Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Parents / carers will have received an email from 'SchoolGrid: No Reply' today giving them a link to their SchoolGrid account.
The email was sent to the parent / carer who is the 'priority contact' on our system (this is based on the admission form you complete when your child starts school) and has been sent to the email address that you have provided the school.
The link is only valid for 24 hours - so it is important that you activate your account today!
All children will be bringing home a leaflet today about how to activate your account and provide information on allergies on SchoolGrid.
From 1st January, all meals will need to be pre-ordered by parents / carers (including those for children on Free School Meals and those in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 - who get government-funded meals) so it is essential that you activate your account.
If you have any problems / questions, please ask at the School Office.
We are really excited to announce that Dawn Until Dusk, an Ofsted Outstanding provider of wraparound care and holiday clubs, will once again be running a holiday club at Pirton Hill Primary School. The club will run in the Easter holidays - Monday 3rd to Thursday 6th April 2023 from 10-2pm.
The HAF programme is funded by the Government and provides completely FREE holiday clubs for children who are entitled to income-related free school meals. Eligible families can book a completely FREE place at as many of the club sessions as they would like to attend and their child will receive a cooked meal at lunchtime each day and have access to a wide range of fun activities provided by Dawn Until Dusk.
The HAF club at Pirton Hill Primary will run over the first week of the Easter holidays on Mondays to Thursdays, from 10.00am to 2.00pm each day:
Booking information
You must book your child’s place direct with Dawn Until Dusk at https://kidsdawntildusk.co.uk/holiday-club-bedfordshire/
On page two of the booking form you will be asked for a HAF entitlement code. If your child is eligible for free school meals, please contact the School Office to obtain the booking code.
Please note that the clubs will be run by Dawn Until Dusk using our premises and aimed at Pirton Hill pupils, but are otherwise completely independent of the school.
The governors have purchased a defibrillator for the school. Of course, we hope that we will never need to use it but we now have one in case of an emergency.
The defibrillator is located in the main entrance so that it is easily accessible by staff if it is required in school (for a member of staff, visitor or child) or in our local community.
As a school, we continue to do all we can to keep our community safe.
Our school kitchen had an unannounced Food Hygiene Inspection on 22 April 2022 and we are pleased to be able to confirm that we have maintained our "very good" (5) rating.
Mrs Tarrant, and her kitchen team, take great pride in ensuring that our meals are produced, and served, to the highest standards and so we are really pleased that this has, once again, been recognised.
Following the incident at Green Court last week, we have arranged for the Educational Psychology Team to provide some support for families on Thursday 28th April.
Pirton Hill Families who live in Green Court
The parents / carers who live in the flats will each be offered a 30-minute session with an Educational Psychologist. This is an opportunity to talk through what your child(ren) experienced, how they have been since and what you can do to support them. Mrs Kent (Family Worker) will be contacting these parents / carers by phone to book in a slot.
Pirton Hill Families who live in the Wider Community
We understand that other children will have been affected by the incident; they may have witnessed things or heard about things that has worried them.
Therefore, we have arranged for an Educational Psychologist to lead a 20mins parents meeting (for non-Green Court parents / carers) at 2.45pm on Thursday 28th April. This will be in the KS2 Hall (enter via the main office) and will offer ideas on what you can do to support children affected by the incident.
This term our Year 1 - 6 children will be working towards the following curriculum badges:
Please click on the year group to find out what they will be learning about in each badge so that you can reinforce this learning at home!
The children will also complete their learning on their annual badges this term (Musician, Sportsperson, Global Citizen, Cultural Explorer and Linguist [Year 3-6 only])
This week we have asked our Year 1 - 6 children to think about what they want to do when they grow up. Our children aspire to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, mechanics, architects, delivery drivers, zoo keepers, hairdressers, artists... the list goes on...
In assembly on the Friday, Mr Booth talked about his upbringing - from his childhood council-house home to static caravan holidays in Great Yarmouth - and his ambition to be a teacher... which meant he had to go to university, something nobody in his family had done and something his parents could not afford. 😢
However, through their encouragement, the good habits that they instilled in him and by earning money by stacking pet food onto supermarket shelves every evening during Years 10-13, he was able to go to university, be the first in his family to achieve a degree and fulfil his dream...
So, there is no reason why our children cannot achieve their ambitions...
However, if we want our children to fulfil their potential it is essential that we help them to develop the same good learning habits, including:
And we know children who pass their KS2 SATs (reading, writing and Maths) are more likely to pass their GCSEs - which will be crucial in them achieving their ambitions.
And this desire to help the children to fulfil their potential, and achieve their ambitions, underpin all we do - including our Green Postcards and our homework expectations.
And we know that you, as parents / carers want the same for your child(ren).
We are going to display all of the children's ambitions in school - but please spend a few minutes talking about it with them over this weekend.
Thank you for supporting the school as we work together to help your child to fulfil their potential and achieve their dreams.
Thankfully, all of our families were safe following the fire on the 14th floor of Green Court during the early hours of Thursday 21st April; however, many of our families and children had to evacuate their homes (just in their night clothes)
As a school, we spent time that day talking to the families at the community centre that they were evacuated to. We provided spare clothes for our children, as well as toothbrushes & paste, reading books, drawing books & pencils and Mars Bars for anyone from the flats who needed one!
We also popped to Tesco (Skimpot Road) who, while we were there, offered to donate crates of fruit, pastries, biscuits, crisps, cake bars, waters, Fruit Shoots, toiletries and nappies - which we were able to deliver to the families at the centre. A HUGE thank you to Libby and the Tesco team!
Thankfully, most residents have now been allowed to return home but we will continue to support those Pirton Hill children who have been affected by the incident - including those directly or indirectly involved.
Over the Easter break, the parking restrictions outside the school have been refreshed and extended.
Cars are not allowed to stop / park on the zig-zag markings or of the single-yellow line during school hours (see signs for full parking regulations).
These restrictions are in place to keep children and parents safe.
Please respect the restrictions, as well as our neighbours, by parking legally and considerately.
Any member of the community can report a car parked dangerously or illegally. https://myforms.luton.gov.uk/service/Report_a_vehicle_parked_where_it_should_not_be
Please also be aware that Luton Council are now issuing Regulation 10 Penalty Charge Notices. This means that if you are seen to be parked on a on a zig-zag, they can issue a notice by post. This will be sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle. This can include CCTV or a photograph of the offending vehicle.
We have high aspirations for all of our children. And we have always known that what they learn at primary school makes a real difference to their future prospects; however, some new data in a government report published yesterday makes this even clearer.
Nationally, in 2019, of those who did not achieve the expected standard in key stage 2...
...only 21% achieved a pass (grade 4 or above) in English Language. This is only odds of 5/1 that a child* will achieve an English GCSE pass. So, for every 5 children* that take it - only 1 child* passes 🙁 * that did not achieve the expected standard in key stage 2. |
...only 14% achieved a pass (grade 4 or above) in Maths. This is only odds of 7/1 that a child* will achieve a Maths GCSE pass. So, for every 7 children* that take it - only 1 child* passes 🙁 * that did not achieve the expected standard in key stage 2. |
Everything that our children learn, from Reception to Year 6, will be crucial in helping them to meet the expected standard.
Please continue to:
Thank you.