cotham gardens primary school

weekly newsletter  14/11/2025

 

 

This afternoon I had the pleasure of showing Lucy Livings  (South West Regional Director of the DfE) around school with two of her colleagues. Whilst her colleagues had visited several times before, this was Lucy’s first visit and it was an honour and a pleasure to be able to talk her through all the school improvement work we have done. Despite the wet and stormy day, and not to mention the excitement of school photos, the children behaved impeccably and were very welcoming. Special mention goes to Year 1 Foxes class who were having their whole class computing lesson, with every child learning how to log on to Purple Mash independently at 2pm on a wet Friday afternoon! Lucy and the team were very impressed and are working hard in the background with Sarah Williams and Chris Seaton to secure the next steps for Cotham Gardens’ future.  

Alongside the DfE, it has been a week full of partnership working. Miss King and I attended the English Hub’s ‘Overcoming Barriers’ conference at Ashton Gate on Monday. We were inspired by Marc Rowland and other speakers about how to ensure academic and social inclusion for ALL children. Year 6 have been out and about learning about Bristol's experience of World War 2 and Year 4 enjoyed an immersive day yesterday with Perform Drama Workshops for their Victorian day.  

On Tuesday we paid our respects and took time to think about world peace for Remembrance Day. Mr Millington played The Last Post and Reveille with poise and really set the tone for our reflection.  

It is Road Safety Week next week so I will repeat my regular reminder about safe and legal parking around the school streets. We still have too many parents dropping off illegally on the double yellow lines and zig-zags. This endangers children’s lives and also decreases the air quality close to school. There is plenty of free parking close by: Grove Park (near the station) is a particularly good choice for both sites.  

Finally, thank you for all the donations to our Golden Bookshelves. If you would like to buy a book for the school please follow the links to the year group 'wishlists'.

Reception: https://amzn.eu/9Z0i8bX 

Year 1: https://amzn.eu/9oCp5wN 

Year 2: https://amzn.eu/a99sTIe 

Year 3: https://amzn.eu/7rk57Vi 

Year 4: https://amzn.eu/1nOhvjc 

Year 5: https://amzn.eu/b1yD73b 

Year 6: https://amzn.eu/2JFD8zt 

 

 

MONDAY 17th November

YR5 Swimming - please remember to bring in swimming kits.

 

TUESDAY 18th November

Coffee morning - Drop off until 10.00, all welcome

 

 

WEDNESDAY 19th November

Please be aware that Elmgrove Road will be closed to vehicle access due to works being carried out by Bristol Water.

 

THURSDAY 20th November

SATs meeting tonight from 5:30-6:30 PM 

The Y6 team will explain everything you need to know about SATs, how we approach them at Cotham Gardens, and answer all your questions!

 

FRIDAY 21st November

Play Street and PTAF bake sale 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s class attendance winners are: 

 Starlings / Maple / Birch with 98%  - Well done! 

This week’s class punctuality winners are:

Ladybirds with 100%  - Well done! 

 

 

  

 

⏰ A Reminder About Punctuality

We have noticed that lateness has increased this week, and we would like to remind parents and carers of the importance of arriving on time each morning. When a child arrives late to school, they miss important parts of the day such as assembly, teacher instructions, and introductions to lessons. This can make it harder for them to settle into their learning and may cause them to feel embarrassed when entering the classroom after everyone else. 

The school gates close at 8.55am, and children should be in class, ready for registration at 9am. If your child arrives after this time, please ensure they are signed in at the screens located in the school office entrances.

It’s important to note that if your child arrives after 9.30am (after registration closes), this will be marked as unauthorised absence for the morning session.

If your child continues to arrive late on a regular basis, you may be invited to meet with Ms. Smith or one of our learning mentors to discuss ways we can work together to improve punctuality.

Additionally, persistent lateness could lead to a penalty notice if a child arrives late after the register closes on 10 occasions within a rolling period of 10 weeks.

 

 

We’re thrilled to be introducing a new plan to support independent reading at home for all KS2 children! 📖

Regular reading outside of school helps build confidence, fluency, and a lifelong love of books—and we want every child to feel successful and inspired. As part of this initiative, each child will be given a book that’s carefully matched to their reading level. This ensures they can enjoy stories that challenge and excite them—without feeling overwhelmed. You will receive more details about this in the coming weeks.

To get the ball rolling on this plan, we first need to check that every child has a book bag to safely carry their reading materials between home and school. Could you please let us know whether your child already has a book bag, or if you’d like to order one by filling out this quick form -  https://forms.office.com/e/0gBsEhjqHi

 

💙 Have a spare book bag at home? We’d be so grateful for any donations to help other families—every contribution helps us build a stronger reading community.

Once we know how many book bags might need to be ordered, we will be in touch to organise this.

Please respond by Wednesday 19^th November so we can get everyone set up and reading confidently!

Thank you for your continued support in nurturing a love of reading.

Warm wishes,  

Duncan Brett

 

Our Elmgrove site is currently in need of clothing donations to support students who may require a change of clothes during the school day. We are especially looking for:

• Pants/bottoms 👖 (all sizes)

• Tops 👕 (all sizes)

• Socks 🧦

If you are able to contribute, please drop off items at the main office during school hours.
Thank you for your support!

 

 

We’re excited to welcome all parents and carers to our upcoming 

Community Forum

📍 In-Person Forum 

📅 Date: Wednesday, 26th November
🕘 Time: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
📍 Location: Cotham Grove Hall 

 

💻Online Forum

📅 Date: Thursday, 27th November
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM
📲 Platform: Link will be shared via ClassDojo

   

 

Here are some book recommendations from Little Wandle (our phonics and early spelling curriculum). Next time you visit the library or book shop, why not have a look for one of these titles.

Early Years – Honeybees and Ladybirds

• A Best Friend for Bearby Petr Horáček (Walker Books Ltd, 2022)
• The Best Youby Nima Patel and illustrated by Cally Johnson- Isaacs (Little Tiger Press Group, 2024).
• I’m Going to Make a Friendby Darren Chetty and illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Little Tiger Press Group, 2025).
• Word Troubleby Vyara Boyadjieva (Walker Books Ltd, 2023)
• My Friend Earthby Patricia McLachlan and illustrated by Francesca Sanna (Chronicle Books, 2020)   

 

Family members of our school community have been personally affected by hurricane Melissa. You may wish to show solidarity by contributing to the Unicef disaster fund  

 

 

Notice of proposed changes to the Cotham Gardens Primary School Admissions Arrangements for the academic year 2027/2028 

Cotham Gardens Primary School is consulting on its proposed admission arrangements for the academic year 2027/2028. 

This consultation will be open from Tuesday 21st October to Tuesday 2nd December 2025.  

The proposed change is to reduce the Pupil Admission Number (the PAN) from 60 to 30 pupils to be admitted to reception with effect from 1st September 2027. 

Cotham Gardens Primary School is committed to reviewing the PAN if the local context dictates a need for this in the future.  

No pupil who already has a place in Cotham Gardens Primary School will be affected by the proposed change. 

The proposed admissions arrangements for the 2027/28 are available below.

How to respond 

Your views on this proposal are important to us and we want to hear the views of everyone who feels that they might be affected by this proposed reduction to the PAN. 

Please send your comments, queries and requests for hard copies of the policy via this link (https://forms.office.com/e/NEh1tHUBy0)  or email your comments to charlotte.coulson@cothamgardens.co.uk

Alternatively, please write to Charlotte Coulson, Governance Professional, 18 Cotham Grove, Bristol, BS6 6AL.  

proposed reception admission arrangements policy 2027 2028.pdf

For more information, please visit https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/Pupil-Admission-Numbers-PAN-Consultation/

 

Huge thank you to all those that came and to the parents for supporting with lifts for basketball on Wednesday. The children gained kills through the games they played and lots of fun was had by all. 

 

 

 

 

This week in Drawing Club we have had a focus on the story Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson.  We have loved exploring the different aspects of the book in our Drawing club such as the Dragon as the character, the Swamp as the setting and our adventure time this week has been thinking about designing a new super fast broomstick for the Witch and what animals we would have on our broomstick.

 

 

 

Please see below some of the trips that are happening over the coming terms. If you have not yet consented for your child to attend, please head over to Arbor to give consent as soon as possible.

 

 

• Y1 - Bristol Old Vic Theatre to watch Antarctica- Thursday 11th December
• Y3 - Starlings - Pantomime trip - Tuesday 9th December
• Y4 - Bristol Beacon Winter sing - Wednesday 10th December
• Y3 - Kingfisher - Tuesday 16th December
• Y6 - Residential Camp - Monday 1st June - Wednesday 3rd June

 

 

At Cotham Gardens Primary School, we understand that keeping track of school communications can feel overwhelming - especially if you're new to the school or have multiple children with us. We also know that every family is different: some parents want detailed updates, while others prefer just the essentials.

That's why we've created this handy guide: 

https://www.cothamgardens.co.uk/Communications/

It explains all the communication platforms we use at school, including those run by our parent community (PTAF), so you can choose what works best for your family.

We're constantly working to improve how we communicate with you. This guide reflects our current approach and we'll update it as things evolve.

 

Evening/Weekend Caretaker - Part time, Fixed term, Term Time Only

Are you looking for a flexible role where you can make a positive impact on our school community? Cotham Gardens Primary School (Bristol, BS6) is seeking a dedicated Evening/Weekend Caretaker to help ensure our split site school remains a safe, secure and welcoming environment for pupils, staff and visitors.

You will be responsible for the security, safety and general upkeep of our school sites after school hours and weekends. This is an ideal opportunity for someone practical, reliable and committed to contributing to a vibrant primary school community, as well as learning from our experienced Estate Manager.

Candidates must demonstrate good communication skills in spoken and written English to effectively engage with children, parents, and colleagues.

Contract: Part-time hours, 15 hours per week, over 7 days STC.

For example:

• Monday 18:00 - 20:30
• Tuesday 18:30 - 21:00
• Wednesday 19:30 - 22:00     
• Thursday 18:00 - 20:30
• Friday 18:00 - 20:30
• Saturday 09:30 - 10:30pm and 16:30-18:00 (every other week) 
• Sunday 09:30 - 10:30pm and 16:30-18:00 

Term time only, plus 5 INSET days. Possible overtime opportunities available in the school holidays.

The School: Cotham Gardens Primary School is a large and happy school split over two sites in central Bristol. We are proud to serve our diverse, vibrant community and celebrating this diversity is central to the school’s vision. We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including ethnicity, gender, transgender, age, disability, sexual orientation or religion. 

We are able to offer:

• A team of hard working and supportive colleagues
• Interested and involved parents and trustees
• Opportunities to get involved in whole school and wider community events
• Cycle to work scheme
• A commitment to your professional development
• A commitment to staff wellbeing, including a staff Employee Assistance Programme available to all staff

Salary: Grade BG6, Scale Point 6-7. Salary £25,989 to £26,403 FTE (Pro-rata salary range £10,536 to £10,704)

For further information about our school, please visit our school website. 

Applications Close: Monday 24th November 2025 at 9am

Interview date:  TBC

Start Date:  ASAP 

Apply now:https://www.eteach.com/job/caretaker-evenings--and--weekends-1516963