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

 

National Fitness Day  Come to school in PE kits	24.9.25
Dougie Mac Coffee and cake morning 9-10am	26.9.25
School Photographs - Individual/families and sibling	6.10.25
Harvest Festival	15.10.22	2:15pm
October half term	20.10.25 - 01.11.25
INSET day - school and Small & Tall closed	10.11.25	All day
Learning with your child - parents get the chance to take part in a learning activity with their child.  This will be organised by the class teacher.	Week beginning 17.11.25	TBC by class teacher
Children in Need  £1 donation - non uniform	14.11.25	All day
World of Work Week for Yr 6	17.11.25	All week
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
Church visit - Christmas	8.12.25	9:30am
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

 

Welcome back to school everyone,

We’ve had a very busy week with lots of new children starting school, both in early years and across the other classes.

It’s been lovely listening to what the children have been up to.  They have all settled so well and are back into their routines, with lots of learning going on.

 

A few notices for this week ….

 

Events
A list of events for the whole year will be sent out next week.  There will be extra dates which will get added to this as we go through the year.

 

October half term
Bee Active will be sending out forms for the holiday club in the week beginning 20th October.  Please keep a look out for this.

 

Healthy Snacks
All of the children have been informed about bringing healthy snacks to school.  We do not allow sweets, chocolate, or crisps for snacks.  Children should have just water in their water bottles.

 

Safeguarding
Mrs Hartley is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and I am the Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead.  If you have any concerns about the safety of a child, please inform us immediately.  You can do this by emailing or calling us, speaking to us or you can use the ‘Report a Concern’ button at the top of the school website.

If school is closed, then please call 0300 111 8007.

If it’s an emergency whether school is open or not, please call 999.

bev.hartley@coopacademies.co.uk

lindsey.wilmer@coopacademies.co.uk

 

Safeguarding at Friarswood
We take the safety of our children very seriously and it is paramount in all that we do. Safeguarding is a partnership between school and home. You can find details regarding contacting us or help finding the appropriate information on our website.

https://www.friarswood.coopacademies.co.uk/page/?title=Safeguarding&pid=192

 

Operation Encompass
Our school is part of Operation Encompass which is a national scheme that operates jointly between schools and police forces.

Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has experienced domestic abuse.

As a school we have ensured that a member of our staff, (Ms Hartley and Mrs Wilmer the Designated Safeguarding Leads) known as a Key Adult, has been trained in the Operation Encompass procedures allowing us to then use the information that has been shared, in confidence, to support the child/ren in our care.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 identifies children who experience domestic abuse as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.

On 24 May 2024 Royal Assent was granted to The Victims and Prisoners Act. The Act placed Operation Encompass into Law. 

This places a statutory obligation on police forces to share Operation Encompass notifications with schools/educational settings.

We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and through Operation Encompass we will be able to provide the best possible support to our children.

Bev Hartley

 

Parking
Please can I ask that you all park safely on Abbots Way.  Nobody should be parked on the yellow lines.  If you park partly on the pavement, please make sure that families can still walk past your car on the pavement.  Some families have had to walk around cars on the road because they are taking up the pavement.

And please do not park in front of our neighbours driveways, this causes a lot of anger and frustration.

I have been in touch with the local police about policing Abbots Way in the mornings and afternoons due to the amount of issues being raised.  In the meantime, several of you have complained to the council and Highways agency, which I really recommend you do.  The more complaints they have about people who don’t park and drive safely by our school , the more likely they are to put in measures to help us.

 

Appointments during school time
Please can you send proof of any appointments (letters, screen shots of texts etc) to Mrs Dean angela.dean@coopacademies.co.uk or bring a copy with you when you collect your child.  Without this proof we have to mark your child with an unauthorised absence.  

 

Attendance
As you will probably be well aware, the Government is really pushing the need for children to be at school everyday in order to achieve.  Although our overall attendance for the school is very good, we do have some families with very poor attendance.  Therefore, we are being monitored by the Trust and the Local authority.  If this is you, you will be asked to come into school for a meeting.  Hopefully, we can work together to ensure that your child’s attendance improves.

If your child needs medicine, please bring it in and sign the medication form so that we can give this.

If you have any worries about your child and their attendance, please come and speak to myself or Mrs Dean as soon as possible.

 

We hope the start of term goes well for everyone.  If you need to speak to a teacher, please send them a message on Dojo so that this can be organised.  If you have concerns about anything at all, please speak to one of us as soon as possible.  

 

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Take care and stay safe.

Mrs Wilmer