At the end of this term, Wednesday 31st March, we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Brown. Mrs Brown works alongside Mrs Holden as one of the class teachers in Ruby Class (Reception). While it is always difficult to see members of our community move on, we wish Mrs Brown well in the future and thank her for all her hard work and commitment to Brookfield. Miss Lyndon will be joining the Brookfield Team after the Easter holidays, for the summer term, and will be replacing Mrs Brown. Miss Lyndon is currently working at Cheam Park Farm Primary Academy as an EYFS teacher. She started to work closely with the EYFS staff at Brookfield during the recent period when schools were partially open. She brings with her immense expertise and experience within teaching. I know that she will be both a positive and productive addition to our school community.

To aid transition, Miss Lyndon will be meeting with the staff and pupils in the next few weeks.

Week Commencing 08/03/2021 - Thursday Weekly Assembly

Early Years have had an amazing week back at school. They have all been so grown up and jumped straight back into their class routines and activities. They have loved being back together and playing with their friends. We have had a busy week this week learning about life on a farm and enjoying books such as 'What the Ladybird Heard'. We have also been learning about looking after our teeth and the importance of brushing our teeth twice a day.

What a fantastic week being back together, it has been so lovely for us to see each other in person! The children have really enjoyed catching up with their friends and adults in the Y1 team. We have had a busy week enjoying our learning ; working on place value for numbers to 40 has kept us busy in maths and 'The Cat The Mouse and The Runaway Train' has challenged us to find rhyming words and to write thank you letters! We have carried out some cool experiments during our Science week. The Skittles provided a magical moment as we watched the colours bleed into the warm water when it was added to the plate and the growing Jelly baby was a definite hit! It doubled in size over night!! We flapped fish of different materials to see which was the fastest across the carpet and attempted to hold ice cubes up with a piece of string! It has been a really lovely week being back together.

Year 2 have had a great return to school! The children have enjoyed seeing their friends and seeing the Year 2 adults. We have had a great week of learning and have some fun. We especially enjoyed our activities for British Science Week and our art lessons. In Maths this week, we have learnt about pictograms and tally charts. In English, we have been revising adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Year 3 had a fabulous return to school. They have been really busy with their learning but they also had time for fun. We our Science Week by designing our own inventions for the LEO competition and we also did some investigations.

We learned how to divide using the 'bus stop' method. That was hard, but we tried our best. We used base 10 to help us work out divisions.

What an amazing return to school. Year 4 have been very busy and motivated this week and have greatly enjoyed this week's learning. We began the week discovering what Danegeld was and why King Alfred paid it to the Vikings.

We then began our exciting Science Week by creating our own shadow puppets from card and attaching them to a ruler to enable our puppets to move . With torches, we explored how we could change our shadows size and density by moving our torches. We tried lots of different flat surfaces in the classroom as backdrops for our shadow puppets. Some of us even tried making shadows on the ceiling.

We also designed and made planes from paper and flew them to find out which would go the furthest. We varied our designs by changing the length of the straw and the size and number of paper loops to see how they affected the flight.

What a fantastic return to school for Year 5- we have missed seeing everyone in person. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their learning this week. They started the week catching up and spending some time exploring their feelings about returning to school, everyone felt very excited about returning but they also had worries and questions for their teachers.

We kicked off British Science Week by taking flight with straw planes and it was a complete success- the children made the planes out of paper, straw and tape and tested them in flight. The winners were very pleased with themselves.

The children made beautiful art pieces for our 'Happiness Art Project' during lockdown so they displayed them in their classroom art gallery and it was a fantastic opportunity to review their art pieces and to give feedback to their classmates.

It has been wonderful being back together again! Year 6 kick started the first day back by 'dishing' out compliments. They thoroughly enjoyed writing comments about their peers as well as receiving them themselves.

We have spent the week working on our scientific skills and exploring mental well being.

LEO Science Week - We have had lots of fun this week researching famous scientists, creating our own inventions and exploring how things have changed over a period of time. They were also tasked with creating the tallest tower out of paper which could hold a tennis ball for thirty seconds. It was lovely to see so many children collaborating and problem solving to accomplish this challenge.

The year 6 children have also been busy making some fantastic city skylines of the London Blitz linking to our World War Two Topic.

What a great first week back we have had!

Following recent training sessions we wanted to share some resources with you to support your child with GSuite.

Slides from the session

Youtube recording

Google Classroom Interactive Guide

Supporting Parents Helpfinder - Answer six questions to find out how you can support your child's mental health during the pandemic, see link below:

Young Minds - Supporting Parents Helpfinder

School Tours For Prospective Parents

Unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions we are unable to complete school tours this term. Please visit our website for more detailed information on Brookfield Primary and a Virtual Photo Slideshow Tour. Please share with friends and families.

Brookfield Primary Website - Virtual School Tour

Brookfield Virtual Photo Slideshow Tour

Please find below a reminder of our procedures for communicating with the school

The School Office is open daily from 8:00am – 4:30pm

Please only visit the school office/reception area if your enquiry is essential and cannot be dealt with over the telephone or by email.

If you do need to come into the school office/reception area, PLEASE ensure that you wear your face mask (unless you are exempt).

Also please note that there is a 1 in 1 out policy. If there is someone in the reception area please form a queue outside and wait your turn.

The phone number is 020 8644 8616 (the phone lines are open from 9:15am to 4:30pm)

Email: bfoffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk

Our website address is http://www.brookfield.sutton.sch.uk

The office staff can deal with all general queries and take messages for our teaching staff. If any problems should arise, please let us know as soon as possible. Class Teachers continually monitor every child’s progress and will contact you with any concerns about academic progress, behaviour and application in the classroom. Pastoral care is also offered to the children in their class and across the school. Your child’s class teacher should always be your first point of call with any general concerns that arise. If you still have ongoing concerns, please make an appointment to speak to a Middle Leader. Our Middle Leaders/Year Leaders are - EYFS Mrs Lilly Holden, Y1 Mrs Paula Holmes, Y2 Mrs Sylvia Keen, Y3 Ms Eva Rubio, Y4 Mrs Michelle Underwood, Y5 Mrs Catherine Davies, Y6 Miss Sara Brice. Any concerns that you feel still have not been addressed will be escalated to the school’s Senior Leadership Team. Our Senior Leaders are - Ms Sarah Pearson (Inclusion Manager), Ms Rachel Mander (Vice Principal), Ms Prathayini Wright (Principal) and Mrs Alison Day ( Executive Principal).

All staff have attended safeguarding training. This training is updated yearly.

The designated staff for safeguardng are Ms Prathayini Wright (Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead), Mrs Rachel Mander (Vice Principal and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead) and Ms Sarah Pearson(Inclusion Manager and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead). Please see our safeguarding policy and procedures on the school website.

You will be aware that the school does not authorise any holidays. Very rarely we are able to authorise leave in exceptional circumstances. You must complete a ‘Request for Special Leave’ form which are available from either Office Reception Area or the school website in order for the request to be sanctioned.

ATTENDANCE MATTERS, because…

• Children with good attendance achieve much better in their learning

• Time off disrupts learning for your child, and also for the rest of the class

• Children who miss school miss out on their right to a full education

• It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends school regularly

• Persistent unauthorised absence could lead to court action, including fines

Attendance 96% to 100% - 0 to 7 days missed per year – your child’s good attendance will give them every chance of being a successful learner who makes good progress.

Attendance 92% to 95.9% - 8 to 15 days missed per year – you should try to improve your child’s attendance to make sure they have the best possible chance of success at school.

Attendance 90% to 91.9% - 16 to 19 days missed per year – your child’s attendance is dangerously close to falling to a level which can stop them making progress at school.

Attendance below 90% - 20 or more days missed per year – your child is considered a ‘persistent absentee’ in government statistics, and their poor attendance is putting them at serious risk of underachieving at school.

DID YOU KNOW

½ day missed every week = 90% attendance

1 day missed every week = 80% attendance

1 school year at 90% attendance = 4 whole weeks of lessons MISSED

1 school year at 80% attendance = 8 whole weeks of lessons MISSED

By the time a pupil is persistently absent (85% attendance) they have missed 6 weeks or half a term of schooling.

The simple message is: the greater the attendance, the greater the achievement.

Please where possible make dental, medical or other appointments during the holidays or out of school hours. If the appointment is during school hours we will require an appointment letter/card as proof of the appointment. If the appointment is urgent or last minute, please advise the school as soon as possible. Please do not keep your son or daughter out of school the whole day when they have appointments. When a child is collected early for an appointment it is disruptive for the class and the office staff.

Praise and reward good attendance at home and at school. During the year we will reward termly 100% attendance with certificates. Bronze certificate for 100% attendance for one term, silver certificate for 100% attendance for two terms and gold certificate for 100% attendance for three terms.

If a school can improve attendance by 1%, we will see a 5-6% improvement in attainment (Department for Education). Please help us and your son or daughter by ensuring their attendance remains above 97%, allowing them to achieve their full potential.

As you know we encourage families to walk, cycle or scoot to school where possible. I would like to remind you - cycling and scooting are not permitted on the school premises. Anybody caught doing so will be asked to get off their scooter or leave their scooter outside the school gates. Please park bikes and scooters safely and securely and ensure they are clearly named.

Safer parking at the school gates

We realise that there are some parents/carers who have no alternative but to drive their children to school, however, many are driving short distances where walking is a real option. Even those who have to drive to school can do their bit by parking away from the school entrance and walking for part of the journey.

What can you do to help keep everyone safe around the school gates?

• Please do park thoughtfully and not park in front of the local residents’ drives.

• Please don’t block the road - emergency vehicles and other traffic may need access.

• Please don't park on yellow lines, zig-zags or block the school entrance.

• Please don't park on the pavement, across dropped kerbs or residents’ driveways.

• Please don't park opposite or within 10 metres of a junction.

• Please don't park where you will cause inconvenience to other road users.

• Please don't leave your vehicle with the engine still running as the children and adults nearby will be inhaling those dangerous fumes.

• Please don't stop in the middle of the road to drop your child off, even for a few seconds.

These changes make a real difference to the congestion around school, making the school run less stressful and far safer for everyone. Not only that but they will help your child’s education. Research has shown that children who walk or cycle to school are more receptive to learning at the start of the school day than those who travel to school by car. Stopping or Parking on the yellow zigzags is illegal and is endangering your child.

Please park safely.

Walk to school and save fuel, if you can!

PTFA

Please click and see the latest letter from the PTFA

What is the Parent, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA)?

The PTFA is a voluntary organisation that offers parents opportunities to become involved and to contribute to the enrichment of the school experience for their children. One of the primary functions of the PTFA is to provide the children with resources and opportunities above and beyond the statutory provision that is provided. Brookfield PTFA have successfully organised several events to fundraise for the children at Brookfield. The PTFA also offers parents the chance to get to know other parents, teachers and governors, fostering, as it does, relationships between all involved in the education of our children. And by organising activities that reach beyond the regular school day the PTFA is instrumental in developing a sense of ‘community’ around the school.

Who are the PTFA?

You are! Every parent is automatically a member of the PTFA. As you are aware, with the Covid restrictions, we are not able to organise and run the usual events that are popular, therefore, are looking at other ways to raise much needed funds. If you are interested in being involved, please contact ...

For more information and how to sign up to volunteer please visit their page on the Brookfield Website: http://www.brookfield.sutton.sch.uk/701/ptfa

Raise money for school for free every time you shop online!

easyfundraising is a great website where you can help Brookfield raise funds simply by doing your everyday online shopping with over 3,300 big name retailers like Amazon, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com, eBay, Boden, and M&S. Every time you shop, we receive a small donation to say ‘thank you’ and it’s completely free too! We want raise as much as possible so please sign up and help us!

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/brookfieldprimary/

• If your child suffers from asthma they must have an in-date, spare inhaler in school at all times along with a spacer. These should be given to the office who will store them securely. Please check on a yearly basis that the inhaler is still fit for purpose. Please also ensure any child with an allergy has appropriate medication in school, i.e Epipen/Piriton etc. This could be life-saving.

• We ask that pupils bring in their own water bottles daily. The bottles need to be clearly labelled with the child's name and only have water in them.

• Please leave buggies and prams outside the school buildings, as it could be very hazardous in an emergency. Currently, the office is operating on a 'one in and one out' policy. Please ensure you wear a mask if you enter the school building.

• Please remember that all children in KS2 are encouraged to bring fresh fruit or vegetables to school for a mid-morning snack during playtime. Many children are really hungry by lunchtime and will be happier and learn better if they have eaten something at playtime.

• Only children in Year 6 are permitted to bring a mobile phone into school and only if absolutely necessary. Phones are stored in the office during the school day.

• No pets in the playground please especially dogs! (Excluding guide dogs). This includes owners carrying their dog in their arms. We cannot permit any pets on the premises.

• Please do not let your children climb on the climbing frames in the KS1 or KS2 playground.

• No smoking is allowed anywhere in the school or grounds.

• I would like to urge parents to remember to park thoughtfully and not park in front of the local residents’ drives or on the yellow zig zag lines in front of the school. We would like to see as many families and staff as possible walking, cycling or scooting to school.

• Please ensure that you look at your Arbor account as we are a paperless school and all information is sent via this portal. If you have any queries, please contact the school office.

We have a number of exciting opportunities arising across the Trust:

LEO Academy Trust Vacancies

Sutton Schools Nursing Service

Children, young people and families with any concerns can contact the school nursing service via phone. For parents, the school nursing duty line number 0208 770 5409 from Monday to Friday 9am-5pm. For children and young people who require support, the contact number is 0208 770 4409 9am-5pm, or the email address is schoolnursing@sutton.gov.uk

Learning Support

Sutton College is offering to help parents support their child/ren with FREE online Family Learning English and Maths workshops and courses. Please see the link below for further details.

Family Learning