We held the reading and phonics information workshop this week for Reception parents - we hope you found this helpful. There will be a further phonics and reading information workshop for year 1 parents on Monday.

We really encourage parents to attend these sessions and recommend that at least one parent for each child attends. 

Monday 23rd September 2024 at 2:15pm - Year One parents ONLY

We still have a lot of lost property in the box by the office. Mrs Bowen regularly sorts through it and sends items to the classrooms for children whose uniform is named. If items are unnamed, or have the name of  someone who has left the school and donated their uniform to your child, please can we ask that you re-name these items correctly? We will try and put the lost property box out on the playground on a Friday so please have a look through it if you can. 

Following a very successful collection of school shoes/bookbags etc over the summer, we are now asking that if anyone has any winter coats, wellies, scarfs, hats & gloves that they are no longer using or have outgrown, please could these be dropped into the collection box by the school office, or place in the collection box at Cedarwood, next door to the school. Many thanks to the Irwin family for coordinating this collection for those less fortunate who may be in need of our help.

PTFA meetings are informal and a good way to get involved. Meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, in school, at 7.30pm. 

New committee members are always needed, and if you wish to find out more, get involved, have ideas to help raise funds or would even like to be part of our fabulous PTFA feel free to come along to one of our get-togethers, connect via Facebook or pop along to one of our regular meetings or to the AGM this November 13th in the school hall. 

As Thursday 3rd October is School Census day, there will be a special menu for school lunches. Two choices A & B will be as per the flyer, the beef burger or vegan burger with chips peas/beans. We will still offer choice C as usual, which is the jacket potato with usual fillings.

All county libraries are running Halloween costume swaps this Autumn.

The scary truth is an estimated 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away every year, adding to 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste. That’s the same as 83 million plastic bottles.

Donate a costume to any library between 23 September and 7 October 

Swap an old costume for a new one between 7 October and 1 November

You can find lots more ideas here about how to have a sustainable Halloween. 

The swap supports our Greener Together initiative, launched in 2021, which explores ways in which libraries can help to mitigate climate change, raise awareness and support individuals and local communities who want to take practical steps towards leading a greener, lower carbon lifestyle.   

Please click the link below to see NHS guidelines regarding illnesses.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/ 

Your children will have come home with a metal star badge this week. These have been bought with money raised by our school council last year, who decided that they would like each child to have a badge to show which 'house' they are in. During our assembly on Monday, we talked about 'belonging' and what it means to be part of a group. These badges do not need to be worn on school uniform all the time and could be put onto bookbags if preferred. We advise that they do not go onto any sports kit as they can cause damage to the tops. 

Booklets were sent home to all families this week regarding the new School Attendance guidelines set out by the Department for Education.. To clarify, a session is a morning or an afternoon, so 10 session equates to 5 days, and sessions can accrue over a 10 week period. Pupil registration data is collected automatically and shared with the County Council and we are duty bound to report these absences to the council. The five days do not have to be taken together, so a  five day absence could be made up of 5 separate days of unauthorised holiday over a ten week period. 

Any holiday-related absence taken that includes 10 sessions in 10 weeks, may result in a Penalty Notice.  In this instance, a ‘Notice to Improve’ notification will not be issued beforehand. The penalty amount is now £160 from September per child, per adult (reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days for the first offence). If a parent receives a second penalty notice within a rolling three-year period, the fine is £180 and there is no option to pay the fine at a reduced rate. Parents with parental responsibility, and adults residing with the child, including for example, step-parents who have day-to-day responsibility for the child, may be fined, and this applies to each child who is absent. For example, if two adults take two children out of school, the total fines would be £640 (reduced to £320 for a first offence paid within 21days). If a Penalty Notice is not paid within the time limits set out in the letter to the parent, the Local Authority may proceed the case to court. 

We recognise that these Penalty Notices may be unpopular with families, but it is important to inform you of these changes promptly. 

It is also important to note that school do not receive any money from these fines.

Please note that ALL school dinner accounts should be in credit at all times. If your child is in year 3 or above you will need to ensure that they have a credit balance loaded onto their account to cover their needs.

The cost of a school dinner is now £2.71.

If you believe your child may be entitled to free school meals, please look at this link www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/free-school-meals/apply-for-free-school-meals/ 

Menus for this term are now available from the school website - click to download or ask at the office for a printed copy. www.twyningschool.co.uk/page/school-lunches/106163 

Many thanks.

Please click on these links to view our guides to contacting school. We have also linked relevant policies for reference.

contacts and emails 

guide to contacting school 

communications policy 

parent code of conduct 

Please see below  some useful links to a few excellent wellbeing and mental health resources and an amazing digital therapy app for children:

luminova.app/gloucestershire 

www.onyourmindglos.nhs.uk/ 

www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/media/mujkq12k/gcc_3002-cyp-mental-health-handout_aw-crop-large.pdf 

hubofhope.co.uk/concerns?concerns=86&latitude=52.0286023&longitude=-2.1466844