Jessica's Newsletters

Newsletter Friday 14th March 2025

Fri 14 Mar 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you have had a good week. We have had a productive week with lots going on and there are lots of exciting things coming up.

We are pleased to announce the opening of Betty's Refillery, a new eco-refill shop at Betty Layward. The shop will offer a selection of eco-friendly, plant-based products to help families live more sustainably. To support our first shop on Thursday, 27th March, we are asking parents and carers to bring in 500ml bottles for refills. We appreciate your help in reducing waste and promoting sustainable choices. You will be able to come and buy shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and other items in our refillable bottles or you can bring your own. This will be an ongoing project and one we hope you will find useful. We look forward to seeing you on 27th March to fill your bottles.

On Friday, 7th March, a squad of Girls from years 5 and 6 took part in an International Woman's Day football competition at Berger Primary School. We played against Millfields, Gayhurst, Mossbourne and Berger. The girls had lots of fun and played very well. Well done to all the children who took part. It was great to share in such an important celebration.

This week, we introduced an obstacle course into Opal playground. The children have enjoyed crossing over planks, crawling through tunnels, and balancing on beams and stepping stones. The children have been generating different pathways and combining different levels of movement. The children have been particularly successful in teamwork, sharing and turn-taking. It is great watching them plan and make different obstacle courses. They are really enjoying it.

World Down Syndrome Day is on Friday, 21st March. We are asking everyone to 'rock their socks' and wear bright, bold and funky socks to celebrate the uniqueness of every chromosome - each one is one of a kind. The theme this year is 'Improve Our Support Systems': governments are being urged to make sure that people with Down Syndrome get the support they need all around the world.

Please remember Chilli's class assembly on Tuesday at 9:15am. We look forward to seeing Chilli parents and carers there.

If it is your child’s birthday, they can bring in individual cakes to share with their class. Please can you check that there are no traces of nuts on any of the labelling. We cannot give these out and if they are homemade please ensure that all ingredients are nut-free too. Thank you for your support with this.

Have a very lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 7th March 2025

Fri 07 Mar 2025 Jessica

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

Newsletter Friday 28th February 2025

Fri 28 Feb 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

It is lovely seeing everyone back after half term. I hope you had a lovely week. It is also lovely having the sun out and I hope this will be the same for the Jumble Sale tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing you there. Thank you for all your donations and for volunteering your time if you are helping tomorrow. These events make a real financial difference for the school and we really appreciate them.

Please remember that this Wednesday is World Book Day. Children can dress up if they would like to, but we ask that they do not wear masks and that they wear outfits that they can go to the loo in. We are also looking forward to seeing their books in a jar. We have organised a lovely day. Each teacher is teaching about a picture book and the children will be grouped from Reception to Year 6 and work together and learn about this book. We are really looking forward to it.

This week, we took a group of children to Wembley to watch England Women's football team play against Spain. It was great to see them so happy and having so much fun. This was a great opportunity, and we all really enjoyed it.

This week, we opened a planting station in the playground as part of our Opal playground project. The children have enjoyed planting bulbs and learning how to care for them, take turns, share, and work together. They have also been turning over the soil, searching for worms, digging, and planting herbs. We look forward to the bulbs and herbs growing and to seeing the results of their hard work.

Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you at the Jumble Sale tomorrow,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 14th February 2025

Fri 14 Feb 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are half way through the school year. I can’t quite believe it. Where is the time going? It’s been a great term and thank you for all your support.

Thank you for attending our Artbash art exhibition today. I was so impressed with all the children’s artwork. They really enjoyed the workshops, and we enjoyed seeing them proud of their creations. We hope you enjoyed them, too.

On Wednesday, the Year 4 classes had an exciting trip to the Southbank BFI as part of their Spanish learning. The children worked together to answer a variety of questions and interact in Spanish. In the afternoon, pupils enjoyed the luxurious BFI theatre seats and watched a Spanish film, El Ratón Pérez, with subtitles. It was a great day.

On Thursday, February 13th, 2025, a group of children took part in the Hackney Primary Swimming Gala at Clissold Leisure Centre. The children competed against six schools from Hackney in different races, including backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle, as well as team relay races. Betty Layward secured second place in this year's swimming gala. Well done to all the children who took part. We are proud of all of you.

It was Safer Internet Day this week, and we had an assembly on 'Who can we trust?'. We discussed the importance of not giving away information to anyone, how to check if things are true, and what to do if we are unsure or worried about something on the internet. There is a lot of information and support online, so please have these conversations at home as well.

https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers

As you know Teresa, my PA, is leaving today and has some exciting times ahead travelling and enjoying retirement. We wish her well and thank her for all her hard work. Karen, who is currently a TA in Year 3 Emerald class will be taking over the role after half term. She will continue working in the mornings as the Year 3 TA and will be PA in the afternoon until we have found a new TA for Year 3. The sewing club will also continue this term.

I hope you have a lovely half term and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday 25th February.

Thanks

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 7th February 2025

Fri 07 Feb 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope you have had a good week. We have had a lovely week full of fantastic art workshops and we are looking forward to even more next week. Because the children are still working hard on their art, we will be having our Art Exhibition on Friday, February 14th, after school (3:15 to 4:30 p.m.) in the hall. There will not be an exhibition on Thursday 13th February. We hope you can come along with your child next Friday and see all the wonderful artwork the children have created. One of the artists they have been looking at lived in Stoke Newington. Althea McNish (1924 – 2020) was amongst the first, if not the first, designer of African-Caribbean descent to achieve international recognition. Her designs injected much-needed colour and life into the post-war fashion and textiles industry from the 1950s onwards. This is to be massively respected. She spent most of her life living and working in Stoke Newington. Althea McNish revolutionised design with her bold and beautiful prints. After moving to England from Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1950s, McNish studied printmaking at the London School of Printing and completed postgraduate studies in Textiles at the Royal College of Art. Just days after she graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1957, Arthur-Stewart Liberty – the chairman of Liberty of London – bought her entire graduation collection on the spot. He was so impressed with her work that he placed her in a taxi to see Zika Ascher, a fashion and textile entrepreneur who was well known in the industry for his use of artists’ designs for fashion fabrics. In Althea's words, this meeting would change her life. Alongside designing for Ascher and Liberty, the artist – who died in 2020 aged 95 – went on to create works for Heal’s, Cavendish Textiles, Hull Traders and Danasco; fashion houses, such as of Dior and Balenciaga; and many other well-known European and international design companies.

Jade class presented a fantastic assembly this week on the Ancient Egyptians. It was great. The children spoke with confidence and taught us many interesting facts as well as showing us their excellent dancing and singing skills. Well done Jade class.

I wanted to let you know that Teresa, my PA, is leaving on Friday, 14th February. She has worked at Betty Layward for 17 years and is a wonderful member of staff and not only an excellent support for me but also a great support for all staff, families, PTFA and governors. Teresa will be dearly missed and I know you will join us in saying that we wish her all the best for her next chapter. Thank you Teresa, for all that you have done for the school. It has meant a lot.

We have put the lost property outside on tables by the entrance. Please can you check it as we will be sending any items not claimed to charity.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you at the exhibition next Friday.

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter 31st January 2025

Fri 31 Jan 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We hope you have had a good week. We have had a lovely week at Betty Layward. Peach class led the most amazing assembly about Australia and we learnt some amazing facts. The children spoke with confidence and we are very proud of them. Well done Peach class.

There have been lots of trips and we are extremely proud of how well the children behaved. On Tuesday, the Chilli class participated in the Hackney Junior Citizenship scheme at Forest Road Youth Hub, an exciting opportunity to gain valuable skills and knowledge about staying safe and being active members of the community. During the trip, the children had the chance to learn from several key organizations, including The Hackney Health and Well Being team, focusing on dental hygiene and mental health strategies, Transport for London, offering guidance on safe travel with a Zip Oyster card, the Met Police, discussing robbery and the importance of reporting, Hackney Road Safety, teaching crossing awareness and stopping distances, the London Fire Brigade, providing proactive advice on escape routes and the Hackney Substance Misuse team, highlighting the importance of healthy choices and the consequences of misuse.

Year 4 visited the Estorick Gallery of Italian Modern Art in Canonbury to discover how sounds, shapes and colours around us have been a source of inspiration for many artists. The trip supported the children's abstract thinking and creativity and they created their own pieces, making drawings based on the experience and sounds of the trip. It was a lot of fun.

On Tuesday a group of children from year 5 and 6 took part in the Hackney Cross Country competition at Hackney Downs Park. Despite the downpour of rain, the children put in a tremendous effort with Oli finishing in 7th place in the boy’s race and Elsie finishing in 10th place in the girl’s race. Well done to all the children who took part and a special thank you to all the parent volunteers.

The children in Reception also enjoyed Family Friday and thank you to those of you who made it. I know you might not be able to come every time and I am sure your children understand this too. We want you to feel involved in our child’s learning journey. Thank you to the Reception parents who completed our survey. There was a lot of positive feedback and some really good suggestions for future Reception years. Thank you for those as we are always looking at ways we can improve.

In support of our art and design curriculum, from next week we will be hosting Art Bash. Art Bash is an art organisation that brings art directly into schools creating bespoke projects that are linked to the Primary Art and Design National Curriculum. Over the next two weeks, each class from Reception to Year 6 will participate in workshops inspired by the following three artists - Althea McNish, Lakwena Maciver and Yinka Ilori. These workshops will culminate in an exhibition of the children’s artworks. The exhibition will take place on Thursday, 13th and Friday,14th February from 3:30 to 4:30pm in the main hall. This is an amazing opportunity for the children to create and have their work displayed like a professional artist. To make this a success we are asking parents and carers to make a voluntary donation of £15 to help cover the costs of the workshops and art supplies. We look forward to seeing you all at the exhibitions on Thursday, 13th and Friday,14th February from 3:30 to 4:30pm in the main hall.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 24th January 2025

Fri 24 Jan 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a busy week at Betty Layward. On Thursday we were lucky enough to have a special visit from Inge Jongkheere, an environmental engineer for the European Space Agency (ESA). Inge is currently working on designing rockets that will be used to survey the effects of climate change on our planet. Inge shared with the children some of the exciting experiences astronauts encounter when they travel into space. She also highlighted the importance of having more females involved in space exploration. Out of 700 people who have been to space only 60 have been female. The children were extremely enthusiastic about Inge's talk and they had so many questions. We are certain we could have filled another hour simply by asking and answering questions. We would also like to say a massive thank you to Barbara who arranged this opportunity for us.

Last week both Reception classes went to the Puppet Theatre Barge in Little Venice. The children enjoyed a performance of Captain Sandy and the Sea Monster. The performance was really magical and the children were lucky enough to meet the puppeteers and ask them some questions. They even got a special demonstration of how to do a seagull's cry. This was Reception’s first trip and they did amazingly well and we were very proud of them. Well done Reception.

We have individual photos on Monday and Tuesday next week. Here is the timetable so that you know when your child’s photo is –

Monday

Nursery-morning children and full-time

Y4 Fuchsia

Y2 Apricot

Y2 Peach

Y3 Jade

Y6 Chilli

Y6 Ruby

Nursery-afternoon children

Y1 Lavender

Y5 Saffron

Y3 Emerald

Tuesday

Rec-Ocean

Rec-Aqua

Y4 Cerise

Y5 Buttercup

Y1 Violet

Catch up photos and sibling photos

Our heating boiler needs a new part and we hope this will be fitted on Tuesday so the children will need an extra layer for Monday and Tuesday. Luckily the weather has not been too cold. Fingers crossed we can get it repaired next week.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 17th January 2025

Fri 17 Jan 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a great week at Betty Layward with lots going on. On Wednesday, Year 1 took a trip to the past and visited the Ragged School where they took part in a Victorian lesson and learnt all about what London was like then. An actor conducted a session, meeting the children first out of character, before transforming into the very strict "Mrs Poole”. The session involved the children roleplaying as though they were being taught in Victorian times. This involved using chalkboards and following some very strict rules. The children then got an insight into what it was like for families living in London during this time. It was great to see the children so immersed and they all looked fantastic in their Victorian fancy dress. They loved this trip and were very well behaved. Well done Year 1.

On Tuesday, year 3 visited the Petrie Museum to learn more about the Ancient Egyptians. They were lucky to have the whole museum to themselves. This meant that they could explore the incredible artefacts, including hieroglyphics, clothing, shoes, jewellery, and much more. The children's behaviour and enthusiasm were excellent, and a great day of exploring and learning new knowledge was had by all.

Below is some information about two competitions you might like to do with your child at home.

The Into Film Awards

Entries are now open for our flagship celebration of young filmmaking talent, offering a platform for 5-19 year-olds from across the UK to express their creativity and tell the stories that matter to them. The Into Film Awards are a way of recognising some of the brilliant talent and creativity among young people across the UK, and winning an award can be just the first step on an incredible journey into the world of film and beyond. This year there are 11 categories, including those celebrating animated, live-action, and documentary filmmaking, as well as those showcasing the best storytellers, and the next generation of filmmakers and the practitioners that support them.

We see some great films the children have made for project homework so if you are interested the details are below. Good luck if you apply.

https://www.intofilm.org/awards?utm_source=edco&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=marketing&utm_content=intofilm-awards&dm_i=7JIH,8DZL,15EG17,11ES6,1

Fourth Plinth School Awards 2025

The Fourth Plinth Schools Awards 2025 competition is a chance for schools to get creative and produce a work of art inspired by the contemporary art commissions for Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth.

Here’s how to get involved:

children can design a piece of artwork inspired by the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square
scan or take a photo of your child’s artwork and submit it to the online gallery
that’s it.

There are winner and runner-up prizes for different age categories: 5-7 years, 8-11 years and 12-15 years, and prizes for the best work from each borough. There’ll also be a presentation ceremony at the new City Hall in the spring and the winner of each category will appear in an exhibition later in the year. Entries can be in all art forms including drawing, painting, sculpture, collage and digital designs. Good luck.

The website for information and to enter is

https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/arts-and-culture/current-culture-projects/fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square/fourth-plinth-schools-awards-2025?source=vanityurl

Have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 10th January 2025

Fri 10 Jan 2025 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy New Year and welcome back. I hope you had a lovely break. it was lovely to see everyone back. Thank you for your kind words and lovely gifts last term. It was a joy to see the children smiling and keen to come back to school on Tuesday morning at the gate. They have settled back in really well and it has been a great start to 2025.

Thank you for your support and kind words about the hot water boiler. It is being replaced this weekend, so the hot water will hopefully be returning on Monday. The children have been great about it.

The term dates for 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 are now on the school website so you can put those in your diaries.

We have a new signing-in machine, so if your child is late to school, you will need to sign your child in on there, as it is part of our registration process and it allows us to know who is in school. If you are taking children out of school early for an appointment you will also need to sign them out in the same way. Please also sign your child in the same way if they come in after an appointment. Thank you for your support with this.

It has been great to see so many parents and carers being so positive about our new mobile phone signs. We ask that parents and carers are not on their mobile phones as they enter the school and pick their child up. Please can you also ask any other family members or childminders to do the same. We also ask that you do not wait for drop off by either of our gates at the main entrance of the school. It really makes it hard for Key Stage 2 children to enter the school. We ask that Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 parents and carers wait across the road until it is their time to come in.

The deadline for reception class applications for September 2025 is fast approaching. Parents/carers with children in nursery class born between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021 must submit their reception class application by Wednesday 15 January 2025. If parents and carers do not apply before the deadline, their child's application will be classed as late and will be considered after all the on time applications have been dealt with. Late applicants are also less likely to get a place at their preferred school. So, if you have a child who is due to join Reception in September 2025 please ensure you have applied. Thank you. If you have any questions, please pop in and ask.

I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Jessica

Headteacher

Newsletter Friday 20th December 2024

Fri 20 Dec 2024 Jessica

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for a great 2024. You are so supportive, kind and we feel lucky to be part of such a lovely community. The children have been brilliant this year and we are so proud of them. This week we had the Year 2 to 6 concert and it was amazing. It was so great to see so many of you there. Thank you for supporting this event and we hope you enjoyed it. We were so impressed with the children’s singing. Well done to all of them.

Today we shared the staff Christmas video which the children really enjoyed. Thank you to Tommy, a parent, who filmed it and put it together. The staff really enjoyed making it and we loved seeing the children’s faces when they watched it. A great way to end the term and 2024.

Here is the video for you to enjoy

https://youtu.be/PPyojvKAUGw

Thank you for everything. Have a lovely Christmas, a Happy Hanukah and a brilliant New Year. Enjoy your holidays and we shall see back at the normal time on Tuesday 7th January.

Jessica

Headteacher