Dear Parents and Carers,

We have come to the end of another half term and what a great half term it has been. The children are working hard and have been amazing. They embrace learning with enthusiasm and really want to do their best. We are very proud of them. I can’t believe we are half way through the year. Where is the time going?

Year 5, Buttercup performed the most amazing assembly this week on how we can take care of our planet. We were so impressed. The children spoke clearly and were great. They knew so much and were able to explain to us why it is so important to look after our environment. Well done Buttercup class.

We have two new parent governors, Laura Williams, a parent of a year 2  child and a year 3 child and Megan Jones, a parent of a year 4 child and a Reception child. We welcome them to our governing body and thank them for their support and time. 

Our Junior Road Safety Officers led an assembly for Nursery and Reception this week about keeping safe on the road. They were amazing. The children in Saffron class went out onto Clissold Road and monitored traffic and speed. The children used the speedometer and found that the drivers in the area were careful and not too fast. The children are really aware of the importance of keeping safe on the roads.

Thank you for your donations for the cake sale yesterday. The situation in Turkey and Syria is devastating and we want to do as much as we can to support them. We will be sending anymoney raised and donations to the organisation; https://ahbap.org/disasters-turkey. The amount we raise has been matched funded by a parent so all donations have really helped.

On Tuesday we held an assembly for Safer Internet Day 2023. The children discussed games and apps they like to play, and how to communicate with others respectfully online. Children from years 1 to 6 were able to talk about what they would do if they came across something that made them feel unhappy or worried when playing games online and they know to tell a trusted adult. 

Please do look at www.nationalonlinesafety.com. It has a lot of useful guides to all the different games available, and how to support children to use games safely. To create your account, please follow https://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/betty-layward-primary-school and complete your details. When you’re set up, you’ll be able to set ‘Parent/Carer’ as your user type. 

You can access National Online Safety online via any device- including via the smartphone app. To download the app, please go to:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/national-online-safety/id1530342372

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.nationaleducationgroup.nos

Alternatively, search for ‘National Online Safety’ in the App Store/Google Play Store. 

Online safety is incredibly important and we ask that you monitor what children are using and looking at on computers and tablets at home. The children are aware of it but reminders and monitoring only help and support them keeping safe.

There is a high chance school could be closed on Thursday 2nd March for the teacher strike. This is also World Book Day. We do not want the children missing out so we will be having World Book Day on Friday 3rd March instead. The children can dress up as a book character. Please can they wear costumes that allow them to use the toilet easily and if it is their PE day they will need to bring in PE clothing. Thank you for your support with this.

Thank you for your ongoing kindness and support. One of the really special things about Betty Layward is how lovely, supportive and kind everyone is. This really makes a difference and the school is a really happy place for children and adults. We are all very lucky and I feel especially lucky to be the Headteacher of such a wonderful school. I wish you a very happy half term break and look forward to seeing you all on Monday 20th February.

Jessica

Headteacher