It has been a busy and exciting month here at Pencoed Primary! We’ve enjoyed a fantastic pantomime, supported Children in Need, marked Remembrance Sunday, and taken part in Anti-Bullying Week. We also celebrated a special recognition of our work with Service children, and received thanks from Table Tennis Wales for our involvement. And that’s just a snapshot—there’s been so much more happening across the school!

A huge thank you to our school community for your generosity with Children in Need donations. Your support makes such a difference.

As the festive season quickly approaches, please pay special attention to the dates section at the end of this newsletter, as there are lots of exciting events coming up that we don’t want you to miss!

Dr Sarjeant 

Attendance and Punctuality

Regular attendance is vital to ensure that children make the best possible progress at school. Children who miss school unnecessarily, or who arrive late to school miss out on crucial learning time and experiences with their peers. 

For the past three school weeks, our whole school attendance has been above 96%. This is a tremendous effort and testament to everybody's commitment in recognising how important regular school attendance is. Furthermore, this is also at a time when winter illnesses generally increase which makes its all the more impressive!

Our current whole school attendance figure for this academic year is 94.39%. We are very grateful to you all for working with us as we aspire to reach our target of 95%. 

Any requests to pick children up within the school day (e.g. for medical/dental appointments) must be communicated in advance via admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru. We also ask that parents provide a copy of appointment letters as relevant. Where possible, all appointments should be made outside of school hours. Finally, if your child is not in school due to illness, please be reminded that we need to record the reason for absence and so may ask for specific information to include on your child's registration records.

As always, if we can support in any way please do not hesitate to get in touch with either Mr Raymond or Mrs Julie Jenkins.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK
To mark Anti-Bullying Week, pupils were invited to wear odd socks to school as a fun way to celebrate what makes each of us unique. 

Our School Council also led a special assembly, raising awareness about bullying and sharing practical ways to help if someone feels they are experiencing it. The message was clear: everyone deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued.

Thank you for supporting this important initiative and helping us promote a culture of respect and inclusion.

If you have any concerns about bullying, please speak to a member of school staff - we are all here to help. 

Our phrase of the month is ‘Sut mae’r tywydd heddiw?’ Which means what is the weather today? We would like you to use this phrase as much as possible around the school. Here are some responses you could give;

It is sunny

Mae hi’n heulog.

It is raining

Mae hi’n bwrw glaw.

It is snowing

Mae hi’n bwrw eira.

It is windy

Mae hi’n wyntog.

It is cloudy

Mae hi’n gymylog.

It is cold

Mae hi’n oer.

It is warm

Mae hi’n gynnes

This month we are working towards is ‘ensuring that Welsh language is visible throughout the school’. As Criw Cymraeg, we have been looking out for Welsh across the school and areas which need improving. 

We are also celebrating ‘amser Nadolig’ (Christmas time), in school. As a Criw, we are ensuring that Welsh language is included within the celebrations. 

Diolch, 

Criw Cymraeg

Mrs Jenkins says it has been a busy and exciting month!

• Angel, our therapy dog, has been spreading joy by listening to children play the violin – a truly calming and magical moment for everyone involved.

• Griff the dog had a wonderful time watching pupils create amazing models of him – the creativity on display was fantastic!

• Our parents and carers have been busy crafting beautiful decorations and items that will make our upcoming Community Christmas Lunch extra special.

• The Baby and Toddler Group joined in the fun for Children in Need, enjoying activities that brought lots of smiles and laughter.

Save the Dates

• Wednesday 3rd December - Christmas Dinner 

• Thursday 11th December - Christmas Jumper Day

Christmas Concert Dates: 

• Nursery - 9th December - 9:30am 

• Reception - 10th December - 9:30am

• Year 1 - 9th December 2:30pm

• Year 2 - 10th December 2:30pm

• Middle/Upper School Carol Service -  Wednesday 3rd December 5pm 

Inset Days:

• Friday 19th December 2025

• Monday 20th July 2026 

*1 further date to be allocated 

Class Dojo: Dojo continues to be our main communication platform and class teachers share key information on their class story page. However, we have made some changes to the messaging facility; teachers can still send messages but they are not able to receive incoming messages. 

Class Dojo is used for sharing key information via the class and school story. Mrs Julie Jenkins (support for families), Mrs King and Mrs Ryall-Friend (support for pupil well-being) and our LRC class teachers use the outward messaging function as part of their bespoke roles. 

Please see our communication guidelines below:

Call the school office on 01656815730 or email admin@pencoedps.bridgend.cymru when:

• Reporting an absence

• Informing the school of changes to pick up / drop off arrangements 

• Querying payments for school dinners or trips

• Updating medical information

• Asking about general school information, dates and events

Email contact@pencoedprimary.co.uk when:

You have a specific query regarding your child for the attention of the class teacher or the school’s leadership team - Please ensure your child’s name and class is stated clearly in the email subject. All relevant information will then be shared accordingly. 

Safeguarding

• At Pencoed Primary School, we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children. If you have a concern about the safety or well-being of a child, please report this immediately to either Dr S. Sarjeant, Mr A. Raymond, Mrs K. Maund or Mrs A. Brennan (Designated Safeguarding Leads).  In addition, advice can be sought from Mrs A. Williams, Designated Governor for Safeguarding.

• If you are a parent or a visitor to the school and you are worried about the safety or well-being of a child or family please ask to speak to the Designated Safeguarding Leads or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

• Please access our child protection and safeguarding policy here - https://www.pencoedprimary.co.uk/school-policies-1/