Woodside Weekly - 13th November 2026

Woodside Weekly Newsletter

Respect ⟡ Resilience ⟡ Aspiration ⟡ Excellence ⟡ Integrity ⟡ Collaboration

13th November 2026

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parents / Carers

It was lovely to see lots of spots today to celebrate Children in Need. It was a fantastic cause which we are proud to be a part of.

On Wednesday, we welcomed our external school improvement partner back to Woodside for an in-depth review of our school. During their visit, they conducted a comprehensive learning walk across all year groups, looked closely at work in pupils' books, and spoke directly with the children about their learning. We are incredibly proud to share that they noted calm, positive behaviours throughout the school, consistently high learning expectations, and strong progress within lessons. It is a fantastic reflection of our staff's hard work and the positive, lasting impact being made on our children every day.

Our Year 1 children braved the chillier weather this week for their local walk trip. Despite the cold, the children wrapped up warm and thoroughly enjoyed exploring our local surroundings together as part of their curriculum learning. On Thursday, our Year 3 children showcased thier learning to their parents and carers. It was lovely to hear so much about Katherine Johnson (from Hidden Figures) as well as Howard Carter and his explorations around Ancient Egypt. Thank you to all those who came along to support your children.

We would also like to thank everyone who came on Saturday's prospective EYFS Stay and Play session. We had a wonderful turnout of prospective families and nursery children, and it was lovely to showcase our learning spaces and connect with future members of our Woodside family.

Finally, please remember that the school will be closed to all pupils next Friday, 20th November, for a staff INSET day while our team undertakes professional development training.

We hope you all have a wonderful and restful weekend.

Mr Atwal

Values Focus

This term, our value is Respect. This week, we explored the importance of charities, specifically focusing on Children in Need. We learnt that showing respect can mean how we help others in need, and how we can contribute to make things better for other people. By thinking of others, we can show respect to them.

Ask your child:

Why is giving to charity important?
How can you show respect?
What can you do to be respectful to other people?

Local Council Committee

LCC Woodside Parent Advert.pdf

Spotlight on Saplings

Saplings

Welcome to our latest class update!

We have had a wonderful couple of weeks filled with creativity, thoughtful discussions, and hands-on learning across our continuous provision. The children have been engaged and enthusiastic as we explored a variety of exciting themes and celebrations.

This week, our learning centered around the story of 'Stick Man'. We focused on the theme of families, sharing special thoughts during circle time about who is in our families and what makes them unique. Alongside our story topic, the children observed Remembrance Day by creating poppies using playdough and crafting beautiful Remembrance butterflies.

Looking back at last week, we celebrated both Bonfire Night and Diwali. The children made their own traditional diva lamps from paper plates, explored Rangoli patterns, and created sparkling fireworks using paint and glitter in our creative area. We also had our first parents into reading last friday morning which was a great success, the children loved having some time with their parents in class, exploring our book corner!

Before the half-term break, we also marked Black History Month by learning about Garrett Morgan and his invention of the traffic light. Inspired by the colorful artistic style of Alma Thomas, the children created their own vibrant mosaic traffic lights.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to sharing more of our learning adventures with you soon!

Inclusion & Family Support

Aydin’s Dinners

We are also pleased to announce the return of Aydin’s Dinners on

Thursday 17th December, 2:00pm - 6:00pm,

at Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Family Hub.

This year, Aydin has secured additional funding and will be providing families with ingredients to prepare two meals, each designed to feed a family of

up to six people:

Vegetable Curry

Shepherd’s Pie

In addition, each child will receive a small gift.

Registration is now open (https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/RHC5H27394?origin=lprLink)

Autumn Term Parent/Carer Webinars

To further support your child's emotional wellbeing, please find below information about upcoming Webinars and Workshops for Parents/Carers. These are online workshops that are free to attend.

Parents/Carers are able to sign up for FREE using the following link:

Off The Record Webinars

Croydon Drop in are currently offering this free programme to parents and carers of children aged 2-8 years who would like support with managing their child's behaviour.

The intervention consists of 8 weekly sessions and can be delivered online or in person, depending on the family's preference.

The programme supports parents and carers with a range of behavioural difficulties, including:

Challenging behaviour
Aggression, such as kicking, hitting, and angry outbursts
Difficulties with boundaries and routines
Not listening or following instructions
Other behaviours that may be causing concern at home

Throughout the intervention, we work with parents and carers to develop practical strategies to better understand and respond to their child's behaviour. The sessions focus on:

Understanding the reasons behind behaviour
Building positive parent-child relationships
Encouraging positive behaviour
Setting clear and consistent boundaries
Developing practical behaviour management strategies
Increasing confidence in managing difficult situations at home

SEND Bonfire Night Event - Croydon Fire Station

Croydon Fire Station will be holding their annual SEND Bonfire Night Event again this November.

Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th of November, Croydon Fire Station will be open to guests between 17:30 and 20:00 on both evenings. The addition of a second evening this year is due to the high demand from 2025. As with previous events, tickets are required, and these will be FREE and available HERE!. Tickets will be accessible from

Monday 19th October, thus giving time for families to be informed of the upcoming event.

Bonfire Night can be a challenging time for many, particularly for those with SEND. Our aim is to create a fun and welcoming environment that has all the visual stimulation and excitement of a traditional firework event, without the noise and accessibility issues. Through this, we create a safe environment for the local SEND community to come and enjoy this celebration, whilst at the same time allowing engagement with the Croydon fire crews.

Highlights of the event will include light displays, a UV house, a fully accessible fire engine, bubble tunnels and many more sensory activities. There will be very limited parking available, details of which are available

at the time of booking tickets.

Follow Family Support at Woodside by clicking on the following link; Family Support Woodside Primary School

Other Updates

Wonka Bar Fundraiser: Golden Tickets and Prizes

The Woodside School Association has been hard at work behind the scenes, and we are thrilled to announce that our Wonka Bar Fundraiser is officially underway!

All proceeds from this delicious event will go directly toward raising funds for our school, helping us support exciting projects and resources for all our children.

The Search for Golden Tickets!

Inside a select number of Wonka Bars, we have hidden a special Golden Ticket!

If your child is lucky enough to unwrap a Golden Ticket:

Write their name and class clearly on the back of the ticket.
Have them hand it in to the school office.
All Golden Ticket holders will be awarded a special prize during our end-of-term school assembly!