Newsletter 23/05/25

 

To ensure children's safety and comfort during the sunny days ahead, please remember to:

• Apply sun cream before school to protect against UV rays.

• Send children with their water bottles to keep them hydrated throughout the day.

• Provide a sun hat to offer additional protection from the sun.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

🎉 Sports Day Reminder! 🎉

Get those trainers ready and your cheering voices warmed up – Sports Day is almost here at Cotham Gardens Primary School!

📅 When:

• Monday, 30th June – for Year 5 & Year 6

• Tuesday, 1st July – for Year 2, Year 3 & Year 4

• Wednesday, 9th July – for Reception & Year 1 

📍 Where:

Shine Sports Ground (30th June for Y5/6 & 1st July for Y2/3/4)

 Cotham Gardens Playground (9th July for Reception & Year 1)

It’s going to be three action-packed days full of running, jumping, team games, and lots of smiles. 

✨ More details coming soon – so keep your eyes peeled!

Thanks for your continued support – let’s make it a fantastic Sports Day for everyone!

 

 

 

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

 

 

• 5B Tudor Boat trip - 12th June
• 5WL Tudor Boat Trip - 17th June
• 5MC Tudor Boat Trip - 20th June
• YR5 Children's Theatre Trip - 27th June
• Y6 Residential Camp -  Wednesday 2nd July - Friday 4th July 

 

 

As stated in our school attendance policy, only exceptional circumstances warrant an authorised leave of absence. Generally, a need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure, recreation or visiting family would not constitute an exceptional circumstance.

If seeking permission for exceptional circumstances leave of absence, the parent/guardian should complete a Leave of Absence Request form in advance. The request should be submitted as soon as possible; and wherever possible, at least four weeks before the absence. 

The school will consider each application individually, considering the specific facts and circumstances. Parents may be required to provide the school with additional evidence in order to support the request. The expectation of the school is that term time holidays should not be planned or booked as a matter of course, as they are likely to be unauthorised.

 

1. A Penalty Notice

The penalty is £80 per parent, per child payable within 21 days, rising to £160 per parent, per child if paid between 22 and 28 days. (Failure to pay will result in prosecution.) If a second Penalty Notice is issued within a rolling 3-year period the penalty is £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days. There will be no option to pay a lower amount.

2. Prosecution

Prosecution could lead to fines up to £2500 and /or up to 3 months imprisonment. (See DfE’s statutory guidance on School attendance parental responsibility measures for more information and Bristol City Council’s Penalty Notice Code of Conduct, available here).

Further information can be found in our Attendance Policy and in the Penalty Notice Leaflet from Bristol City Council.

  

 Term Dates

   Term 6: Monday 2 June 2025 to Tuesday 22 July 2025

 

INSET days remaining this year 

Monday 2nd June 2025

 

INSET days for next academic year are now confirmed as follows:

Tuesday 2nd September 2025

Friday 24th October 2025

Monday 3rd November 2025 

Monday 5th January 2026

Monday 23rd February 2026

Friday 3rd July 2026

Wednesday 22nd July 2026

  

Bristol City Council are providing Free School Meal vouchers up to the value of £15 per eligible child in order to provide extra support during the May half term break. Families already in receipt of Pupil Premium would have received these vouchers on Wednesday 21st May. 

 

Do I qualify for a food voucher?

All children in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 are entitled to free school meals. This is called Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). However, Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) is different to Benefit-Based Free School Meals (FSM).

 

Children are only eligible for Benefit-Based FSM and Pupil Premium funding if their parents receive certain benefits and have made a successful application with Bristol City Council. If you think you may be eligible for Free School Meals and Pupil Premium, please visit https://www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/free-school-meals or contact free.school.meals@bristol.gov.uk

 

If you need any help filling out the form, please come to the office where we can support you with this.

 

 

 

This week Honeybees went on a Farm Trip.  This was our first whole day trip and what a fabulous day we had!  The sun was shining for us all day.  On the farm we saw Mary the hen and have a sneak peak in the chicken coop to see the eggs she laid.  We also went into the cow barn and did some pond dipping where we caught lots of damsel nymphs, water mites and even a couple of stickleback fish.  In the afternoon we went into the forest and made some dens out of sticks.  Honeybees had such a fantastic day at the farm! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5MC have been reading the amazing book, The Explorer by Katherine Rundle. The children have been gripped by the exciting story so far and we will continue to read it next term. The story begins with a plane crash in the Amazon rainforest. Four children who survived the crash need to work together. We have just met a new character who the children refer to as the explorer. We are very excited to see what happens next!

 

 

 

 

Carys organised a bake sale to raise money for the PTAF and ended up raising 

£106! 

We would like to join the PTAF and say a big well done for Carys!

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU ENJOYED AT HOME?

Plans are already moving for the third edition of our Cotham Gardens Loves Reading newsletter due out at the end of term 6. This time we need your help!

We would like to share book recommendations from you and your child(ren)!

Please send me an email (see below for address) with a few sentences about a favourite book along  with a picture of you and your child holding said book. This will then be published in the newsletter to inspire our school community.

It would be especially great to include some books from different cultures and/or languages. (One of my favourite French children's books is called Ma Vie de Courgette, which was translated as My Life as A Courgette. It's an excellent book that was turned into an equally excellent stop-motion animation.)

We look forward to receiving your recommendations soon!

Email: duncan.brett@cothamgardens.co.uk

 

 

 

At Cotham Gardens Primary School, we aim to provide a first-class education to ensure all children achieve their best. We are proud to be a part of a welcoming, creative and inclusive community, where children are firmly at the heart of everything we do.  

Our vision is to celebrate diversity and learn together. We have developed a Strategic Plan for 2024-2029 with three core strands to achieve this: 

• Long-term future 
• Outcomes for Children 
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Cotham Gardens Primary School is a single academy trust in Bristol, with a capacity for 460 children, governed by a Board of Trustees who are responsible for setting the vision of our Trust and holding our Head of School and Chief Executive Officer to account. Trustees play a pivotal role in providing appropriate challenge and support to the Head of School and Chief Executive Officer. Trustees are both charity trustees and company directors of the Trust. The Trustees manage the business of the Trust and may exercise all the powers of the Trust in compliance with its charitable objects and with company and charity law. All Trustees are required to act in accordance with the Nolan Principles for Public Life.  

We need to have a Trust Board with a balance and diversity of knowledge, skills and experience in order to be effective, covering education, finance, human resources, legal, marketing and public relations, property and estates management, and organisational change. We are currently looking for Trustees to join our Board, and in particular are looking for finance experience. The role of a Trustee is both challenging and rewarding. It will give you the chance to make a real difference to young people, give something back to your local community and develop your skills in a board-level environment. Support and training are provided from the very start of the journey. We want our Board to reflect the community in which it serves and so welcome applications from all ages and backgrounds. You do not need to be a parent, and there is no requirement for you to have an understanding of the education system, instead just the necessary skills, character and time to contribute.  

If you or someone you know would be interested in this opportunity, please contact Charlotte Coulson at charlotte.coulson@cothamgardens.co.uk for more details. Please note that relevant DBS and suitability checks will be carried out on all applications.  

Further information on our Trust and Cotham Gardens Primary School can be found on the website www.cothamgardens.co.uk 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All welcome to join on Tuesday 24th June in the Elmgrove Hall from 9.00am - 10.30am