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 21st April 2023

  Fri 21 Apr 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  Welcome back. I hope you had a lovely break. It is great to see the children back and they are already working incredibly hard. We have a busy term ahead with Blastonbury and other events taking place. Dates will be sent out soon.

   

  As you know school is closed for all the children apart from Year 6 for two NEU strike days on 27th April and 2nd May. Year 6 will be in as they are very close to taking their national KS2 assessments and transitioning to secondary school. If your child is in Year 6 they do not need to wear uniform on these days. Please ensure they are wearing suitable and appropriate clothing and footwear on these days. There is no breakfast or afterschool clubs or provision.

   

  If your child attends the Junior Adventures Group (previously Fit for Sport) please do not ring the school to book them in, especially after the deadline. We cannot place children into the provision and we also have to follow their procedures. Please contact them directly to book a place. Please also remember to pay as if you don’t the place will be cancelled.

   

  Please can I remind you not to stand in the area inside and in front of our school gates. It is getting really congested and it means children are finding it hard to enter.

  It is 20p time again. As some of you know, we ask the children to collect as many 20ps as they can to raise money for school. This year the amount will go towards Project Renovate. We let the children know in assembly on Monday and the class that wins by raising the most money then wins £20 to spend as they choose. Thank you for supporting us with this. It is voluntary and not a must but I hope you will support us with this. I hope you also saw the details of Project Renovate. I am so grateful for all the support with this, especially in such difficult times. We will be counting them up at the end of the academic year.

   

  It is World Earth Day tomorrow and we will be talking to the children next week about this. One child in Year 5 has made a lovely suggestion about having more plants in the classrooms. They can make pupils feel more content, more satisfied and possibly even improve their learning. A number of plants may also help to clean the classroom air. I was wondering if you had any spare plants at home that we could have in the classrooms. They would be greatly received.

   

  On Saturday 20th May, 80 Betty Layward children from reception to year 6, and 20 parents and carers will run the final leg of the Hackney Half Marathon at the school's challenge at Hackney Marshes. They have been running a mile a week at school for 12 weeks, so this last mile completes their half marathon. On Sunday 21st May, 10 parents and carers will be running the full half marathon to raise funds for our school. In 2019, parents and carers ran for Project Playground and raised over £12K, nearly half of what was needed to completely redesign the woodlands, paying for all the equipment our children enjoy today. The Hackney Half was a really important part of the fundraising effort. This time they are running for Project Renovate; the new mission to raise funds to redecorate the upper floor of our school. It’s a big project including 8 classrooms, the ICT suite, a large hallway, and the two stairways. This part of the school hasn’t been improved for over 15 years and is now looking (and feeling) tired and worn. It's in need of repair and renovation to give the children more beautiful spaces in which to learn. Classrooms that feel loved and looked after, just like the children are. It’s time to fix it and we need your help. We know times are a lot harder than they were 2019 and that many people will be unable to donate, but for those who are able, please give what you can, to support the brilliant children running on Saturday, and the adults, parents and carers taking part in the Hackney Half on Sunday. Here is the just giving page.

  https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bettylaywardprojectrenovate

  If your child is attending to run the mile on the Saturday they must have a parent or carers with them. They cannot be left on their own. Thank you for supporting us with this.

   

  A group of children in Year 4 are taking part in a reading scheme through the Bookmark charity: www.bookmarkreading.org. On Thursday a photographer came in to take some photos of the children reading to use in their advertising. The children were very enthusiastic, welcoming and showed great confidence in their reading skills. We look forward to seeing these photos.

   

  Happy Eid-ul-Fitr 2023. Have a great day and a wonderful year ahead.

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

• Friday 24th March 2023 Newsletter

  Fri 24 Mar 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  We have had a lovely week with the sunshine beginning to shine and having longer days. Please remember the clocks go forward on Sunday and we lose an hour.

   

  Year 6 Chilli performed the most amazing assembly on William Shakespeare this week and knew so many facts about him. It was educational and fun. Well done Ruby class

  and thank you to all the parents and carers for coming. It was really lovely to see you.

   

  School closes at 1pm for Parent/Carer meetings on Wednesday. Years 1 – 6 will be receiving their child’s school report on Tuesday, which then can be discussed at the meeting. Please ensure you have booked a time. We look forward to seeing you then. You can book Adventure Kids (the old Fit for Sport) from 1pm until 5:45pm and there will be a creche just for your appointment time if you wish not to take your child to the meeting with you. They are very welcome to attend the meeting and it can be very purposeful if they do.

   

  Ramadan Mubarak/Happy Ramadan. Ramadan is celebrated in many different ways around the globe to mark the special occasion, from Iftar gatherings (Iftar- the opening of one’s fast), to household decorations and traditional foods, to mark its arrival. Fasting begins just after dawn, before which Muslims will take a modest meal known as “suhoor”, and ends after sunset, known as “iftar”. In between these meals, those who are partaking in the fast will consume nothing, not even water. In 2023, Ramadan began on Wednesday 22 March and end on Friday 21 April. It starts with the sighting of the crescent moon, which usually appears one night after a new moon. I hope you are able to go and visit the lights in Piccadilly as I mentioned in my email yesterday.

   

  World Autism Acceptance and Admiration Week runs from Monday 27th March to Sunday 2nd April. This is a week to raise awareness of autism, and to advocate for the acceptance and admiration of autism and those who fall into the spectrum. We will be talking to the children about it and I will send some more information for you via email.

   

  Salwa and Simon are expecting a baby and Salwa will be going on maternity leave after the Easter holidays. I am sure you will join me in saying a huge congratulations and we cannot wait to meet their new addition.

   

  This is my last newsletter of the term as we break up on Thursday at normal time. There are clubs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We wish you a happy holiday and look forward to seeing you when we are back on Monday 17th April. Thank you for all your support and kindness. We really do appreciate it.

   

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

   

• Newsletter Friday 17th March 2023

  Fri 17 Mar 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  Thank you for all your support with the school being closed due to the strike for two days this week. We really appreciate your support and understanding. It means a lot and I know you are aware of how hard our staff work and how we need the money to pay them properly.

   

  Please make sure you have signed up to Arbor as this will be the only way you can book clubs and I don’t want you to miss out. We can still only allow two clubs per child to ensure all children get a club. If you book more than two clubs on Arbor we will have to choose the two your child will be allowed to attend so please ONLY choose two.

   

  Thank you to those of you who have paid off any money owing. Please ensure this is done before the Easter holidays. If you need any help or support please let me know.

  On Tuesday 14th March, children from year 4 and 5 represented Betty Layward in a football match against Rushmore. The boys kicked off first and after going 1-0 in the first half, Wilfred equalized and made it 1-1, to the delight of the Betty Layward team. Unfortunately, Rushmore scored in the last minute to make it 2-1 at the end. The Girls kicked off next and despite putting in a resilient performance lost 2-0.  Well done everyone.

   

  Well done to Violet class for their assembly this week on hot and cold climates. It was brilliant and made me want to travel on Violet airlines. The children did so well and it was great. Thank you to so many parents and carers for coming.

   

  Tuesday 21st March is World Down Syndrome Day. We are asking children and staff to wear some socks that will get noticed: either mismatched or colourful and crazy. The idea is to start a conversation, so when people ask you about your socks you can tell them, "I'm wearing them to raise awareness of Down syndrome". The theme this year is 'With Us Not For Us', which promotes a human rights-based approach to disability. A human rights-based approach views people with disabilities as having the right to be treated fairly and have the same opportunities as everyone else, working with others to improve their lives. Please remember to ask your children to wear special socks on Tuesday 21st March. Thank you.

   

  I wanted to let you know about an exciting new project that we are embarking on in September. We will be working with OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) to improve our lunchtime provision. Lunchtime is a really important part of the day and we want the children to get the most out of it as possible. OPAL is an award-winning, mentor supported school improvement programme that addresses all the areas that schools must plan for if they want to strategically and sustainably improve the quality of their play opportunities. OPAL is the only programme of its kind that has been independently proven to sustainably improve the quality of play in British primary schools. Its success comes from a series of interrelated actions undertaken with specialist support from an OPAL mentor. This embeds play into the school’s policies and practices and establishes clear guiding principles and strategies for initiating lasting changes at playtimes. As a school we will provide many more outdoor exciting opportunities for the children in the playground, e.g. building dens, small world and much more.

   

  We know you want your children to be happier and healthier and to get the chances to play happily. OPAL schools also see these benefits:

  • 80% drop in reported behaviour and first aid incidents
  • 20% more afternoon teaching time
  • Compliance with wellbeing inspection requirements
  • Increased resilience, collaboration and inclusion
  •  

  Our aim by engaging in this project is to ensure all children have great play at school. There will be a working party consisting of staff, a governor and 2 parents/carers. If you are interested in supporting this and would like to be part of the working party please email me. You would have to commit to several meetings (not many) from September for 2 years as that is how long the project takes. I am really excited about this and please look at the OPAL website for more information. Any questions please ask.

   

  The PTFA are working with Class Fundraising to produce two tea towels for Betty Layward. The design will feature self portrait drawings by every child at Betty Layward and their class teaching staff. One will be produced by Nursery and KS1 and one by KS2. Children love drawing and we are really excited to support this initiative which involves the whole school and will raise funds for the PTFA. The children will be doing their drawings over the next two weeks and the tea towels will be available to buy early in the Summer term - £5 each or 3 for £12. 

   

  We are signed up for the Hackney Half Marathon for the children on Saturday 20th May at 10:30am. They will run a mile that day at Hackney Marshes. The actual half marathon is Sunday 21st May. There are 150 places for Y2 – Y6 children on the Saturday and we will also need parent/carer volunteers to make this happen. Parents and Carers can also support by raising money by running the half marathon on the Sunday. Please put these dates in your diary as these are great fund raisers for the school. A just giving page is being set up and more information will follow.

   

  I hope you have a good weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

  

• Friday 10th March 2023

  Fri 10 Mar 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have had a really good week at school and we have had a lot of children apply to be mini referees. We will be letting them know the outcome of who has been successful very soon.

   

  Thank you to those of you who have donated items for the Jumble Sale or their time to help. We were worried we would not have enough helpers but it should be okay and it can go ahead. If you can still help please let me know. We look forward to seeing you there.

   

  As you know we have a new information system called Arbor. We really need you to log into your account and ensure it is working okay. You will only be able to book next term’s after school clubs if you have Arbor as this is the system we will be using for clubs, payments and parents’ meetings from now on. If you haven't set up your Arbor account, please try the link below and click on 'first time logging in'.  You will need to enter your child's DoB to verify the account. If you need any help or something is not right please contact us.

   

  https://betty-layward-primary-school.uk.arbor.sc/?/home-ui/index

   

  There are teacher strikes on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th next week. Please plan as if the school is closed and if things change I will let you know. We have changed Aqua’s school trip to Friday 17th instead. Homework will be due in on Tuesday and not Wednesday as the school is closed. Thank you for being so supportive during this time.

   

  On Tuesday 7th March, children from Year 5 competed in a football match against Mossbourne Riverside. The boys kicked off first and showed great skill in teamwork. Despite all their great efforts Mossbourne Riverside came out on top. The girls kicked off the second game of the day and were victorious with a 1-0 win.  It could have been more, but we will take the 1-0 victory! Well done to all the children who participated, you are wonderful.  Thank you to the parent volunteers who helped out on the day.

   

  13th – 19th March is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, and is an ideal opportunity for us to learn more about, and celebrate, neurodiversity. The term neurodiversity refers to the differences between how people think, process information, behave and communicate. Types of neurodivergence include ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette’s syndrome. Every classroom is neurodiverse - because every pupil will have a different way of thinking, feeling, and learning. We will be watching some videos on neurodiversity and discussing neurodiversity within the classroom during the week. If you would like to watch the videos at home, here is the link:

  https://mentallyhealthyschools.org.uk/resources/what-is-neurodiversity-videos-for-children/

   

  Apologies for the glitch on school interviews this week. They would not let us log on. Thank you for your patience and I hope you managed to book a meeting. We will be moving the bookings onto Arbor next time so please make sure you have signed up.

   

  Please can I ask you to pay any lunch money debt you might have with us. We are currently owed thousands and we cannot afford to carry this debt. The great news is that lunches will be free for all primary aged children from September for that academic year, so could you please ensure that you are up to date with payments now and for the rest of this school year. If you are having difficulties paying please come and chat with me. I am always happy to help. Thank you for supporting us with this.

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you at the jumble sale tomorrow,

   

  Jessica

  Headteacher

  

• Friday 3rd March 2023

  Fri 03 Mar 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  What a fabulous Friday – the children looked amazing. We love World Book Day. Thank you for supporting us with the costumes. The children have had a great day learning about the favourite books you told us about on the survey. We chose the theme of animals as we had so many books to choose from. Here are the books the children worked on today -

  Nursery - The Rainbow Fish

  Reception - Where the Wild Things Are

  Year 1 - The Elephant and the Bad Day

  Year 2 - Handa's Noisy Night

  Year 3 - Giraffes Can't Dance

  Year 4 - The Cat in the Hat

  Year 5 - The Velveteen Rabbit

  Year 6 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Graphic novel version)

   

  The children really enjoyed it and it was an absolute delight walking around the school and all the classrooms seeing the children enjoying their learning and dressed up in their costumes. What a great day.

   

  Please remember it is the Jumble Sale on Saturday 11th March from 10:30-12:30. Please sign the board by the school entrance if you are able to help. Any help is really welcome as these events raise a lot of money for the school. We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for your donations.

   

  Year 1 went on a trip to the Aquarium this week and they were great. They had a lovely day and we are very proud of them. Well done Year 1.

   

  Some Year 4 children led a wonderful assembly this week on ‘How to look after our Planet’. They worked really hard and made an excellent power point and taught the children all about how we can help look after the planet. Well done to those Year 4 children. They all did really well.

   

  Sustrans Big Walk and Wheel is the UK’s largest walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling challenge. It inspires pupils to make active journeys to school, improve air quality in their neighbourhood and discover how these changes benefit their world.

  This year the challenge will run from 20–31 March 2023. We have registered as a school.  We will compete to see if the children either walk, use a wheelchair, scoot or cycle to school. We will be competing against other schools in the borough and nationally.  We would like to be the ones that win so please encourage your child to travel to school via one of these methods. We will keep you updated with further information.  

   

  Please remember it is Parent’s meetings on Wednesday 29th March. Please sign up for an appointment and we look forward to seeing you then.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

  

• Newsletter Friday 24th February 2023

  Fri 24 Feb 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  It has been lovely seeing you after the half term break. I hope you had a good week.

  We had a cake sale before we finished last term and raised £790 which was match funded so in total we raised £1580. This money will go to the charity https://ahbap.org/ Thank you for supporting us with this. It means a lot and every penny really does make a difference.

   

  Please remember we have the jumble sale on Saturday March 11th. Information will be sent out soon. I hope some of you are able to volunteer and help.

  We are really proud of Aranea in Year 6.  We knew she had been a finalist in the Greenpeace poem competition. Over 2700 children entered. This week we found out that she won. Well done Aranea.  It is a wonderful poem and here it is –

  Morning in the forest

  By Aranea
  Category 7-11

  I like to sit under the tree canopy
  At sunrise
  Bark against my back.

  I look up and see the branches
  Flying off in every direction
  Into the blue

  And the first light sitting on the patient leaves
  Underneath me the roots
  Run deep in the wise old earth

  I imagine the fields
  Gazing at the sky
  Waiting for the sun to rise

  The flowers dance and laugh
  In a light-hearted breeze
  I wish this would last forever.

   

  Online safety is a really important topic and one we need to be thinking about and remembering for our children at all times. I think it is easy to think that we are all okay and know all about it when the reality is we don’t. There is a very informative documentary/film all about this and I recommend you watch it. It is called Childhood 2.0. Here is the information https://www.childhood2movie.com/ Please watch it and see the risks of being online. There is more out there than a lot of people realise. Please take the time to look at it as it is eye opening.

   

  There is a teacher’s strike on Thursday 2nd March. Unless things change before then we will be closed. I am sorry about the inconvenience and I thank you again for all your support. We have moved World Book Day to Friday 3rd March and the children can come to school dressed as a book character. Please ensure that they can go to the loo easily and sit down easily in their costumes. We look forward to seeing them and thank you for completing the survey about your favourite book. We will enjoy sharing some of them with the children.

   

  Thank you to those of you who have downloaded the Arbor app and logged in. We are in the process of getting it all set up. If you are having any issues please let us know.

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

• Newsletter Friday 10th February 2023

  Fri 10 Feb 2023 Jessica

  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

   

  

• Friday 3rd February 2023

  Fri 03 Feb 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Thank you for a good week and all your kind words of support for the teacher’s strike on Wednesday. I know you appreciate how hard they work and the commitment they show to your child’s learning. I know it also must be frustrating for you having to find child care which means your words of support mean even more to everyone so thank you. I will let you know about any future action once I know. 

   

  Well done to the Year 5 children and their clothes sale last week. They raised £400 for cancer research and this is going to be match funded so will have raised £800 in total. Well done. What an amazing achievement. 

   

  Well done to the children who represented Betty Layward in the Hackney Football League on Tuesday 31st January, playing against Mossbourne Parkside.  All of the children played incredibly well and the girls won with an amazing score of 10-2 and the boys drew 2-2.  Thank you to the teams, you were amazing.

   

  Emerald class performed an amazing assembly on Ancient Egypt. They took us back in time and shared some very interesting facts. Well done Emerald class. 

   

  We are currently changing our school information system to Arbor and school payments and bookings will be moved onto this new system very soon. We chose this system for its ease of use so we hope you do find it easier. We might need to be patient with each other while we all get used to it. We moved our old Management Information System to Arbor on 1st February 2023. Adopting Arbor will allow us to communicate with you more efficiently and bring all core school data and workflows into one system. We are really looking forward to getting started with Arbor and parents are invited to familiarise themselves with it using the link below.

  Getting started - Log into the Parent Portal and the Arbor App

  You do not need to do anything at this stage.  We will send further communication on the parental Portal and the Arbor App and how to register by 10th February 2023, please look out for this information and register your child when prompted. We hope you are looking forward to using this new feature as much as we are. Any questions please ask. 

   

  I hope you have had time to look at the knowledge organisers sent to you this week. These are designed to help you support your child’s learning at home and they will also enable you to discuss your child’s learning with them. You will hopefully hear them using the vocabulary we have shared with you on these knowledge organisers. These will also be available on the website. If you need paper copies please let us know. 

   

  Next week is Children's Mental Health Week. The theme for CMHW this year is Connect. Mental Health and well-being are important areas that we look at throughout the year and celebrating this week is an opportunity to explore them further. Connect is one of the 5 steps to well-being that the children have been introduced to in assemblies. Monday's assembly will introduce Children's Mental Health Week to our children. This will open up class discussions on how we can connect with our families, friends and the wider community and how connections can have a positive impact on our mental health. We will be revisiting this theme throughout the week providing children with time to discuss how they are continuing to connect and how it is making them feel. We value the children's mental health as much as their physical health and we want them to feel safe to discuss their feeling and emotions at all times.

   

  Thank you, once again, for all your kind monthly or single donations. It is so kind and generous of you and any offer of help, financially or by helping at an event. Everything is greatly appreciated.

  
  Thank you and have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher 

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Friday 27th January 2023

  Fri 27 Jan 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

  What a great week we have had. We have loved the Grandparents coming in to visit us and sharing their stories. Thank you so much to all the Grandparents who came in and to the ones who wrote letters. We thought it was great and we really enjoyed you being part of our school.

   

  Individual children photos are on Monday 30thJanuary and Tuesday 31st January. Sibling photos will be taken on these days too.

   

  Well done to the Year 5 children who organised the children’s clothes sale for Cancer Research. They worked really hard during their lunch times and break times to organise the clothes. Thank you for your donations and for coming to the sale too. I really look forward to hearing how much they raised.

   

  Two Year 1 children led an assembly on ‘how to keep the school clean’ this week and reminded the children about how to look after our toilets. This is really important and something we are always reminding the children. Well done to those Year 1 children. It’s a brave thing, standing in front of the whole school and speaking to everyone.

   

  Over the last 3 weeks, Year 3 Jade class have been participating in a fully inclusive programme which involves pupils’ competing against themselves in a variety of multi-skill based activities to achieve their own personal bests. Well done to 3 Jade, who worked really hard at this.

   

  On Wednesday 25th January a group of children representing year 5 and 6 took part in a netball tournament at the Young Hackney Eastway Hub. The children did really well and had a great time and experience. Thank you to Briony for providing lunchtime training sessions with the children who took part.

   

  You would have received the information about the Parent Governor position this week. I really hope you are thinking about it. Any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

   

  Please remember school is closed on Wednesday 1st February due to the teacher’s strike. Please remember Jade class assembly is now on Tuesday 31st January.

   

  Thank you for all your kindness and support. I hope you have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

  

• Newsletter Friday 20th January 2023

  Fri 20 Jan 2023 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I hope you have had a good week. Thank you for your donations of children’s clothes for the Cancer Research clothes sale. You have been very generous and we have enough donations now. We hope you will come and buy some on Friday 27th January at 3:15pm in Daniel House playground.

   

  As you may have heard on the news teachers in the National Education Union (NEU) have declared strike action and the first day of striking would be Wednesday 1st February. The strike is happening because of a national dispute between the unions and the government over pay, school funding and the future of education provision. The NEU is the largest education union and we have a significant number of staff who could be striking. Whilst I understand that this situation may cause frustration those staff who could be striking are committed and hard working members of staff who have given this matter much thought and consideration. There is a strong likelihood we will be closed on that day and I wanted to give you as much notice as possible. I will let you know for certain as soon as it has been confirmed. Thank you for your understanding.

   

  We are really looking forward to seeing the Grandparents next week. It is really lovely having them in school. Thank you for organising any Grandparents that are visiting.

  Well done Aranea in Year 6 who was shortlisted for the Poems for the Planet Competition. Amidst thousands of entries, hers stood out as being both artful and empowered by our esteemed (and so far secret) judges. We are so proud of Aranea, what a great result. Winners will be announced soon.

   

  On Tuesday 17th January the Betty Layward boys and girls football team played two league matches against London Fields and Woodberry Down school. Both teams recorded very impressive scores which moved them closer to the top of the league. Well done everyone!

   

  On Wednesday 18th January the Betty Layward cricket team took part in the Hackney indoor cricket finals at Queensbridge Sports Centre against Shacklewell school. It was the best of 3 rounds. It was a very close encounter with Shacklewell who ended up winning the whole tournament. Well done everyone!

   

  The parent governor letter will be coming out next week so please keep an eye out.

   

  We will be celebrating Chinese New Year next week at school, starting with a delicious Chinese New Year lunch on Monday. I hope you have received the menu.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher