awards are given out to a child or children in each class. The certificates are presented by Mrs Indge to those children who have consistently demonstrated excellent behaviours for learning.
Miss Dexter pops on her Superhero cape each week during Celebration Assembly to present our SuperPoWeR awards. The awards are given to children who have been demonstrating excellent behaviour through our school values of Passion, Well being and Respect.
Every week, during our Head of School Assembly, a bingo ball is selected from our special red bag. The bingo balls are numbered 1 - 30. Each child in Year 1 and 2 with the corresponding register number to the ball chosen will have the opportunity to bring their Maths book and Project scrapbook to share with Miss Dexter, Miss Edmondson, Miss Aggarwal and Mrs Indge later that week. During the Book Bingo session, the children spend time looking through the books together with the adults, whilst discussing and explaining what they have been busy learning about.
EY Tea Party (Saturday 27th September)
Thank you to the 50 Early Years families that came along to our tea party at the end of September. We raised around £350 for the Infant School.
Mr T's Quiz Night (Friday 17th October)
The quiz night was back last week and an incredible 27 teams were present to fill the Juniors hall. Congratulations go to team 'Tom's Tarts' who won the quiz with 'Furze Place' second and one of the 3 Junior teams (The Platt Pack) coming 3rd. The event has raised around £2,200 for the schools which is fabulous. The quiz will return in May 2026.
Oakwood Estates Christmas Fair boards
We have had a great response to our recent comms asking for households to sign up for an Oakwood Estates board. These boards will advertise our upcoming Christmas Fair and we get paid up to £10 per board! Boards go up ~2 weeks before the fair and all you have to do is provide us with a postcode and first line of your address. Sign up here: https://forms.gle/8wgV3i9FBQPA5p8d8
Tesco Stronger Starts - Every Little Blue Token Helps!
We are pleased to announce that we have been selected for a customer vote in certain local Tesco stores. Our project could receive up to a massive £1,500. When you shop at the stores, you can ask for blue tokens and pop them into the middle box (labelled Furze Platt Infant & Junior Schools' Association). Thank you!
The following stores have voting boxes for you to place the blue tokens into:
Tesco Express, Furze Platt (closest to FPIS & FPJS)
Tesco Express, Maidenhead Bath Road (next to Majestic Wine)
Tesco Express, Maidenhead High Street
Tesco Superstore, Taplow (Bishops Centre)
Tesco Express, Slough
Tesco Express, Burnham
Christmas Cards - coming soon....
Your children have been very busy over the last couple of weeks designing Christmas pictures that can be turned into Christmas cards, tea-towels, mugs, gift wrap and so on. Watch out for more information after half term!
Personalised name label stickers
We have an updated discount code for buying school uniform labels and labels for water bottles etc. from the 'Easy2Name' company. Simply order from the following site: https://www.easy2name.com/stickeasy, quote code 'FR-FPIS-72' and not only will you will get free delivery, the FPSA will receive 20% of the order value. These labels will help the schools return mislaid uniform and will help cut down on the lost property including water bottles and lunchboxes as well as uniform.
Windsor & Maidenhead Community Lottery
This is a weekly lottery that raises money for good causes in the Royal Borough including the FPSA. Tickets for the lottery cost just £1 and from that 60p goes to good causes including 50p to the FPSA. Each ticket has a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week with a top prize of £25,000! So please sign up and buy a weekly ticket or two using the link: https://www.windsorandmaidenheadcommunitylottery.co.uk/support/furze-platt-schools-association
Copas Farms - Turkey Cashback Scheme
Copas Farms based locally in Cookham, are once again supporting the FPSA. For every order placed with them using the code FPJS24PTA, we will receive 5% of the order value.
Dates for your Diary:
Happy School Bag Collection - Wednesday 12th November
Happy School Bags is school fundraising through clothing donations. A chance to have a clear out of your unwanted clothes. Bags will come home with your child a few weeks before this date and filled bags can be dropped off by the Infants front gate in the morning of the 12th.
Bingo Night - Friday 14th November (8pm - 11pm)
Eyes down for a full house! Bingo Bob is back for another fun evening at the Juniors hall. There will be some traditional games of bingo along with plenty of musical bingo games too. Lots of prizes on offer including the final game £100 jackpot! Please support this event, the more people that come, the more fun it will be!
Tickets are available at www.pta-events.co.uk/fpsa
Christmas Fair - Saturday 6th December (11.30am - 2.30pm)
The Christmas Fair is back at the beginning of December Please pop this date in your diary. This is our second biggest fundraising event of the year and will need your help!
Murder Mystery Event - Friday 27th February 2026
We are very excited to announce that our very first ever 'Murder Mystery' event will take place early next year. The Juniors hall will be turned into an old library in a 'Death at Dinner Club' performance from Moonstone Murder Mysteries company. Please save the date!
How to keep children safe this Halloween
Please use the link below for some useful tips on Halloween safety from the Child Accident Prevention Trust:
�� A Magical Family Adventure at Windsor Great Park Illuminated! ��
From 14 November 2025 – 3 January 2026, Windsor Great Park will sparkle with a brand-new illuminated trail, filled with dazzling new displays and returning favourites like the iconic Field of Light and Fairies.
It’s the perfect festive outing for families and friends – wander through glowing woodland, watch colourful fountains dance, and stop to toast marshmallows or enjoy hot chocolate under the stars. Best of all, the trail is dog-friendly every evening, so even four-legged family members can join in the fun.
New this year is a Low Sensory Session on Tuesday 25 November, offering a
calmer way to enjoy the magic.
Tickets sell quickly, so book early to make magical memories your family will treasure.
You are invited to …
Celebrate 250 years of Jane Austen
Celebrate 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen at Windsor Castle this half term.
Whilst Jane Austen did not visit Windsor Castle, she was familiar with the area and referenced it in her writing.
She did, however, visit London and was acquainted with the Prince Regent, later King George IV.
A highlight of the Royal Library’s extensive collection of English literature includes a copy of Emma, which was presented by the author to the Prince Regent.
On Tuesday 28th October , from 10:00 - 14:00, we are hosting a special (and totally free) Family Fun Day.
Your children are most welcome to come and enjoy Georgian-themed dressing up and crafting. They can make a memento to take home!
Although totally free to families, booking is necessary. Note: this does not include free entry to The Castle
Booking link. https://tickets.rct.uk/product/11/6034