The team at Dunalley primary has achieved an amazing transformation of their playtimes, and I'd like to congratulate the whole school for the commitment and hard work that has culminated in their OPAL platinum award.

"This award means that Dunalley primary has some of the best lunchtime play opportunities in the country for all their pupils" 

Rachel Murray MSc. OPAL Mentor - West of England 

During my final play visit, I observed children digging in a huge sand pit, creating ‘magic potions’ and mud pies, chasing bubbles, performing on a stage, riding skid-bikes and swayer scooters, dressing up, playing football, bug hunting and much more! All the children were engaged in their play and the playground had a very inclusive and equitable feel. The school respect their pupil's right to play and has provided generously to create a play environment that is rich in creative opportunities.

The ‘Play Partners’ staff organise themselves to look after different zones, allowing the school to keep all of their wonderful grounds open for as much of the year as possible. Pupils are resilient and play out in all weathers. The team show great commitment to play and there are plans in place to further develop the site in the future.

This platinum award is a fantastic achievement and one that the whole school community should feel very proud of. Special thanks should go to Head Teacher Alison Godfrey and School Business Manager Sara Byrne for leading the programme, to Matt Childs and Mark Isher for maintaining and developing the school grounds for play, and to Play Coordinator Claire Samways and the Play Partner team for delivering amazing playtimes every day!

Well done Dunalley- your efforts to prioritise outdoor play have benefitted all your pupils, improving their physical health, mental health and happiness!

Mrs Godfrey had the pleasure of announcing our platinum Opal award on Wednesday this week.

The children were absolutely delighted.

Congratulations
We would like to offer our congratulations to Mrs Errington, formerly Mrs Ellis, from our RP class.

Mrs Errington got married during the Easter holidays and we would like to wish her all the happiness for the future. 

Welcome
We have welcomed Mrs Davis to our team this week. Mrs Davis is a very experienced teacher who will be supporting us in Year 4P on Fridays and other classes on Thursdays.

Welcome to our team Mrs Davis.

It has been a busy first week back to school as we all immerse ourselves in our new learning for this term.  Our first visits and visitors for this term have already started.

As part of our links with the maths department at the University of Gloucestershire, our year 2 and 3 children enjoyed maths trails and outdoor maths learning provided by their students. Lots of great mathematical learning was evident and the sun even shone! Thanks to the maths team at the University for inviting us. We love learning maths!

Our year 4 children have had a fantastic launch to their history learning for this term. As part of learning all about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, 'The History People' provided a fully interactive, immerse experience that has provided an excellent starting point for further historical learning during this term. Thank you for taking the time to provide costumes for your children which enhanced the experience. I hope they had great fun recounting their day to you. We look forward to seeing their historical knowledge develop this term.

On Friday the 5th of May we will celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III

We are really excited that that we can celebrate this momentous occasion together at Dunalley. 
 
From the end of the school day (at 3.15pm) we will open our grounds for a family picnic.

There will be two competitions: a 'Cake fit for a King' and a 'Crown fit for a King'

Homemade cakes and crowns can be bought into school on the morning of Friday 5th ready to be judged during our school assembly. 

Children are invited to come to school wearing red, white and blue. 

At hometime, children must be collected as usual as children staying for the event must be supervised by parents and carers.  We will do our best to make sure that children who are booked into Lates are able to enjoy the event under the supervision our usual staff.

More information will be provided over the next few weeks.

AiP will be doing a specia lunch menu please see the leaflet for details.

We are pleased to welcome our new September reception families into our school community.

Families have already received a welcome letter and information from Mrs Godfrey earlier this week. To benefit from being part of the school community earlier and start to get to know us, they have been invited to various school events taking place between now and September.

On Tuesday 2nd and Tuesday 9th of May hot dinners will be the Monday menu, not the Tuesday option due to the bank holiday.

https://dunalley.gloucs.sch.uk/school-lunches

Many thnaks to everyone for raising £353.62 during our Red Nose Day collection last term.