Weekly Newsletter

Upcoming Dates

Monday 20th - Friday 24th April

• Turing trip to Barcelona

Wednesday 22nd April

• Year 6 Forest School (then repeats fortnightly)

Thursday 23rd April

• Year 4 swimming (then repeats weekly)

• Girls Football Festival

Wednesday 29th April

• Reception visit the Methodist Church in Peasedown

• Year 5 Forest School (then repeats fortnightly)

Monday 4th May - BANK HOLIDAY - school closed

Wednesday 6th May

• Year 2 visit We the Curious, Bristol

• Year 5 Planetarium experience (in school)

• 2pm, Mini Police Graduation Assembly

• PFSA Rainbow Group

Monday 11th May - Thursday 14th May

• Year 6 SATs

NB No Stay and Play this week

Thursday 14th May

• Reception New starters Meeting 5pm

Monday 18th May

• PSA Disco, 5pm - 6pm, Reception

• PSA Disco, 630pm - 730pm, Years 3 & 4

Tuesday 19th May

• 5pm, meeting about Year 6 residential for parents

Wednesday 20th May

• Class photos

• PSA Disco, 5pm - 6pm, Years 1 and 2

• PSA Disco, 630pm - 730pm, Years 5 & 6

Friday 22nd May

• Sports Day

• End of Term 5

Monday 1st June

• Start of Term 6

Some key dates for the final term...

Thursday 11th June - Friday 12th June

• Year 4 Base Camp

Sunday 21st June - Wednesday 24th June

• Year 6 Residential, Osmington Bay

Saturday 3rd July

• 11am - 2:00pm, PSA Summer Fayre

Friday 17th July

• End of term for pupils

Message from Mrs Noall

Welcome back to school for Term 5. I trust you had a restful break and that the children are ready and excited to be returning to school. This might be a short term, but we are looking forward to the same levels of excellence as always, so please encourage and support your children to be on time every day and to complete their weekly home learning tasks. Thank you for your continued support.

It was great to see so many parents at our parents' consultation evenings before the holiday - either in person or online. This was the first time we have tried to offer both online and in-person appointments so we would appreciate your feedback. The form below will take only a minute or two to complete and your feedback will help shape future decisions about how we offer these meetings.

News and Events

School Clubs

We are pleased to share our clubs list for the Summer term. All school based clubs run from 3.15 until 4pm and last for 10 weeks. All clubs begin in the week commencing 27th April and finish in the week commencing 6th July.

If your child would like to attend a club, please use the sign up form on Arbor. This will open at 6pm this evening and will close on Friday morning at 9am. We will let you know by the end of the day on Friday if your child has been successful in gaining a place in a club. 

Monday Year 5/6 tennis club with Mrs Ayres and Mrs Newman 

Tuesday Year 3/4 Rounders club with Mrs Stevenson and Miss King

Tuesday Year 5/6 photography with Mrs Tregale

Tuesday Orchestra with Mrs Taylor

Wednesday, Junior Choir (Years 1, 2, 3), lunchtime with Mrs Taylor

Thursday Year 4/5/6 Fitness with Mrs Jeffries

Thursday, Senior Choir (Years 4, 5, 6), lunchtime with Mrs Taylor

Barcelona Visit

¡Buen viaje! to Miss Shaw, Mrs Appleton, Miss Hicks and the group of Year 5 children travelling to Barcelona this week as part of our ongoing Turing project. We look forward to hearing all about your adventures.

Sports Day - Friday 22nd May

We are very pleased to announce that the Peasedown Cricket Club is once again happy to host our school sports day. This will take a similar format to that of the past few years with all of our children taking part in sporting events across the day and a joint family picnic lunch. More detailed information to follow in the next few weeks and please note that, as always, arrangements for Sports Day can change at the very last minute depending on the weather!

Reminders

Assessments and Attendance

The summer term is, as always, a time where children in all year groups complete end of year assessments to help indicate how much progress they have made and how we can continue to support this progress into the next academic year. Some children also complete statutory assessments for national comparisons. 

It is imperative that children in every year group are in school every day and on time so that they are ready and confident in these assessments when they happen. Children with strong attendance will have more confidence when approaching all aspects of school.

We prepare children thoroughly for all assessments and so, whilst we are providing information below for parents, do not feel that you need to discuss this with your children, especially if you feel this would be counter-productive to them doing well. We pride ourselves on creating safe and secure testing spaces and often our younger children are not even aware that they have done a test that day. To help your child, support them to complete their weekly home learning and ensure they are always well rested before a school day. Attending Breakfast Club is another way to ease your child into a positive day at school at is free from 8am.

Who, what and when?

Year 6

The oldest children take a set of standardised tests over the course of four days in May. These are taken by all Year 6 pupils across the country and assess the children on their knowledge and understanding across spelling, grammar, reading and maths. In addition, children are building a portfolio of writing which must be completed and assessed by the end of the summer.

Our Year 6 pupils have been working towards these assessments for a number of weeks now and know the routine well. We utilise a lot of spaces and additional adults across the four days to ensure children can take these tests in a way that enables them to flourish and show us what they can achieve. 

As statutory assessments, parents will receive written notification of their child's results in July once they are published. These tests also support secondary schools with placing children in the correct groups in September. 

These tests are statutory and so children must be in school every day of that week. If there are any problems with attendance during this week please contact the school office immediately so that we can arrange alternative testing arrangements for your child.

Year 6 pupils are invited to attend Breakfast Club every day of SATs week so that they can start their day feeling settled and well fed.

For more information: 2026 KS2 national curriculum tests: information for parents 

Year 4

Children in Year 4 must sit the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC). This is an online test of 25 questions covering all the multiplication facts up to 12x12. Children in Year 4 have been working on learning these facts, and recalling them at speed, all year and have practiced the online format too. This check takes place over the first two weeks in June. Parents will be notified of their child's final score when they are released later in the summer.

For more information: MTC: information for parents 

Year 1

Children in Year 1 are assessed on their phonics sounds in the Phonics Screening Check (PSC). This is a 1:1 activity where each child reads real and 'alien' words to their teacher. There are 40 words in total and the check takes about 5 - 10 minutes to compete per child. This check takes place over the second week in June. As this check takes a very similar format to phonics lessons and is 1:1 with the child's teacher, children don't usually know that they are doing this screening. Parents will be notified of their child's score and if this is considered a 'pass' later in the summer.

For more information: PSC: Information for parents 

Reception

A Good Level of Development (GLD) is a measure of children's attainment at the end of their Reception Year. This assessment is not a test. The teachers in our Reception team watch and observe children carefully over the whole year to judge if children have met the expected level in their Early Learning Goals. The purpose of this measure is to support a strong transition from the Early Years into Year 1 , where children switch to the National Curriculum. Parents will be told where their child has reached across all these measures as part of their child's end of year school report.

If you have any concerns or questions please do not hesitate to talk to your child's class teacher.

Class News

Find out what we have been up to on our class pages and on Face Book.

Home Learning

The button below will take you to this week's home learning for every year group. Home learning is designed to enable children to practice skills they will need in school and so it is really important that they spend some time over the week on this home learning. 

Attendance Matters

Why is good attendance important? 

Good school attendance is vital for children’s success in the future. Being in school every day that it is open is important to your child’s achievement, wellbeing, and their wider development. Time in school also keeps children safe and provides access to extra-curricular opportunities and pastoral care. 

If children do not attend school regularly, they may: 

• struggle to keep up with schoolwork 

• have few opportunities to catch up on missed learning 

• miss out on the social side of school life 

• miss opportunities to make and keep friendships 

We have a duty to keep parents informed if their child's attendance drops to a level that causes concern. Where there are significant concerns about a child's attendance we will invite you to an Attendance Meeting to discuss a suitable Attendance Support Plan.

PFSA Updates

You can find a range of support services on the Support for Families page on our website by clicking this link Support for Families - Peasedown St John Primary School. 

Information on upcoming events will be in the weekly newsletter and noticeboards in the office waiting area and playground. 

If you would like to speak with Catherine about any concerns you have you can call the office or email her directly at pfsa@peasedown.mnsp.org.uk.  My usual working days are Mon-Wed 9:00-3:00.

Preloved Uniform

Don't forget with the nicer weather fast approaching, if you need any summer uniform we have a large selection of preloved shorts, skirts and dresses.  Just pop to the office and a member of staff can help you.

Lost Property

All our lost property will be outside in the playground tomorrow after school (in the main hall if it is raining) for parents and carers to collect.  We have a large amount of water bottles, coats and winter warmers.  So please come along and have a look. 

Free Webinar

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE Term 5 - Transitions

Transitions from Nursery to Reception

High quality transitions recognise the importance of feeling “known”. In today’s society children may have many out-of-home experiences through childcare, toddler groups, family day care and more than one nursery. They may appear to straddle change with ease. But while transitions may occur with great frequency not all children navigate these comfortably or happily.

Moving from a place or situation in which children feel “known” into one in which they feel “unknown” can raise insecurities about having their entitlements and needs met. While some children have the resilience to cope with change, others are more vulnerable to uncertainty. Effective transition is a process rather than an event and should be planned as such. Transitions are also an opportunities for professional dialogue both within and between settings, as well as

with the home. Therefore, this term we will explore how you can support your child to transition into Reception and how we as a school will ensure that your child feels “known” as they start their new learning journey with us.

Transitions from Reception to Year 1

As children move from Reception into Year 1 they need continuity of experience with the ways in which they learn successfully in their Reception class continued into Year 1. This does not mean that what they will learn will be the same but how they learn should be very similar and familiar.

Initially, in Year 1 children’s learning experiences can remain a balance between learning led by the teacher and learning led by the children to ensure a smooth transition into KS1. However, as the year progresses the balance leans more towards teacher-led learning rather than play based learning. Some children can find this transition difficult, therefore, towards the end of the term we will explore how you can begin to support your child as they move onto the next stage in their learning.

PSA Updates

Save the dates for our summer discos!

Monday 18th May

5-6pm - Reception

6.30-7.30pm - Years 3 and 4

Wednesday 20th May

5-6pm - Years 1 and 2

6.30 - 7.30pm - Years 5 and 6

More information and tickets will be available soon!