Over the Summer holiday we worked hard on the new school curriculum and I am pleased to say that all pupils will be learning from this new curriculum this year. The big difference is that each of the subjects will be taught on their own rather than under a topic heading. Our new curriculum is available for you to view on our website, simply click on curriculum then the subject and finally the year group that your child attends. We will be sending you regular up-dates each term on what your child is learning.

Year 6 have been on their school residential to Lineham Farm. They had an amazing time and spent their days riding bikes, feeding the animals and working together as a team to solve problems and take part in adventurous activities. Well done to all those who attended you did a great job of representing Nightingale. Thank you also to all the staff who joined the children on residential staff who do these events in their own time and these trips would not be possible without their commitment to our children. 

Ping Pong Peter 

Year 6 have had the opportunity to learn how to play table tennis this half term. They have been taught by Ping Pong Pete who has given them expert table tennis training. He has shown them techniques enabling them to develop their table tennis skills and complete various challenges using these skills. The children have been extremely engaged and enthusiastic and enjoyed the opportunity to play this sport immensely. 

Young Leaders 

We have been running our young leaders programme for pupils in year 4-6. Each young leader has undergone training in how to be an effective leader. They are then asked to take additional responsibilities in looking after the school and the pupils in it. This might be supporting younger pupils at lunchtime, helping them to read, keeping the book shelves tidy or supporting assemblies. 

School Counsellors 

Our school council is up and running. Children from Year 3 to 6 have been voting on their chosen leader from their class and the elected members are now in place. The school council will now meet fortnightly and discuss issues that are important to them and improving the school. We will keep you to date on their progress throughout the year

Whole School Attendance

Improving attendance at Nightingale has been a whole school effort. Our school-wide attendance, last academic year, was 88.7%. We also had over double the amount of Persistent Absentees (a child with attendance below 90%, as defined by the government) compared to national averages - 38.7% 

With the help of all parents and your understanding of our need to be vigilant, we have improved these statistics. Currently, we have a whole school attendance average of 92.9% with a persistent absenteeism rate of 23%. 

We will be supporting parents to track their child's attendance in a number of ways. If attendance falls below 90%, you will receive regular messaging helping you to understand how many days your child must attend school before they move above this percentage. You may also receive letters offering you meetings to support your child’s attendance. These meetings are designed to be supportive and should be treated as such. Please, engage openly with the attendance team as we look to support your child’s experience at Co-op Academy NIghtingale.

To incentivise attendance, regular updates and rewards are provided to your child as part of a class collective. There are also daily class challenges active and, starting on 21st October 2024, a new week long punctuality challenge. More information will be provided to your children, and you, in due course.

Reception Parents Open Day

If you have a child who will be needing a Reception place for September 2025 we will be holding an open event on Tuesday 26th November 2024. Parents will be able to see how Reception class work as well as having a tour of the school. Please be at the school office by 10:00. 

Uniforms

A school uniform is a significant part of life at school because it can play an important role in promoting a sense of pride, self-confidence, and a feeling of belonging for all of the pupils within our school. All these factors positively contribute to your childs' overall wellbeing. It saves time in the morning, reduces peer pressure, saves money buying extra ‘fashionable clothes’ to impress others and school uniforms improve school spirit. In wearing one, your child can feel greater levels of school pride, unity, and community spirit. Whenever your child puts on their school uniform, they are representing their school, along with their peers. 

For these reasons, we are setting high standards for all pupils in school to be wearing all of their uniforms. We would like to remind you that pupils should not be wearing jewellery, jeans, hoodies or fashionable clothes with logos. If pupils arrive in school with any of these items, we will be providing an item of clothing/uniform for the pupils to wear for the day. Just as sports fans wear a team's colours to show their support, wearing school uniforms increases and encourages loyalty to a school.  We have created some uniform slips (an example of these are included below) to support the uniform expected of the pupils. We will send this to notify parents/carers of how you can support your child with their uniform and sense of belonging in school. If you need to discuss any support around uniform, please speak with a member of our pastoral/safeguarding team.  

Anti-bullying Day - 6th November

On Tuesday 6th November, we have an exciting Anti-Bullying Day planned for all of the pupils in school. Every child being in school for this day is important for its success. This day will include an Anti-bullying Theatre Show for (Reception - Year 4) and 4 x workshops for individual classes (Years 5 and Years 6). The workshops use role-play, helping your child to learn new skills in an interactive way. Helping students to live successful, happy lives. The focus will support this year’s Anti-Bullying theme of Choose Respect. 

Conflicts and arguments are normal, but we can always choose to show respect, even when we disagree. In the interactive workshops, students learn how they can use empathy, communication and teamwork to resolve conflicts. Through role-play, students will be up on their feet, taking part and putting new skills into practice. Your child will also gain a firm understanding of what bullying is, and why it’s different from an argument or a disagreement. We then explore what bullying looks like, with specific reference to online bullying that can take place in group chats.

This theme will continue to be explored in more detail within and throughout school during Anti-Bullying Week during the 11th - 15th November.

Parents Evening

    Wednesday 6th November 2024 3:00 -6:00

    Thursday 7th November 2024 3:00 - 6:00

Appointments will be available to book from Monday 21st October at 9am via the Arbor App or Parent Portal. Bookings will close at 12 pm on Wednesday 6th November. 

Please follow this link for more help and guidance on how to book through Arbor. 

https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/203792102-Booking-Guardian-Consultations-Parent-s-Evenings-on-the-Parent-Portal-or-Parent-App

If you need support joining Arbor, please see the office who will be able to support you. 

Year 5 Wrens

We would like to give our new teacher Mrs Rashid a shout out. We would like to thank Mrs Whale for all the support she provided during the summer term and beginning of the autumn term for the children in Wrens. Mrs Rashid will be sending an all about me profile for you and your child so that you can find out more about her over the half term. . 

Chewing Gum 

Please could we remind you that chewing gum is not accepted at Nightingale and could lead to your child having a 15 minute detention. Too much chewing gum could cause problems such as jaw pain, headaches, diarrhoea, and tooth decay. Chewing sugar-free gum can cause digestive symptoms and it can lead to an untidy school, e.g. being stepped on by pupils, being stuck to the bottom of shoes, under tables and chairs. We appreciate your support with this.