Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to school after the half term break! We have enjoyed seeing the children again and have also welcomed Miss Amir as the class teacher for Hedgehog class for the rest of the term.
Don’t forget to check the blogs at the end of the newsletter to see what your child has been learning in class!
Next week, all children in Year 1 will sit the Phonic Screen Check, a national statutory assessment. This check assesses your child’s knowledge of the phonics curriculum taught in Reception and Year 1 and how well they can apply their knowledge to read both familiar and unfamiliar words. During the check, children work one to one with a familiar adult to read 40 words, 20 of which are real words and 20 of which are made up ‘alien’ words.
The check is carried out in a calm and familiar environment, so children feel comfortable and relaxed. Many children may not even realise that they have taken part in an assessment! They have worked very hard with their reading this year and are well prepared to do their best.
If your child is in Year 1, please ensure that they are in school every day next week.
This year, we have been working with Voice 21, a national charity to support oracy development. Oracy is all about helping children to develop strong speaking and listening skills, being able to share their ideas, listen to others and communicate confidently. At Dorothy Barley, we want all of our children to have a voice!
Throughout the year, we have taken part in lots of training and have adopted a number of different strategies to develop oracy further. We are proud to have achieved a certificate of recognition from Voice 21 for the work we have completed.
Thank you to everyone who joined our recent Time to Talk session on LEGO Therapy. It was wonderful to see so many of you there!
Parents were introduced to a range of practical strategies to support their child’s communication, social interaction, and problem-solving skills at home. Children and parents also had the opportunity to put these ideas into practice together, helping to bring the benefits of LEGO Therapy to life in a fun and interactive way.
Today, we have begun our transition programme for our new Nursery children. Children (and their parents!) will be visiting us every Friday afternoon for six weeks and participating in a range of practical sessions aimed at getting children ready to start Nursery in September. Children also have multiple opportunities to explore the Nursery space and feel happy and confident to start their sessions with us in September.
We really enjoyed meeting everyone this afternoon and look forward to seeing you all again next week.
There are a number of events taking place in our local area over the next few weeks.
The Big Lunch: You’re Invited! Saturday 6th June, 11am-3pm – residents are invited to come together outside Barking Town Hall. There will be reading-themed activities, music/DJ, face painting and arts and crafts activities, and more activities dedicated to a variety of age ranges including some hosted by young people from the borough.
Just Say Parent Carer Forum Meet Up Friday 12th June, 10.30am-12.30pm – Just Say with S.A.L.T. (Speech and Language Therapy). Please see the leaflet below for further information.
Barking Fire Station Open Day Saturday 13th June, 12pm-4pm – head down to Barking Fire Station for an exciting afternoon, a brilliant day out for all ages
Have a lovely weekend!
Mrs S O’Hara
Head of School
This week in Oak Class, we have started exploring our new story, Zog. We have enjoyed reading the story together, learning new vocabulary and acting out the different words and characters to help us understand their meanings. During our learning, we looked at pictures of......
This week for Literacy, Reception have been looking at the story The Three Little Pigs! Our week started off by us finding a house in our garden! Someone had made it out of sticks. We thought it might be a fairy but we couldn’t be......
For our creative hook in English this week, Year 1 looked at snails using magnifying glasses, we even got to hold them! This is for our work alongside our topic book ‘The Snail and the Whale’....
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 | 81.4% | ||
| Bumblebee | 85.9% | ||
| Year 1 | |||
| Rabbit | 89.3% | ||
| Squirrel | 99.6% | ||
| Hedgehog | 98.6% | ||
| Year 2 | |||
| Kingfisher | 91% | ||
| Woodpecker | 92% | ||
The whole school attendance this week is: 90.78%