Newsletter

Head Teacher's Welcome

Welcome back after a very warm and dry summer! We are all looking forward to the new school year ahead which, as always, looks to be full of exciting activities. A warm welcome to all our new families and I hope that you will all settle in quickly over the course of the coming weeks. 

We hope you are all as ready as we are to get back into school and have another fabulous year!

School Staff

The current teaching arrangements will all continue this academic year. Mrs Caroline Newcombe is continuing to teach at the top end of the school and she will be teaching Class 3 (Years 4, 5 and 6). Mr Dillan Deach will continue to be our Class 2 teacher (Years 2 and 3) and Mrs Hannah Joels our Class 1 teacher (Reception and Year 1), with Mr Adam Miller and Miss Claire Cox supporting as Teaching Assistants. Mr Miller will also continue in his role as Office Manager.

Mrs Margaret Crooks will continue to lead spellings with all three classes in addition to her role as Midday Supervisor. Mrs Lynne Clifford is continuing as Midday Supervisor, along with Ms Amanda Gennard teaching French, Ms Kat Plimmer from Urban Movement Primary teaching PE, Mrs Michelle Oldfield teaching one-to-one music lessons and Mrs Amanda Fairclough running her after school Drama Club. Miss Eleanor Spence, who joined us for a work experience placement before the summer, will continue to come into school on Wednesdays for the Autumn Term to practice and develop her skills in the classroom before going onto her PGCE course. 

We are sad to let you all know that Miss Jennifer Newcombe will not be returning to Colston Bassett School this academic year. Miss Newcombe has worked as a Teaching Assistant for the last year but has decided to move on to pastures new. We know everyone will miss her and we send her all our best wishes for the future.

Visits and Visitors

On Friday 26th September 2025, we will be welcoming Nat Corden (Alice's mum) into school to talk to the children about The Little Princess Trust – see 'Mad Hair Day' below for further information. 

After half term, we are taking all the children to Rand Farm Park in Lincolnshire on Tuesday 25th November 2025 to take part in their ‘Real Christmas Experience’. This day offers a good balance of education and fun which begins with a personal group “Meet and Greet” with Sparky and/or Chip – two resident Elves from Merryjingle – and a walk through the Enchanted Forest (using 3D glasses to look at the lights on the trees) to find Rudi and Rossi (real reindeer). The children will then have the opportunity to meet Santa and visit his Magical Toyshop, where they can choose their own toy to take home. We will then visit Mrs Claus in her kitchen to decorate a biscuit (again to take home). There will be an interactive show in Elf Academy or Santa’s Music School at some time during the visit. The children will also be able to visit the Animal Barn to meet all the animals (and feed those with four legs with bags of animal feed for each child), bottle feed the calves and watch the milking demonstration. Finally, there will be an exclusive tractor ride around the field to see the animals outside and a Christmas Lunchbox lunch is also included for each child. This should be a lovely start to the Christmas period for the children – further details will follow by letter nearer the time.

Parent Appointments

Parents appointments will be available around the October half term. Further information will be sent out closer to the time. We will be sending out letters with an appointment request slip, where we can arrange a mutually convenient date and time. Mrs Newcombe will be meeting with our new parents in a couple of weeks’ time to ensure a smooth settling in period. We continue to have an ‘open door’ policy for meetings if you have a specific issue to discuss.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Routines

For families new to the school we will outline our arrangements. A member of staff will be on duty in the playground from 8:30am each morning should you wish to drop your child off at this time. The school bell will be rung at 8:45am, when the children will be expected to line up in their respective classes before being taken into school via the side door. If the weather is wet then the children are asked to go straight into the building. At the end of the day at 3:45pm, Class 1 will continue to be dismissed from the assembly room door (in the playground), Class 2 from the side door and Class 3 from the front door. 

Parents are responsible for their children around the school at pick-up and drop-off times. Please take care along School Lane and ensure you do not park on the yellow zig-zags or obstruct access to residents’ driveways. We do teach the children basic road safety and remind them regularly to be aware of traffic. Please inform school in advance if you have arranged for your child to be collected by another adult.

May we politely remind parents that we expect pupils to be in school by 8:45am when the morning bell rings. Late arrivals can disrupt the start of morning lessons for other pupils. Ofsted have now introduced site security as part of their Safeguarding measures (previously covered in Health and Safety) which means that we must now lock the side entrance gate by 9:00am every day and it will be unlocked at 3:30pm to allow parents onto the school site for collection. Should you experience an unavoidable delay in the morning and arrive late, or you need to access the school site during the day, then you will need to ring the bell on the side gate to attract the attention of a member of staff, who will greet you at the gate and permit access. Thank you for your co-operation. 

Assessments and Reports

Assessments are an important part of understanding and evaluating progress. Our assessment week will take place during the week commencing Monday 29th September 2025. We always hope that these weeks are as stress free as possible whilst gently introducing the process to the children. As always, we remind the children that it is simply a case of trying and that these results are not the ‘be all and end all’ of their assessments. Teacher judgement is also an important and integral part of the process. Reports will be sent out towards the end of the term, as usual.

Homework

Your child’s teacher will explain any homework expectations. As children move up through the school, they will be given tasks in addition to the regular homework of reading and times tables. All children have been provided with a Reading Record book which they will bring home each night for you to complete. We try not to set too much homework as the children do have a long school day, particularly if they attend an after school club. If you feel the level of homework is not suitable for your child or you have any other queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Contact Details

As we enter a new academic year, we would be very grateful if parents could confirm that all of your contact details are up to date. We are conscious that mobile numbers can sometimes change, as do emergency contacts and people who are authorised to collect children. It is vital we always have up to date information should we need to contact a parent in an emergency situation. An email has already been sent out with an emergency contact record, so if any details have changed, please return this to the school office as soon as possible. Thank you.

Annual Events

We have already scheduled the dates for all our annual school events, which we hope everybody will be able to attend.

• Nativity Service: Monday 8th December 2025 at 2:30pm
• Carol Concert: Wednesday 10th December 2025 at 7:00pm
• Open Afternoon and Easter Service: Thursday 2nd April 2026 at 1:15pm and 2:30pm
• Sports Day: Friday 26th June 2026 at 2:00pm (with a reserve date of Friday 3rd July 2026)
• ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ (Summer Production): Thursday 23rd July 2026 at 2:00pm

Please make a note of all these dates. More information about the events will follow nearer the time.

'Mad Hair' Day

Nat Corden, Alice's mum, is raising money for The Little Princess Trust. 

The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatment or to other conditions. The charity is also one of the largest funders of childhood cancer research in the UK. Nat grows her hair and donates it to The Little Princess Trust – this will be her fourth hair donation, and she thinks probably her final one (for those interested it takes about four years to reach a 16 inch+ donation). Her hair this time has seen her become a mum twice so she knows this donation will hit her the hardest thinking about those children that the charity supports now Nat has her own children.

We are keen to support Nat with this wonderful fundraising event and so we are planning to have a 'Mad Hair’ Day to help raise some funds. Our Mad Hair Day will be on Friday 26th September 2025 so we would love to see as many wacky hair dos as possible! Nat is having her hair cut this time on Wednesday 24th September 2025 so it will give her a boost after she has had it done! We would like to suggest a donation of £5.00 (or whatever else you would like to give) for your child to come along with a crazy hair style. This is such an amazing charity for those children that are affected by childhood cancer and we applaud Nat for her continuous support of the charity over the years. Nat also has a Go Fund Me page. She will be joining us at school on Mad Hair Day at 3:15pm to showcase her hair and share her experiences with the children regarding The Little Princess Trust. We are all looking forward to welcoming her and believe it will be an inspiring session for the children.

Thank you all as always for your help when we raise funds for such excellent causes.

Extra Curricular Activities

The after school clubs this academic year are as follows:

If any parent would like their child to join a club and has not yet signed up, please advise Mr Miller as soon as possible. Taster sessions can be arranged if you wish. The timetable for the clubs is displayed on the Parents’ Information Board on the school drive and a copy has already been emailed to parents. The clubs will all run during the first and last weeks of each term unless we advise otherwise.

Attendance

Regular attendance is extremely important if pupils are to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them at Colston Bassett School. A register is taken twice a day, at the beginning of the morning and the afternoon sessions. All pupils must attend registration. Authorised absence, other than illness, requires a form, email or telephone call to explain the reason and this will be logged.

Parents are requested to keep routine medical and dental appointments during school time to a minimum and are encouraged to arrange holidays to coincide with school holidays. It is a legal requirement for schools to collect attendance data and we include percentage attendance in reports to parents – you may not be aware that lateness can also significantly impact both your child’s and the school’s overall attendance record.

Thank you for your co-operation.

Weekly Awards

For our new parents, just to let you know about our ‘Weekly Award’ system to motivate the children. One child from Reception and Key Stage 1 (Years 1-2) will be chosen to be ‘Star of the Week’ and one child from Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6) will be chosen to receive the ‘Merit Award’. These awards, which are small trophies, will be given to children who have worked particularly well. We also have a ‘Sheep of the Week’ award (a toy sheep) for a child who demonstrates particular kindness, an ‘Eli’s Eco Warrior’ award (a toy elephant called Eli) for a child who has been particularly eco-friendly, a ‘Handwriting Award’ for a child who has worked particularly hard on their handwriting, and ‘Spanish’, ‘French’, ‘Music’, ‘Karate’ and ‘Sports Person’ Awards for a child who was worked particularly hard in these weekly respective lessons.

All these awards will be presented during assembly each Friday. The winners can take their awards home for one week, however they will then need to return them to school the following Friday so they can be presented to somebody else. A child may also be nominated by a member of staff to receive a Head Teacher’s Award for hard work or helpful behaviour within the school.

'Starbooks'

We will be continuing with our 'Starbooks' initiative this academic year. For new parents, 'Starbooks' is a reward system we hold in school to encourage reading at home. To be a part of ‘Starbooks’, children in all classes are expected to read at home three times each week. A parental signature will be required in their reading records as proof of completion. Children will then be treated to a hot chocolate on a Friday once a month, but only if they have read at home three times a week and have the necessary proof in the lead up to this. The first hot chocolate session will take place on Friday 19th September 2025 and dates for further sessions are listed on the calendar on the school website (there will be email reminders too).

School Uniform

Just a reminder to parents that all children must attend school in their correct uniform in the school colours and styles, including coats, hats, plimsolls, trainers and full PE kit. PE kits need to be in school on a Monday and will be sent home every Friday. Please ensure that all your child’s garments are labelled with their name so that clothing can be returned to its rightful owner. Any items of lost property are placed in the utility storeroom; however, these can only be returned if named. Children are expected to be responsible for their own possessions while in school – the school cannot accept responsibility for lost clothing or possessions. Any leftover uniform not claimed will be donated to Dove Cottage at the end of the academic year.

School uniform is an important part of school life and is a badge of pride. It creates an identity for the school, is an important part of being a school pupil and reinforces following a code of practice and good manners. If anyone is unsure of the correct uniform their child should be wearing, please see the full list on the school website. We do appreciate your full co-operation with this important aspect of school life.

Show and Tell

For your information, please see below for all the ‘Show and Tell’ assembly dates for the coming term. These will take place in assembly on Thursday afternoons. In a typical Show and Tell assembly, children can bring an item from home and explain to the rest of the school why they chose that particular item, where they got it, and other relevant information. This can be a toy, a piece of schoolwork, favourite book, or just any item that means a lot to them.

Social Media

Just a reminder for our new families about our school Facebook and Instagram pages, which we use as newsfeeds so everyone can enjoy an update of what has been going on at school. We also use our pages as marketing tools to promote the school. If you ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the pages, then you will be notified as we add new posts:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/colstonprepschool
Instagram: www.instagram.com/colstonbassettschool

Please also note that for safeguarding reasons, school staff are unable to accept friend requests from parents and family members who have children that currently attend the school.

Children in Need

The annual BBC Children in Need appeal will take place on Friday 14th November 2025 and we are intending to have a fun ‘Pyjama Day’ to raise funds! No school uniform will be required, just plain old pyjamas or any form of lounge wear (i.e. onesies) or alternatively just something spotty/yellow. There will be a £2.00 entry fee to come in your pyjamas and there will also be collection box at school – any parents who wish to make a donation will be able to do so. More information and email reminders will follow nearer the time.

School Council

A new School Council will soon be voted in for this academic year. This is an ideal opportunity for children to get more involved in the way our school is run.

The School Council benefits the whole school, children and staff. It provides opportunities for children to communicate their feelings, as well as discuss decisions that are made. Councillors develop skills such as confidence, communication and negotiation. It is the responsibility of each councillor to ensure that they express both their own views and the views of all the other children they represent.

We have an active School Council with two children from each class representing their fellow pupils. Each councillor is elected by their classmates at the beginning of the school year after a short presentation explaining why they should be elected. Members will meet each half term with Mr Miller and Mr Deach to take part in discussions and votes and also feed back any relevant information to their peers. At times they are requested to ask their class for ideas or take class votes relating to discussions by the Council.

The School Council also has a fund which is used to improve equipment and resources to enhance the children’s education and the school facilities – the children choose these things themselves. We hope the new Council will also be active in fundraising for our ongoing support for various charities. There is also a spare change tin in the school office which parents are free to contribute to at any time. Thank you very much for your support.

Curriculum

Dates for your Diary

Please refer to the ‘Calendar’ on the school website:

www.colstonbassettschool.com/parent.php#parent_calendar