Dear Parents and Carers,
We have had a busy week at school and have been enjoying the warmer weather! Don’t forget to check the blogs at the bottom of the newsletter to see what your child has been learning in class.
At Dorothy Barley, we are very proud to be a Champion School for phonics and early reading. Every half term, we welcome colleagues from other schools to see the wonderful work our children and staff are doing. This week, we hosted our first visit of the summer term. Our guests visited phonics and reading lessons in Reception and Year 1. They were hugely impressed with the children and we had some lovely feedback at the end of the event. We are all very proud of the children!
This year is the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. We will be celebrating this in school on Friday 9th May. The children will all be learning about VE Day and why this was an important day in our history. It will be a non uniform day and children can come to school in red, white and blue clothes or dressed in their best 1940s outfits!
We would also like to invite all families to join us at 12:30pm for a picnic on the field. Entrance will be via the breakfast club gate on Hedingham Road. We are looking forward to celebrating this important historical event with you as a school community.
Finally, we will be having a cake sale after school in the Key Stage One playground. All donations of cakes are very much appreciated!
We have begun allocating places in our school Nursery for September 2025. If you have a child who will be turning four between September 2025 and August 2026 (born September 2021 – August 2022), you are able to apply for a place by completing the application form in the school office. We offer part time and full time places and are also able to admit children the term following their third birthday.
Children who join us from Nursery age have a great start to their educational journey and are able to get familiar with the school before beginning Reception. If you would like any further information, please pop into the office where we can help you.
Our first ‘Get Set for Nursery’ session is taking place on Thursday 8th May at 12:30pm. We look forward to meeting our new Nursery children then!
The Safer Neighbourhood Team are holding their next ward panel meeting on Thursday 18th June at 6pm. The venue is Barking Sporthouse and Gym, Mayesbrook Park, Lodge Avenue. All residents are welcome to attend.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs S O’Hara
Head of School
This week as part of our topic ‘Living and Growing’, we listened to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. We had a go at planting our own seeds and then we learnt about how to help them grow. We checked on them throughout the......
The children in Oak Class have been learning the names of 2D and 3D shapes. We have been investigating the shapes by using magnetic squares to make a cube, building and painting with the shapes....
As part of our Towers, Tunnels and Turrets unit we have been looking at and describing castles. We have been thinking about how they were designed, whatt they were made of and who lived in them. We have looked at the features of a castle......
Year 1 discovered where our food comes from this week! We looked at some food packets and tried to find the word ‘origin’. The word after this is the name of the country the food was grown in. We then looked at maps, atlases and......
In Design Technology, we have been investigating structures. We built and explored different freestanding structures using a range of construction kits. We found out that structures need to be strong and stable to stay up....
Please note: If your child is absent you must inform the school on the morning of the absence. Please do this by phoning the school office on 0208 270 4655 or emailing us at office@dorothybarleyinfant.org.uk.
We aim for the best education for your children at Dorothy Barley Infant School. Full Attendance and Punctuality are essential for your child to make the maximum progress.
To reach the school target pupils must not have any more than 6 days off per academic year. If you need to make appointments for your child, please aim to make them out of school hours or during school holidays. Thank you.
Children with 100% attendance each half term will receive a certificate. Pupils with 100% attendance for the whole year will receive a special reward.
| Attendance during one school year | Equals this number of days absent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90% | 19 days | ||
| 80% | 38 days | ||
| 70% | 57 days | ||
| Outstanding 100% | Good 96% – 99% | Requires Improvement 91%-95% | Inadequate (PA)Below 90% |
Do you know our Child Protection and Safeguarding Team?
Mrs Ratford
Assistant Headteacher & Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Osborne
SENCO & Designated Deputy Safeguarding Lead
If you have a concern about a child, please see a member of our Safeguarding Team.
In an emergency call 999.
| Class | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reception | |||
| Ladybird | 94.81% | ||
| Bumblebee | 95.52% | ||
| Butterfly | 94.29% | ||
| Year 1 | |||
| Rabbit | 99.11% | ||
| Squirrel | 96.58% | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| Kingfisher | 98.72% | ||
| Woodpecker | 98.81% | ||
| Tawny Owl | 91.03% | ||
The whole school attendance this week is: 96.17%