Dear Families,

 

Some sad news ….
After 12 years of teaching at Friarswood, Mrs Hartley has made the huge decision to retire from teaching.   She has accepted another job that will allow her more time with her family.  Mrs Hartley will be leaving at the end of this term.   Year 5 families will have received Mrs Hartley’s letter today.  It brought a tear to my eyes reading it as I’m sure it will with many of you. We wish her well on this new and exciting change in role and will miss her a great deal. 

We will keep you up to date with the new teacher and will do our best to ensure a smooth transition for the children.

 

Eco-conference
On Tuesday,  Mrs Bebbington and Mr Linley-Simon (our Co-op Community Pioneer) took some of eco-warriers to Co-op Live to attend this year’s eco conference. They were joined by many other academies in our trust to take part in different activities all aimed at increasing awareness on how we can help to look after our planet.  To top this off they had a tour around the arena to find out just how eco friendly Co-op Live is, the children were very impressed! They are now going to plan and run a school assembly to share their findings to all of our children. #SucceedTogether 

 

Sports 4 All
On Wednesday, Miss Cooper and myself took some children to Newcastle college to take part in a varied range of unusual sports such as boccia, new age curling and archery.  The children had such a good time developing skills and competing against the other schools as well as themselves.  They all came back to school with a sense of achievement and the biggest smiles.  Well done to the group sof Year 4 and Year 5 children who went.

 

Hall 
You may have heard, the hall is now back in action.  We will be looking at rearranging any events after Easter.

 

Arbor Parent portal
Thankyou to everyone who has signed up to the parent portal. If you have still yet to do this please go to https://login.arbor.sc and click Forgot your password? to finish setting up your account. 

 

Parents’ Evenings
Thank you to everyone who came along to discuss their child’s learning and progress.  If you missed this, please contact your teacher to arrange a suitable time.

 

Easter celebrations
On Friday the 27th March, we will be holding our Easter celebrations.  There will be the annual Easter bonnet parade (bonnets to be made at home) for KS1 and Early Years.  For KS2, it’s egg decorating time.  Every year we have some incredible designs that all of the children and staff love to see.

If you’d like to come and watch, we will be starting at 1:30pm.  

 

Online Safety
The Department for Education has launched a new website to support families and encourage regular conversations about what children and young people are seeing online, asking simple questions like “Who shared this?” and “Why?”

The website has been designed based on the main concerns and needs raised by parents and carers and includes:

Tips for parents’/carers’ conversations with their children

Actions to support each stage of their child’s life

Parental control information

Signposting to other trusted resources from charities and third parties, where parents/carers can access other forms of support, like speaking to an expert.

As part of the government consultation to prepare children for the future in an age of rapid technological change, they want to hear from parents and carers. The consultation will consider how children use digital technology as well as potential age restrictions on social media and other services such as gaming sites and AI chatbots, restrictions on addictive design features and risky functionalities, and better support for parents and families.

Here is the link for you to have a look at the website.

 

I wish all the Mums, Grandmothers and Mother figures out there a very happy Mother’s Day.   I hope the sun shines for you and you are looked after for the day.

 

Thank you as always for your continued support.

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Dear Families,

 

Welcome back to this new half term.  

 

Gymnastics news
I’ve had the pleasure of taking six Year 5 girls to a gymnastics competition.  The girls performed amazingly.  I was so proud of their performance with the floor routine and their energy on the vault.  Well done to all of the girls who came overall first out of the schools.  Individually, Ella was awarded silver for her floor routine and bronze for overall individual performance.  Esther was awarded gold for her floor routine, silver for vault and gold for overall individual performance.  Lara was awarded bronze for vault and bronze for her floor routine.  Well done girls!

 

Hall
As you know the hall is out of use at the moment.  The children have managed so well with their new routines.

Just to confirm; any events that were going to take place in the hall are being postponed.

 

World Book Day
Next Thursday is World Book Day.  The theme is adventures.  Mrs Hartley has sent out a message about coming dressed up.  Children are to come in clothes which they already have. 

 

Halle Orchestra
On Monday. Years 3 and 6 will be going to see the Halle orchestra.  If it’s as good as it was last year, they are in for a treat.

Thank you to Mrs Elkin for organising this fully funded trip.  Thank you to the PTA for supporting with some of the costs.

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Dear Families,

 

We’re nearly at the end of January - what a long month it’s been!  The slightly lighter nights are certainly on their way.

 

Young Voices Concert
On Tuesday, some of the staff took the choir to the concert in Birmingham.  It was such an exciting day for the children.  After 3 hours of rehearsal - with lots of joking and laughter from 5,500 children and a wonderful conductor, the mass group of children got to sing their hearts out to the families and friends in the evening.  

It was an incredible atmosphere.  I was so proud of our children - they performed brilliantly.  I know the audience were incredibly proud of their children too.

Well done to all of the choir.  You are SUPERB!

A massive thank you to Mrs Elkin for organising and leading this event.

 

GoIT
Mrs Bebbington and I had the pleasure in taking four Year 6 boys to Manchester on Wednesday to take part in the GoIT finals.  They prepared a presentation about clean canals and the positive impact on the environment.  The boys were focused, confident and spoke very clearly in front of 12 other schools along with some IT bosses of national companies.  They were asked some tricky questions by the judges but the boys answered them perfectly.

Although our boys didn’t win, they were runners up.  We are so proud of them.  Well done to Alec, Jack, Ronnie and Michael.

 

Glo Disco
Just a reminder that next Thursday is the PTA Glo Disco.  Look out for their notices.

 

Thank you as ever for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Dear Families,

 

Year 6 Tweensafe
This week, Year 6 started their workshops with the Staffordshire safeguarding team focusing on being safe.  The workshops cover topics such as grooming, online safety and peer pressure.  The team delivers these sessions to many Year 6 classes in our area ready for when the children start high school.

 

Regional Director
On Wednesday, our Regional Director came to visit the school.  She was really impressed with the learning happening in every class.  The children were able to answer questions about what they were learning and show her their pieces of work which they were proud of.   It was such a pleasure showing her around.  The children were their usual super selves.

 

School Council
On Monday, I had a meeting with the school council about any extra learning they would like to happen in PSHE (Personal, Social, Health Education).  The children had a really mature conversation about the many topics that we do teach and struggled to think of any other issues which they feel we need to address.  For the older children, the one main theme was about online group chats and the concerns they have when a child is nasty to another child.  We do regularly teach online safety and how to behave but this is an area that crops up every year.  Some children do hide behind the screens at home and send some quite nasty messages.  

This is an area which we need your help with. 

Do you know who your child is talking to?

Do you know what messages are being sent/received?

Do you monitor your child’s behaviour online?

As always, if we hear of anything concerning we will be in touch with you.  If you have any concerns or would like any advice, please get in touch with us.

 

School trips
Some of the teachers are planning school trips for the rest of the year.  They will be or have already let you know about these and the possible cost of the trips.  They are doing this early to give you plenty of time to consider the costs.  All payment contributions towards the activities during school hours are on a voluntary basis but please note that the activity/trip may be cancelled if insufficient contributions are received.  

                                       

 Music News  

Congratulations to Ben in Year 6 who recently took his Grade 3 piano exam. 

Ben scored 139/150 - Distinction - the highest category you can score!!

Well done to Ben for all his hard work and dedication. 

 

Mrs Elkin, Super proud Music Lead

 

 

Thank you as always for your support.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

 

 

Dear Families,

 

Well, we’ve finally reached the end of a very exciting and busy term.  This week we have had the choir singing at the hospital.  They were amazing.  It was lovely to see so many people smiling and joining in with some of the songs.  A huge thank you to ‘Simply Local’ for giving the children a ‘well done’ treat after their walk back from the hospital.

 

We’ve had our infamous Grandparents’ Christmas Lunches.  So many compliments have been shared, which I’ve passed to the catering team and our wonderful cook, Sarah.  It was lovely to meet so many grateful grandparents.

 

Thank you to everyone who has helped the children with their enterprise challenge.  The children loved making the decorations and some of the classes have made over £200 - which is amazing.  Thank you for your support.

 

KS2 had a fantastic time at the theatre watching ‘The Little Mermaid’.  Although different from the much loved Disney film, it was certainly entertaining.  The mermaid scenes were so lifelike and we even had bubbles to make us feel like we were in the sea.

 

Many classes have had their Christmas parties this week.  The children have had so much fun celebrating Christmas at school.

 

And …. to top it all off, the whole school sang (and acted) a very impressive rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Year 3 were fantastic at geese laying eggs!

 

Thank you so much for the lovely cards and gifts that have been greatly received by the team.  Your kind words really do mean a great deal to us.

 

Another thank you for all of the lovely messages and gifts that have been sent to Mrs Harris as she’s leaving today.  We wish her all the very best for her new exciting journey.

 

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope you all spend some well deserved ‘relaxing’ time with your family and friends.  We’ll see you all back at school on Monday 5th January 2026.

 

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer and the Friarswood staff.

 

Safeguarding concerns

Should you have any safeguarding concerns over the holiday period please contact Staffordshire Safeguarding team on 0300 111 8007

In emergencies, always contact the police on 999

 

We know that children are more likely to face online risks during holiday periods. Here are some links to help you keep your child safe online:

 

• Our Trust broadband provider, LGfL, has some really useful parental guidance and top tips 

https://parentsafe.lgfl.net/

 

• UK Safer Internet Centre provides tips, advice, guides and resources to help keep your child safe online

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

 

• Educate Against Hate provides practical advice and support on protecting children from extremism and radicalisation

https://www.educateagainsthate.com/category/parents/

 

• Childnet provides advice for parents and carers to help support children and young people in their safe and responsible use of the internet.

https://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/

Dear Families,

 

Happy December!

It’s definitely starting to feel very Christmassy in school.  On Wednesday, the early years had their nativity performance.  They were so wonderful and took part very confidently.  We definitely have some budding actors in the group.  Well done to all the parents for singing their hearts out at the end too!

Next week we have the KS1 Christmas plays.  Please come along with your singing voices and money for the raffle.  

 

Some sad but also exciting news …
Mrs Harris has accepted a job as an Assistant Educational Psychologist.  This has been a passion of Mrs Harris’ for a long time now.   Although we are thrilled for her, we are also very sad to see her leave Friarswood after 12 years here.  Mrs Elkin will be teaching Year 1 full time in January so there won’t be any disruption to the children’s learning.

We hope you join us in wishing Mrs Harris all the best with her exciting new career.

 

Year 1 parents took part in a phonics lesson with their children on Monday afternoon.  We hope you learnt a lot and feel more knowledgeable with phonics and how we teach it in school.

 

Last Friday evening, myself and some staff went to the Co-op Academies Trust Recognition evening.  I am thrilled to tell you that Mrs Williams won the Teacher of the Year award for all of her dedication to early years both at Friarswood and supporting other members of the Trust.  Well done Mrs Williams.  You’re a superstar!

 

Year 3 
Yesterday was the last swimming session until Jubilee has fixed their roof.  After Christmas, the children will be taking part in Forest Schools on a Thursday afternoon.  They will need to come in wearing their PE kits, wellies and warm clothing!

 

Thank you to everyone who has brought in chocolate today for the Bingo, which is next Wednesday.  We hope to see lots of you there.

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer