Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been another busy week in school! Don’t forget to check the blogs at the bottom of the newsletter to find out what your child has been learning in class.
This week, all of our new Nursery and Reception children started school. They have been enjoying exploring their new classrooms and making new friends. We understand that starting school is a big milestone in a child (and parent’s!) life and are supporting the children to settle and learn all of the routines of school. It’s lovely to see them off to such a positive start!
If you are new to our school, we look forward to working with you and your child over the next few years.
As you will be aware, we were inspected by OFSTED in June. The final report has now been published and we are very pleased to share this with you.
The report highlights the strengths of our wonderful school community. It recognises the enthusiasm of our children and the progress they are making in school, as well as the dedication of all of the staff who work alongside them. Please do take the time to read the report.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.
At Dorothy Barley Infant School, we have designed our curriculum around half-termly themes that link together subjects such as History, Geography, Art, Science and DT. This helps the children to make links between their learning and apply it in new contexts. Each theme is planned around a high quality book.
This week, we have begun teaching the content for this half term. The curriculum themes are as follows:
| Nursery | Our Journey Begins! |
| Reception | Once Upon a Time |
| Year 1 | What’s in the Toybox? |
| Year 2 | What a Wonderful World |
Children will have come home this week with a copy of the curriculum overview for their year group. This explains what your child will be learning in school and also gives suggestions for activities you can complete at home to extend their learning.
Nursery Autumn 1 – Our Journey Begins!
Reception Autumn 1 – Once Upon A Time
Year 1 Autumn 1 – What’s In The Toybox
Year 2 Autumn 1 – What A Wonderful World
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Year 1 and Year 2 ‘Meet the Teacher’ events today. It was a good opportunity for us to share important information with you and discuss how you can support your child’s learning at home.
Your child will have come home today with a booklet containing key information about the year ahead, as well as reminders about uniform expectations. This booklet is also linked below. If you have any questions about the upcoming year, please speak to your child’s class teacher.
Every month, Barking and Dagenham Family Hub provide a ‘top tip’ for supporting Speech and Language development at home. This month’s tip is about offering choices to create increased opportunities for communication.
Once you have collected your child from school, class teachers are available to answer any questions or to discuss your child. We do ask that you wait until all of the children have been collected before speaking to the teacher, so that we can make sure the children are safe at all times. Thank you for your understanding.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs S O’Hara
Head of School
We have had a lot of fun during our first week at Nursery. We have been busy exploring all of our learning areas both inside and outside of the nursery. We have also made lots of new friends....
Last week in Oak Class the children settled really well and got used to their routines. We sang different Nursery Rhymes. Our favourite so far is ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes.’ This week we have been painting self-portraits. We used paint, tissue paper and wool......
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
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 | 94.91% | ||
| Bumblebee | 93.99% | ||
| Year 1 | |||
| Hedgehog | 94.69% | ||
| Rabbit | 91.22% | ||
| Squirrel | 92.44% | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| Kingfisher | 89.95% | ||
| Woodpecker | 99.57% | ||
The whole school attendance this week is: 93.93%