This is the place where you will be able to read my weekly newsletters. Thanks for taking the time to read them, Jessica

• Newsletter Friday 25th April 2025

  Fri 25 Apr 2025 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Welcome back. I hope you had a lovely break. It’s wonderful to see everyone back with such bright smiles. The weather is improving, which is lovely to see.

   

  This week in Opal, we have been learning about how to use equipment safely during wet weather and how to access equipment safely in our loose parts shed. We have two fantastic sheds that store all of our Opal equipment. One shed holds our loose parts, which can be accessed daily, while the other shed contains our smaller parts for various activities, including construction, arts and crafts, sports, role-play, and more. This week, we introduced a large construction kit with wheels, cogs, panels, and poles. The children have thoroughly enjoyed building vehicles and castles; we even managed to move the vehicles. We are seeking further donations of wellies and waterproofs. If you have any spare wellies or waterproofs to add to our Opal collection, please bring them in. While we are hoping for more sunshine, we are also preparing our wet weather play resources and equipment for Opal to be ready when needed. Thank you.

   

  It’s 20p time again. If you haven’t done this before, we ask the children to collect as many 20p coins as they can. This can be achieved by children helping out at home with chores or participating in fundraising activities. This initiative allows the children to take the lead in fundraising for the school, and the class that raises the most will win £20 to spend as they wish. It’s a great fundraiser, and we appreciate your support with this.

   

  We are pleased to share that Betty Layward is working towards achieving the Bronze Rights-Respecting Schools Award stage—a nationally recognised initiative led by the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK). This award supports schools in creating and maintaining safe, respectful, and inspiring learning environments. Through this programme, children are not only valued and respected, but their individual talents are nurtured, empowering them to flourish both personally and academically. By beginning our journey towards the Bronze Award, we are formally committing to placing the values of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child at the heart of everything we do. At this early stage, we are working to raise awareness throughout the entire school community about what it means to be a Rights-Respecting School. Our goal is to ensure that children feel valued, listened to, and empowered to play an active role in their learning and in the life of the school. Thank you for your continued support as we work towards this important achievement.

   

  We have 80 children registered for the Hackney Half, and only a handful of places remain. This is the highest number we have ever had. Please check that you have received an email from letsdothis (it may be in your junk or spam folder). If you do not have an email, please message Kirsty as soon as possible. If you are not fully registered, your children WILL NOT be able to run. PLEASE also start getting the children sponsored by friends, family, workmates, and neighbours so we can raise money for our school. The fundraising link is https://gofund.me/7da4ca9d. We appreciate your support with this.

   

  Please remember to check the school calendar for dates this term, as there will be new events added, such as Blastonbury on the afternoon of Tuesday, 20^th May.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 4th April 2025

  Fri 04 Apr 2025 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I cannot believe we are at the end of another term. Where is the time going? What a great term we have had. The children have been amazing. Thank you for all your support.

   

  Thank you for attending your parent/carer meeting yesterday. I hope you found them useful. Some of the children who received reports told me how much they enjoyed reading them and were very proud of themselves. It was lovely to hear, and every report was lovely to read. Well done to all our children for an excellent term and for working so hard. We look forward to seeing it continue in the summer term.

   

  Last Tuesday, Key Stage 2 girls were visited by OCL Facades, who came to talk to them about careers in construction and engineering as part of their Girls' Can Build programme. In the United Kingdom construction industry, girls are significantly underrepresented, comprising only about 15% of the workforce, with only around 2% of on-site workers being female. The Girls' Can Build initiative not only highlights the possibilities within the construction industry but also aims to plant the seeds of curiosity and ambition in young girls, paving the way for a more diverse future in construction. All Key Stage 2 girls took part in an assembly, where they were introduced to construction and then discussed the different careers that are on offer. The Year 4 girls took part in a construction workshop, where they were challenged to construct a bridge. The girls took on various construction roles, such as project manager, designer, and builder. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the workshops and created some fantastic bridges. 

   

  Fuchsia class performed a wonderful assembly this week on the Tudors. They spoke clearly and acted brilliantly. Well done fuchsia class.

   

  On Wednesday, Year 2 went to St Mary's Church to support their learning about Christian beliefs, baptism and Easter. The children were able to explore the church, try on robes, hold the communion plate and chalice, and go up on the pulpit. They then took part in an imaginative baptism and saw what it is like when a baby is christened. Finally, they listened to a story about Easter and had the chance to ask questions about Christian beliefs and the church. 

   

  On Thursday, April 3rd, the Junior Road Safety Officers were outside of school at the beginning of the school day to observe the school street and check that the school entrance was not blocked. Their role is to provide important road safety messages to the school community and be aware of the roads and road safety in the local area. Thank you for all your kind words and supportive interactions with our officers. 

  Some of the findings were:

  Some parents are standing too close to the school gates, so we advise you to stand on the other side of the road. We would also advise that parents, carers and children look both ways whilst crossing over the road. We noticed this was not always happening, and there were vehicles and many cyclists travelling down the street.  Please be careful not to walk into the school's No Parking signs. These should not be moved. We also noticed that whilst we were on a school street, there were cars and vans coming into the street and travelling down the street. Please be careful around the school entrance. The Junior Road Safety Officers will be out again soon to check that everyone is keeping safe and the school entrance is clear.   

   

  April is World Autism Month, and this year, we will be celebrating World Autism Appreciation Week at Betty Layward during the week beginning the 21st of April. We will start a project called LEANS after the holidays (Learning About Neurodiversity at School).  Classes in Key Stage 2 will learn about neurodiversity and how it impacts children's school experiences. Neurodiversity means the differences in how people’s brains process information. Neurodivergent people’s processing differs from the majority (and often each other), sometimes in ways that substantially affect daily life.  Autistic, dyslexic, and people with dyspraxia, or those with ADHD or Tourette’s syndrome, could all be described as neurodivergent - though individuals may not identify that way. LEANS is a multi-session curriculum with a mix of hands-on activities, storytelling, and factual resource items. It was developed by a neurodivergent team of researchers and educators at the University of Edinburgh. LEANS’ stories expose pupils to perspectives and school experiences that might be quite different from their own - whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent.

   

  The curriculum consists of 7 topic units:
  
  - introducing neurodiversity
  - classroom experiences
  - communication
  - needs and wants
  - fairness
  - friendship

  - reflecting on our actions. 

   

  There is information available here if you would like to find out more:

  https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/leans/about

   

  The children are bringing home bulbs today to nurture and grow. They will then need to identify what plant they have. We look forward to hearing all about them. Thank you for your support with this. 

   

  Thank you for all your support this term. We hope you have a lovely holiday and the sun shines. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 22nd April.

   

  Jessica

  Headteacher