It’s the last Weekly Message of Spring 1. It’s incredible to think we’ve already reached half-way through the school year!

Staying safe online

Tuesday was Safer Internet Day. Do you speak with your child about staying safe online? Do you check your child’s devices and online history regularly? Do you make sure your child is online only in a busy room, with other people at home around them?

The government is launching a new website on 16 February 2026 to support families and encourage regular conversations about what they’re seeing online, asking simple questions, like ‘who shared this’ and ‘why?’. Based on parents’ main concerns and needs, it provides:

• tips for parents’ conversations with their children
• actions to support each stage of their child’s life
• parental controls information

The website will also feature signposting to trusted resources from charities and third parties, where parents can access other forms of support (like speaking to an expert).

The website will continue to grow and be developed this year, supporting the Online Safety Act and wider government aims.

Check out Kids online safety.

Young artists

Now in its eighth year, the Young Artists’ Summer Show is a free, open submission exhibition for students aged 4–18 studying in the UK. Artworks are judged by a panel of artists and arts professionals, with selected artworks displayed online and on-site at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Click here for more information about the competition. We’ve registered Moortown Primary and now it’s over to you to register and submit an artwork. Submissions close on 4 March 2026 at 5pm.

Attendance matters

Each term , the Department for Education produces a report which analyses each school’s attendance and compares attendance with a small group of similar schools. Here are some highlights from the Autumn term…

• Attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals was 95.8%, higher than all 20 similar schools.
• Attendance on Monday mornings was 96.3%, higher than 18 out of 20 similar schools.
• Attendance on Wednesday mornings was 97.1%, higher than 17 out of 20 similar schools.

Thank you to everyone who helps to make sure their child attends school with no unnecessary absences.

Policies

Sphere Federation governors have asked me to include a reminder to you all that some key policies are available on our website.

Any docs and content on the website is available as a paper copy if you ask.

Swimming

This is a reminder about changes to Swimming lessons…

Previously, children in Year 3 attended weekly swimming lessons at a local pool. However, once travel and changing time were factored in, these lessons took up a large part of the afternoon – often for just a short amount of time in the water.

We’re introducing a new and improved approach: a pop-up pool – a purpose-built, heated, temporary swimming pool, located right on school grounds. Moortown Primary and Scholes (Elmet) Primary (another Sphere Federation school) will share this pool in an alternating cycle each year.

Each school will have access to the pool for a three-week block. During this time, children in Years 3 and 4 will swim every day for 45 minutes. Lessons will be delivered by fully qualified, external swimming instructors. This means your child will get 15 high-quality swimming lessons in just three weeks – a more focused and effective way to learn.

There are no swimming lessons this year. That’s because in 2025–26, Scholes (Elmet) Primary will use the pool. In 2026–27, Moortown Primary will have the pool on-site. Over this two-year cycle, all children in Years 3 and 4 across both schools will benefit from this enhanced model.

We understand this may seem like fewer lessons overall. However, the intensive daily format has been shown to significantly boost children’s progress.

We’re confident that this change will give children a stronger foundation in swimming– and do so in a way that’s efficient, inclusive, and enjoyable. As always, if you’ve any questions, comments or concerns, please let us know.

We hope you and your family enjoy the Spring half-term break – hopefully, it’ll stop raining at some point… See you on Monday 23 February.