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Headteachers Blog /Blog Prifathro.
If you're looking to discover more about our weekly news at PPS, you've come to the right place!
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Weekly HT Blog
Fri 26 Jan 2024Dear Parents/Carers,
Rights of the child : January 2024 - Article 14 -Right to be the best that we can be.
What a great week ! Our Welsh Government visitors from the ALN Team really enjoyed our discussions and seeing `in action` how we successfully support our ALN learners , following our excellent Estyn Inspection. We are extremely proud of our school team and our good practice in meeting the needs of all learners, including our pupils with ALN . To read our amazing Estyn report click here.
We had a fabulous day at the SSFA Yr 3/4 girls festival yesterday! 16 goals scored altogether! Some wonderful team work! We were a little bit soggy but it didn’t dampen our spirit! Da iawn merched! #PencHCI #PencSPORT
Rhythm and Rhyme
Our baby and toddlers had a great session this week. We enjoyed welcoming all the new children and their grown-ups. The sessions are held every Thursday 10.15am - 11.15am for anyone who wishes to join.
Community Kitchen
The Sharing Table commenced after school cooking club with us this week. Our pupils and families loved it. They made delicious French Toast.
Classes too have had a ball this week using the kitchen. Our Starfish were experimenting with Mexican and Welsh dishes and made tasty bean burgers, salsa, Welsh cakes and cawl. Our Penguins and Flamingos baked some lovely heart shaped biscuits for Dydd Santes Dwynwen.
We received some wonderful praise this week from Bwyd Abertawe... click here
"Amazing demonstration of what's both needed in schools, and what's possible to achieve, congrats @Penclawdd. Healthy meals and cooking on a budget are fun lessons that will on the table for pupils and their families at Penclawdd Primary School".
Dates for your diary:
February 2nd - NGP Cluster Netball team tournament at Gowerton Comprehensive
February 5th - Y6 to visit Gowerton Comprehensive to watch the Addams Family production
February 6th - Y4/5 to visit The Big Pit
February 9th - Dydd Miwsig Cymru/Welsh Music Language Day (see below)
February 9th - Golden time DISCO in the hall - FoP. (during school time)
Half Term - 12th - 16th February 2024
February 22nd - Individual photos by Roz & Kirsty
February 29th - Health Visitor for drop ins. (please pop in if your are interested)
Swansea Council Keeping Safe Online – Tip of the week
Tip sixteen asks parents/carers to stay updated about the technology their children are using (particularly prevalent after Christmas when many will have had new internet enabled devices) and links to a guide from the Hwb team - click here
Golden Time Disco
During Golden time on Friday 9th February, Friends of Penclawdd will be holding a disco in the school. Foundation phase 2.00pm - 2.30pm and KS2 2.30pm - 3pm. There will be drinks, hotdogs and sweets available for the children to buy.
Have a relaxing weekend.
Mrs. L R-M
Headteacher
INSET days
2 tbc for Summer term
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HT Weekly Blog
Fri 19 Jan 2024Dear Parents/Carers,
Rights of the child : January 2024 - Article 14
Right to be the best that we can be.
It's been a very cold week, but our school has been welcoming, cosy and warm.
This week our new community kitchen has seen some action! Miss. Short and Mrs. Thomas have both been working with children, teaching them some life skills as well as nurturing their development and education and they cooked some delicious cookies!
We wish our Y5/6 football team the best today as they take part in the NGP cluster tournament at the Elba.
Free School Meals for Year 4
A message from the LA:
Further to previous correspondence, we are pleased to announce we will be rolling out free school meals to all year 4 pupils from 19 February 2024 (after half term). Please note this will be automatic and there will be no requirement to apply for the meals. We aim to roll out to further year groups as soon as possible and will update you on our progress in due course.
Welsh Government official visit
Due to our excellent Estyn inspection Officers from the WG Additional Needs department are coming to school next week to visit us and see our excellent practice supporting our pupils who have ALN.
Estyn stated :
The school is preparing well for the transition to the new national additional learning needs arrangements. Provision for pupils with additional learning needs (ALN) is a strength of the school, it is well thought out, supports pupils’ needs well and greatly valued. The additional learning needs co-ordinator works well with qualified staff to provide purposeful sessions that meet the pupils’ needs, particularly in improving their communication skills. There are purposeful individual development plans for pupils, which include opportunities to review progress regularly and involve professionals, parents and pupils. The school tracks the progress of ALN pupils effectively and reports are detailed and rigorous. As a result, nearly all pupils make good and often better progress against targets in many areas of learning across school.
Parent /Carer Workshops - 2.30pm - 4pm
We are very pleased to announce that Fran Pugsley ( Swansea Bay Emotional Health and Well-Being Practitioner) who some of you have already met , will be delivering the following parent/carer workshops in school. Please contact Mrs. Beynon in the office to let her know you will be attending.
21st Feb - Emotional Regulation Part 1
6th March - Emotional Regulation Part 2
10th April - Big Emotions - Anger
1st May - Big Emotions - Worries
12th June - Self Esteem & Resilience
3rd July - Positivity
Attendance
Attendance is extremely important to your child's learning. Please ensure they attend everyday and only take days off when they are very poorly. If you look at the statistics below I'm sure you will be surprised at how quickly odd days here and there add up. We really want every child in our school to exceed and thrive, and by attending school and having attendance of over 95% is key.
Holidays in term time
We are receiving an unprecedented number of holiday requests for term time holidays. Holiday requests during term time are actively discouraged as it negatively impacts on the pupil’s ability to engage with the full curriculum.
Whilst we totally empathise with our families who submit term time holiday requests, parents and carers do not have the automatic right to withdraw their children from school for a family holiday and will be reminded of the effect that absence can have on a pupil’s potential achievement.
Parents and carers must apply in advance for permission for their child to go on holiday during term time (2 weeks minimum notice for a family holiday). Forms can be obtained from the office. Schools can only agree to absence of more than 10 school days in a school year if they believe there are exceptional circumstances. If a school does not agree absence and the pupil goes on the holiday or a trip, the absence will be unauthorised.
Parents and carers are advised that a fixed penalty notice may be issued by the local authority when permission for a holiday has not been authorised by the school.
Annual Attendance Amount of learning time lost 100% O days missed 95% 9 days of absence
1 week and 4 days of learning missed
90% 19 days of absence
3 weeks and 4 days of learning missed
85% 28 days of absence
5 weeks and 3 days of learning missed
80% 38 days of absence
7 weeks and 3 days of learning missed
75% 46 days of absence
9 weeks and 1 days of learning missed
Dates for your diary:
February 5th - Y6 to visit Gowerton Comprehensive
February 6th - Y4/5 to visit The Big Pit
February 9th - Dydd Miwsig Cymru/Welsh Music Language Day (see below)
February 9th - Golden time DISCO in the hall - FoP. (during school time)
Half Term - 12th - 16th February 2024
February 22nd - Individual photos by Roz & Kirsty
February 29th - Health Visitor for drop ins. (please pop in if your are interested)
Swansea Council Keeping Safe Online – Tip of the week
Tip fifteen asks parents/carers to encourage their children to partake in offline activities (particularly prevalent after Christmas when a combination of new games/devices and cold weather often keep pupils in doors) and links to a guide from the Hwb team - click here
Welsh Music Language Day
Friday 9th February - please see the poster below regarding planned activities for children.
Golden Time Disco
During Golden time on Friday 9th February, Friends of Penclawdd will be holding a disco in the school. Foundation phase 2.00pm - 2.30pm and KS2 2.30pm - 3pm. There will be drinks, hotdogs and sweets available for the children to buy.
After School/Lunch time clubsWe have listened to our pupils who were asked by our Healthy Heroes for their ideas. We have a wonderful list of lunch time and some after school clubs.
Reminder - we have Child`s Play on site who run the most fantastic after school clubs if it is predominantly childcare that you require.
Details of all clubs will be sent via see saw. The full array of clubs commence next week.
Fruit at break
This week Kiwi Fruit was a big hit. Next week we hope to have cucumber and celery sticks. Don't forget to send in 30p per day if you'd like your child to enjoy. Thanks
Have a relaxing weekend.
Mrs. L R-M
Headteacher
INSET days
2 tbc for Summer term
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Weekly HT Blog
Fri 12 Jan 2024Dear Parents/Carers,
Rights of the child : January 2029 - Article 14
Right to be the best that we can be.
Happy New Year. I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas break. It was lovely to welcome back the children to school. We had 3 new nursery children join our class with Mrs. Thomas and her team, and although it's a nerve wracking time for parents it's an exciting time for us and especially for them, as they settle into school to begin their educational journey. We hope they are very happy along with all of other children that attend our wonderful school. Remember, if you have a concern please do not hesitate to contact us.
School lunches
The link for school lunches is on the school website. Please feel free to check what food choices are available for your child.
Fruit at break
Fresh fruit is available to break time for 30p. We are doing our best to provide a wide variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Next week we hope to have, Navel Oranges and Kiwis! We all need vitamin C at this time of year!
Request to leave school early
We have a number of requests from parents/carers asking to collect their child/ren early from school. This has become common place and is something we want to avoid. We encourage parents to make dental/optician appointments outside of school hours. We appreciate that sometimes emergency treatment is necessary. Going forward please can parents complete the following link to request an early departure from school. Please see the following link:
Rhythm and Rhyme classes for babies - up to 4 years welcome.
Our Rhythm and Rhyme classes for babies and toddlers started back this week.
If you or you know someone who might be interested they are very welcome to join. The classes are held in our new school library every Thursday at 10.15am - 11.15am.
Flying Start at our school
Please see the poster below regarding flying start at our school. Flying Start is free childcare at our school for 2 year olds. It is not means tested and is completely free.
Even if you don't work and want a few hours of childcare, toddlers will get the opportunity to socialise and be cared for by fully qualified childcare specialist some of which have qualifications in speech and language development.
Swansea Council Keeping Safe Online – Tip of the week
Tip fourteen encourages parents/carers to be aware of phishing attempts and links to a guide from the Hwb team - click here
After Schools/Lunch time clubsThese details will be shared next week
Have a relaxing weekend.
Mrs. L R-M
Headteacher
INSET days
2 tbc for Summer term
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