Newsletters

Page 1

Newsletter ~ March Week One
Published 06/03/26
Dear Families,

School uniform concerns
I am aware that some of you have concerns due to the recent Co-op Trust letter regarding uniforms. Just to reassure you, if a child wants to wear skirts or dresses, they can do so. If you have cardigans for your child, they can wear these too.

The SMART uniform shop (Hassell St) does have a supply of logo’d jumpers, cardigans, T-shirts, PE sweatshirts and poloshirts. If you feel that you can support this local business by buying new, then please do so.

We still have our uniform swap shop which is open every morning. There are a lot of pre-loved uniforms there.

Parentpay changes
Over the next month, we will be introducing a parent portal on Arbor. This will give you access to your child’s attendance, reports, permissions, payments and much more. Next week, you will receive an invite to sign up to the parent portal. Please can you keep an eye on your Parentpay accounts. Make sure that they are up-to-date and any outstanding payments settled. Any balances will be transferred to Arbor payments.

Key dates:

Sign up to Arbor parent portal - Monday 9th March

Last payment date for Parentpay - Friday 27th March

Arbor accepting payments - Wednesday 31st March

Any concerns or issues, please email Mrs Dean with subject line: ARBOR

Small & Tall
Please can we ask you to make sure you let Small & Tall know if your child won’t be attending. If it is less than 48 hours notice you will still be charged however we really need to know due to safeguarding reasons. Mrs Mann spends a lot of time after school trying to locate children who are booked into Small & Tall only to find out that they’ve gone home. This means an adult less with the children in the club.

We know that plans change at the last minute so just a phone call or an email to let us know will be hugely appreciated.

Upcoming events
Please take a look at the upcoming events. A few things have changed with the closure of the school hall. We will keep you updated as soon as we know any more.

Some online safety advice which may be helpful for you

Online safety advice - For Parents - App Controls to Support Children

Jenny is a mother with two teenage girls who feels the pressure of keeping up to date with online safety and new app settings. In this article and YouTube video Jenny shares how she uses app-level parental controls to manage social media use across her daughters' phones and tablets.

Link: Using App Controls to Support Children.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Thank you as ever for your continued support.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Read More
Newsletter ~ February Week Four
Published 27/02/26
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

Read More
Newsletter ~ February Week One
Published 06/02/26
Dear Families,

Next Tuesday is Safer Internet Day. The theme is Safe choices linked to Smart Tech.

Here is a link to the UK Safer Internet Centre for top tips for parents and carers.

Staff and children out of school next week
Next week, myself, Mrs McConvey and Ms Master will be with our Year 6 children on their week-long residential. I’m sure the children are getting very excited. Remember to pack enough socks!

If you need support with anything linked to school, please speak to Mrs Dean or Mrs Hartley.

Dangerous parking / driving outside of school
Unfortunately, I have been informed of dangerous driving and parking on Abbots Way. Please can I ask that you do not park on the double yellow lines. This is illegal. When families are coming into school and leaving, please do not use the road outside of the main gates to turn your car around in. This is so dangerous as there are so many people crossing.

None of us want any accidents due to careless drivers. Please park and drive safely.

Bump notes
We do not send bump notes for grazes and non-serious bumps. They get sent if there has been an injury to the head or if they have had a more serious injury elsewhere on their body. Sometimes children do not tell us about a bump, in which case we don't complete the forms retrospectively. If there is a very concerning or serious accident, we will contact a parent.

Monday 23rd February is an INSET day. School and Small & Tall will be closed.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Read More
Newsletter ~ January Week Four
Published 30/01/26
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

Read More
Newsletter ~ January Week Three
Published 23/01/26
Dear Families,

We’ve had a lot of visitors in school this week. We’ve had an Academy Review, which is where other headteachers from some of the Trust schools come and observe what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. They saw lots of fantastic things going on with the learning. They also gave ideas of what they do in their schools for us to try.

Next week will be very exciting for lots of children. On Tuesday, we will be going to Birmingham for the Young Voices concert. The children have been telling me what food they’ll be taking - which is always important when going on a trip!

On Wednesday, myself and Mrs Bebbington will be taking some Yr 6 children to Manchester for the ‘GoIT’ finals. Four boys have thought about an idea of how to improve the environment. They have created a presentation, which is what they’ll present to judges and other Trust children. I’ll let you know how they get on, next week.

Jewellery
Just a reminder that only a watch and/or small earrings are allowed in school.

SEND
As Mrs Dickens is off school at the moment, if you have any concerns regarding special needs, please contact your teacher or myself.

Thank as always for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming Events

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Newsletter ~ January Week Two
Published 16/01/26
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

Read More
Newsletter ~ January Week One
Published 09/01/26
Dear Families,

Well, what a start to the new year we’ve had! Thank you so much for your support with the school being open and for the day when the school was closed. Thankfully the storm didn’t create another school closure day today.

Lockdown

In the next couple of weeks we will be practising our lockdown procedures. This procedure would be used if there was a threat to the safety of the children, staff and others in the school and it would be safer to stay in school rather than leave the school. Possible situations where we would use the lockdown procedure are:

-a possible dangerous person or animal on the school grounds

-an incident in the local community which could affect the school and everyone in it

-a terrorist incident

-extreme weather which could put lives at risk

-an alert from the UK emergency alerts system

If a lockdown occurs, the children and staff will remain in classrooms, lock the doors and sit under tables. Everyone remains quiet. The senior staff call the emergency services and follow their advice.

As parents, you will be alerted to the lockdown as soon as we can do this. Please do not come to the school or try to call the school as we will need the phone lines free. We will not let any child out of the school (and anyone into the school) if we’re in a lockdown until the emergency services have confirmed it is safe to do so.

We ask that parents do not share the event on social media as this may cause panic and spread false information.

When we practise lockdowns, the staff explain to the children what is happening and why. Everything is explained in an age appropriate way. The children already know that we want them to be safe and this will help. Each time we practise one of our emergency procedures, the staff always explain to the children why it is necessary.

Curriculum Directors
Over the next half term we have quite a few of the Trust Curriculum Directors coming into school to look at the work across the various subjects of the curriculum. They will be chatting to children about their learning, looking at books and speaking to the subject leaders in the school. We discuss what’s going well and how we can improve what we’re doing, which in turn supports the children’s knowledge and understanding.

So if your child tells you they’ve been chatting to people about their work, you’ll know why.

Thank you as ever for your continued support.

Have a lovely weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Read More
Newsletter ~ December Week Three
Published 18/12/25
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/
Read More

Newsletter ~ December Week Two

Published 12/12/25

Dear Families,

We have had a very busy week in school this week. We’ve had our KS1 Christmas plays which have been amazing. We really do have some very talented children. They sang beautifully and the soloists blew me away. To learn so many lines and sing so well takes a great deal of talent and courage. Well done to all of the children.

Yr 6 Bikeability
Year 6 have had a busy week learning all about riding their bikes safely on roads. The instructors have commented on how well the children have listened to instructions and taken on board feedback. They all commented on how all of the children have made their job an absolute pleasure to do - even in the awful weather. Thank you Year 6.

Yr 6 SLT
A few weeks ago, Year 6 took part in a Careers Week. During the week, they learnt about writing applications and then they took part in interviews. Four children were successful in getting the post of Yr 6 SLT. This week, they have been busy creating questionnaires, focusing on how the children feel about safety, behaviour and learning. This week and after Christmas, the children will be choosing children from each year group to ask questions to. They will then think of ideas of how we can celebrate what’s working well and how we can improve anything that is a concern.

They really showed how mature they are and were very thoughtful about what to ask the other children.

Year 6 writing success
A few weeks ago, children across the school took part in the BBC 500 words writing competition. They had tens of thousands of entries. I’m thrilled to say that one of Year 6 children has been chosen to go through to the next stage. A huge well done to Grace for a super piece called ‘The Jewel Rescue’. We’re so proud of you!

Chocolate Bingo
Thank you to everyone who came along and supported the PTA at this exciting event. Well done to all of you who won. It always amazes me at how generous you are when you donate the chocolate gifts - thank you so much.

Choir
Tonight, the choir will be at St Giles’ church in Newcastle for the Christmas carol concert. Last year it was such a lovely evening. I hope to see you there later.

Team Treat
Our winning team this term was England. Today they have had their treat. They’ve been under the sea with fish, jellyfish, dolphins and whale sharks using VR goggles. They even visited a museum. The children really enjoyed themselves and picked up lots of fun facts along the way.

Thank you as ever for your support.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

KS2 New Vic Theatre trip	16.12.25	2:15pm
Grandparents’ Christmas Dinner	16.12.25 17.12.25	11:45am onwards
Christmas holidays	22.12.25 - 2.01.26	Back to school 05.01.25

Newsletter ~ December Week One
Published 05/12/25
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

Read More

Newsletter ~ November Week Three

Published 28/11/25

Dear Families,

Thank you to all of the parents who’ve been able to attend the ‘celebration of learning’ over the last couple of weeks. Your support has been greatly appreciated. And I know you’ve had lots of fun learning with your child.

Year 6 parents came into school on Monday to support their children with sewing. There were a lot of very interesting designs - I think we need the parents back next week to continue with this.

Year 4 parents came to join in with forest schools. The class were split into several groups around the grounds and had lots of fun.

Thank you to everyone who came along to parent’s evening. There were lots of very proud parents which is always good to see.

Winter weather
Now that the weather is clearly turning more wintery, please can you ensure that your child brings a coat to school with them. Hat, scarf & gloves too! The children go outside to play every day even if it’s just for a quick race around.

When the snow and ice do arrive, there will be pathways that are gritted. Please can I ask that you use these gritted pathways to avoid any accidents.

Internet safety
Here are two articles that some of you may be interested in.

For Parents - Protect Neurodivergent Children from Scams in Games

As we all know, neurodivergent children can be amongst those most vulnerable online, therefore more likely to become victims of things like scams. Those with ADHD, autism or other divergent ways of thinking might not recognise when someone intends to do harm.
Internet Matters have put together a brand new free guide for parents which explores how neurodivergent children's unique traits can leave them open to scams, particularly in games.
You can download the free guide HERE.

For Parents - Gadget Gift Guide

Christmas can be an exciting time when many children are given new devices and gadgets. Ireland's online safety charity, CyberSafeKids, have put together a brand new guide for parents and carers covering:

The benefits and risks of popular smart devices and toys.
What you can do to make them safer.
Age recommendations
And more.

You can download the guide HERE.

Grandparents Lunch
We have had a great response to our Grandparents' Lunch. You can still book online until 5th December. Payments will also need to be paid by then. Just follow the link :

Grandparents Lunch booking form

Have a lovely weekend everyone. Thank you as ever for your continued support.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Early Years Christmas Play	3.12.25	9:15
Non Uniform - Donation for the Chocolate Bingo	05.12.25
Church visit - Christmas	8.12.25	9:30am
Christmas Chocolate Bingo	10.12.25	6:00PM
KS2 New Vic Theatre trip	16.12.25	2:15pm
Grandparents’ Christmas Dinner	16.12.25 17.12.25	11:45am onwards
KS1 Christmas Play	10.12.25 (Yr 1parents) 11.12.25 (Yr 2 parents)	9:15am 9:15am
Christmas holidays	22.12.25 - 2.01.26	Back to school 05.01.25

Newsletter ~ November Week Three

Published 21/11/25

Dear Families,

On Monday, we had lots of early years parents join their children for an afternoon of learning in the woodland area. There was so much going on from making dens and hammocks to making woodland hats. I’m not sure who had more fun - the children or the parents! I’m so glad you had so much fun.

On Tuesday, we had Year 2 parents in, supporting with some very tricky sewing of puppets. The end results look great. Well done parents for all going home with 2 eyes!

On Wednesday we had Year 3 parents in, who were supporting their children learning about mountains. Several children have told me lots of information about mountains and there was a lot of praise for Miss Graham, our new teacher.

Yesterday, Year 5 parents came in. The children were learning about how to make a strong structure and experimented with cuboid frames and triangular pyramid frames. Parents and children had a great time being mini engineers. Lots of competition, teamwork and problem solving - and that was just the adults!

By the end of this term, all parents will have been invited in to learn with their child. We hope you get a lot from the activities and have a chance to speak to your teacher and see what your child is learning about.

Year 6 WOW week (written by Alice and Sofia)

Monday – We learnt about what our options were when we left high school (apprenticeship, college, T levels) and a careers quiz.

Tuesday – We made our own picnic boxes and created a slide to present to the judges (it was based on dragons' den competition). Moo meals WON.

Thursday – We prepared a job application letter and had an interview with 3 lovely people and if you get the job you can actually do the job in school.

Friday – Looked at the booklet.

Alice’s personal quote:

” I really enjoyed the whole experience and it really made looking at the future so much less stressful. I especially enjoyed the interview part because all the people were lovely !"

Sofia's -

” I really enjoyed the whole thing. It was really fun, especially the job interviews and slides. I can't believe Alice, Grace, Emilia and Marcie won WOW. Fliss, Nora and I were one of the runners up along with Liz, Peggy, Skyla and Elaf."

Messages to parents and myself
Just a gentle reminder that the staff do not constantly check emails and Dojo due to teaching, after school clubs and meetings. If we don’t get back in touch with you straight away - we’re not ignoring you, we just haven’t got to the messages yet.

Driving safely
Please can I ask that when you drive along Abbots Way and down the side road, you slow down. We’ve had several reports of parents driving quite fast especially when there are little people and families about.

I also need to remind you that it is against the law to not wear seat belts. Young children must be seated in a car seat and be wearing a seat belt. If you drive without a seat belt, you are putting yourself and your children’s lives at risk.

Thank you as ever for your support.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

School immunisations - flu (Rec-Year 6)	26.11.25	All morning/day
Parents’ evenings	26.11.25 & 27.11.25	3:30 - 6:00pm 3:30 - 6:00pm
Early Years Christmas Play	3.12.25	9:15
Non Uniform - Donation for the Chocolate Bingo	05.12.25
Church visit - Christmas	8.12.25	9:30am
Christmas Chocolate Bingo	10.12.25	6:00PM
KS2 New Vic Theatre trip	16.12.25	2:15pm
Grandparents’ Christmas Dinner	16.12.25 17.12.25	11:45am onwards
KS1 Christmas Play	10.12.25 (Yr 1parents) 11.12.25 (Yr 2 parents)	9:15am 9:15am
Christmas holidays	22.12.25 - 2.01.26	Back to school 05.01.25

Co-op Academy Friarswood

Co-op Academy Friarswood

Newsletters

Page 1

Newsletter ~ March Week One

Newsletter ~ February Week Four

Newsletter ~ February Week One

Newsletter ~ January Week Four

Newsletter ~ January Week Three

Newsletter ~ January Week Two

Newsletter ~ January Week One

Newsletter ~ December Week Three

Newsletter ~ December Week Two

Newsletter ~ December Week One

Newsletter ~ November Week Three

Newsletter ~ November Week Three

Page 1