Monthly Archives: January 2015

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

Welcome back! I hope 2015 is a Happy New Year for you all!  I am looking forward to welcoming everyone back for the new term ahead.

I do hope that you all had a wonderful holiday.  Thank you so much for all the cards and presents that were given to the staff from the children. We were all very touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

This week at Copthorne

Forest Schools

Forest Schools will resume on Friday for Year 4.  The children will go to St Ives in Bingley to take part in Forest School activities as part of their work in class.  The weather has now turned much colder so children will need to be wrapped up warm. I am looking forward to hearing all about their adventures.

School finishing times

Lessons finish at 3pm for both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 children. Please be aware, therefore, that children will not be out of school until a couple of minutes after this time as, once lessons finish, children have to collect their belongings and coats etc. We look forward to your support in this matter. Thank you.

Dates for your diary

Fluoride Varnishing Programme

Children in the Bradford and Airedale district have high levels of tooth decay.  To help fight tooth decay in young children the NHS has started a special programme for 2-4 year olds.

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.  The team will then come back into school on Monday 19th January to apply the varnish.

I hope you all have a lovely week

Mrs Shepherd

Hello everybody and welcome to our final blog for 2014! This week promises to be a very exciting and fun filled week with lots of Christmas activities for staff and children.

Comenius Visit

Last week we welcomed into school our Comenius partners.  I would just like to thank all our wonderful pupils and staff for what was an amazing 2 day visit Everybody worked so hard to make the visit such a success. The presentations on Friday – including Reception’s nativity play – were particularly impressive and all of our visitors remarked on how polite and well-behaved our children were. They were also very impressed with the quality of our pupils’ work as well as the school as a whole. Well done everybody!

This week at Copthorne

Goodbye Miss Bray

This week we say goodbye to Miss Bray who will be leaving Copthorne to teach in Dubai.  Miss Bray has worked at Copthorne for 4 years and all the staff and pupils will miss her greatly.  Thank you for all your hard work at Copthorne and we hope that you will come back and visit us and tell us all about the exciting work you have been doing in Dubai.  Good luck Miss Bray!

This week we have a very exciting week planned and with lots of different activities happening each day.  Please find below a list of what will be happening:-

Monday 15th December: Magical Monday: Wear a crown or tiara like one of the 3 kings.

Tuesday 16^th December: Tinsel Tuesday: Wear something sparkly e.g. a piece of tinsel.

Wednesday 17^th December: Wrapping Paper Wednesday: Wear a paper hat made from wrapping paper.

Thursday 18^th December: Trimmings Thursday: Decorate yourself with a Christmas bauble or tree decoration.  Please avoid those baubles which may shatter! Our Christmas meal will be held today.

Friday 19^th December: Festive Friday: Wear your party clothes for our Christmas celebrations. We will also be holding a whole school assembly where staff and children will have our annual Christmas sing-a-long.

Exceed Football Competition

On Wednesday 17th December our Year 5 and 6 football team will be taking part in a cup competition against Farnham Primary School at Grange Technology College.  We wish them the very best of luck and I am sure that, as always, they will be wonderful ambassadors for our school.  Good luck!!

May I take this opportunity to wish you all an enjoyable and relaxing holiday and thank you for your continued support.  School will open again on Monday 5th January, 2015 at the usual time.

Mrs Shepherd