Dear Parents and Carers
It is difficult to believe we are in February already, with only two weeks to half term. The children are working very well and it is good to see how settled they are in school.
This is the season for themed days and weeks, and next week it is Children’s Mental Health Week. Please see a message from Mrs Batten:
As a school we fully recognise the importance and the impact that Children’s Mental Health and their sense of well-being has on their learning and are very conscious of the challenges faced by everybody particularly over the past two years. During the week of the 7th – 14th February as a school community we are taking part in the national Children’s Mental Health Week. This year’s theme is ‘Growing Together’ – particularly appropriate bearing in mind our Together we Grow motto!
We will be looking at how we can help each other and how the children can develop and use various strategies throughout their journeys in the future. A powerful way to encourage emotional growth within ourselves and others is through kindness – kindness to others and kindness to ourselves. Throughout the week the children will explore a variety of activities and discussions (in class and through assemblies) around their well-being and mental health and the role kindness plays in supporting this.
To launch the week, we are encouraging everybody to wear their slippers in school on Monday 7th February, there is evidence to suggest that this helps the children to relax and focus on their learning; have a listen to some children sharing their thoughts around this a couple of years ago on Newsround!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/38828330
Please do ensure that the children arrive in their school shoes and bring their slippers to wear indoors; cold wet feet in slippers after breaktime could have the opposite effect on their well-being!
In her role as PSHE subject leader in the school, Mrs Clasby has also been looking at resources we can use to support the children’s learning:
At Stower Provost, we have invested in an additional resource to help guide all of us recover and enhance our well-being. This is called the Resilience and Engagement Scale and Toolkit (REST) and comes from Jigsaw, who provide our RE and PSHE schemes. There will be a letter sent next week to explain a little more about this. As a school, we are excited to be able to give our children the vocabulary and skills that will enable them to consolidate and enhance their well-being. We feel this is vital aspect of school life as we work steadily and carefully towards our ‘new normal’.
Use of the car park
You will appreciate that parking in the school car park can sometimes be difficult. Unfortunately, I have noticed recently that some parents and carers approach the school at high speed, swinging into the car park too fast to be able to stop quickly if a child was by the wall. Please park only in the marked bays and the two unmarked spaces just to the left of the exit. We operate a strict one-way system around the roundabout – please do not cut across to the right to get into a space as children will not be expecting cars to be approaching that way. It would also be appreciated if you would leave the car park as soon as you have deposited your children in order to free up spaces for other cars. Related to this, please keep close control of your children when delivering and collecting them at school. The car park and the entrance paths to school are not playgrounds and the children should not be treating them as such before or after school. I ask this in the interests of safety, and thank you in advance for your co-operation.
Important message about snacks and packed lunches
Please remember we are a Nut Free School. We have a number of children who have severe allergies to a range of nuts and nut products so it is essential no children bring these into school. The proteins from nuts are very easy to leave on door handles, surfaces such as tables, or on taps etc. and are very difficult to clean fully. If one of the allergic children touches this, it could be enough to trigger a severe allergic reaction. Therefore, please do not provide your child with anything with nuts in the ingredients (May Contain Traces is, unfortunately, unavoidable), including chocolate bars and biscuits, sandwich spreads (no peanut butter) or sweets. Please also note the children should have just water for drinking during the day, and a healthy fruit snack for breaktime.
With best wishes
James Stanford