Newsletters

City Road Primary School
October 2023

Message from the Head of School

Dear Parents/ Carers,

Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter. The children have returned to school a credit to you all; smart, alert, and ready to learn. Throughout the school there is a great working atmosphere, and we are excited to begin our new year together. At City Road, we pride ourselves on learning together to achieve success, based on high expectations and equality of access for all. We nurture the growth of the whole child- academically, socially, emotionally, morally, and physically celebrating all achievements in a safe, caring and creative environment. The whole team works together to bring learning ‘alive’ and extend pupils’ experiences so that they are well prepared for the next steps in their education.

We believe a happy child will be a successful child and work to ensure every child enjoys school and achieves success. We have a dedicated team who work together to provide the best teaching and learning experiences that we can through an exciting and engaging curriculum.

Our parents and carers play a key role in ensuring all children are fully supported at home and at school. We work closely with our parents and know the importance of their ongoing support in ensuring our children achieve the best they possibly can.

Attendance Matters!

Please look at your child’s attendance over the term. The information below will help you understand the attendance figure.

Punctuality

Be on time. Being late for school reduces learning time. If your child is 5 minutes late every day, they will miss three days of learning each year!

Holidays

Please remember that the Head of School is unable to authorise time out of school for a holiday and each parent with parental responsibility may incur a fine. Please do not book holidays to be taken in term time.

Reception Class 2024 Applications
If your child was born between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, they will be eligible to start our Reception class in September 2024. This applies to all our current Nursery pupils. However, the Reception ad[1]mission arrangements mean that if your child is in our Nursery, you do not automatically get a place for your child in this school next year for Reception.  

You will need to apply online for a Reception place at the following website by 15 January 2024:  

https://eadmissions.birmingham.gov.uk/ 

If you require help with filling in your online admission form, please contact school and we will be able to assist. 

Dates for your diary:

Mon 30th October– Fri 3rd November: autumn half-term holiday

Mon 6th November: Staff training day - school closed to pupils

Tuesday 7th November: School back open to pupils

Thursday 21st December: Final day for children - break up for Christmas holidays

Friday 22nd December: School closed for children - staff training day

Mon 25th December - Friday 5th Jan: Christmas holidays

Mon 8th January: School closed to pupils - staff training day

Tuesday 9th January: Children back to school for spring term 

To see the full list of school dates and events, please see the calendar on our school website: 

City Road School Events

Our new website is now live!

We are very excited and proud to announce the launch of our new primary school website at City Road Primary School - Home. Our aim was to create a dedicated site to keep our school community up to date with school news, support parent engagement and showcase some of the great things our pupils are achieving. We designed the website to be a source of information ranging from helpful links, term dates and latest news, whilst improving access to key information and statutory documents. We will be updating the class pages over the next half term and look forward to developing the website further over the coming months. We hope that you find it useful. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions for other information you would like to see on the site, please do let us know.

Homework Reading

The children should be reading at home every day for at least 10-20minutes depending on their year groups. They should then discuss what they have read and record in their reading diaries.

Times Tables

The children will be expected to practise their times tables online on their Times Table Rockstars account.

Spelling

The children will receive weekly spellings to practise. They will be tested weekly.

Parent Online Safety Workshop

Do you want to be able to keep up with your kids online?

A second online safety workshop will be delivered due to high parental demand by Mr Rayner.

City Road School Council

Congratulations to all the children elected this year. To see full details please click on the link below.

School Council web page

School Uniform

Please ensure that your children always wear the appropriate uniform. A polite reminder our uniform is as follows:

· Blue cardigan or sweatshirt

· White polo shirt

· Grey skirt or trousers

· Black sensible shoes or black trainers.

If you choose to send your child in trainers, they must be all black (These should have no other colours on them) 

· Children not wearing the appropriate school shoes will have to wear their plimsolls in school.

Year Group PE Days

Year 1 - Mondays and Wednesdays

Year 2 - Tuesdays and Thursdays

Year 3 - Tuesdays and Thursdays

Year 4 - Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Year 5 - Wednesdays and Thursdays

Year 6 - Mondays and Tuesdays

 

PE Kit

· White polo shirt

· Black joggers or leggings

· Black trainers or plimsolls

 

Changes to PE

All children now change in school. Please encourage younger children to change independently at home as this is also a skill they need to learn.

Nursery and Reception

Nursery and Reception have had an amazing start to school! The children have settled into school really well and established routines and strong relationships with their teachers and pupils. It has been a busy term in the Early Years, full of exciting learning opportunities. The  children were immersed into a world of sensory dance with the ACE dance workshops this term. The children explored their key stories, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ and  ‘The Gingerbread Man,’  through a sensory exploration of dance, rhythm and music.

       

Children across the early years have been exploring the season of Autumn and investigating natural media, which has provoked a lot of thought and discussion.           

This term, children have developed their passion for reading for pleasure by bringing stories to life. They have enjoyed role playing and re-telling the stories in a variety of different ways.

     

Year 1 used charcoal to create the Deep Dark Woods. They tried to make the trees as realistic as possible. Fantastic work Year 1!

 

        

 

 

 

Safety of our children due to parking around school

There are ongoing issues with parents parking on the zig-zag lines and performing dangerous manoeuvres near the school site. School staff continue to urge parents to consider others when parking, but there have not been any behavioural changes. The community police will do regular spot checks and take action accordingly.

The law on yellow zig-zag lines

The Highway Code states that drivers ‘MUST NOT wait or park, or stop to set down and pick up passengers, on yellow zig-zag school entrance markings.’

Parking rules help to protect our children and keep them safe, and drivers who park illegally put our children at risk. To reduce the risks of accidents and injuries, it is recommended in the Highway Code to park at least 400 m away from school and walk to the gates!

Benefits of Walking to School

Physical activity is a brilliant way to start your morning. Walking to school is both fun and beneficial for the whole family. It's a fantastic way for you and your children to stay healthy, active and happy.

According to campaigners, Living Streets, 'A generation ago, 70% of us walked to school - now it's less than half'.

1) Stay healthy

Walking to school is a great form of exercise for you and your children. It reduces the risk of obesity and heart disease, improves your mood and generally does wonders for your young adventurer’s health. It also helps to create good habits for an active lifestyle. Plus, all that extra activity should help children feel more tired in the evenings, leading to a better night’s sleep.

2) It's fun

Walking to school is much more fun than driving. Your children can spot lots of interesting things on their way to school and will get more familiar with the neighbourhood. 

3) Planet friendly

Swapping driving for walking is a great way to reduce CO2 emissions. It's a good way to introduce little ones to the importance of protecting our planet. Walking to school even once or twice a week makes a real difference and means the only footprints you'll be leaving are your own!

4) It helps children learn

Walking is great for mental health. It releases good hormones, helping to boost our mood and can help your little explorers start the day with a calm mind. Physical activity helps your children learn and boosts their performance in class. After a good walk, they will arrive at school feeling refreshed, happy and ready to start their day. 

5) Improves confidence

Walking to school makes your children feel more independent and in control. It teaches them road safety, basic navigation skills (let them lead the way) and helps them feel more confident. Before allowing your children to walk to school on their own, make sure they are ready and have all the required road safety skills.

6) More family time

Some quality time spent with your children on the way to school. It is a great start to the day. Taking a walk with them in the morning will help you focus only on them and help you feel closer as a family. 

7) Goodbye traffic

Nothing is more stressful than getting stuck in traffic, especially when you are in a rush in the morning. Swap your car for a pair of comfortable shoes and enjoy your morning walk as a family. Plus, you won't need to hunt for a parking space - what a relief!

8) It’s for everyone

It is never too early or too late to start walking to school. It is also for everyone – no special or expensive equipment is needed. Just a pair of comfortable shoes (or wellies for splashing on rainy days) and a waterproof jacket in case of a sudden downpour will be enough.

Flu Vaccinations
Immunising pre-school children against flu

This year’s flu vaccination programme is underway.  Children aged 2 and 3 years old (on 31 August before flu vaccination starts in the autumn) are eligible for a free flu vaccine given as a nasal spray.

Those working in the early years sector have an important role to play in raising awareness amongst parents about the annual flu vaccination programme for preschool children.

Annual vaccination of children helps provide protection to each child and reduces the spread of flu to their families and the wider community, protecting others who are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill from flu. The flu vaccine also promotes a healthy working environment in nurseries and childcare settings by reducing the risk of flu being spread to others including staff.

A leaflet for early years providers giving information about the programme is available and it includes details about how to order free resources to display or give to parents including translations in multiple languages.

Measles

Measles cases are rising across the country, with over 102,000 children starting primary school in England being at risk of catching the disease. We are asking you to share key messages from the NHS about measles / MMR and how to get vaccinated. The Back to school MMR Guidance from the NHS includes information to share, as well as for example, social media posts which can be found here: NHS Vaccine Poster and NHS MMR Poster.

Measles is highly infectious and if left unvaccinated, nine out of ten children in an early years setting can catch the disease if just one child is infectious. Please share these resources with colleagues, parents, and where suitable, community organisations to increase awareness and encourage parents to get their children vaccinated.

School Gates

Thank you to all our school community for your support over the past couple of weeks regarding the school gates. The school gates were vandalised and   reported to the police. The gates are now working!