Dear Parents/Carers,

Yesterday, I sent out the Curriculum Overviews the teachers have prepared for Spring 2.  These documents provide a brief overview on a page of upcoming learning, trips and enrichment for your child(ren)'s class and are also on our website here. Thank you to everyone who attended Parent Forum yesterday. Just so you are all aware,  a copy of the minutes will be shared with all parents/carers after half term.

Next half term is looking to be a very busy half term with trips, World Book Day, Easter events and other enrichment activities so please ensure to check the dates further down in the newsletter to ensure you do not miss anything. A letter regarding Spring Parents Evening and booking slots will be sent out during the first week back.

In other news, our Ofsted report has now been released as a report card on Ofsted's website and is easier to read on a mobile. Please click the link below to access this: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/117433

There is also a published article on Hemel Today which celebrates our inspection outcomes. To access the article, please click here.

We hope you have a restful half term and we look forward to seeing everyone on 23rd February bright and early!

With best wishes,

Mr M. Beach

Headteacher

Whole school attendance this week: 96.6%

Overall attendance so far this year: 94.4%

Well done to Early Years  for the highest attendance this week with an incredible 100%

All absences must be reported to the school either by leaving an absence message (Option 1) or emailing Mrs Redman (Pastoral Support/Attendance Lead) via absence@greatgaddesden.herts.sch.uk

Please note: in line with the statutory guidance from the Department for Education which is reflected in our attendance policy, we are unable to authorise term time holiday.

Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance 

Mrs Redman led assembly on Monday to introduce Children’s Mental Health Week. The theme this year is ‘This is My Place’

During the assembly, the children discussed and explored the following:

• What does belonging mean?

• Being kind to ourselves if we make a mistake

• To listen to your feelings 

• Talking to someone you trust

• Do the things you love 

• Top tips for helping others

This children were challenged with making their own 'vision boards' at home.

Wellbeing is at the heart of our school life and we were delighted that the following findings were shared by Ofsted recently:

"The school has pupils’ wellbeing and personal development at the heart of its work"

'"Wellbeing leaders' provide a listening ear and a helping hand for pupils who need it at breaktimes"

"Pastoral support is a strength of the school." 

"Nurturing care of school staff "

"Relationships between staff and pupils are consistently respectful and kind. This helps pupils to feel safe. They know the adults care about them. They are confident to share any worries they have, as they know the adults will listen and try to help"

Big Question: What makes you feel like you belong at Great Gaddesden?

On Tuesday, we took part in Safer Internet day.  The theme this year was 'Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI'.

Year 5&6 led most of the assembly sharing information about AI, things that are useful about it and potential risks to be aware of. They shared their amazing posters with the children that they made in their Computing lesson.

"Pupils have a detailed understanding of online risks and how to stay safe".  (Ofsted, 2026)

Next meeting is Friday 6th March 2:45pm at the school.

The fundraising FOGGS makes is vital for our small school and enriches the resources and experiences for all of our children. We really need as many people to share initiatives and lead fundraising projects as many hands make light work. If you are able to run an event or fund raising initiative, please share this at the meeting or if you cannot make it, please reach out to FOGGS to let them know.

Thank you in advance for your support and help.

Below are just some of the wonderful things FOGGS have supported and made possible over the last couple of years:

• Funding transport to the annual Panto trip

• Funding transport for the Year 6 leavers trip to Chessington

• Purchasing furniture for the Library and new benches for the playground

• Funding the classroom reorganisation including the move of the Interactive White Board in Year 3&4

• Providing ice lollies for sports day

• Running several discos and the popular Summer Party

• Providing refreshments at the Carol Service and chocolate lollies for the children to enjoy with their Christmas lunch 

• Funding the Spiritual/Sensory Garden

We can only continue to provide such experiences and additional resources with your help and support.

Thank you for all of the donations received today for the non-uniform day. If you would like to make a donation electronically, FOGGS' details are below:

World Book Day is due to take place on Thursday 5th March 2026.

This year, the theme we have decided in school is 'Bedtime Stories'. We would like to invite the children to come in wearing pyjamas and bring in their favourite bedtime story.

As an optional activity, the children may wish to decorate a potato as they favourite character from a book and bring these in to create a display. 

Below are some examples/ideas:

At the start of the week on Monday 2nd March, we would like to invite parents and children to a "Reading Breakfast" from drop off until 9:15am. We ask for parents to come in with their child to complete some shared reading and enjoy a light breakfast/snack in school. 

This week, we hear from Year 1&2.

In R.E., our big question is “How do some Muslims show Allah is compassionate and merciful?”. We have discussed the idea of having compassion and how we show we are compassionate towards others. The children have heard a range of stories about showing compassion to animals, such as ‘The Crying Camel’ and ‘The Thirsty Dog’. We have also learned about Ramadan and how Muslims fast to show compassion for those who do not have enough food. We found out that Muslims often break their fast with dates and we had a taste of these - they were very popular with the children! We also found out how Muslims celebrate Eid when there is a new moon.

Our Maths learning has been focussed on addition and subtraction. The children have amazed us with how well they have picked up the different methods used to solve addition and subtraction calculations. We have practised adding and subtracting to a benchmark of a tens number, adding and subtracting multiples of ten and adding and subtracting two two-digit numbers. The children have made excellent use of the physical resources to support their learning and Year 2 have learned how to use written methods to do this. 

We have read the book ‘Beegu’ by Alexis Deacon, which has been thoroughly enjoyed by the children! The children have taken on the role of Beegu to act out the story. In our writing, we have focussed on adjectives and expanded noun phrases to describe, bossy verbs in commands and questions. The children then wrote their own alien stories featuring their aliens which they made out of sock puppets! These were fantastic adventures that they enjoyed sharing. This week, we have started reading ‘Leo and the Octopus’ by Isablle Marinov. This has really sparked the children’s interest in learning about octopuses, something you might want to explore during half term!

Our artist focus this half term is Pablo Picasso. The children have loved finding out about his life and looking at his works of art. We drew our own self-portraits, practised the different styles of Picasso’s art and put these skills together to create a portrait in style of Picasso. 

The children have also been thoroughly engaged in our learning about Kings and Queens this half term. We have compared British Monarchs of the past, such as Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, and talked about the qualities needed to be a good Monarch. The children had great fun suggesting their own rules for the country! We watched the coronation of King Charles and discussed what was happening and why. This afternoon we wore our handmade crowns proudly and enjoyed a mini royal banquet. Long live the King!

EYFS had an exciting forest school session this week.  We made popcorn on the fire but unfortunately it was inedible as Mrs D burnt it!  The children enjoyed putting on puppet shows, using feathers to create bird pictures (linked to their current topic in the classroom) and got very muddy in the mud kitchen! 

Awards we are working towards

House Points

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