This week’s message (Friday 24 November 2023)

Friday 24 November 2023

On these darker, colder mornings, it’s still a highlight of our day to stand at the school gate and be greeted by happy and healthy children ready for a day of learning in class and socialising in school.

This week’s message has various things to check out…

Check out these seven top tips

The week’s Living and Learning statement has been I know how important it is to make careful choices when online. Use this page from Childline to support your discussions at home – just reading the website alongside your child will help. Check out Childline’s seven top tips.

Check out the checks

Children in Year 1 and in Year 4 take part in national assessments – the Government calls these ‘checks’. They take place towards the end of the school year.

If  your child is in Year 1, they’ll do a phonics screening check. Someone in school will carry out this with each child on a one-to-one basis in the week beginning Monday 10 June 2024. The phonics screening check is an assessment of your child’s phonics knowledge – a fundamental key to learning to read.

If they’re in Year 4, they’ll do a multiplication tables check. This is carried out online. It’ll take place in the first half of June 2024. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12 (including the division facts), which is essential for future success in Maths.

Read more about these assessments by clicking on the links.

Check out the dates for all national assessments.

Check out these ways to support good mental health

Young Minds is a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents. They’ve produced this advent calendar full of top tips for wellbeing. It’s worth a look, whether you use it as a calendar or just decide to give one or two of the tips a try. We like the tip on Monday 4th – easy, but so effective!

Check out The Big Ambition

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has launched The Big Ambition, a national survey of children and young people across England. Has your child taken part yet?

The survey wants to hear from children across England on what they think is important. The Children’s Commissioner writes:

I want to ensure that the voices of all children in the Yorkshire and the Humber area are fairly represented in the findings so that I can share their views with the most senior members of the country.

I must reiterate that it is vital that all children have their voice heard through this survey because, as Children’s Commissioner for England, I have a statutory duty to protect and promote the views and interests of children. The Big Ambition provides a much-needed opportunity for the children of England to tell political decision makers what is important to them ahead of the General Election. I will be sharing their responses with Government to ensure that children’s voices are heard.

Click straight to the survey.