Jessica's Newsletters

Newsletter Friday 18th July 2025

Fri 18 Jul 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

I cannot believe this is the final newsletter of the school year. It has flown by. We welcome new children for September and say farewell to our wonderful Year 6 children. Year 6 performed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang yesterday as their leavers' production, and they were fantastic. They acted brilliantly, displaying confidence and enthusiasm. It was incredible, and what a way to conclude their time at Betty Layward. We are very proud of them, and their new secondary schools are lucky to have such wonderful students. Watching these children grow from the moment they joined us has been a privilege and a delight. Thank you to all the families we also bid farewell to. Your support has been invaluable and you will always be welcome at Betty Layward.

It has been lovely seeing many of you at the Parent and Carer OPAL sessions this week. I saw numerous smiles and shared moments of fun. I hope you enjoyed it too.

Year 1 had a delightful trip to the theatre this week to see 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a book they studied this year, so it was wonderful for them to watch the performance.

Reception had an impressive gallery of photos today, which they shared with their parents and carers. These were photos they had taken themselves and they were very impressive. Well done, Reception.

On Friday, 11th July, a group of Year 4 and 5 children took part in a girls' football competition to celebrate the Women's Euros 2025. The event was held at Mabley Green, with 14 schools competing overall. We played against Halley House, Parkwood, Queensbridge, Gayhurst, and Mossbourne. The Betty Layward girls finished in third place. Well done to all the children who participated, and thank you to all the parents able to join us. Your support is greatly appreciated.

The summer fair raised over £8000, which is fantastic. Well done, everyone, and thank you to the PTFA, parents, and carers for their tireless efforts and unwavering support throughout the year. It genuinely makes a difference for our children.

Finally, I want to sincerely thank all of you for your kindness, support, and dedication to Betty Layward. It is a pleasure to be part of such a wonderful community, and I feel privileged to work here. I am sure you will join me in recognising all the staff for their hard work and dedication this year. They are outstanding, and it is a fantastic team to be part of. Best wishes to all our leavers, and a warm welcome to our new children and families.

Betty Layward is celebrating its 25th anniversary in September. There will be a celebration, and we will invite all our past children and families to join us. More information will follow.

We open for children on Tuesday, 2nd September. Nursery and Reception have different starting dates, as per the information shared with parents and carers.

I hope you all have a fantastic summer.

Thanks for everything,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 11th July 2025

Fri 11 Jul 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a fantastic week. The Year 6 SATs results were exceptional, and we are very proud of them. They worked incredibly hard and truly deserved it. I reminded them that they are more than just SATs results. They are well-rounded, wonderful individuals who can achieve anything they set their minds to.

Today, we were privileged to welcome some remarkable visitors. Maggie Baird (the mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell) and Dale Vince OBE, Chairman of the world’s greenest football club, Forest Green Rovers, came to speak about sustainability and plant-based food. Maggie runs a charity in America called Support and Feed, which she explained aims to support and feed people while combating the climate crisis and food insecurity by promoting a global shift to an equitable, plant-based food system. Dale shared his work, including how he creates diamonds from the sky and his ambitions to build the first electric aircraft. He also owns a kitchen called Devil’s Kitchen, which provided us with an Airstream catering van and we enjoyed his plant-based hot dogs and meatballs. Maggie’s recipe for buffalo cauliflower was shared and the children are taking the recipe card home. They ate lunch outside, and it was a lovely experience. The guests were very impressed by the children’s behaviour and kindness.

Thank you for attending the Parent/Carer Sharing afternoon this week. It was wonderful to see so many of you there and to watch the children show you their work and take pride in their achievements this year. Thank you for coming.

Congratulations on a fantastic Summer Fair last Saturday. It was wonderful. It was great to see so many of you there, helping as well as enjoying yourselves. Thank you for your support, time, and kindness. It means a lot.

We invite children to contribute to our new blog on our website—the theme is YOU. Similar to the half-term projects, submissions can be in any form, including writing, pictures, sculpture, or song. The children are encouraged to be as creative as they like. Please email their submissions to blog@bettylayward.org.

Our children are remarkable at fundraising, and much of it they do independently, without prompting. They are fantastic. Here are some of their recent activities: Luna, Kitty, Beth, and Susanna baked and held a cake sale today in Clissold Park to raise money for 20p day, raising an impressive £108.30. Simiy, Anita, Julia, Felix, Teddy, Lily, and Freya organised their own jumble sale, which raised £186. They divided the proceeds between Betty Layward and Hackney Night Shelter. Poppy, Karolina, Lennie, and Didem from Cerise Class Y4 held a yard sale, selling homemade jewellery, biscuits, lemonade, drawings, second-hand toys, and even playing the clarinet to entertain passersby. They plan to donate some of the money to Betty Layward’s 20p fund and some to the Teenage Cancer Trust at UCH, where Karolina’s older brother was treated several years ago. Poppy and Karolina visited patients and nurses at UCH’s Teenage Cancer Ward to give them doughnuts bought with the sale money. What incredible children we have; they are true role models. Well done to everyone.

There will be a Year 5 fundraiser on Friday, 18th July, after school. We will be selling drinks, cakes, and handmade arts and crafts. All money raised will go towards reducing Betty Layward's carbon footprint.

In OPAL Playground, we have been building dens, pirate ships, monster trucks, and more. It will be exciting for the children to show you the OPAL Playground next week if you can visit during your parent and carer sessions. We look forward to seeing you there.

Next week, the Year 6 children will perform their show for their parents and carers. We can’t wait to see the dress rehearsal on Tuesday. If you or someone you know can attend the dress rehearsal and film it for the parents to keep, that would be wonderful. It might also require some editing, which we would greatly appreciate. Please let me know if you can help.

You will have received an email regarding the school's plastic collection initiative. Starting Monday, a large bag will be provided for you to place your plastic in. Please assist us in winning the prize for the bench made from all of it. Thank you for your support with this.

20p day will be the last day of term, on Tuesday, 22nd July. Please bring in any 20p coins before then, as I know your child will want their class to win, and every contribution helps.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 4th July 2025

Fri 04 Jul 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a busy week with a Key Stage 2 trip to the Rio cinema, Year 4 visiting St Paul’s Cathedral, a Year 1 Violet Class assembly and everyone enjoying Sports Day.

On Monday, Year 4 had a fantastic trip to St Paul's Cathedral. The children were amazed by the stunning architecture and enjoyed exploring the grand interior. During the visit, they learned all about the history of the cathedral, including how it was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London. They also discovered why St Paul's is such an important landmark in British history. They explored maths, science, and architecture within the context of Christopher Wren’s design. They took a journey around the Cathedral and went behind the scenes to identify the engineering challenges of such a large build. Finally, they became engineers to determine how to construct a strong and stable dome.

Year 1 Violet Class presented a lovely assembly that took us back in time. They spoke clearly and showed confidence. It was a fantastic assembly, and they should be very proud of their efforts. Well done, Violet Class.

On Wednesday, as part of the school's Hispanic Week celebrations, the children in KS2 visited the Rio Cinema to watch a Spanish-inspired film called Vivo. This film, set in Cuba, follows a small South American creature called a kinkajú as he travels from Havana to Florida to fulfil his destiny by delivering a love song to a famous Latin singer named Marta Snadoval. The movie was full of adventure, amusing characters, and fantastic Latin songs. The children had a wonderful time and displayed exemplary behaviour.

Sports Day today was a lot of fun. The children were fantastic, and thank you for being so supportive and for participating in the most interesting parents and carers race we have had so far. It was such a wonderful day, and lovely to see you all there. Thank you for coming. It just shows what a great community Betty Layward is.

I am really looking forward to seeing you at the Summer Fair tomorrow. Thank you to the organisers, helpers, and everyone who has donated. Events like this really make a difference for our school.

Have a lovely weekend, and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the Fair.

Jessica

Headteacher