December will soon be upon us and in homes across the country, cardboard doors will be opened in the traditional countdown to Christmas. But just as some look to luxury, the children of Saltford School are once again hoping to reverse things this advent - with a calendar which gives back. The idea is simple; instead of opening the door to a chocolate or picture, we do the giving.

Some of us are lucky enough to be able to spend December preparing for the festivities with happiness, not dread. Christmas is going to be a time for celebration.  But for many, this time of year proves to be very difficult when families struggle to put a meal on the table, let alone begin to think about any of the little extras that so many of us will enjoy over the festive period.

And so, following past success and the overwhelming gratitude of the Keynsham Food bank, we would once again like to invite the children to take part in our reverse advent calendar and in doing so, help a family in need this Christmas. 

This means from Monday 13^th November, we will be collecting items for the class box. Please send these in with your child. Then on Thursday 7^th December, we can deliver the donations down to our local food bank, where it will be gratefully received by the Trussell Trust.

This year we are looking to fill the boxes with non-perishable items such as jam, cereal, tinned goods or festive treats such as biscuits, mince pies, panettone, chocolate yule logs etc (Of course, please make sure anything you donate is in date). You don’t have to spend a lot, all donations will be gratefully received.

For more information about how to access help from the Keynsham and Saltford food banks, see our Pupil premium page. If you would like to know more about the Keynsham food bank, you can see their website here.

Remembrance at school

On Friday 10th November the whole school will mark Remembrance Day with an assembly. We will also all go outside to observe tw minutes' silence at 11am. Mrs May will play the Last Post before we fall silent and she will mark the end of the silence by playing the Reveille.

In their classes, children will learn about Remembrance Day, why people wear poppies in November and why we are observing the silence. Remembrance can bring people of all ages and backgrounds together to reflect upon the service of the Armed Forces and join together in hoping for a peaceful future.

Poppy appeal

From the first week of term, we will be selling poppies and a choice of poppy appeal items in support of the Royal British Legion's poppy appeal. The extra items and suggested donations are listed below. You can see what they look like on the RBL poppy shop here. You can also donate direct to the poppy appeal here.

Zip pull, suggested donation 50p
Wrist band, suggested donation £1
Ruler, suggested donation £1.50
Poppy reflector, suggested donation 50p.

It is that time of year when we enjoy our traditional harvest festivals and think about our community and where our food comes from. We are also really looking forward to seeing the children perform.

Reception/Key Stage 1: there are two Harvest performances for FS/KS1 in the School Hall on Wednesday 4^th and Thursday 5^th October, each starting at 9:15am. The services will last approximately 30 minutes.

Key Stage 2: there are also two Harvest performances for KS2 in the School Hall on Wednesday 4^th and Thursday 5^th October, each starting at 10am. These services will last approximately 45 minutes.

Donations: this aspect of the celebration is "caring for our community" in practice. This year's donations will go to Julian House in Bath. Julian House supports vulnerable and at-risk individuals. These include adults and young people experiencing homelessness, escaping domestic abuse, adults with learning difficulties and people who need support after leaving prison.

If your family would like to make a harvest donation, please send a tin or packet of food or toiletries (they do not require soup, however, as they currently have a large supply). Please remember that fresh goods are not required, and just one item per family is enough. Please send donations to school with your child from Monday 2nd October and leave them in the crates that will be provided at the front of the school. We will collect them and make a display on our stage as part of the festival.  The collection will close at the end of the day on Thursday 5th October.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

If you wish to make a personal donation or find out more about the charity please go to: www.julianhouse.org.uk/

Tickets: each family has been allocated two tickets. Please collect them after school. Parents in FS/KS1 should collect their ticket from the teacher of the youngest sibling in FS/KS1. In the same way, KS2 parents should collect from the teacher of youngest sibling in the KS2 phase. The final deadline for ticket collection is Friday 29^th September.  If you don't collect your child from school, please send a named envelope in with your child with the required day and number of tickets (maximum two). Staff will put the ticket in the envelope and send home with your child.

Please have your ticket with you on the morning of the performance to show Mrs Sage on the door and please do double check the day of the performance on your ticket so we can ensure the right number of seats are available.

The PTA are very excited to be holding their first disco of the school year, on Friday 13th October.  The disco is split into two groups; the first is for Years 1, 2 and 3, followed by a second one for Years 4, 5 and 6 later in the evening.  As it is early in the school year, there is no event for Reception children this time but they will have an opportunity later in the year.

Tickets are on sale online from Monday 2nd October – please click on the following link to purchase your tickets: www.pta-events.co.uk/saltfordschoolpta. Parent helpers are needed on the evening so please sign up online if you can help. 

For the first session, (Years 1, 2 and 3) you will need to drop them at the hall at 5.30pm and collect them at 6.30pm. The second disco (for Years 4, 5 and 6) will start at 6.45pm and will end at 8:00pm.

The tickets for the younger children include a small bag of sweets, so they do not need to bring any money into the disco. There will a tuck shop at the second disco for Years 4-6 so please bring your pocket money (change is always helpful). All children will need to bring a labelled water bottle as drinks are not provided as part of this.

If you wish to stay at school, there will be refreshments for parents in the library (for a small donation to PTA funds). Due to the fire limits of the hall, it is not possible for parents to stay with their children during the disco. There are sufficient parent helpers attending to ensure full supervision. Pick up and drop off are via our Claverton Road entrance only – accessing the Hall via the front door (which leads to the office). 

We appreciate that a disco is not something that every child wants to take part in. If your child receives one to one support or adjustments at school to support sensory overload, and they want to attend, please see Mrs Sage to plan support needed.

Prices of tickets:
£3.50 – Years 1 - 3 (including a small bag of sweets)
£2.50 – Years 4 - 6 (these tickets do not include refreshments).

We hold welcome meetings for each year group starting at 5pm in the hall so that parents can meet the class teacher and talk through the year ahead.

The meetings start at 5pm in the hall and the dates are as follows:

Y6 Wednesday 6th Sept
Y5 Thursday 7th Sept
Y1 Monday 11th Sept
Y2 Tuesday 12th Sept
Y4 Wednesday 13th Sept

The "Welcome to KS2" meeting took place on 3rd July for parents of children going into Y3 in September 2023.

The presentations from the meetings, as well as the usual class letters and subject overviews, will all be available on your child's class page.

The money raised from each cake sale goes to that class who can then choose the toys and games they would like for their classrooms, so please support your class. The PTA will also be selling nearly new school uniform at very attractive prices and there will be a free book swap available at the same time.

For the book swap, children can donate their pre-loved books anytime in the box outside the school office. On the cake sale days, children can come into the hall and help themselves to a new book of their choice for free. This is not a fundraising event, just a way to encourage the children to share books and encourage recycling.

Friday 22nd September 2023: Year 1
Friday 20th October: Year 6
Friday 24th November: Year 3
Friday 19th January 2024: Year 2
Friday 8th March: Year 4
Friday 3rd May: Reception
Friday 7th June: Year 5

Classes are paired in year groups for the sales which take place monthly on a Friday in the hall from 3.15 – 3.30 pm. The uniform sales and book swap take place in the hall at the same time.

Please bring in cakes on the morning of the sale. The children should leave them on the left hand library shelf. If you need your container back, please ensure it is labelled and collect it from the library the followiong Monday.

There are children in school with severe life-threatening nut, lentil and seed allergies so please do check your cakes carefully. If you are donating gluten free/ dairy free or vegetarian cakes, please ensure they are clearly labelled.

Please bring change if you are purchasing cakes and encourage older children to go along to the cake sale independently to keep the queues down to the minimum. Thank you for your support.

Please also check the PTA Facebook page for up to date information.

Bake-off is back for 2023

This year’s theme is Fiesta de Carnival, which gives the children full encouragement to go bold with their designs, colours and flavours!

Categories are:

•       Reception – Biscuits
•       Years 1 – 2 Cupcakes
•       Years 3 – 4 Tray Bake
•       Years 5 – 6 Celebration Cake

Entries will be judged on: Theme/Overall Presentation/Texture/Taste All baked items will be judged by Sally Turner and Headteacher Dawn Sage on Friday 30th June, prior to the fair, with the winning entries announced at the Summer Fair on Saturday 1st July. Get your full guidelines here and your entry form here. Happy baking!

Bumper raffle!

There are some fabulous prizes in this year's raffle. Who wouldn’t want to win an iPad Air or vouchers worth £100s for local attractions, restaurants, shops and services? Tickets are £1 each or £5 for a book. If you need more tickets to sell or buy, please ask at the school office. Please return all raffle tickets, stubs and money to the school office by Friday 30th June. Tickets will still be on sale at the information desk at the fair, and the draw will take place at the end of the fair.

Why not volunteer to help here?

Please click on the below links to volunteer. As an incentive, there will be a volunteer prize draw, where all helpers will be in with a chance (one entry per help session) of winning a £25 Waitrose voucher. 

Reception class Bumblebee -volunteersignup.org/44DJB                                                                   

Reception class Butterfly -volunteersignup.org/F3TCE

Year 1 apple -volunteersignup.org/MTBWP

Year 1 pear -volunteersignup.org/BPCRB

Year 2 Cherry class -volunteersignup.org/RQ78A

Year 2 Palm class -volunteersignup.org/RYE8E

Year 3 Maple class -volunteersignup.org/97LRQ

Year 3 Sycamore class -volunteersignup.org/9KJMR

Year 4 Willow class -volunteersignup.org/FJ9DR

Year 4 Lime class -volunteersignup.org/RCKER

Year 5 Elm class -volunteersignup.org/E9BCC

Year 5 Horse Chestnut class -volunteersignup.org/QPWBH

Year 6 Oak class -volunteersignup.org/FYRTY 

Year 6 Ash class -volunteersignup.org/MPJE9

All Classes Fair prep night Tuesday the 27^th of June:volunteersignup.org/QMK9M

All Classes Fair prep night before the 30^th of June: volunteersignup.org/WKCX7

Reception Classes: volunteersignup.org/MC88R

Pack away the fair: volunteersignup.org/CMMTJ

On the day…

Please bring plenty of change! There will be a programme of the day, including a map, info about all stalls, events and timings. 

Mufti Day Friday 16th June

In exchange for the children wearing their own clothes to school, we ask for donations of bottles and/or chocolate for the tombolas which are always extremely popular. Thank you in anticipation of your generous support.

Drawing competition

Congratulations to Souad from Year 6 whose illustration won the competition for the programme design.

We are holding sports day on a single day again this year, on Wednesday 14^th June.

EYFS/KS1 begins at approximately 10am and Key Stage 2 begins at 1.30pm. It takes place on the side field adjacent to the public play area.

We expect each event to last up to 2 hours. In all other respects, the school timetable remains the same for before and after school clubs and for usual lunch arrangements.

Children: children should come to school at the usual time in their red Saltford PE kit. Please make sure they have their water bottle, and well-fitting trainers! Children should also bring sunhats and we encourage you to apply sunscreen before school in line with our usual policy. The children can look forward to their usual lolly treat on the day.

Parents: please arrive from the Manor Road entrance or via the pedestrian paths rather than through the Claverton Road entrance and through the school grounds.

This is a seated event. Seating will be arranged as appropriate for each key stage. Do bring some change as the PTA will be offering reasonably-priced refreshments throughout the day.

On 28th February and 1st March we welcomed His Majesty's Ofsted Inspector (HMI), Kelly Olive and her team to our school when we were pleased to be able to share with them all that makes our school the special place that it is. They were hugely impressed with the children at Saltford, describing them as welcoming, extremely well-behaved, eager to participate in all aspects of school life and passionate about their learning.

In the final report, inspectors said pupils and staff were rightly proud of their inclusive school, where all children are encouraged to be the best versions of themselves. They added that headteacher Dawn Sage and her team pursued excellence at all times and had constructed a curriculum that was exceptional.

“Staff share this continuous drive for improvement across all aspects of the school. Together, they are aspirational for what pupils can achieve,” Ofsted said,

“The school’s vision, ‘Caring for our Community,’ informs the development of pupils’ characters. They are kind and look for ways to help others,” the report noted.

“Pupils are highly motivated. They try hard in lessons and show resilience when faced with a setback. When attempting work that they find challenging, pupils persist until they are successful. Pupils strive to meet the high expectations set by staff.”

Other areas the inspectors highlighted included the welcoming library and the strong culture of reading, the wealth of opportunities for children to take on leadership roles, the many clubs and activities and the extensive choice of outdoor play activities.

“Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the education and care their children receive at the school,” Ofsted said.

The school was rated Outstanding for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.

The inspectors praised the high-quality training for staff, tailored to support the school’s priorities. This meant that children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, were able to flourish. Staff morale was said to be high, with leaders, including governors, placing importance on wellbeing.

The support provided by Futura Learning Partnership, which Saltford school joined in 2016, was also highlighted.

Ofsted said: “The trust’s support has been instrumental in developing the expertise of staff. The trust, combined with an effective local governing body, share the vision of leaders. They

support and challenge in equal measure. As a result, the pupils at this school receive outstanding provision.”

Mrs Sage said the inspection outcome was thanks to the efforts of the whole school community, including children, staff, parents, wider families, the local community and the trust.

“We are so proud of our school, where children are challenged in their learning and are nurtured to develop personally and academically. Saltford C of E Primary is a place where children value their strong friendships and feel safe and happy in school. We all strive every day to make sure the school is a place where everyone can thrive,” she said.

Andrea Arlidge, chief executive of Futura Learning Partnership, said: “We are delighted that the consistently excellent education and care provided at Saltford CofE Primary School has been recognised by Ofsted. This wonderful report is a tribute to the hard work of everyone connected with the school – congratulations to all.”

Further information

Ofsted report 2023

Saltford School letter to parents

Ofsted Parent View. Ofsted Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think of your child’s school. In addition, they publish the overall summary of the responses to Ofsted Parent View.

Ofsted report May 2019

As a Church school, our celebration of the major Christian festivals is an important part of our community life.

Easter egg trail around Saltford Friday 31^st March – Monday 17^th April

Saltford PTA are organising a fun family Easter Trail during the Easter holiday. There will be a prize draw for correct answers to the Easter Code Conundrum & for participating houses included on the trail.

At least 12 houses on the trail map will display a very special Easter Egg or spring-themed window or garden display for the duration of the Easter Trail. Each of these houses will be given a special coded Easter Egg to display in a prominent position for the duration of the Easter Trail. We are encouraging as many houses to join the Easter Trail to spread some spring joy to all those that walk past. To have your house included on the Easter Trail map please e-mail: pta@saltfordschool.org.uk by Friday 24th March 2023.

Trail maps are available to purchase for £2 from PTA Events. All funds raised go towards resources for the children.

All money raised from this event will go directly to providing vital resources for Saltford School. Keep an eye on the PTA Facebook page here for updates and news.

We thank Sarah Cottram, Rajinder Boucher and the team for organising these special activities for the children.

Easter egg competition Monday 27^th – Tuesday 28^th March

This is a fun Easter competition from the PTA to decorate an egg along the theme of celebrating Eurovision coming to the UK!

This rich theme asks the children to decorate an egg celebrating one of the 37 countries that take part in the contest.

Eggs should be brought into the school library between 27th and 28th March for judging on Wednesday 29th March. There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd for EYFS, KS1 and KS2. Please see the flyer here for some suggestions and all the details you need to enjoy some Easter fun!

Our popular Film Night is fast approaching (Friday 24th March) and we are pleased to confirm the movie choices are:

EYFS/KS1 - Minions, The Rise of Gru (U)

KS2 - Spies in Disguise (PG)*

The ticket price includes a small bag of popcorn and chocolate for each child. We are asking children to bring their own reusable water bottles to help reduce plastic waste.

As usual they can come in their pyjames, onesies or comfy clothes and bring a sleeping bag/ blanket and teddy so they can snuggle down and enjoy the film with their friends.

EYFS/KS1 should arrive at 4.30pm. The film starts at 4.45pm prompt. Collection at 6.15pm

KS2 should arrive at 6.45 pm, film starts at 7pm prompt. Collection at 8.45pm.

Tickets are on sale online (www.pta-events.co.uk/saltfordschoolpta) for £4 each after 6pm on Monday 13th March.

*Please note that by purchasing a ticket you are agreeing that you are happy with your child watching a PG rated film and any content contained within.

We will also need helpers so please sign up when you are purchasing your ticket if you can help out!

In conjunction with the local council, we are holding a special road safety day at school on Friday 3rd March for all children. All children should come to school on Friday wearing something on their top that is bright and/or high-vis. This is to promote the importance of being seen when out and about.

It is never too early to start learning this essential life skill, and it becomes ever more important as the children progress towards Year 6 and begin to travel more independently. Our priority is for our children to be safe and we encourage everyone - children and grown-ups - to travel actively to school by walking, cycling or scooting. We were proud to be the first school in B&NES to receive a silver award from the national Modeshift STARS scheme.

Each child will take part in a session run by the council team and assisted by their class teacher. We will hold a whole school assembly at the end of the day to review the activities.

The scooter training for Year 3 requires each child to have access to a scooter and helmet. We have asked parents to speak to the class teacher if you do not have access to these, or if you could lend us any spares for use on the day.

The pedestrian training for Year 5 requires parental permission to be given for children to go offsite via this online Microsoft Form.

All parents have been sent this letter outlining the day's activities for their child/ren and the equipment and clothing required. We are very much looking forward to this special day and we thank Mrs Book and Miss Mulready for their work in sourcing this opportunity for the children.

We will be holding our traditional pancake races on Shrove Tuesday, 21st February. Children should bring in a pan and a pancake (in a named carrier bag) and we will hold pancake events on the playground for FS/KS1 and KS2 pupils.

There will also be a special school lunch to celebrate pancake day available on this day following the usual process for school lunches. See the menu poster below.

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. Lent is the period of six weeks 40 days (not including Sundays) leading up to Easter, the most important festival in the Christian calendar. Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day because this day was traditionally the last chance to use up the foods Christians would not be eating during Lent.

World Book Day is always a special event in the school calendar where we get to share everything we love about books and reading. This year it takes place on Thursday 2nd March.

Free Book Tokens and books

Every child in the UK and Ireland will receive a free £1 World Book Token (to be sent home in reading folders on 9^th February). These can be redeemed at all participating bookshops from Thursday 16^th February – Sunday 26^th March 2023 (Minimum redemption £2.99, one transaction per Book Token). We will also be able to accept them towards the cost of a book at the travelling Book Fair that will be at school from Thursday 9^th to Wednesday 15^th March.

The token can also be directly exchanged for any one of a variety of special £1 titles. See the letter from school here for the full list.

Dressing up day

We are excited to announce that this year we will be celebrating by having a dressing up day on Thursday 2^nd March. Get ready to show off your love of reading by coming in dressed as your favourite character. This can be as simple or as extravagant as you wish and the adults will be joining in too!

If you would like some ideas about what to dress up as, please visit https://www.worldbookday.com/dressing-up/

Inexpensive costumes: to support the dress up day, the PTA are running a pre-loved dress up sale.They have collected donations of unwanted costumes which will be on sale after school on Friday 24^th February, with a maximum price of £3 for any item!

Celebratory school dinner

There will be a special school dinner menu on Friday 3^rd March to celebrate World Book Day. Please see the menu here and book your child’s school lunch in the usual fashion.

Author visit

We are thrilled to have an author visiting our school as part of our World Book Day celebrations. On Wednesday 8^th March, we will welcome Serena Patel, author of the wonderful ‘Anisha’ series of books which won the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award for Fiction. The first book in this series, has been gifted by the PTA to every classroom so all children will have access to this title immediately.

There will be a special assembly about her life as an author, as well as a workshop with some of the children. There will also be a book signing at school, and all parents have been sent details of how to order a book. For your book to arrive in time for the book signing, orders must be emailed through by 1st March, although books can also be ordered after that date. Ordering these books in this way will mean that the school will also benefit from some free books for our library.

We are pleased that the Travelling Book Fair is returning to our school this year. We appreciate your support for this fair, as the proceeds help us to fund new books for the children.

It will take place in the school library after school from Thursday 9^th to Wednesday 15^th March from 3.15 to 4pm.

You can browse the books in advance by visiting bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/travelling-books/the-books. We will have a fantastic range of books on offer for all ages so please do take a look. Almost a third of the books are priced at less than £5 in recognition of the current demands on many families' budgets.

The easiest way to purchase a book is to use the QR code which will be on display at the fair. It will take you through to the payments page for our fair . You will also be able to get to the payment page online near the time of the fair: https://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/pay/

If you would prefer, you can purchase a Book Fair voucher from bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/travelling-books/parents#vouchers which will allow your child to purchase books without having to bring in cash. Don't forget that your child's £1 Book Day Voucher can also be used towards the cost of a book.

We can also take cash payments but would encourage you to avoid paying this way if at all possible. 

For more information go to: https://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/travelling-books/parents

We are looking forward to all the lovely Christmas activities over the next few weeks at our school.  Find everything you need to know on our Christmas page here: www.saltfordschool.org.uk/christmas-2022

Anti-bullying week will be taking place between Monday 14^th and Friday 18^th November. This year’s theme is ‘reach out’. The theme of Reach Out came about following consultation with teachers and pupils by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. They wanted a theme that empowered them to do something positive to counter the harm and hurt that bullying causes.  

All classes will be participating in activities and discussions about bullying and thinking about ways to stop bullying from happening. All the children at Saltford School regularly discuss bullying in their classes throughout the year but the purpose of this week is to raise its profile even more. In class we look at different types of bullying, how to help if you think someone is being bullied or what to do if you think you are being bullied.  

Please see our full anti-bullying policy here and information about our approach to positive behaviour here.

There are lots of useful resources online for parents with regard to Anti-Bullying. The Anti-Bullying Alliance has a particularly useful parent and carer pack which you can find here: anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/anti-bullying-week/parents-and-carers.

E-team and Miss Jupp are also there to support all children across the school who need extra support. 

Saltford School PTA host their regular Family Fireworks Display on Friday 3rd November on the school field.

The event is a much needed fundraiser for the school. We understand that nearby residents with pets may wish to be aware that this is taking place. The school gates will open for those attending at 5:15pm. Families attending have been encouraged to walk to the event to avoid congestion on the roads around the school. The firework display will start at 6:30pm and last for approx 12 minutes. The PTA are delivering leaflets to roads around the school itself prior to the event but we would be grateful if you could share the information above with neighbours who may not be on social media.

Gates will close at 6.15pm, and all food stalls will also close at 6.15pm to allow everyone to enjoy watching the fireworks.

The school would like to thank our wonderful sponsors who helped to keep the ticket prices low – Davies and Way and Amdaris  – and our fantastic PTA for organising this popular event.

Further information

Arriving: the entrance is through the main school gate on Claverton Road (all other gates will be closed). Access to the field will be via the front door of the school, adjacent to the office. Please have evidence of your purchase with you on arrival. You will need to show this to gain entry to the display. The fireworks will start at 6:30pm but we recommend you arrive beforehand.

Toilets: toilets are available in the Year 6 block. Please pay attention to signage and restricted areas. The new building will be out of bounds on the night. The main block will be open for access to the field only.

Walking and parking: if you live within walking distance, please leave your car at home, and come on foot. If you need to bring a car, we ask that you avoid parking on Claverton Road. The road must remain congestion free for emergency vehicle access. Please park considerately, and do not obstruct driveways or park dangerously.

Suitable clothing: please wear suitable clothing and footwear (boots or wellies) as the display viewing area will be outside on the grass in front of the Year 6 huts.

First aid: this is kindly provided by Dr Claire Pugh and will be in classroom JG in the Year 6 block.

Lost persons: the lost persons meeting point will be in classroom JG in the Year 6 block. Please ensure that children know where to go in the unlikely event that they get separated from you.

Safety: do not bring your own fireworks, bangers or sparklers on to the site; alcohol is not permitted at this event and any brought onto the site will be confiscated. No alcohol will be sold at the event.

Leaving the event: after the fireworks display, or in the event of an emergency, exit the event through the main school gate or the side gate by Tiddlers. The playground will be completely out of bounds