Our weekly message: Thursday 02 April 2026

This week’s message is a day earlier than normal. First up, here’s a repeat of part of last week’s message, in case you missed it…

Easter

With Easter on the way, please see this list of free and low-cost things to do over the Easter school holidays in Leeds.

Also (and not in last week’s message), check out this Child Friendly Leeds guide to help children and families in Leeds navigate their way through the Easter holidays.

400 words for Leeds

Did you know Leeds is celebrating 400 years since Leeds received its Royal Charter from King Charles I back in 1626? Leeds Lit Fest invite your child to get involved in the 400 Words for Leeds 400 writing competition.

Warm Spaces

Each term, some of our children visit Warm Spaces, a local community cafe, held at St James’ Church Hall. The cafe has been running for four years following the Covid pandemic and is getting busier each year. Recently, some money raised at Warm Spaces has been donated to our school which has helped buy a new interactive whiteboard screen for the hall and helped buy some screens for the classrooms. We appreciate the generous donation and we’re making good use of the new screens. A big thank you to everyone who organises Warm Spaces and people who attend the weekly cafe.

Rocksteady

It was great watching all of our Rocksteady bands perform this week at the end of term concert. It takes lots of perseverance to learn to play a musical instrument and courage to stand up and perform. Well done to all the children who took part and to Connie, our band leader.

SEND parent carer monthly drop-in sessions

Are you a parent or carer of a child with special educational needs and/or disabilities or waiting for your child’s needs to be assessed? You might like to join one of the monthly drop-in sessions at the Reginald Centre or Moor Allerton Community Hub.

Finally, a message from our PTA…

Summer Fayre

Dear parents and carers

We hope this message finds you well. We wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, we won’t be holding a Summer Fayre this year.

As a PTA, we rely entirely on the time and support of volunteers to organise and run events, and this year we simply haven’t had enough people able to commit to making the fayre possible.

We completely understand how busy life can be, and we want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you for all the support you’ve given us in the past.

Whether you’ve helped at events, donated items, or simply come along and taken part, it has made a real difference and helped us create some wonderful experiences for the children.

We’re still very much committed to supporting the school and hope to run other events throughout the year. If you’d ever like to get involved, even in a small way, we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Warm regards,
The PTA Team

Have a happy and healthy Easter holiday.

Our weekly message: Friday 27 March 2026

First of all… Thanks for your donations for last week’s Comic Relief. We raised £132,40.

This week’s message centres around working with us in a constructive way. It’s prompted by a recent guide from Parentkind and a recent blog from Ofsted, both of which we talk about here.

We want St James’ CE Primary to be a happy and healthy place for all. Your views are important – they can help us to get better and better. Our Questions, Comments and Concerns page sets out how you can help with this.

Parentkind

Parentkind can support your child’s learning and wellbeing. They offer parents free webinars, practical toolkits, and a Be School Ready guide to support new starters, alongside a wide range of expert resources and practical guidance.

Working alongside the Department for Education and Ofsted, they’ve recently produced a guide to school complaints – it’s more of a step-by-step support to help you resolve any concerns quickly, easily and positively.

You’ll notice the first piece of advice is What kind of issue is it? They highlight feedback, concerns and complaints. This matches our Comments, Concerns and Complaints Policy which follows best practice guidance for schools from the Department for Education.

Ofsted

Ofsted has recently published a blog called How we consider complaints about schools – it’s an interesting read.

In the blog, they make it clear that it’s important parents follow a school’s complaints policy:

Before contacting us, a parent should:

• contact the school informally – for example, by talking to a teacher about the problem
• if things cannot be resolved this way, consider making a formal complaint to the school
• if they’re still dissatisfied, follow the next steps in the school’s complaint procedure – for example, making a complaint to the governing body or another organisation

When a parent comes to us directly, we encourage them to approach the school first. We will continue to stress to parents that we can’t resolve differences between them and a school or affect the results of a school’s complaints process.

This matches the advice in Parentkind’s guide to school complaints.

Ofsted receives hundreds of complaints each year, but very few of these are investigated because they don’t meet the criteria for Ofsted to investigate (in the last year, only about 1 in 10 were investigated).

School

Here are a few ways you can express your views here at St James’ CE Primary…

• After various school events, such as our recent Topic Review session, we like to gather your views on how the session went with a short online survey.
• Towards the end of the school year, we invite you to take part in a longer survey, too – there’s typically a final question or two which are more open-ended so you can comment on anything you like.
• Don’t wait until these surveys, though! We’d like to hear from you. You could send us an email (stjamesoffice@spherefederation.org) or simply have a chat with your child’s class teacher or one of us at the start or end of the day at the school gate.

Thank you for supporting the positive relationships between home and here at St James’ CE Primary.

Easter

Finally this week, with Easter on the way, please see this list of free and low-cost things to do over the Easter school holidays in Leeds, including Story Explorers at the Central Library; a hat exhibition at Temple Newsam House; a Roman-themed Rabbits Trail at City Museum; newborn animals at Temple Newsam Home Farm; a dragon egg quest at Lotherton; and various activities (alongside the usual delicious food stalls) at Kirkgate Market.

Enjoy a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 20 March 2026

We’ll start this week’s message with four thank yous…

Thank you

If your child made a donation to today’s Comic Relief Wear Red Day, many thanks.

Thanks to everyone who was able to come along this afternoon to our Happy and Healthy School Community session. This was the second of our two Happy and Healthy open events for Key Stage 2 parents – your chance to spend some time with your child and others in our happy and healthy school community.

A third thank you: thank you to everyone who attended Monday’s Topic Review session,  and for your feedback…

My child loves coming to school and said she really enjoyed the activity.

Finally, a few weeks ago, we had a sponsored Number Facts Challenge in school. We raised £532.65, half of which goes to this year’s school charity, Martin House, and half to our PTA. Thank you for your donations.

Uniform Policy

Today’s been a day when uniform has been optional, raising money for Comic Relief. Every now and again, it’s worth reading through our Uniform Policy to remind yourself of expectations on a more typical day in school. Here’s a few key points to remember…

No jewellery during PE. Advisors recommend no earrings are worn for PE; therefore, we will ask your child to remove earrings before the lesson and put them back in after the lesson. This will be carried out by your child. If they’re unable to remove or put their earrings back in by themselves, they must not wear them on the day they have PE. If you want your child’s ears pierced, it makes life easier for everyone if this is done at the start of the summer holiday.

Only discreet stud earrings are allowed. This means earrings should be small and not brightly coloured. The only other jewellery allowed are items that are absolutely required by a religion.

Devices that connect to the internet or that can record are not allowed. This means that things like smart watches are not allowed. This is for safeguarding reasons.

Please keep PE kit as plain as possible and avoid branding. For the past few years, we’ve allowed PE kit on PE days – this saves time and reduces lost property. However, we still want our children to look smart.

Staying safe while gaming

We’ve been made aware of some websites that children are able to access with inappropriate content. The websites allow children to bypass any restrictions to access games. Two of the websites we’ve come across are Unblocked WTF and Unblocked FreezeNova but we think there are more. Please be vigilant at home when your child is online.

Wetherby’s Community Cafe

Do you know about the Community Cafe, here in Wetherby? Check out their April schedule here.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 13 March 2026

We’ll start this week with a couple of reminders of pages on our website you might not check out very often, but it’s useful to know they’re there…

• the Safeguarding page gives you a broad overview of some aspects of safeguarding that we consider carefully – it even includes a list of support services for domestic violence and abuse
• the Join in Beyond School page includes a physical activity guide suggesting out-of-school physical activities available to families in our local area

Next week

A couple of events next week…

On Monday, there’s a topic review session at 2.30pm. This is the second of two drop-in sessions – a chance to look at your child’s topic learning. If you’re coming, please arrive promptly.

The vast majority of children enjoy sharing their learning – it’s a cause for celebration and feeling proud. We recognise there might be one or two who struggle with the change or the extra people – please consult your child’s class teacher if you’ve concerns.

Next Friday is Red Nose Day. (This is a day that wasn’t in our calendar in September because they hadn’t announced the date.) We invite children to come to school wearing red and making a donation.

As always with non-uniform days, please continue to respect our Uniform Policy. Here’s what it says about non-uniform days:

Pupils should dress appropriately and respectfully, even on non-uniform days. Clothes are inappropriate if they, for example, glorify violence, feature bad language, are very short (eg crop tops), or relate to age-inappropriate topics. When consulted (18.03.21), junior leaders described this as ‘setting-appropriate’ clothing and clothing that is ‘well-judged’. Make-up (other than face paints as part of a specific costume) is not allowed. Flipflops or high-heeled shoes are not allowed, even on non-uniform days, because they’re dangerous when running.

Personal hygiene

Spirituality and Forest School

St James’ CE Primary’s vision is to be a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe. Regardless of whether you have a faith or none at all, developing spirituality plays a role in achieving this for our pupils and our staff, enabling them to flourish.

At St James’ CE Primary, spirituality means a sense of connection: this might mean connecting with ourselves, connecting with others, connecting with the world and environment, or connecting with a greater force beyond.

Our Forest School area is a very special place in our school grounds where children have an opportunity to connect with each other and with nature. It provides a space to develop spirituality. Sarah from Born of the Forest leads
our children in Forest School and she’s finding lots of ‘wow moments’ where the children can appreciate, notice and connect with the world around them.

A quote from Sarah Following a recent session, Sarah says: “We were bird spotters today and shared moments that were exciting, fascinating, and joyful. The robin birdsong and red kites were some highlights. There was a discussion today about the fact that we humans are also animals (which seemed to confuse some), and that we’re all are part of nature.”

A Year 2 pupil recently spoke enthusiastically about their time in Forest School: “Last week, we were litter picking so we could help the environment. I enjoy playing in the mud kitchen with my friends – it’s fun to get muddy!”

We’re very thankful to our PTA (Parent and Teacher Association) who help fundraise and pay towards Forest School so all children at St James’ CE Primary School can take part.

Reception parents survey

There’s a few days left to complete this short survey. for parents of children in Reception – it closes on Wednesday 18 March. It’ll only take a few minutes and your views can make a difference. (If you’d like us to follow-up any of your responses with you, we can only do this if you leave your name.)

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 06 March 2026

This week’s Weekly Message is a busy one…

World Book Day

Have a look at these interesting characters who showed up at school yesterday…

Competing in cross country

Second, all three schools in Sphere Federation had children representing Leeds in the West Yorkshire cross country final at Temple Newsam on Tuesday. Two of our Key Stage 2 children took part.

We’re very proud of our runners who raced in tough, competitive conditions, with the best runners from across West Yorkshire. They both put in 100% effort and were a great support for each other. The children should feel proud of competing at this level.

Our two runners managed to finish in 56th (out of 141) and 22nd place (out of 151) – a fantastic achievement for both.

Thank you to parents who helped with transport and supported at the event.

Reception parents survey

Before that, if you’re a parent of a child in Reception, please complete this short survey. At St James’ CE Primary, we’re always trying to keep getting better and better. Your views help us to do that. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete and you’ve got until Wednesday 18 March to complete. (If you’d like us to follow-up any of your responses with you, we can only do this if you leave your name.)

The rest of this week’s message is an overview about our current half-term topic. It seems long, but just read the sections that apply to your child… 

What is this half-term’s topic?

This half-term, it’s Computing. We’re developing our knowledge of computers and computer programming.

Computer programming is super. Creating games, animations and solving real world problems is fun, encourages creativity and is challenging! Importantly, the skills the children develop and use are transferable to other subjects and areas of life. For example, the concept of decomposition in programming is concerned with breaking down a large task into smaller chunks. This concept could be used when writing a story, solving a maths problem or tidying a particularly messy bedroom! Debugging is the skill of identifying and fixing an error in a program. It requires systematic, objective thinking and plenty of resilience.

Each phase has age-related specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they’ll learn, use and apply across the topic. See pages 12 and 13 of our Topic Curriculum Guide.

Years 1 and 2

Children will learn about how technology is used all around us. They’ll begin to consider what a computer is and isn’t.

In programming lessons, they’ll be introduced to algorithms and will learn about how they need to be written in the correct sequence.

They’ll create their own algorithms in ‘unplugged computing’ lessons and will debug errors in their own and others’ algorithms. Next, they’ll plan and create their own unplugged game where they have to create an algorithm to move a character from one place to another using positional language.

Children will then use the same concepts using Beebots – simple robots which can be programmed to move and turn. Finally, it’ll be time to create their own game using Beebots.

Years 3 and 4

Pupils will begin with some ‘unplugged computing’. They’ll create and debug unplugged programs which use sequence and repetition before they then create their own unplugged game which will require some decomposition. Next, pupils will explore how branching databases help us organise and use information. They’ll start by asking and creating yes/no questions to sort objects into groups, learn how to build and structure a branching database, and think about attributes that help with classification. Across the six lessons, they’ll make their own branching databases, plan how to structure them, and compare different ways of presenting information. By the end of the unit they will test their database by using it as an identification tool and think about how similar systems are used in the real world.

Years 5 and 6

Children will begin the topic by reasoning about what makes a computer a computer. They’ll then learn about how search engines work and how to best use them. In programming lessons, they’ll use Scratch to gain a deeper understanding of concepts like sequence and repetition before learning about selection and variables. Some of this vocabulary may sound alien to you. However, before the end of the topic, your child will be able to tell you what they mean and give examples of how they’ve used them in their projects. Some of the projects your children will create are:

• A Spirograph style drawing animation with some potentially psychedelic visual effects!
• A chatbot program which will ask you questions and decide if your responses are correct or not.
• A times table quiz program that will test you on randomly selected times table questions within a set time limit.

How can you help?

Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning in class. Our Class News is a good place to go to find out more about what the children are doing.

The school library and local libraries have lots of books about coding and computer games which your child will be able to borrow and develop both their reading skills and computing knowledge.

Finally, try programming with your child. There are loads of programming apps and software available to download, often for free. Here’s a list:

Key Stage 1:

• Beebot
• Code for Life: Rapid Router
• Lightbot
• Scratch Jr

Key Stage 2:

• Code for Life: Rapid Router
• Lightbot
• Scratch Jr
• Scratch

Our weekly message: Friday 27 February 2026

Spring has sprung… It’s felt great to start and end our school day with more daylight and  – even sometimes – a glimpse of the sun! To cap it all, this Sunday marks the start of meteorological spring.

This week, children in Year 3 and 4 have been cooking pitta pizzas in their Cooking and Nutrition lessons. The children have practised their cutting skills and thinking carefully about the ingredients they use to make their healthy snack. They’ve enjoyed eating them too!

To make sure that we can continue to offer this, we asked for voluntary contributions in September for the year ahead. If you’ve not yet paid, please do consider a voluntary donation of £3 to £6 to pay for the ingredients. We really appreciate your donations.

For more about our Cooking curriculum, please check out our Cooking and Nutrition Curriculum Guide – they include the recipes and background information including the food preparation skills children will practise. (We’re in Year A this year.)

Number challenge

Does your child know their times tables and other number facts? On Wednesday, children did their number challenge for the second time – has your child’s scores improved?

Thank you for all the sponsor money collected.

World Book Day

Here’s a re-cap on an email we sent earlier this week…

Next Thursday is World Book Day. We’ll celebrate with lots of brilliant book-based activities through the day!

We alternate years when we dress up – this year is a dressing up year.
If your child wants to, they can come dressed as a book character or anything else book-related (but please don’t feel the need to go out and spend money on a costume).

In a reading-themed day, children will hear teachers read aloud their favourite stories, spend time in other classes reading with different children and explore new authors and books.

Attendance

Our attendance so far this year is 93.6% – this is quite a bit lower than the national figure for primary schools (94.8%).

Last year, our rate across the year was 95.2%, so we know we can do better! Let’s hope it can rise across Spring 2.

Please continue to check the NHS site, Is My Child Too Ill For School.

Our Christian value focus this half-term is...

…forgiveness.

At St James’ CE Primary School, we learn about Christian values that help us to become well-rounded citizens in society. Each half-term, we have a new Christian value that will be embedded into our collective worship and our reflection areas.

‘Do not be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, then forgive him. Forgive each other because the Lord forgave you.’ (Colossians 3:13)

Throughout the Bible, God is described as slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin (Numbers 14:18) and Jesus is shown to be uncompromising in his command to forgive. ‘Forgive’, he said, ‘seventy times seven’ (Matthew 18:21), meaning forgive and keep on forgiving without limit.

At St James’ CE Primary, our children are encouraged to forgive each other. Forgiveness is associated with our Positive Relationships Policy. Children have many chances to reflect on their behaviour and make the right choices. Poor behaviour choices are always forgiven without a grudge and we enjoy a ‘new beginning’.

Sometimes, we accidentally break things that belong to ourselves or others. Sometimes, we use something so much it wears out. Some things that are broken cannot be mended, but it’s often possible to mend things that we’ve broken.

Help at home!

When you fall out with one of your friends, you can’t mend that friendship with a needle and thread, or some Sellotape, or glue or a puncture kit or a sticking plaster. Talk together about you can help show forgiveness towards those around you and how you can help mend any broken friendships.

Our weekly message: Friday 13 February 2026

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.

February half term holiday clubs in school

They’re running clubs across multiple schools… the coaches are buzzing to get started, and they’re putting the final touches on an action-packed itinerary full of sports, games, challenges, creativity, and plenty of smiles. Every session is designed to help children stay active, build confidence, make friends, and have an amazing time — whatever their ability.

To book your child’s place, please follow this link: https://pepartner.coordinate.cloud/list

The clubs at Moortown, Scholes, and St James’ are OFSTED registered, meaning childcare payment schemes can be used.

Refer a friend and earn £6.50 credit…

PE Partner can’t wait to deliver another brilliant school holiday club in our schools, helping children be more active, more confident, and happier, more often.

Our weekly message: Friday 06 February 2026

Don’t forget the parent-teacher meetings happening next week on Tuesday and Thursday after school – we’re looking forward to seeing you there.

Also next week…

Number facts challenge

Does your child know their times tables and other number facts?

On Wednesday next week, we’ll be doing the challenge for the first time with no preparation. After this, your child will bring home the challenge, their score and sponsor forms.

Please help your child improve their score for the next part of the challenge which will be on Wednesday 25 February. Help us raise lots of money for our school charity and for PTA – funds raised will be split 50-50.

Safer Internet Day 2026

Next Tuesday (10 February) is Safer Internet Day. This is an annual, global awareness day that encourages children, young people and adults to think carefully about how we use the online world and digital technology.

At home, it can be a powerful annual prompt to refresh conversations about online safety, wellbeing and responsible digital behaviour. Use these top tips for parents and carers from the UK Safer Internet Centre.

Sticking with the staying safe theme…

Blue lights

This week’s Living and Learning theme has been ‘I know the importance of the emergency services’.

Children in Key Stage 1 should watch this BBC Bitesize clip called “The different people who help us’. Have a chat about what they’ve watched. Can your child name any other people who help us?

Children in Key Stage 2 should watch an alternative BBC Bitesize clip: ‘How to make a call to emergency services’. On the same page are lots more short clips in the same series – how to deal with burns, choking, bites and stings… Aim to watch them over the next few weeks.

Attendance matters

Each term , the Department for Education produces a report which analyses each school’s attendance and compares attendance with a small group of similar schools. Here are some highlights from the Autumn term…

1. Across school, attendance on Monday mornings was higher than 13 out of 20 similar schools.
2. Year 4 attendance was higher than 11 out of 14 similar schools.
3. Year 2 attendance was higher than 9 out of 20 similar schools.

Well done to pupils (and parents) in Year 2 and 4! Thank you to everyone who helps to make sure their child attends school with no unnecessary absences.

Finally this week…

St James’ Church – vacancy

We’ve been asked by our friends at St James’ Church to let you know there’s a vacancy for Parish Office Manager. Read more about this vacancy.

For further details please contact Rev Matthew Peat:

• telephone: 01937 529875
• email: wetherbyvicar@gmail.com

Have a happy and healthy weekend.