Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a lovely, sunny week with many great things going on. World Book Day was amazing and thank you for all your support with the costumes and story jars. They were great. This year, the children from Reception to Year 6 were arranged into mixed classes. Each group enjoyed a morning of book related activities. The children created new stories, acted out puppet shows and devised new characters for well known books. The children had a fantastic day and it was great to see the deep love of stories. Thank you to all the staff who made this possible. The children really enjoyed the day and loved being in classes with all the year groups. The children were extremely excited and it was wonderful to see so many amazing costumes and Book in a Jar creations. 

Thank you to those of you who organised, helped and attended our jumble sale on Saturday. The sun shone for us and it was lovely to see so many of you there. The extra clear up help also made a huge difference so thank you to those of you who also did that. The Jumble Sale raised a total of £3125.67, including the sponsor money from Winkworth for the estate agent boards in your gardens. This is an amazing result and will make a difference for us. A big thank you to Winkworth, too.

On Monday, Year 4 had an exciting visit to the National Gallery, where they learned about Tudor portraits. The children eagerly deciphered the clues hidden within the paintings, such as clothing, certain objects and facial expressions, to identify the subjects of each portrait. They demonstrated impressive knowledge, explaining who the figures were and their role in Tudor society. Throughout the trip, the children displayed excellent behaviour, engaging fully with the guides and showing respect for the gallery environment. It was a truly enriching experience for all involved.  

On Tuesday, 4th March, a team of children from years 5 and 6 took part in the Hackney Primary School cross-country race at Hackney Downs Park. Huge congratulations to Olly, who finished in 11th place in the boys' race; Jane who finished 7th; Illy who finished 11th and Elsie who finished 12th in the girls' race. Well done to all the children who took part and thank you to all the parent volunteers for your help.

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day under the theme “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. This year’s theme calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation—youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls—as catalysts for lasting change. At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum. We at Betty Layward, want to ensure no one is left behind. On Tuesday, 25th March 2025, we will be hosting Girl’s Can Build. Girl’s Can Build is a ground-breaking initiative aimed at inspiring primary school girls to explore careers in construction, which has achieved remarkable success. Local Basildon business OCL Facades Limited will be coming in to deliver an assembly for all Key Stage 2 girls and then will lead a series of workshops for girls in Year 4 led by a group of talented women from OCL Facades Limited. We look forward to the girls having the opportunity to engage in these hands-on sessions.

Opal is going well in the playground and we are now introducing large parts such as planks, crates, etc. Children can use their imagination to create obstacle courses or make cars, etc. We are excited to see how they will use them.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy this sunny, warm weather,

Jessica

Headteacher