A message from Ms Faulkner
A very warm welcome to all of our new families. We have had 56 children join us in Reception this week and 20 children across the school in different year groups. They are all so welcome here and we look forward to working with you, their parents and carers.
We would be grateful if all families, new and not so new, would please re-familiarise themselves with our family school agreement. This is also something that you could share with your children. We have been looking at this in school too.
It has been a lovely first week back. The teachers have really enjoyed getting to know their new classes.
I hope that you find this new regular newsletter format helpful and easy to use. Please do share any feedback or suggestions that you may have and let us know if you prefer a printed copy.
A Message for Year 5
Dear Parents and Carers of year 5,
We are sorry that there has been some confusion around the morning routine in Year 5 and we wanted to clarify the arrangements moving forward.
When the children move into Year 6, they will come straight into their classroom in the morning and begin their morning work. As part of preparing the children for this transition, we would like to begin introducing this routine during Year 5.
However, we appreciate that some children may still value having a little time in the morning to meet and say hello to their friends before the school day begins. With this in mind, we will be trialling a hybrid version of the Year 6 morning routine.
The Year 5 teachers will be in the classrooms from 8:40am to welcome any children who would like to come in and get started on their morning work. Children who would prefer to wait until the bell are, of course, very welcome to do so. At this time, the adults on duty in the playground will direct them to their classroom. This means that the children are not expected to line up.
We hope this approach will give the children the opportunity to gradually become familiar with the expectations for Year 6, while still allowing them some flexibility and time to socialise in the morning.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me or any of the Year 5 teachers.
Thank you, as always, for your understanding and support.
Kind regards,
Kate Davis
KS2 Phase Leader
School Trip Special
We wanted to start the school year with a School Trip Special Newsletter where we could give you as much information as possible about school trips.
Below we will be listing by year group each of the school trips we have planned/confirmed at this time. Please be aware there may be last minute additions and we will aim to give you at least 2 weeks notice.
We have limited each class to a maximum of 2 coach trips (excluding any last minute or Trust wide events), this is to support with reducing costs for parents, and with our school’s sustainability goals.
We will be looking at inviting more people/companies into school as we already have done with Explorer Dome for Y1 and Y5, and some history workshops.
Trips are planned bearing in mind the curriculum and our passport of experiences – for more information please visit the enrichment page on our website.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
We have decided this year, to request one payment to cover all the trips in the year group. This is so you can budget for these trips across the whole school year. You will be able to make small payments weekly, one large payment or 2 or 3 medium sized payments. We will be asking for full payment for all trips (regardless of trip date) by the end of T4 – Thursday 25th March. We will use T5 and T6 to chase any outstanding. Any children who leave school during the academic year will ONLY be asked to pay for the trips that they attend. Any new arrivals, equally will be asked to pay for the trips that they attend.
These payments will be set up on Arbor on Monday 14th September.
Eligible for Pupil Premium
If your child(ren) are entitled to free school meals then the school will pay for 50% of the cost but we will ask you to cover the remaining 50% – as mentioned before you can spread this out over time. Please speak to the finance team if you need further financial assistance.
Best Laid Plans
Of course some trips may be subject to change, either from a financial perspective, or other details and we will try to give a minimum of 2 weeks notice of this.
Free Trips
We are also working hard on looking for any and all opportunities for experiences for the children that are free – if you are aware of any please let me know. For example this year Y1 will be benefitting from a project from Slimbridge Wetlands, Y3 and Y6 benefitting from the John James Trust with their visits to We The Curious and Lifeskills respectively.
Volunteers Needed
We have always welcomed and thank any parent who offers their time to help on our school trips.
In an effort to help parents with planning – we are asking you now to complete the google form attached to your year group notice below to let us know if you are available to help.
Teachers will confirm your attendance on the school trip 3 weeks before the trip takes place. You will be asked to read and sign the trip risk assessment and adhere to the volunteers code of conduct.
Ideally, we would prefer volunteers who have a DBS check in place but this will not prevent you from helping.
Year R Trips and Events
Free Local Walk
Wednesday 21st October 2026
Free Poppy – Junction 3 Library Visit
Friday 6th November 2026
Free Daisy – Junction 3 Library Visit
Friday 13th November 2026
Poppy Forest School
Monday 15th March 2027
Daisy Forest School
Monday 22nd March 2027
Visit to a Mosque
Tuesday 27th April 2027
Poppy 2nd Forest School
Monday 28th June 2027
Daisy 2nd Forest School
Monday 5th July 2027
End of Year Celebration – all welcome
Thursday 8th July 2027
The total for YR Trips will be £29.00
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 1 Trips and Events
FREE Trip to Slimbridge
Wednesday 14th October 2026
Buttercup Forest School
Tuesday 10th November 2026
Viola Forest School
Tuesday 17th November 2026
Explorer Dome in School
Tuesday 9th February 2027
Church Visit – local walk
Tuesday 23rd March 2027
Day at the Beach – Weston Super Mare
Thursday 24th June 2027
The total for Y1 Trips will be £33.25.
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 2 Trips and Events
Bristol Zoo Project
Thursday 22nd October 2026
Free Local Walk
Tuesday 16th March 2027
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Thursday 6th May 2027
Bluebell Forest School
Monday 14th June 2027
Rose Forest School
Monday 21st June 2027
The total for Y2 Trips will be £44.30
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 3 Trips and Events
Stone Age Workshop in school
Wednesday 21st October 2026
Visit to a Synagogue
Wednesday 18th November 2026
Free Visit to We the Curious
Thursday 25th February 2027
Lilac Forest School
Monday 1st March 2027
Laurel Forest School
Monday 8th March 2027
Roman Baths
Thursday 22nd April 2027
Free Greenspace
Tuesday 8th June 2027
The total for Y3 Trips will be £35.25
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 4 Trips and Events
Cherry – Swimming
Wednesday 16th September 2026
Birch Forest School
Tuesday 22nd September 2026
Visit to Techniquest
Thursday 12th November 2026
Birch – Swimming
Wednesday 6th January 2027
Cherry Forest School
Tuesday 19th January 2027
FREE River Workshop
Thursday 18th March 2027
Ancient Egypt Workshop in school
Wednesday 23rd June 2027
The total for Y4 Trips will be £107.60 (this includes swimming transport).
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 5 Trips and Events
Hawthorn Forest School
Monday 19th October 2026
Visit to a Sikh Temple
Wednesday 11th November 2026
Oak Forest School
Monday 25th January 2027
Explorer Dome in School
Tuesday 9th February 2027
Ancient Greek Workshop in school
Tuesday 9th March 2027
Trip to London – hopefully Houses of Parliament
Friday 2nd July 2027
The total for Y5 Trips will be £69.35
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
Year 6 Trips and Events
Air Raid Shelter Visit
Thursday 15th October 2026
Free Lifeskills Visit
Thursday 21st January 2027
Residential Camp
Monday 24th May 2027 – Thursday 27th May 2027
The total for Y6 Trips will be £6.75 – excluding Camp.
As mentioned above this needs to be paid by 24th March 2027.
The trips listed below may be subject to change
Can you help?
Complete our Volunteers for Trips form
October Holiday Club
If you need childcare during the October half-term, our Holiday HQ holiday clubs are now available to book from 26–30 October*, featuring our Mission Starlight theme.
(*Dates may vary by location. Check your local venue for full details.)
Book early and save 10% on October half-term with our Early Bird offer. Use code STARLIGHT10 at checkout before Sunday 4 October.
Plans changed? You can cancel up to 7 days or 48 hours before your booking, depending on your venue. Check your venue for details.
Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers are accepted, alongside other eligible childcare support schemes.
An option there if it’s useful as you start thinking about October.
Mobile Phones and Smart Watches
Another reminder to parents that mobile phones should not be brought in to school.
If they are brought into school we will ask the children to lock them away in safes in their classroom. This includes Smart Watches – so please ensure these are kept at home.
Recent changes in the law, and changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education make it very clear that we need to support children in reducing their screen time and ensuring their safety when they are online. In school we have strict filtering and monitoring to ensure their safety.
For more information on online safety please check out our Online Safety page on our website – https://www.stwerburghs.amplifyeducation.co.uk/page/?title=Online+Safety&pid=106.
The Academic Year
2026-27
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Start of Term 1
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We are here
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End of Term 1
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Half Term
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Start of Term 2
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INSET day
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End of Term 2
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Winter Break
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Start of Term 3
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INSET day
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INSET day
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End of Term 3
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Half Term
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Start of Term 4
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INSET day
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End of Term 4
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Easter Break
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Start of Term 5
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INSET day
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End of Term 5
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Half Term
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Start of Term 6
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INSET day
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End of Term 6