Category Archives: Headteacher’s Weekly Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to our blog.  As you will be aware, the Year 6 and Year 2 SATs tests are nearly upon us.  The children and staff are working extremely hard to make sure that our children are ready for these important tests. Thank you to the parents and carers of children in those year groups for all the support you are giving to your children.

Delivery of Chicks

We were very excited last week to welcome the annual arrival of a set of fertilised eggs.  I am delighted to tell you that the eggs have now hatched! We now have 6 chicks in school that we are looking after. We were asked to keep a special eye on one of the eggs as it was a rare breed from Belgium. Apparently this type of egg is really difficult to breed and it is identifiable because it has a purple spot on the egg. Once the chick has grown it will lay white eggs. The children have been really excited about our visitors and have been watching the chicks in the brooder box as they eat and sleep.  We will keep the chicks for a couple of weeks so that the children can observe them growing and changing. Then they will be taken to a small holding where they will live a lovely free-range life. We will be kept regularly updated on their progress.

 This week at Copthorne

Comenius trip to Romania

Today Mrs Whalley and Miss Richards will be travelling to Romania to visit our Comenius Partners.  They will be meeting representatives from the 9 other countries in the project.  Whilst in Romania they will be visiting the Romanian school, learning all about the culture and visiting local landmarks. We wish them both a safe and enjoyable trip and look forward to hearing all about their adventures on their return.

Linking Schools

On Monday 20th April, 4 Poplar will visit All Saints Primary School in Ilkley as part of our Linking Schools project.  The children have already met when we joined them for an exciting day at Cartwright Hall.  Later on this year the children from All Saints will be visiting our school.  I am sure this trip will be a great success and know that the children are very excited about meeting their friends at All Saints Primary once again.

Reception Visit to Pets at Home

Our Reception children will be making a visit to Pets at Home on Forster Square Retail Park on Tuesday 21st April. The visit forms part of their topic this half term which is called ‘Doing the animal bop’.    I know the children are extremely excited about this visit and I am looking forward to hearing about all the different types of animals the children have seen.

Exceed Debating Competition

On Tuesday 28th April, Mr Khan, Mr Rizvi and myself will be taking a group of our pupils to Bradford University for a debating competition between all the Exceed schools.  The schools will be debating aginst each other in sets of two teams and will be judged by a panel consisting of members of staff from the schools. The motions to be debated include: ‘This House believes that school summer holidays should be limited to 3 weeks’, ‘This House believes that school uniform should be banned’ and ‘This House believes that footballers are not worth the money they are paid.’ 

The aim of the event is to improve language and speaking skills. All participants will receive a medal and a certificate.  I am sure it will be a very interesting and enjoyable afternoon.

I hope you have a lovely week and once again thank you for your continued support.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and I hope you have had a super weekend.  It is lovely to see all our children working so positively  The weather has now started to improve slightly and I am sure you are all making the most of it. 

This week at Copthorne

Year 1 Multi-Sports

We are delighted that some of our Year 1 pupils have been chosen to participate in a multi-skills activity at Grange Technology College on Monday 20th April.   Mr Khan will accompany the children and they will join up with other local primary school children.  We hope that our children enjoy the games and have a great time as well as getting lots of exercise.

Year 3 – Tour of Bradford

As part of our Copthorne Curriculum theme about Bradford, Year 3 will be touring a range of places in Bradford.  The trip will take the children up to Haworth, across St Ives in Harden and on to Baildon Moor, finishing with a drive through Thackley and Thornbury then back to school.  The trip will take a full day as children will have the opportunity to explore these areas with their teachers.  3 Larch will be taking the tour on Tuesday 21st April and 3 Alder will be going on Wednesday 22nd April.  I am sure the children will have a fantastic learning experience.

Copthorne’s Got Talent

This week we begin the first round of auditions for Copthorne’s Got Talent.  It will be the turn of Year 1 and Year 2 this week to show the judges what amazing talents they have.  This is a very popular event and I look forward to seeing the range of skills and abilities that our children have.

Year 2 SAT Tests

The Year 2 Key Stage 1 SAT tests will very soon be upon us.  I know that the staff are working extremely hard to make sure that our children will be able to achieve great results. There are a number of ways in which you too can help to support your child in attaining the best possible results.  These include: 

• Listening to him/her read each day and asking him/her questions about what they are reading
• Practising the times tables daily with him/her – just 5 to 10 minutes daily can be very effective.
• Ensuring that he/she goes to sleep at a reasonable time each night 

In order to provide you with more information about the tests, we are holding a very important meeting for parents on Thursday 23rd April at 9am.  It is vital that as many of you as possible attend this meeting and I look forward to seeing you.

Thank you for your continued support, I hope you all have a great week.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and welcome to another week at Copthorne.  This week there will be lots of exciting activities taking place as we launch Copthorne’s Big Book Off.  Please read the information below to find out more.

This week at Copthorne

Year 1 Multi-Skills Activity Afternoon

We are delighted that some of our Year 1 pupils have been chosen to participate in a multi-skills activity at Grange Technology College on Monday 2nd March.  Mr H Khan will accompany the children and they will join up with other local primary school children.  We hope that our children enjoy the games and have a fun time as well as getting lots of exercise.

Key Stage 2 SAT Test Meeting

The Year 6 Key Stage 2 SAT tests will very soon be upon us.  I know that the staff are working extremely hard to make sure that our children will be able to achieve great results. There are a number of ways in which you too can help to support your child in attaining the best possible results.  These include:

• Listening to him/her read each day and asking him/her questions about what they are reading
• Encouraging him/her, if possible, to go on Mathletics daily and complete the tasks set by his/her teacher
• Practising the times tables daily with him/her – just 5 to 10 minutes daily can be very effective.
• Ensuring that he/she goes to sleep at a reasonable time each night

In order to provide you with more information about the tests and discuss our current concerns about Year 6 pupils’ work and attitude, we are holding a very important meeting for parents on Tuesday 3^rd March.   Year 6 teachers and the Senior Leadership Team will be delivering the meeting. There will be two meetings, one will take place at 8.50am and one at 2.30pm.  It is vital that Year 6 Parents’  attend either one of these meetings.

Year 5 Visit to Cartwright Hall

On Tuesday 3rd March, 5 Willow will visit Cartwright Hall as part of their current Copthorne curriculum topic ‘Arabian Nights’.  The children will be taking part in workshops and will be involved in lots of interesting activities.  5 Cedar will have their visit on Friday 6th March 2015.  I am sure the children will have a fantastic day!

Exceed Football Cup Game

Our school football team will be taking part in a cup game on Wednesday 4th March at Grange Technology College. They will be competing against Farnham Primary School.  It is always lovely to see the team setting off for their games as they are so excited.  Good luck Copthorne!!

Copthorne’s Big Book Off

As part of Copthorne’s Big Book Off which is taking place this week and next week, children will be involved in lots of activities designed to engage them in reading more widely and more often.The weeks include a visit from the author Andrew Newbound,who wrote the all action book ‘Demon Strike’.  There will be quizzes based around children’s favourite books, a Readathon reading challenge, a book swap event,competitions and lessons which will promote your child’s love of reading.  Thursday 6th March 2015 is World Book Day and we are asking all children and staff to dress up as their favourite book character and where possible bring the relevant book into school to share with children in their class. We are asking for a small donation of £2.00 towards the charity ‘Book Aid International’ which provides books to libraries, hospitals, refugee camps and schools in order to support literacy, education, training and publishing in over 40 countries predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.  Please help your child to choose their favourite book character rather than film character in order to help them celebrate World Book Day.

I hope you have a fabulous week – it certainly looks as though we will!

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to our blog everyone.  I hope you have had a lovely weekend with your families.  The weather has been lovely this weekend and hopefully the warmer weather is not too far away.

Year 2 Football Tournament

On Monday 23rd February, pupils from Year two entered a football tournament at Grange Technology College and played against four other schools.  I am delighted to inform you that our team drew one match and won the other three matches.  They then went on to win the tournament and were presented with medals and certificates.  All the pupils played extremely well, were very well behaved and acted as great ambassadors for our school.  We hope to be entering more sports events similar to this one which will include more Key Stage One pupils. 

We also had good news from the Year 5 and 6 football team when they won 3-0 in a cup game against Farnham Primary School.  The team have now got through to the semi-final and are eager and ready to keep up their hard work.  Well done everyone!

Children’s Heart Foundation – Red Day

Last term we held a ‘Red Day’ to support the Children’s Heart Foundation.  Staff and children came to school wearing something red.  There was also a raffle and a bun and biscuit sale.  The total amount raised for the charity was £456.14.  Thank you so much to parents, carers and staff for making the day a huge success.

This week at Copthorne

Young Leaders Training Conference

Mr A Khan will be taking a group of year 4 and year 5 children to Grange Technology College on Monday 9th March.  The children will be trained up to enable them to lead sporting activities back at school during break times and lunch times.  This activity will help build up the childrens’ confidence and also encourage other children to keep fit and active during break time.
Year 5 & 6 Archery Competition

On Wednesday 11th March, Mr A Khan will be taking several Year 5 and 6 pupils to the Khidmet Centre where they will be taking part in an Exceed Archery competition. The children will be playing against other local primary schools in our area.  The competition will give the children the opportunity to put into practise the skills that they have been learning during the classes over the last few weeks.  Good luck children!

Comic Relief Day

Friday 13th March is Comic Relief Day. It’s the day, held every two years, when people across the land  get together and do something funny for money at home, school and work. Comic Relief helps lots of projects worldwide, helping people who are living tough lives in the UK and around the World. We will be holding lots of fundraising events in school as well as selling red noses. Parents and carers will receive a letter over the next couple of days with details of events. 

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello and welcome to another exciting week at Copthorne.  This week we have received some wonderful news this week regarding two year old provision at Copthorne.  Please see the section below for more information.

Two Year old Provision

I am delighted to inform you that we have been successful in our bid to develop provision for Early Education for two years olds at Copthorne.  This will comprise a purpose built new build of which will be an extension to our current building and will allow us to provide 48, two year old places. (24 morning places and 24 afternoon places).  The build will be overseen by Bradford Council’s Education Buildings team and we expect that this will be ready to open well before the end of the next academic year.  I know that many of you, like me, will be delighted by this news as it will allow us to provide two year olds in our community with a firm foundation for their future education.  I will keep you informed of all our building news as plans progress.

Facebook

We have recently had a number of our children trying to ‘friend’ members of staff via Facebook.  I would ask that you check to ensure that your child does not have access to Facebook.   Firstly, it is illegal for any child under the age of 13 to access Facebook or to have a Facebook account. School will have no alternative but to contact the police where we find out that a child at Copthorne has a Facebook account.  Also, it is important that children do not attempt to ‘friend’ members of staff, either when they are still at school or when they leave Copthorne.  Staff cannot be friends with children on Facebook and this rule exists in order to safeguard both our children and staff.  Thank you so much for your support in this matter.

Home Dinners

We are very pleased that the majority of our children now stay for school dinners.  Having a school lunch really supports our children’s social development and provides them with a healthy meal each day.  Please be aware that if your child does go home for lunch, he/she must be collected by an adult regardless of his/her year group.  This is to ensure the safeguarding of all our children.

Uniform

I would be very grateful if you could ensure that your children are coming to school in the correct uniform.  A number of children at present are wearing shoes that are not part of school uniform.  All shoes should be plain black school shoes.  Girls’ shoes should not have heels and sparkles etc and boys shoes should not be trainers.  Haircuts which involve ‘tramlines’ are not acceptable and the same blade should be used for the whole cut.  Children who come to school with unacceptable haircuts will be sent home until they come to school with a haircut that complies with school rules. 

Also, a number of our girls are coming to school wearing scarves in a wide variety of colours and patterns. The school uniform policy states that, if a child wishes to wear a school scarf then this must be short and plain (not patterned) and either royal blue or white. No other colour is acceptable. In addition, some girls are fastening their scarves with long pins which can be very dangerous. Please ensure that if a pin is needed this is a hair clip or a safety pin.  Scarves that are acceptable are available to buy from the school office.

Food Glorious Food!

Last week our Reception classes visited the local Asda as part of their current topic ‘Food Glorious Food’.  While they were there they looked at different types of fruit and were given information from the store’s staff about where the fruit comes from. The children had a fantastic time and asked lots of questions and were a real credit to our school.  They  were rewarded with cookies from the store. I would like to say a big thank you to the staff at Asda for their generosity and hospitality.

Archery Competition

Last week, our archery team took part in a competition at the Khidmat Centre.  The competition was a huge success with 6 teams of archers attending from 4 different schools.  Copthorne entered 2 teams.  All the archers that attended the competition had the opportunity to use the archery skills they have learnt in their schools and showed great sportsmanship on the day.  I am delighted to inform you that Copthorne won the overall competition and were also awarded trophies for the highest scorer, second highest scorer and third highest scorer of the competition.  Crossley Hall came in second place, Lidget Green third and St Oswalds fourth.  Well done to all the archers that took part in the competition, you are a real credit to your schools.

This week at Copthorne

Year 3 Visit to White Scar Caves

On Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th March, Year 3 are planning a visit to White Scar Caves at Ingleton, North Yorkshire.  This visit will link in with the science theme, ‘Rocks’ and the Copthorne Curriculum teme ‘Meet the Flintstones.  The children will be going underground and looking at different types of rocks.  This will be a very exciting day for the children and I am sure they will have an amazing time.

Year 6 visit to Headingley Cricket Ground

We are pleased to be taking the children in 6 Chestnut to a cricket education day at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds on Wednesday 18th March.  The day will consist of a classroom session linking cricket, English and ICT, and a further session of cricket based activities as well as a tour of the Headingley Cricket Ground.  This visit is always a popular trip which the children enjoy and I am sure they will have a lovely day.

Dates for Your Diary

Fruit & Milk Money For Next Term

Fruit and milk money is now due for next term.  The cost of fruit for next term is £8.00 and the cost for milk is £10.  If you would like your child to have fruit or milk, please send your money in an envelope clearly labelled with your child’s name and class no later than Monday 23rd March, alternatively this can be paid via your parentpay account.

Firefighters Charity Collection – Thursday 26th March 2015

On Thursday 26th March, we will be carrying out a collection of unwanted or used clothes, shoes, belts and handbags in order to raise money for the Fire Fighters’ Charity and the school fund.  Over the next couple of weeks you will be receiving a letter and a collection bag which is to be filled with the items listed above – please feel free to fill as many additional bags as you can (bin bags can be used). We would be grateful if you could also ask other members of your family and our community to fill bags for us. Please ensure that only items on the list are included: no bric-a-brac, household items or toys please. The bags should be brought into school by 9:00am on Thursday 26th March. We value your help in raising funds which will allow us to provide even more stimulating experiences for Copthorne’s children whilst supporting the fire fighters who provide such a valuable service to us all.

I hope you have a lovely week.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and welcome to our last week of half term. I cannot believe how quickly this half term has gone – we have had such a busy few weeks and I am sure you are all ready for a well-deserved break.

This week at Copthorne

R.E. Week

This week in school is R.E. week.  During the week, the children will have the opportunity to complete some in depth work driven by the theme ‘The Island’.  The children will be thinking about fairness and justice in relation to an island which is yet to have any rules.  They will also discuss ‘The Golden Rule’: to treat others how we would like to be treated.  Our pupils will think about why this is important to ensure that we live in a fair and peaceful world.

Wroot Travis Primary School Visit

Today, children and staff from Wroot Travis Primary School in Lincolnshire will be visiting our school.  Wroot Travis is a small school consisting of 41 children and we are delighted to welcome them  all to our school.  The aim of this trip is to create a link with another school in a contrasting locality and to support work in RE, PSCHE and geography.  During the morning the children will be joining in with classes in their own year group and  they will each link up with a ‘penpal’.  The school will then be joining us for lunch which will be an Asian main course followed by a British pudding.  After lunch the group will be visiting Hanfia Mosque.  I am sure that our children and staff will give them a warm welcome and we hope to maintain links with the school.

The pen-pals from Copthorne will be taking part in a visit to Wroot Travis School during the summer term  – about which we are all already very excited!

Billy Bob Buttons

We are very excited to welcome to Copthorne an author Edward Trayer (pen name Billy Bob Buttons).  He is the author of the 2014 UK People’s Book Prize Winner and UK bestseller, ‘I think I murdered Miss’.  Mr Trayer will be visiting children in KS2 on Tuesday when he will lead two workshops about writing adventure stories and planning for writing.  Parents and carers should have received a letter last week informing them that their children will have the opportunity to buy signed copies of his books at a discounted price.  I am looking forward to hearing from the children all about what they have learnt.

Parents Evening

Our annual reporting to parents meeting will take place on Thursday 12th February from 3.15pm – 6pm.   Please make an appointment to come and speak to the class teacher by completing the slip on the letters which you received last week. The class teacher will then send you an appointment. The appointments will each last approximately 5 minutes (10 minutes for Year 6) and it is important that parents and carers attend in order to discuss children’s progress and targets.  I look forward to seeing as many parents and carers as possible.

School Council Meeting

On Thursday 12th February, children from our  School Council will host a meeting for all School Council members from across the Exceed Alliance. Our visitors will have lunch with us and then they will share ideas and discuss projects with the other councillors. We look forward to hearing all about their new ideas.

I hope you have a lovely break next week.  School will re-open at the usual time on 23rd February 2015.

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to another week at Copthorne.  I hope you all enjoyed playing in the snow last week. We rarely have to close school but unfortunately, last Thursday, we felt that it was the best thing to do for health and safety reasons.

This week at Copthorne

Comenius Visit to Spain

Today Miss Horton, Mrs Parveen, Mr Rizvi and I will be travelling to Spain to visit our Comenius Partners.  We are looking forward to meeting representatives from the 9 other countries in the project.  Whilst in Spain we will be visiting the Spanish school, Blas Infante, in Malaga as well as  learning all about the Spanish culture and visiting local landmarks.. On our return we will be sharing our experiences with staff and children and completing further work on our Once Upon a Time project.

Injury Minimization Programme for Schools

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, our Year 6 children will be visiting the Bradford Royal Infirmary as part of the annual Injury Minimization Programme for Schools.  The visit has been arranged in order to give the children some basic first aid training.  I am hopeful that we have several Mary Seacoles, Florence Nightingales and Alexander Flemings amongst our    children!

Year 4 visit to York

On Thursday 5th February, Year 4 will be travelling to York to visit both the Yorkshire and Castle Museums.  The visit has been arranged to support the children’s Copthorne Curriculum learning about the history of York.  The children will leave school at the normal time and will return to school at 4.15pm.

Community Hearts Awards

I am also delighted to announce that Copthorne Primary School is one of the two finalists in the Community Hearts Awards in the category: Schools Contribution to the Community.  Also, Mr A Khan is a finalist in the Inspirational member of support staff category. Congratulations to Mr Khan and, of course, to our whole school. Thank you to the parents who nominated us.  The results will be announced at the award ceremony which will be held on Friday 20^th March at Rio Grande in Bradford. 

Star of the Month Assembly

This Friday, 6th February, we will hold our Star of the Month Assembly. At the assembly one pupil from each class will be  rewarded for exceptional learning behaviour and work.  Staff working in each class  nominate the children they feel have displayed a no excuses, positive attitude. Well done to this month’s award winners – Copthorne is so proud of you all.

I hope you have a lovely week. I will miss you but look forward to seeing you again next Monday.

Mrs Shepherd

Welcome to our blog and I hope you have had a lovely weekend.  Thank you to parents and carers for sending your children into school during the bad weather last week.  I am pleased that the weather did not affect our childrens’ learning.  It was lovely to see the children playing in the snow.

We hope that you enjoy these wonderful pictures of our nursery children learning about and enjoying the snow.

This week at Copthorne

Reception Learning Workshop

1R and 2R will be holding  a learning workshop which will held on Monday 26th January at 8.40am.  As in previous workshops the teachers will be modelling a maths and literacy lesson illustrating how children learn maths and literacy skills using the provision.  Parents will also have a chance to watch adult led literacy and maths carpet sessions.  The workshops will provide you with ideas for and ways of supporting your child with his/her maths and literacy at home.  Refreshments will be provided in the hall after the session and you will have an opportunity to ask any questions.  We look forward to seeing as many Reception parents and carers as possible.

Forest Schools

On Friday a group of our Year 4 students will be continuing to take part in the Forest Schools programme on at the St Ives Estate.  This is always a popular trip with our children who will take part in activities to build their self-esteem and confidence in an outdoor environment. All learning during the day takes place outside where the children learn woodland craft and explore the woods. Through such activities the children also develop care and responsibility for our environment. I am sure they will have a fantastic time and I look forward to hearing all about their adventures on their return to school.

I hope you have a lovely week and keep warm.

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone and welcome to another week at Copthorne.  So far the weather has been kind to us and we have not had too much disruption.  Please see information below regarding our severe weather procedures and remember that children need a warm, waterproof coat with them every day.

Local Authority School Development Review

Last week a Local Authority review team spent a full day in our school.  The team was made up of a lead OFSTED Inspector, a Local Authority Achievement Officer and a Head Teacher from another Bradford school. The review team scrutinised the standards of pupil achievement throughout the school, the quality of teaching, leadership and management  and the standards of pupils’ behaviour and attendance. In order to arrive at their judgements the team observed lessons, interviewed children and listened to individual children read, analysed pupil progress and attainment data and scrutinised pupils’ work and the quality of marking and feedback.

I am absolutely delighted to inform you that the team judged the school to be outstanding in all areas. They were especially impressed with the standards of our children’s work, their attitudes to learning and their love of their school. Thank you to everyone for their continuing hard work in making Copthorne the school it is and to all the parents and families for supporting our work so positively.

Severe Weather Procedures

Please find details below about the procedures for school during bad weather.

Entrance to school during severe weather.

In the event of heavy snow only one path will be cleared into school. This will be from the main gate to the main entrance/office.  Please remind all children to stick to this path as other paths around school are likely to be slippy and, therefore, dangerous. Any one using another entrance does so at their own risk.

Decision is made not to open school 

 If the school will not be opening then all parents/carers will be informed by text message by 7.30 am that morning.  Please ensure that the office staff have been informed of any changes to your mobile number(s) as soon as possible.  In addition, if school is closed this will be shown on the school website:www.copthorne.ngfl.ac.uk and on Bradford Schools Online: https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Schools/Home.aspx from 7am.  The information will also be broadcast via radio stations: The Pulse, Radio Leeds and Sunrise Radio. If there is no information about the school available via any of these methods then school is definitely open so, if possible, please do not contact the school office.

School closure part way through the day.

Should the decision be made to close school during the school day then, once again, a text message will be sent to parents and posted on our website.  Where necessary, parents will receive a phone call to their home or work numbers. Families will be asked to collect their children as soon as possible.

Fluoride Varnishing Programme

The Fluoride Varnish Dental Team visited Foundation stage last week to recruit children to the programme.  The team met with parents to complete consent forms to apply the fluoride varnish to their childrens’ teeth.  The team will be back in school on Monday 19th January to apply the varnish. Thank you to all the parents that have cooperated with the team to help keep our children’s smiles healthy ones.

Exceed Football League Competition

On Wednesday 21st January, our football team with be taking part in a league game at Grange Technology College.  They will be playing against St Oswalds Primary School.  I know the team are eager to play again after the Christmas break and we wish them all the best.  Go Copthorne!!

Year 6 Visiting Headingley Cricket Ground

On Thursday 22nd January the children in 6 Sycamore will be attending a Cricket Education Day at Headingley Cricket Ground in Leeds.  The day will consist of a classroom session linking cricket, English and ICT as well as a tour of the Headingley Cricket Ground.  This is a fantastic opportunity for children to have a fun and educational day. I hope the children have a wonderful day.

I hope you all have a lovely week

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good week with a return to normal routines after the school holiday. It was lovely to see the children back in school on Monday, happy and ready to work hard.

P.E. For Reception Children

Starting this term, Reception children will be starting P.E. lessons.  They will therefore require full P.E. Kit.  Our P.E. kit consists of a plain white t-shirt or polo shirt, some plain black jogging bottoms and some black P.E. pumps. Once children bring their kit into school, this will be transferred into childrens’ P.E. bags which are provided by the school.  Parents are not required to buy a P.E. bag to store clothes.  The kit will remain in school until the end of each half term when it will be sent home for washing and will need to be returned on the first day back after the holidays.  1R will be having P.E. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 2R will have P.E. on Wednesdays and Fridays each week. This is a very important part of our children’s learning and general development, supporting their coordination, team-work and – of course – good health. I know they will all enjoy themselves. Hopefully this will be the first step on the road for some future Olympians.

This week at Copthorne

Fluoride Varnishing Programme

The Fluoride Varnish Dental Team will be visiting Foundation stage on Monday 12th January to recruit children to the programme.  They are hoping to meet as many parents as possible for consent to apply the fluoride varnish to their childrens’ teeth.  The fluoride in the varnish will help to keep their teeth strong, adding a layer of protection against decay.  The team will then come back into school on Monday 19th January to apply the varnish.

Local Authority School Development Review

On Tuesday 13th January the Local Authority review panel will be coming into school.  The review panel will be looking at standards of achievement at Copthorne including the quality of teaching leadership and management as well as pupils’ behaviour and attendance.

An important element when judging pupils’ behaviour is that our children come to school each day on time and are smartly dressed in the correct school uniform.  We ask that, as usual, you support the school in this by making sure that children attend punctually and are wearing the correct uniform.  This includes; plain black shoes not trainers or boots.  No jewellery (apart from plain stud earrings), plain headscarves (no sparkles, lace or jewels) and sensible haircuts.  Thank you in advance for your co-operation in this matter.  I look forward to sharing the great work going on at Copthorne with the review team.

Pupil Premium

As mentioned in my letter to Parents’ last week, at present Copthorne is missing out on at least £120,000.  Our community has the lowest percentage of pupils receiving the Pupil Premium in the Exceed Alliance.  The Pupil Premium is given to school for each child in receipt of free school meals (this does not include the Universal Free School meals that every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receives).  This money will be used to buy learning resources and to pay for more teachers for your children therefore improving the quality of their education still further.  It has come to our attention that we have a number of families who may be entitled to free school meals for their children but whom, at present, have not registered for them.  If you get any of the following support payments your child may be entitled to receive free school meals:

•  Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you are not also entitle to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more that £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit  run-on-paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit

We do understand that there are a number of you that have not applied for free school meals because you prefer your child to have a packed lunch, or in a few cases to go home for lunch.  If this is the reason why you have not applied, I urge you strongly to register as – even if you do not take up the free school meal on offer – it will still mean that our school will receive extra funding. If you believe that your child may be eligible for Pupil Premium you need to have registered with the local authority. In order to support you with the registration process, parents can drop into school where staff will be ready to help you in completing the online application. All you need to bring with you is your National Insurance number and details: names, age, date of birth – for yourself and each child who is of school age.  If you are unable to come in to school to apply please apply on line at www.bradford.gov/schoolmeals. It is really important to our school that as many of you as possible apply. This will mean that we can provide even more learning opportunities for our children.

In order to support families in receipt of free school meals, we also provide each Pupil Premium child with 2 school jumpers free of charge so please make sure you apply!

Thank you so much for your support in this matter. If you have any questions about this, please do not hesitate to contact school. 

Thank you so much for your support you give to Copthorne and once again I wish you a great week.

Mrs Shepherd