It’s the last Weekly Message of Spring 1. It’s incredible to think we’ve already reached half-way through the school year!

Let’s start off with another St James’ CE Primary good news story…

Super singing

On Tuesday, our choir went to sing at Sheffield Arena with the Young Voices Choir- the largest children’s choir in the world! There were over 5000 children taking part. In the evening, parents came to watch the concert and the atmosphere in the arena was electric!

Chloe, one of our choir members described the event as ‘absolutely fantastic- a once in a lifetime experience’.

Thank you to Mr Nash and Mrs Linton for accompanying the children, and to all the parents/carers who attended.

Staying safe online

Tuesday was Safer Internet Day. Do you speak with your child about staying safe online? Do you check your child’s devices and online history regularly? Do you make sure your child is online only in a busy room, with other people at home around them?

The government is launching a new website on 16 February 2026 to support families and encourage regular conversations about what they’re seeing online, asking simple questions, like ‘who shared this’ and ‘why?’. Based on parents’ main concerns and needs, it provides:

• tips for parents’ conversations with their children
• actions to support each stage of their child’s life
• parental controls information

The website will also feature signposting to trusted resources from charities and third parties, where parents can access other forms of support (like speaking to an expert).

The website will continue to grow and be developed this year, supporting the Online Safety Act and wider government aims.

Check out Kids online safety.

Young artists

Now in its eighth year, the Young Artists’ Summer Show is a free, open submission exhibition for students aged 4–18 studying in the UK. Artworks are judged by a panel of artists and arts professionals, with selected artworks displayed online and on-site at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Click here for more information about the competition. We’ve registered St James’ and now it’s over to you to register and submit an artwork. Submissions close on 4 March 2026 at 5pm.

Policies

Sphere Federation governors have asked me to include a reminder to you all that some key policies are available on our website.

Any docs and content on the website is available as a paper copy if you ask.

We hope you and your family enjoy the Spring half-term break – hopefully, it’ll stop raining at some point… See you on Monday 23 February.