Welcome back to a new school year at Cradley CE Primary School!
We hope you have all enjoyed a restful summer and that our children are feeling refreshed, excited and ready for another year of learning, growing and making memories together.
The start of a new school year is always a special time. It is wonderful to see children returning looking so grown up, confident and ready for their new classes. The atmosphere around school has already been incredibly positive and happy, and we are looking forward to all that the year ahead will bring.
Our vision, ‘Believe, belong, be happy; every child, every chance, every day’, continues to guide everything we do. We want this to be a year filled with opportunities for children to learn, discover, build friendships, develop confidence and enjoy being part of our wonderful school community.
📅 Keeping up to date
There is lots planned over the coming months and all key dates are already available on the ClassDojo calendar. Please do take a few moments to add these dates to your own diaries and family calendars so that you don't miss anything.
ClassDojo will remain our first port of call for school information and updates. It is a secure communication platform and allows us to share information directly with the families who need it.
You may notice that we will not be adding additional school event dates to our public school website. This is a deliberate decision. Many events taking place in school are intended for our current parents and carers rather than the wider public, and we do not feel that publicly advertising details about children's activities, movements and attendance at particular events is appropriate from a safeguarding perspective.
Please therefore make ClassDojo your go-to place for school dates, reminders and information. We will, of course, continue to share appropriate news and celebrations on our website and through our other communication channels.
🍂 A busy Autumn Term
There is already plenty to look forward to this term, including:
- 🍁 Our first ever Autumn Fair – something we are really looking forward to!
- 🖤 Black History Workshops, helping us to launch our learning for Black History Month.
- 🙏 Lunchtime Prayer Club, which began last term and will continue each Thursday.
- 🍎 Our Harvest Service at St Peter's Church, bringing our school and church communities together.
- 🏫 A visit from our MP, Alex Ballinger, who will be coming into school to meet our children and hear about life at Cradley.
- 🧡 The continued development of our wrap-around care provision, which will transfer to Premier Education in due course. We will keep families updated as arrangements develop.
And that's just the beginning!
🌟 Learning beyond the classroom
Throughout the year, we will continue to provide the rich range of experiences that our children have come to enjoy, including church visits, Inspire workshops, educational trips, visitors into school and other enrichment opportunities.
We firmly believe that learning doesn't only happen in a classroom. These experiences help children to develop curiosity, confidence and a broader understanding of the world around them — giving every child, every chance, every day.
🏊 Swimming is coming back!
We are delighted that Maverick Sports will be returning in the Summer Term to provide swimming.
Swimming was a fantastic experience for our children last year and we are really pleased to be able to offer it again. It was, however, a significant undertaking for our staff team, particularly when it came to the supervision and changing arrangements.
We would therefore love to hear from parents who might be willing to volunteer to support us with swimming. Even occasional help would make a real difference and would help us to make the experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible for everyone.
Please get in touch about volunteering and becoming part of our Cradley Parent Support Team.
💛 Continuing our SEND Hub
Last term, we introduced a new initiative — our SEND Hub.
The Hub provides tailored support during mornings for pupils who have been internally identified as benefiting from this additional provision. It was a huge success last term and we were delighted to see the positive impact it had on children's confidence, engagement and readiness to learn.
We are therefore very pleased that the SEND Hub will continue throughout this academic year, developing further to meet the needs of our children.
🤝 Our Home School Association
We are also entering a period of transition for our Home School Association (HSA).
After many years of commitment and service, Rebecca Burt is stepping down from leading the HSA. We would like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Rebecca for everything she has done for our school and our children. We are delighted that Rebecca will continue to support our school community in her role as Chair of Governors.
Our HSA is such a valuable part of school life. It provides wonderful opportunities and experiences for our pupils, brings families together and raises much-needed additional funds at a time when school budgets continue to face significant pressures.
Could you be part of it?
You don't need to have lots of time or previous experience. There are many different ways to contribute, from helping at an event occasionally to getting more involved in organising activities.
If you think this might be something you could support, please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you and, most importantly, we want our HSA to be something that works for the families and community we have today.
🌳 Forest School is back!
We are also delighted to welcome Mrs Elwell back as our Forest School teacher this year.
Forest School will now take place for a two hour session on a Tuesday, and every class from Year 1 to Year 6 will have two half-termly Forest School blocks across the academic year. This means that children will have the opportunity to experience our outdoor learning environment in two different seasons, giving them a chance to see, explore and learn from how the natural world changes throughout the year.
Forest School starts on Tuesday 8th September for pupils in Year 3, Year 5 and the SEN Hub.
Please ensure that your child comes equipped with wellies, suitable outdoor clothing and waterproofs, as sessions will take place outdoors in all weather conditions. 🌧️🥾
Forest School will run for these groups until the October half term.
Mrs Elwell will be supported by Mrs Cole, Miss Hyde and our class teachers, who are also going to be getting in on the fun!
❤️ A year of belonging
Above all, we want the year ahead to be one where every child feels that they belong, knows that they are valued and has the opportunity to flourish.
There will undoubtedly be busy days, muddy shoes, exciting adventures, new challenges and plenty of moments to celebrate — and we wouldn't have it any other way!
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We value the partnership we have with our parents and carers enormously. By working together, listening to one another and keeping our children at the heart of what we do, we can make this another wonderful year at Cradley.
Here's to a happy, successful and memorable year ahead!
💛 Nurture, Pastoral Care and Wellbeing
The nurture and pastoral care of our children is of the highest importance to us. We pride ourselves on knowing our pupils well, understanding what makes each child unique and building positive, trusting relationships with them. We want every child to feel known, valued, listened to and, most importantly, happy and that they belong at Cradley.
This year, we will continue to provide a range of pastoral support to help children who may need a little extra care or a different approach at particular points in their day.
Our Nurture Room will continue to offer ‘soft starts’ each morning for identified pupils who may benefit from a gentle beginning to the school day, a calm space to settle, or simply someone to talk to before joining their class.
We will also continue to provide a lunchtime nurture club for pupils who have been identified as benefiting from an alternative to the playground. This provides a quieter, more supported environment where children can enjoy lunchtime in a way that feels comfortable and positive for them.
In addition, Bedazzle will continue to work alongside us, providing targeted class, group and individual support for some pupils, helping them to develop confidence, emotional wellbeing and the skills they need to flourish.
These layers of support are an important part of our commitment to every child, every chance, every day. We recognise that children cannot learn at their best unless they feel safe, secure, understood and ready to learn. Sometimes a child simply needs a trusted adult, a quiet space or a little extra encouragement — and we want to make sure those things are available when they are needed.
We will continue to invest time in knowing our children well and building strong, positive relationships, because we believe that children flourish when they know that the adults around them genuinely care about them. Our hope is that every child at Cradley can come through our gates each morning knowing that they are valued, they belong and there is someone here who will notice if they are not quite themselves.
This is at the heart of our vision:
Believe, belong, be happy; every child, every chance, every day.
