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

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 :

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

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

This term, we have really started to focus on the presentation of the children’s work.  We have been concentrating on handwriting and spellings as well as the layout of work.  I’m so pleased to say that the vast majority of children are clearly working really hard towards this and are so proud of their work, which is great!

Online Assessments
In some of our classes, we are trialling a new online assessment platform for the Trust.  Although there have been some teething issues, the few results that I’ve seen already show some strengths and some areas where we need to focus our teaching.  Our main issue was the children struggling to use a key board!  These results will be shared at parent’s evening and in the end of term report.

Children in Need
Thank you to everyone who has donated to this cause.

Careers Week
Next week, our Year 6 children will be learning all about the world of work.  As a school, we already have regular CRL lessons (careers related learning) from Nursery through to Year 6.  Next week, Year 6 will have the opportunity to focus more on careers, prepare for an interview and actually take part in a job interview for a teaching assistant and to be part of the SLT.   Two of our Community Council Members (used to be called Governors) will be interviewing the children.  The children who are successful in the interview will then have another role to do in school!  It’s a very exciting week for Year 6, so families of Year 6 children, please remember to ask them all about it.

Grandparents’ Christmas Dinner
It’s that time of year again, when we invite our Grandparents’ into school to have a Christmas Dinner with their Grandchildren.  Please look out for the forms.  Please can you also ensure that you make the payment and complete the form.   Unfortunately, due to the rise in living costs, there is an increase of £1 to all children’s Christmas lunches.  Those parents who don’t usually pay for school dinners will see £1 added to their Parentpay account along with the Grandparent’s cost.  

Have a lovely weekend.

Take and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

Hallowe’en & Firework Safety
It’s that time of year when so many children are thinking about Hallowe’en costumes and trick or treating along with carving pumpkins.  Here is some safety advice from Children Accident Prevention Trust.  We had a very enthusiastic assembly on Monday in which we talked about lots of safety rules that we must follow for both Hallowe’en and Bonfire night.  The children all learnt about the importance of STOP, DROP & ROLL, modelled beautifully by Henry in Year 6.

Harvest Festival
Thank you so much for your many contributions to the harvest festival.  The member from Trussell Trust, who came to collect the donations, was overwhelmed with the vast amount of donations.  Your support will be welcomed by so many families in need.  Here’s a message about your donations.

Dear Friarswood Primary,

What a remarkable thing you have done.

Your kindness shows families in need that they matter. Your generosity provides friendship to people struggling with loneliness and isolation. Your compassion provides nutritious food parcels to people struggling to feed themselves.

That’s the difference your support makes. And I’m writing today to share my heartfelt gratitude to you for your very generous donation of 228 kg, which we received recently. The equivalent number of meals is an incredible 542 Meals. Please find attached a certificate to express our gratitude to your School community.

Thank you for joining us in the movement to create a community free of hunger. We couldn't do this without you being part of our team, working together to change lives and futures. We are so thankful for your support.

Kind regards,

Ryan Wilshaw

Hallowe’en Disco
We had a fun night list night.  Lots of spooky outfits and some incredible face painting. We raised £841.93 and all of the money raised from these events gets spent on the extras for the children which the school budget just can’t afford.  Some of the money is spent on fun team treats and quite a lot is spent on supporting the payments of coaches for school trips.  The PTA will keep you posted on where the funds are spent as we go through the school year.

INSET day
School and Small & Tall are closed on Monday 10th November.  All Co-op Academy Trust schools have the same training day for ‘whole team’ training.

Have a lovely half term everyone.  Take care and stay safe.  We’ll see you back to school on Monday 3rd November.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

Well, September went fast didn’t it?

Please can I ask that if you want a space for the Bee Active holiday club, you get in touch very quickly.  At the moment, there are very few places taken.  If they don’t get enough interest, they won’t be able to run the club.

Photos
Don’t forget that school photos are on Monday (6th).  Younger siblings not in school can have their photos taken as well.  They will be open from 8:15am for this.  Siblings in school will have their photos taken throughout the day.  And please don’t worry, we will get them in before lunchtime!

Mental Health Awareness Day
Friday 10th October is mental health awareness day.  We are asking everyone to come into school wearing something yellow.   This could be anything from a hair clip to a t-shirt or socks!  Yellow always seems to put a smile on people’s faces, which is what we’re aiming to do.

School Gates
Please can I remind you that if you come into school during the day, do not let any other visitors in with you.  They must use the intercom and speak to a member of staff so that we know who they are.

Open mornings
We had our first open morning on Wednesday.  These open mornings are for any possible new families to the school.  If you know of anyone with a child who will be starting school or nursery in September, please let them know about our open morning.  More details and the booking form are on the website.

Thank you as ever for your continued support.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events

Dear Families,

Small & Tall payments and cancellation fees
Just a reminder that payments for Small & Tall must be made upfront.

We are changing the current policy of one week notice for any cancellations to 48 hours.  This means that if the 48 hours notice isn’t given, you will still be charged.

Did you know you can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare? This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). If you would like to find out if you qualify, here is the Eligibilty checker.

Hygiene Products - do you know of anyone who may need a little help?
We have a selection of hygiene/cleaning products in school, donated from the Co-op.  They range from toothbrushes and tooth paste, shower gel, nappies and wipes to surface cleaners and cleaning sponges.  If you or someone you know is in need of a little support, please let either myself or Mrs Hughes know so that these products can go to families who need them.  

Dodgeball competition
A MASSIVE well done to our Year 4 dodgeball team who won a competition at Co-op Academy Stoke yesterday.  The children worked so well as a team.  They really encouraged each other and helped each other to dodge some very fast flying balls!  Player of the match was Henry.  All the players came away with gold medals.  Well done to Henry, Joel, Olivia, Liv and Finley.

Safeguarding / Online update
I know that lots of our children play on Roblox.  I have attended several safeguarding meetings recently which have highlighted how easy it is for people to get through parental controls.  It has been classed by many, including Ofcom, as a predator’s dream.  Here is a link with further information to the downside of Roblox.  It really does highlight the awful aspect of this game.   But in knowing this, you can hopefully help to keep your child as safe as possible.  As our children are only young, Ofcom highly recommends that if your child is playing on Roblox, they do so under your supervision rather than alone in their bedroom.  

INSET days (school and Small & Tall closed)

Monday 10 Nov 2025

Mon 23 Feb 2026

Mon 1 June 2026

Friday 24 July 2026

Monday 27 July 2026

Tuesday 1 Sept 2026

Term dates for next year have not been finalised yet.  After the two week October half term, we will be sending out a survey to staff and parents to gather views.

Thank you for your support.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer

Upcoming events