cotham gardens primary school

weekly newsletter  12/09/2025

Our first full week back has been full of smiles, creativity, hard work and lots of learning. It has been a pleasure to walk around the school and see all classes engrossed in their lessons. Behaviour for learning has been excellent, and playtimes calm and good natured. We are always on the lookout for more resources for our playground calm zone – if you have any comics, colouring pads/pencils or games like Connect 4 that can be stored in our outside shed then these would be much appreciated.  

In our Professional Development this week, we held a refresher on our revised SEND provision. We also introduced an updated marking and feedback policy for teachers to trial this term. Once our final policy is ready, we will share it with you. 

World Car Free Day is soon (22/9/25) and we’d like to remind everyone that we encourage all families to be as active as possible in their travel, and also to park away from the school gates when you have no choice but to drive. Parking on the yellow zig zag lines or in the disabled bays is both illegal and dangerous (even on rainy days or if you’re running late).  

Finally, I’d like to say a big Cotham Gardens welcome to all the new Reception children and their families who have joined Honeybees and Ladybirds classes this week. The children have been introduced to the different areas of learning in their classrooms and the outdoor provision. There is so much for them to learn, and they’ve done a great job getting to know each other and making new friends. Their transition continues next week, and everyone will be full time from Friday. You are all very welcome. 

Emmeline Smith

Head of School

MONDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER

YR5 Swimming

Please remember to bring in swimming kits and a snack for afterwards.

TUESDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER

Coffee Morning

All welcome at the Elmgrove Hall @ 9.00am

Reception Open Event

Prospective Reception Parents for September 2026 intake 

Elmgrove Hall @ 6.30pm

This week’s class attendance winners are: Maple with 100%  - Well done! 

This week’s class punctuality winners are:

Ladybirds / Maple / Pine all with 100%  - Well done! 

At Cotham Gardens Primary School, we believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our pupils in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success. 

We know that sometimes our pupils  cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear however that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness. 

Reporting Absence

Sickness can be reported via the new Arbor Parent Portal or Arbor App - as well as our usual absence line (0117 3772610 option 1)

To do this on Arbor, go to:
- Quick Actions
- Attendance
- Log Absence
- Input the absence details, ensuring you provide a detailed reason for the absence
- Submit the request by clicking Log Absence

School staff will then approve or reject the absence. Once approved, it will be visible in the Attendance tab.

Medical Appointments

Parents should try to make appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. Where appointments during school time are unavoidable, the pupil should only be out of school for the minimum amount of time necessary for the appointment.

It is not acceptable for a child to miss a whole day’s schooling for an appointment, unless absolutely necessary, in which case the school will need an explanation as to why this is. If a pupil must attend a medical appointment during the school day, they must be collected from the school office by the parent or another authorised adult, and signed out. No pupil will be allowed to leave the school site without parental confirmation.

Advance notice is required for medical or dental appointments, unless it’s an emergency appointment, and must be supported by providing the school with sight of, or a copy of, the appointment card or letter – only then will the absence be authorised.

Don’t forget, all lunch choices must be pre-booked and paid for in advance using Arbor, even if you plan to send your child into school with a packed lunch. 

We would also like to remind all families of the importance of ensuring that your child’s lunch account is sufficiently topped up when booking school meals in advance.

If you are booking lunches for multiple days or weeks in advance (e.g., 3 weeks), please ensure your account has enough funds to cover the full cost of those meals at the time of booking.

Unfortunately, if the account does not have the correct balance:

• The system will automatically cancel your child’s lunch choice each day until there are sufficient funds.

• This may result in your child not receiving their preferred lunch option.

We kindly ask that you check your account balance regularly and top up as needed to avoid any inconvenience.

If you have any questions or need support with your account, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

 My child receives Free School Meals

If your child receives Free School Meals, you still need to pre-book their lunches for the upcoming week via Arbor but you will not be charged anything during the checkout process.

If you need instructions on how to make bookings via the Arbor app or Parent Portal, please visit: https://support.arbor-education.com/hc/en-us/articles/6956696271261-Meal-Menu-choices-on-the-Parent-Portal-or-Parent-App

For more information about school lunches and to view the new menu – please visit:  https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/docs/School_Website_menu_Autum-Winter.pdf

Sirona will be here to do the Flu Vaccinations on Thursday 16th October, communication was sent out this week along with the link to fill out your consent form. 

Please complete the consent form as soon as possible:

https://imms.sirona-cic.org.uk/flu/2025/consent?v=4 

How is the vaccine given?

The flu vaccine is usually given using a quick and easy nasal spray, this is the best flu vaccine for children. If your child cannot have the nasal spray due to the porcine gelatine content or for medical reasons, you can consent for your child to have an injection instead. If we cannot offer the injection at your child’s school, you will be able to book a clinic appointment.

Important deadlines:

• The consent system closes 2 working days before the vaccination session at school.
• If you complete your form after the deadline we may not be able to see your child at the school session

Want to learn more?

Flu vaccination for children: leaflets and posters - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Questions?

Contact the School Immunisation Team: 0300 124 5515 or email sirona.sch-imms@nhs.net

We are currently in need of spare clothing for our Cotham Grove site, particularly for children aged 7 years and above. If you have any spare leggings or joggers  that your child has outgrown, we would be very grateful for your donations.

These items are incredibly useful to have on hand for unexpected accidents, spills.

Donations can be dropped off at the school office at your convenience.

Thank you for your continued support!