Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations
Fri 27 May 2022We've had a wonderful week learning all about the Queen and celebrating her 70 years on the throne. The school looked wonderful all dressed up and the staff and children got in the spirit wearing red, white and blue - even a few tiaras were spotted!
The Governors and I had a brilliant time looking at and judging the brilliant portraits all our children did. We have some very talented children in our school.
The week culminated in a picnic lunch with the whole school on the field, singing the National Anthem.
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Artist Martin John Fowler works with Year 6
Wed 25 May 2022Renowned artist Martin John Fowler came to school this week to work with our Year 6 children. The work they have produced is just amazing. The children were taught lots of different techniques and produced their own seascape.
Martin lectures at John Leggott College for part of the week and then travels to Cornwall the rest of the week to paint.
Martin has exhibited work nationally and internationally in solo, mixed exhibitions and competitions. His paintings, drawings and prints are held in many private collections. Martin’s paintings are acrylic painted on location mainly with hands, sticks, etc.
Martin says:
"I work mainly outdoors on location reworking in my studio from sketches and notes made. I am interested in the sense and mood of a place and not making a literal copy. I aim for a critical balance of abstraction and reality. My outcomes are always vigorous in treatment, showing my love for the manipulation of the medium to create passages of energy and textured balance alongside areas of quiet."
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Reading Café for Year 1 and 2 Parents
Thu 19 May 2022Dear parents and carers,
We are writing to inform you of the school’s plans to hold a Reading Café for each Y1 and Y2 class.
A Reading Café is a chance to get children, parents and teachers together to promote a love of reading. During each session teachers will read books to their class children and parents can talk about their favourite books and read with their children. If parents are unable to attend, a grandparent or other family member would be very welcome. Refreshments will be provided.
The dates for each Reading Café will be as follows;
2 Oak Tuesday 14th June 2.15pm
2 Holly Thursday 16th June 2.15pm
2 Beech Tuesday 21st June 2.15pm
1 Oak Thursday 23rd June 2.15pm
1 Beech Monday 27th June 2.15pm
1 Holly Thursday 30th June 2.15pm
Children and parents may bring their own books in to share on this day. We really want all of our families to take part in these events.
If you have any questions about the Reading Café, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
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Jubilee Celebrations/ Picnic Lunch
Thu 19 May 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
We will be celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee here in school next week.
Children will be taking part in lots of Jubilee related activities throughout the week.
Children in Reception to Year 6 will be putting their art skills to the test as we are also having a Portrait Competition of Queen Elizabeth II.
Friday 27th May- Picnic Lunch/ Red, White and Blue Day
Children are invited to dress in red, white and blue/ non-uniform on Friday 27th May.
The school lunch on Friday 27th May will be a picnic box and if good weather, all children will be sitting out on the field to eat it. If you would like your child to have the picnic box, then please select this the normal way via ParentPay. If you have already selected your child’s lunch for this date, then please login your ParentPay to reselect the lunch as the options have now changed to the picnic box choices. Please note, this will be the only school lunch option on this day so children will need to bring a packed lunch if they do not want the picnic box.
(All Reception and Year 1 children will be having the picnic box)
Picnic Box Menu:
A selection of scrumptious sandwiches – Ham, Cheese or Tuna
Pizza whirl, mini sausage roll, carrot and cucumber sticks
Bottle of water
Jubilee cupcake or fresh fruit
Nursery Children:
Tuesday 24th May- Picnic Lunch/ Red, White and Blue Day
Nursery children are invited to dress in red, white and blue/ non-uniform on Tuesday 24th May.
Your child will take their packed lunch or school sandwich lunch outside on this day to eat on the field, if good weather. If your child is having a school sandwich on this day then please select this the normal way via ParentPay.
Best Wishes
Anna Cvijetic
Headteacher
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Year 5 Parents Reading Meeting- Monday 6th June 2.45pm
Thu 19 May 2022Dear Year 5 Parents and Carers,
We are really pleased to announce that we are holding a Reading Meeting for all mums, dads and carers of Year 5 pupils on:
Monday 6th June starting at 2.45pm in the Junior hall.
It will be a half an hour session so you can then collect your children for home time. We are holding the meeting so that we can share with you the importance of reading with your children and the benefits that it has for them.
There will also be a short poetry performance from our reading stars children so it would be great if the families of those children came to see what they have been learning.
We are delighted that Sarah Tipler will present the meeting. Sarah Tipler is the Development Officer with the Local Authority and is part of the North Lincolnshire ‘Words Count’ project. We are sure that you will enjoy meeting her and will gain much from this meeting.
Refreshments will be provided.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
We look forward to seeing you on Monday 6th June.
Yours sincerely,
Bruce Spencer
Year 5 Lead
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First Edition of the Berkeley Primary Governors’ Newsletter
Wed 18 May 2022Welcome to the first Berkeley Primary Governors’ Newsletter. Our intention is to keep parents and carers informed of the school’s Governing body.
What We Do
As school governors we are responsible for the vision and strategic direction of Berkeley Primary. We hold the Headteacher to account for how well pupils achieve and progress educationally, and for the quality of teaching. We also oversee how the school spends its money, making sure the school stays in budget and receives value for money.
The structure of our meetings is as follows:
- Full Governing Body (FGB) meets once a term
- School Improvement Committee meets once a term – responsibilities include the curriculum, reviewing assessment data, quality of teaching, Pupil Premium and Sports Premium.
- Resources Committee meets twice a term – responsibilities include safeguarding, finance, premises and personnel.
- We also have learning walks termly and one-off meetings for training or to discuss issues as necessary.
We pride ourselves on being a very active team of governors and we love being present in the school to see first-hand what is happening and monitor the impact of the decisions we make. After a long time of having to monitor remotely, due to the pandemic, we are delighted to be getting back into school this term. We have put a huge focus on building our profile back up amongst the students, parents and staff.
Come and Meet the Governors
This term we have done some reflection on the school vision. Our school vision was written just after the amalgamation of the Infant and the Junior schools to become Berkeley Primary and we feel we’ve come a long way on our journey to integrate these sites. We now need to look forwards and determine our future goals for the school. Everybody’s thoughts are really valuable to us on this, so we will be holding a Governor Stall at 3pm on Friday 20th May outside the Junior School Entrance and would love to meet as many parents and carers as possible to give us your thoughts and insights.
New School Motto
Whilst looking at the school vision we also thought we would like to have a school motto, something to really capture the essence of our school. After collaboration with the staff and feedback from the student council our school motto will now be:
Every Child, Every Chance, Every Day
Our Recent Activities
Reading Learning Walk – John (Chair), Jocelyn (Vice-Chair), Angela (Parent Governor), Jamie (Parent Governor) and Emma (Co-Opted Governor) participated in our termly Learning walk. The focus of this was to monitor phonics and reading lessons to ensure that the school is continuing to work towards a priority on the school development plan; To improve outcomes and progress in English. The Governors enjoyed spending time in all classes within the infants and juniors. We got to look at the lovely work displayed around the rooms, the reading areas, children’s’ work in books as well as watching lessons being delivered for reading and phonics.
It was positive to hear that the children’s love of reading has been enhanced through Book Club in Key Stage 2, the children spoke very passionately about this. It was lovely to watch the teachers and TA’s deliver the lessons and it was evident they had a vast subject knowledge in this area.
The Governors were able to highlight some areas for development including; investing in more reading materials as well as more poetry books, investigating the use of Book Club in Year 2 to continue the love of reading and we suggested looking to improve the library areas and reading areas in classrooms and to freshen up the stock of books available to the children. We would also like to encourage the development of some outside areas that can be used for some fresh air reading time.
Class teachers are now able to reintroduce the reading corners in each classroom, which sadly had to be put away during Covid restrictions, so we will be reinvesting in these for use during DEAR time.
The school would really appreciate the donation of any excellent condition books you may no longer have use for at home.
Health and Safety walk-round – John, Jocelyn, Michelle and Jamie conducted a Health & Safety audit throughout the site. While no major issues were identified there were many small areas for improvement which are all currently being actioned by the caretakers where possible and we are currently looking at further investments in the outdoor areas. Whilst on the walk-round Governors met some KS1 children who are currently working on tidy up and planting vegetables in the wild garden, we can’t wait to see how this progresses.
School Council Meeting –Emma, Jamie, John and Jocelyn attended a school council meeting. The main focus of the meeting was behaviour. Each class representative had done a survey within their individual class and we discussed these findings at length with a small group of children each. It was very encouraging to hear, most of the feedback was positive, children felt behaviour around school was good and they were rewarded for doing the right thing. It was suggested the children would like some more activities around friendship and kindness, which were fed back during our School Improvement Committee and will be implemented.
School Lunches – Several Governors have attended lunch in both the Junior and Infant buildings, this has been an absolute pleasure for all. It’s a wonderful time for us to speak to the children, who were all very excited to show us round the hall and playground.
Science Week – During the recent National Science Week John carried out several workshops looking at various properties or materials in line with the KS1 curriculum while Jocelyn delivered an assembly to both KS1 and KS2 on the day in the life of a Mechanical Engineer. Both found the children fully engaged and asking some brilliant, well thought out questions and their enthusiasm for the subject was infectious.
Year 3&4 Sports Hall Athletics– Jocelyn and John had the pleasure of helping to supervise a group of Year 3 and 4 students at The Pods to compete in an interschool athletics competition run by Get Ahead Partnership. The children were incredible and managed to come first out of 13 schools, retaining the title for a sixth year. This is a testament to all the hard work they and the teachers put in during the run up to the event. The behaviour throughout the day was exemplary. On the same day children also took part in the North Lincs Schools Championship swimming gala and took first place in both the overall boys and girls. We are exceptionally proud of the efforts made throughout these events.
Memorial Day – Jamie, our newest Parent Governor, accompanied children of year 5 at the workers Memorial Day ceremony to remember those who lost their lives at work. A safety representative from British Steel spoke about the importance of safety in the workplace before our children took to the stage and read out a poem about the irony of putting production before safety.
In attendance were the local councillors, the deputy mayor & parents who joined in as the children led a hymn during the service.
The children then attended the memorial stone where civic dignitaries laid wreaths whilst bagpipes were played by one of our parents. The children were incredibly well behaved during the whole visit which the deputy referenced in his speech which closed the ceremony. A massive well done to the children of Year 5.
Parent and Carer Involvement
As well are Governors getting back into school we want to try and open the door again to parents, to make sure you feel included in your children’s’ education. Recently we have had the open classroom, the Big Talk parents meeting and we have the Year 4 multiplication check meeting this week. The Reading Cafes are also starting in Key Stage 1. There are more events in the pipeline as we know how important these are to everyone. Please get involved and get back into school.
For more information on the Governors, visit our Governors page on the school website:
www.berkeleyprimary.co.uk/meet-the-governors/
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Late Collection of Children
Fri 13 May 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
Firstly, we would like to acknowledge and thank the vast majority of parents/carers who always pick up their children on time.
The impact on a child of not being picked up from school on time cannot be underestimated. The child that has been left behind will feel an increasing level of anxiety and distress the longer that they are unsure of where their parents are. Clearly this is not a good thing to happen to any child.
The impact on the school of having a child left behind at the end of the day is also great as it requires two members of staff to supervise that child. This means that those staff will not be able to undertake their duties in preparation for children’s learning the following day, attend other meetings and this also incurs an additional staffing cost to the school.
Unfortunately, we are seeing an increasing number of occasions where children are being picked up late.
We are fully aware that there are frequently valid reasons or emergencies where carers have been delayed and, when the school is informed in advance of this, we will always take an understanding view.
However, some carers appear to be unwilling to acknowledge the impact that this has on both their child and the school and seem to think that the school is able to offer a free, out of hours’ childcare service. It is because of these few who regularly pick up their child late with no prior contact being made to the school that we are forced to take the following action.
· All parents/carers should be onsite and ready to pick up their children when school learning ends.
· Children who are not picked up on time will be taken to the front office where parents will be contacted by school staff. They will then be supervised by staff in the front office or taken to Mrs Cvijetic’s office.
· If it is the first occasion of late collection then no charge will be made for the supervision of the child.
· There will be a charge of £20 per hour per child applied to contribute to the cost to the school for supervision of children if one of the following applies:
1. A second occasion of late collection with no notification made by the Parent/Carer.
2. A third repeat occurrence of late collection by the Parent/Carer with a notification.
· The charge of £20 per hour per child will be added to your Parent Pay account. For example, if two children are collected late in the above circumstances, the parent would be charged a total of £40 for their supervision.
· In line with the school’s safeguarding policy, if a child is repeatedly uncollected, safeguarding processes will be started and a referral may be made to social services and to the police.
Yours sincerely
John Veall
Chair of Governors (on behalf of Berkeley Primary School Governors)
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Sports Day
Thu 12 May 2022Dear Parents and Carers,
We are really looking forward to our Sports Days and like always would love you to come and support your child.
On arrival please make your way to the school field at either the Infant or Junior site.
Please note when your child’s Sports Day is and also the reserve date should we have to cancel due to bad weather.
Monday 13th June 2.15pm-3.15pm Year 1
Wednesday 15th June 1.30pm-3.00pm Year 6
Thursday 16th June 2.15pm-3.15pm Reception
Monday 20th June 1.30pm-3.00pm Year 4
Wednesday 22nd June 1.30pm-3.00pm Year 3
Monday 27th June 2.15pm-3.15pm Year 2
Tuesday 28th June 1.30pm-3.00pm Year 5
Wednesday 29th June 2.15pm-3.15pm - Reserve Sports Day Infants
Tuesday 5th July 1.30pm-3.00pm - Reserve Sports Day Juniors
We look forward to seeing you here at school for these events.
Best Wishes
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Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check 2022/ Parent Invite to Meeting
Thu 12 May 2022Dear Parents/Carers of children in Year 4,
MULTIPLICATION TABLES CHECK 2022
As you will be aware, the Government have announced that children in Year 4 will participating in a Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) in June this year. The test will be an on-screen check consisting of 25 questions. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help our school to identify if your child may need additional support.
To give you a little more information about the test and let you know what we are doing to help your child to prepare for it, we wish to invite all parents/carers of children in Year 4 to a short informal meeting on Wednesday 18th May at 9:00 a.m. in the Junior Hall. The meeting, which will last approximately thirty minutes, will also give you the chance to ask any questions that you may have.
We have attached an information leaflet for your information in the letters section on the website. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask us or your child’s class teacher as we are happy to answer any questions that you may have. Any help you can give your child in preparing for this test will be of great benefit to them – thank you.
We look forward to seeing you here at school.
Best wishes,
Mrs Caroline Harling and Mrs Sam Nunes
Maths Leaders
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Swimming Gala
Tue 03 May 2022I was very proud to take our swimming team to the KS2 Swimming Gala at the Pods. All ten children swam their hearts out taking part in a 10 different events. The events included individual races and three different team relay races.
We are fortunate to have some very talented swimmers at our school and we really did well in our races. Overall our children came first with 208 points (49 more points than the school that came second).
As always, our children showed real team spirit, good sportsmanship and cheered on all the other schools as well as our own. Well done everyone.
