Weekly Newsletter

12.1.26

Achieving excellence for ourselves and others.

Upcoming Dates

Tuesday 13th January

Year 4 visit Hindu Temple
1:30pm, Open Day for new starters

Wednesday 14th January

Year 4 Forest School starts (fortnightly)

Thursday 15th January

Midnight, deadline to apply for Reception places for 2026

Wednesday 21st January

PSJ Rainbow Group with Mrs Steadman, straight after drop off

Week 4 & 5 (26th January - 6th February)

SEND parent review meetings

Thursday 5th February

Year 3 visit Stonehenge

Friday 13th February

Last day of Term 3

Monday 16th - Friday 20th February

Half Term break

Monday 23rd February

First day of Term 4

W/c 2nd March

Whole school CARE week

Monday 16th - Friday 20th March

Turing trip to Bordeaux

Tuesday 24th March

Dance Umbrella (Years 3 & 5)

Wednesday 1st April & Thursday 2nd April

Parent and teacher pupil progress meetings

Wednesday 1st April

Mini Police visit American Museum
Year 1 visit Holborne Museum

Thursday 2nd April

Last day of Term 4

Friday 3rd - Friday 17th April

Easter break

Monday 20th April

First day of Term 5

Monday 20th - Friday 24th April

Turing trip to Barcelona

Calendar

Term Dates

Message from Mrs Noall

Happy New Year and welcome back to school. This term I am reminding children what our vision means to them. Our school vision is that we 'achieve excellence for ourselves and others'. In assembly children have reflected on how we achieve excellence through commitment and choice - a conscious decision to be our very best. We won't achieve excellence for ourselves without these two things. Please encourage your child to make these excellent choices - in their home learning, in their punctuality, in their effort in class and in their relationships with friends and staff.

Every choice matters if we are to each achieve excellence.

News and Events

Careers Fayre - can you help?

The morning of Friday March 6th is our Careers Fayre when we invite people from the community into school to talk about their jobs. The children are always very enthusiastic, and hearing about possible careers really helps to broaden horizons and create aspiration.

We're looking for volunteers who could come in to school to talk to four classes for 30 minutes each. This could be a presentation, an activity for the children to do or a question and answer session with pre-prepared questions.

Please let the office know if you could help, or perhaps ask a neighbour or friend with an interesting job if they could give up their time.

We would be very grateful for any volunteers.

Reminders

Applications for Reception places, September 2026

A reminder that the closing date for on-time Reception applications for September 2026 is midnight 15th January 2026.

Class News

Find out what we have been up to on our class pages and posts. Last week started with a bang! Mini police visited the Kingswood fire station and Year 3 started Forest School.

Class Pages

School News

Previous Newsletters

Home Learning

Please support your child to complete their home learning.

Home Learning Week 2

National Year of Reading 2026

Did you know that 2026 is the National Year of Reading?

The National Year of Reading 2026 is a nationwide campaign created to tackle the sharp drop in reading among children, young people and adults. Led by the Department for Education and delivered by the National Literacy Trust, the campaign brings partners together to encourage more people to read.

The National Year of Reading will present reading as a modern, powerful activity that fits into everyday life. It aims to spark reading for pleasure, support literacy, make reading relevant in a digital age, and break links between background and achievement. Reading helps people succeed at school, at work and in life, supports wellbeing, brings communities together, and builds understanding and empathy.

At the heart of the campaign is a powerful message - ‘If you’re into it, read into it.’

Whether you love music, football, fashion, family time, or food, reading helps you explore what matters most to you. The campaign presents reading as an easy and enjoyable way to go deeper into your interests. Instead of framing reading as something you should do, it focuses on how good it feels right now — sparking curiosity and encouraging children to read because they want to, not because they have to.

At Peasedown, we have always understood how important reading is, and it is a key part of everything we do across the curriculum. This year, we are proud to fully take part in the National Year of Reading, working closely with the National Literacy Trust to promote reading for pleasure even more. Each week in our newsletter, we will share information, activities, helpful tips, and details of events to support reading at home.

As always, we are very grateful for your support and involvement as part of our school community. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me or come and speak to me at any time.

Miss Skipp

Attendance Matters

Attendance really matters!

Children who are at school every day do better in school. Attendance since the holidays has been well below expectations, averaging 90% each day.

At primary school, children who attend nearly every day in Year 6 (95–100% attendance) have 30% higher odds of reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths compared to similar pupils who attend 90–95% of the time.

https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/why-school-attendance-matters-and-what-were-doing-to-improve-it/

Please ensure your child

is not taken on term time holidays
is on time every day

This will give them the best possible chance of success, not only in school but later in life.

SEND Updates

The next SEND parent review meetings will be over the weeks commencing 26th January and 2nd February. Class teachers will make contact with you to arrange a suitable time and day. They will share new SEND support plans with you and discuss reviewed targets.

PFSA Updates

EYFS Updates

PSJ BITESIZE

Overview of Nursery and Reception Mathematical terms

Mathematical Development in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Very young children are naturally curious, noticing differences in quantity and the shape of objects. They use early mathematical concepts when they play. Mathematical understanding helps children make sense of the world around them, interpret situations and solve problems in everyday life.

The Early Years Curriculum for mathematics is split into two subject areas; Number and Space, Shape and Measure. These subjects are then split into specific teaching and learning topics. The following provides an overview of the areas of learning as well as definitions of the mathematical terms you may see or hear with early years teaching and beyond.

Number

Comparison - items can be compared according to various attributes, such as length, area, volume or weight. Sets of objects can be compared according to their numerosity.

Counting - assigning one number name to each object that is being counted, understanding when counting that the numbers have to be said in a certain order, understanding that the order we count a group of objects is irrelevant and understanding that anything can be counted including things that cannot be touched including sounds and movements.

Cardinality - that the number name assigned to the final object in a group is the total number of objects in that group.

Composition - understanding that one number can be made up from (composed from) two or more smaller numbers.

Space, Shape and Measure

Spatial Awareness - spatial reasoning is the understanding of how objects can move in a 3-dimensional world.

Shape - exploring the characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and using mathematical language to describe them.

Pattern - exploring patterns is at the heart of mathematics. Developing an awareness of patterns helps young children to notice and understand mathematical relationships.

Measures -measuring is based on the idea of using numbers of units in order to compare attributes, such as length, weight or capacity.

This term we will explore how we teach maths in the early years alongside simple challenges you can do with your children at home to support their learning in fun and engaging ways.

OPAL and Forest School Updates

Parent OPAL Survey

Dear Parents/Carers,

We are looking at our playtimes and thinking about how we can improve them by introducing the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) Primary Programme. Can you help?
Please complete this short survey.
Thank you in advance.

Mrs Dixson and Mrs Fulton

Parent OPAL Survey

Evo Sports at PSJ

PSA Updates

Next meeting: Thursday 15th January 1900 - 2030 @ The Red Post

All about us...

My name is Natalie and I am the new joint Chair of the PSA alongside Rebecca. My Son has just started in reception so although new to the school I am excited to bring my enthusiasm and passion into this role.

I hope to strengthen the partnership between families, staff, and the wider community. My aim is for the PSA to be welcoming, inclusive, and full of positive energy—so we can continue to support exciting enrichment opportunities, and raise valuable funds. I’m really looking forward to working with you all, listening to your ideas, and making a meaningful difference together for our children.

Hi! I’m Rebecca and I’m pleased to be joint chair with Natalie. I am keen to get more parents involved and really listen to and arrange events which would benefit the children and school. My daughter is in year 2 and I’ve been part of the PSA since she started in Reception and really love what the PSA have done so far.

Feel free to contact me and come along to one of our friendly meetings to find out more!

I am Katie and I have been a part of the PSA for 6 years! Helping out at first and then as treasurer for 5 years.

I have 2 children at the school and like being a part of contributing to things that will benefit the students!

I’m Lydia and I am the new PSA secretary. I have a son who started in reception in September and twin girls who will start in a couple of years. Through my job I’ve been into many primary schools and seen the huge difference PSAs can make to children’s school experience, so I’m excited to help make a difference in Peasedown.