This week’s message is a busy one. However, most of the sections are short and the last two sections are just suggestions…
Online safety Zoom
Did you attend Monday’s Zoom session – Online Safety Workshop?
- If you did, thank you. We welcome your feedback
- If you didn’t, you can watch a recording
Watch us while we work
Talking of feedback, thank you for the feedback following our recent Watch Us While We Work session.
- ‘It was good to see the children being able to have an open conversation about their feelings and learning about the different types of feelings.’
- ‘An interesting session listening to the children understand the feeling of guilty’
- ‘It was a great Watch us While we Work today!’
2026-27 school holidays
Leeds school holidays can be found here, and they’re now also in our school calendar. What’s missing at the moment is the dates of the five training days which schools take – we’ll be confirming these shortly and we’ll let you know soon.
Absences in term time
You all know we don’t authorise holidays or trips away in term time. You can be fined or face legal action for taking your child on holiday during term time. Since September 2025, there have been 1,841 penalty notices issued to families in Leeds.
We’re able to authorise an absence if it’s unavoidable or exceptional:
If your child is genuinely ill, that’s unavoidable (check the NHS Is my child too ill for school?). However, if your child has had numerous absences, we can ask for evidence of an illness or simply not authorise the absence.
If you need to be absent for something exceptional, like a wedding of a close relative, please ask for a form to request the absence is authorised. We may ask for more details so we can be clear about the absence. (And please remember – the absence must be exceptional, so a second absence is unlikely to be classed as exceptional, even if it’s for a different reason.)
Big Garden Birdwatch
The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch starts today. It’s the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. It’s simple: spend an hour watching the birds in your patch, between 23 and 25 January, and record the birds that land!
Half-term suggestion
We can’t believe there are only three weeks left of this half-term before the half-term holiday. Fancy something different? Maybe consider something new, like climbing – there are sessions in Leeds and Harrogate – or something more traditional, like football.
As with all clubs and holiday activities, we strongly recommend you check out the provider’s safeguarding policies and practices. Check out the four questions you should ask – they’re at the foot of our Our extra-curricular activities page.