As we end the spring term, it is good to reflect on all the things that we previously took for granted that have been able to continue to return this term. From year group trips out of school, with more planned for next term, to successful sporting competitions. Our parent mornings to view the children learning in-situ which were complimented with our first in person family meetings in a long time were extremely well received by families and we are delighted that so many of you found them positive and informative. We have also been pleased that many of you have taken the opportunities to enjoy our tea and chat sessions and of course Pippin’s birthday celebrations. 

The children have delighted us with their reflections on their learning and how to be a good learner whilst also sharing their work in a range of subjects, which have been in focus this term – history, science, geography, reading and writing. It was a pleasure to see them explain pieces of work they were proud of and to talk about the knowledge they had acquired.

Thank you to those of you who responded to our poll asking for votes for the preferred day and time of the week to pop in for tea and chat.

Based on the results we will continue with Wednesday mornings for the summer term and look forward to seeing you then, at 8.30am. 
Toddlers welcome.

Our School Council met this week, they always begin their meetings talking about the need to listen and the importance to hear pupils voice.

Their agenda for the meeting was feedback on the previous discussions on school lunches and fund raising event in the summer term. 

Mrs Flood introduced Mrs Byrne and Robin Bolivar Yates (Governor) who had come to join the council meeting.

Mrs Byrne (SB) gave feedback to the School Council about some of the issues raised previously about school lunches.

*Y6 agreed that portion sizes were bigger now.

*Ketchup is available and the children told SB if they hadn’t been offered it.

*Themed food is possible – class teachers need to tell SB in advance of their class topics so that the kitchen can look at a themed hot lunch.

*Summer term (weather permitting) the packed lunch children may be able to eat outside.

*Children mentioned whether table monitors could be in charge of cleaning the tables before the next year group come in?

*Children would like the salad bar brought back at lunch time. Links with our healthy eating.

Mrs Byrne said that she would conitinue to look into ways to improve the lunch time experience for all of the children and would conitune to feedback to the School Council.

Fund Raising

Mrs Flood explained how the councillors will need to hold class votes for which charity to support next term.

Other points raised 

*Y6’s felt strongly that their responsibilities within school have disappeared a bit.

*They would like to be able to do the £5 challenge in the summer term.

*SB talked about Y6 perhaps being responsible for something at the Summer Fete too.

Agenda items for the next meeting:

*Results of Charity voting

*Mrs Godfrey has asked for the School Council thoughts on staggered drop off and    collection times.

*Fund raising event next term. 

We celebrated Pippin’s 3^rd birthday in the sunshine on Saturday, there were so many families having fun it was lovely to see.  The children (and some adults) fully engaged with Thomas Trilby, our circus entertainer and the ice creams were a big hit too.

Thank you to everyone who came along, we hope to do another family event in the summer term.

Pippin was delighted by the amount of gifts he receievd and absolutey loved the home made cards.

Thank you all so much for your generosity.

There are some great vacancies at Dunalley Primary.

We need a Business and Finance Administrator to work closley with Mrs Byrne in the school office, this role is for 20 hours a week (mostly mornings), term time plus inset days. 
For full details please follow the link to our opportunities page. 

We would still like to add to our fabuolous team of Play Partners to support meaningful and productive child-initiated play during our lunchtimes, ensuring that our children have the very best lunchtime opportunities possible. 

We are also keen to increase our after school club staff.  If you are interested in a role with Lates please email [email protected] to express an interest or ask any questions.

This is a perfect time to join our team here at Dunalley, also a fantastic opportunity to get back into the work place if you have taken a break due to family commitments.

We offer excellent training for all of our roles and being in school, even if only for an hour or two a day is very rewarding and an excellent step for a career in education. All of our jobs at school come with excellent work place benefits too.

We have limited places avaliable for our new fun 'Dunalley Forest Tots', a Forest School inspired, nature based group for children aged 0-3yrs and their families.

Starts after Easter.

[email protected].

Please ensure that you do not go into arrears on your accounts for earlies or lates as after Easter there will be a strict procedure in place, attendance will not be allowed at earlies or lates if your account is in arrears.
We will be paying for additional activities after Easter alongside staffing costs which cannot come out of the school budget. 
Accounts will be checked daily to ensure families using the facility are in credit in order to access their next booked session. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

If you are currently a year 2 parent/carer you may be aware that from year 3 you will need to pay for a school lunch for your child unless you qualify for free school meals.

It is very easy to apply, simply follow this link.
If you are unsure in any way please contact [email protected] and we will be very happy to help.

Applying for free school meals not only offers you the lunches at no charge it also provides additional income for school.

We have another course to offer families this week, please follow this link:

Online Safety For Parents

Adult Education are running some great courses online which are designed especially for parents/carers. All courses are open to all and free* to many.

  *   Upgrade Your Maths is a 5 week course running on Thursday mornings from 10-12. This course is designed especially for parents who are anxious about maths. Parents work in a small group online and are supported so that they soon feeling comfortable tackling a range of maths questions and develop confidence to support their children with their homework. Starting on Thursday 28 April. You can enrol here.
  *   Help Your Child with Writing for ESOL Parents runs on Wednesday afternoons online. The focus of the class is to improve parents English skills and look at the techniques schools use to support children with their written skills in the UK.  This class runs weekly in term time for 12 weeks. You can enrol here.
  *   Calming the Mind is a 4 week introduction to mindfulness. Parents who attended this course last year have noticed a real change in their lives, and a greatly improved relationship with their children. This course is running on Monday evenings and Tuesday mornings, starting in early May. You can get more details and enrol here.
Parents can enrol online through the links above or by contacting Fay Tucker, details below.
* The courses are free if you are over 19 years old, have lived in the UK for 3 or more years, have a valid Residence Permit, and are one of the following: Unemployed or earning below £17,374 per year; Qualified below a Level 2 ( less than 5 GCSEs); Have mental health challenges, Have a learning difficulty or disability.

Fay Tucker
Adult Education Family Learning Coordinator
[email protected]

School places are allocated on April 19th, if your child has been allocated a place with us at Dunalley please keep an eye out for an email from us with lots of information on.

Stay safe and have a fabulous Easter holiday.
We will see you on Monday 25th April.

From us all here at Dunalley.