British Values at Nash Mills

This afternoon, the school came together to take part in an important democratic event: voting for our new House Captains. After listening to the candidates' speeches, every pupil had the opportunity to cast their vote and have their voice heard.

Our House Captains are Year 6 pupils who play a significant role within the school community. As well as helping to lead their houses, they will work alongside staff and pupils to consider how we can continue to improve our school and ensure that everyone's opinions matter. They will also act as ambassadors for Nash Mills, helping to welcome visitors and guests and demonstrating the values that make our school such a special place.

This process is a wonderful example of Democracy, one of the fundamental British Values that we promote in school. Democracy teaches children that everyone's voice is important and that decisions can be made fairly when people are given the opportunity to participate. By taking part in the election process, pupils experience first-hand how voting works and learn about the responsibilities that come with leadership and representation.

The election also builds on the learning from last week's 'All Special, All Different' Day, when pupils explored the diversity of our society and celebrated the differences that make communities stronger. Just as children learned about the varied experiences, backgrounds and perspectives that exist within modern Britain, today's vote reminds us that every individual has a valuable contribution to make. A healthy society is one where people listen to each other, respect different viewpoints and work together to bring about positive change.

After the votes were counted, we're pleased to share that our new House Captains are:

Alban: Ffion and Oliver

Canterbury: Noah and Isla

Durham: Esme and Edward

York: Finn and Pyper

We are incredibly proud of all of our Year 6 candidates for their courage in putting themselves forward, and of all pupils for taking their role as voters so seriously. For those who were not successful today, there will be a number of other roles announced in the coming weeks for which we hope the children will put themselves forward to help steer different parts of our school.

Curriculum Spotlight - Italian

At the start of the new school year, it is a good opportunity to share with you information about the curriculum we deliver at Nash Mills.  This week, we will look at Italian.

Although it is only statutory to teach languages to pupils in Years 3 to 6 at primary school, all of our children are exposed to Italian in school as we believe it is an important skill for them to begin learning.  Each week, the children take part in different activities and a lesson from a resource called Language Angels.  This helps to expose the children to the language in a range of ways which helps their retention and understanding.

We chose Italian as our school's language for two reasons.  Firstly, Latin being the root of many words in the English language, it is really helpful for pupils in developing their English Grammar skills and being able to see how words link or how we use phonics to sound out some words.  Secondly, when we taught French, we found that when some of our pupils moved into Year 7 and began learning French again in secondary school they were bored or became frustrated that they were re-learning things that they had already done.  Italian has very close links to the languages taught in local secondary schools which will help pupils to make links whilst being able to learn something new alongside their peers.

As with our entire curriculum, more information about what we teach at Nash Mills can be found on the curriculum pages of our website.  Please do have a look if you would like to learn a little more! 

Toys and Mobile Phones in School

Please be advised, as per our Learning Policy, that only children in Year 6 can bring phones to school - these are then stored securely in a locked cabinet throughout the school day. If children in younger year groups have mobile phones at home, please ensure that they do not bring them to school. 

Also, some classes are still seeing a number of toys being bought into school each day.  Please do not send these in and keep them at home.  It is always a shame if things get lost or broken. 

Thank you for your support.

Can you donate?

If you are able to send in any underwear that's in good condition for classrooms to store in case children have accidents, particularly those in the younger year groups, we would be very grateful. Thank you.