Living Streets (Moortown group) update
An update and a call for support (by Friday 15 March) from our local Living Streets group.
WE HAVE GOOD NEWS!
Back in autumn we submitted a response to the ‘Connecting Leeds’ consultation for improvements in Moortown. The feedback you provided in our survey helped us to share a number of ideas with Leeds City Council to help make the routes to school safer and more pleasant for all members of the community.
It’s very pleasing to see that a number of suggested improvements have been incorporated into the revised proposals, including:
• Priority for pedestrians at both the entrance and exit of the parade car parks (kerbs to run through with visual priority for people on foot so drivers know to give way).
• Replacing the badly positioned concrete bollards on the northern parade with a continuous low-level fence (to match the south parade) to prevent vehicles blocking the footpath.
• Low-level fencing at Manning Stainton to allow access only via the official dropped kerb and not across the full length of the footway.
• Planters adjacent to the road outside Manning Stainton to enhance the area and prevent HGVs and other vehicles driving and parking on the footway.
• Improved crossing times for pedestrians at the main M&S lights.
• A widening of the public footpath/reduction in road space adjacent to the south parade to allow for the future introduction of a pavement at the shops (not in the scope of this project).
Existing proposed designs for this future work can be found in Moortown Community Group’s Neighbourhood Design Statement (available at moortowncommunitygroup.org.uk).
BUT IT’S NOT A DONE DEAL YET. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP…
Although the public consultation for Moortown is now complete, there will still be some local targeted consultation with residents and business owners directly affected by the proposals. They will hopefully support the revised proposals too, but there’s also a chance some won’t, particularly if it affects current parking arrangements.
We want to ensure that the improvements for pedestrians many of us have been campaigning for are delivered and a great way to demonstrate your support is to post a comment about the revised plans on Twitter, tagging both Connecting Leeds and Moortown Living Streets Group, or email Connecting Leeds directly if you don’t use Twitter:
Twitter: @ConnectingLeeds + @MoortownLSG
Email: connectingleeds@leeds.gov.uk
Follow this link to see the updated Moortown plans as well as a number of other local schemes which are now open for public comment (including Alwoodley, Scott Hall Road and Chapel Allerton).
Many thanks once again for your continued support!
Dom Jacques
E: moortowngroup@livingstreets.org.uk T: @moortownlsg
World Book Day school dinner menu
On World Book Day, Thursday 7th March, there will be a special themed menu for school meals.
Please contact the office, as soon as possible, if your child would like to have a school meal on this day.
Living and Learning: I can assess my own risks
Following our staying safe learning last week, we thought about how that links with another area of living and learning, rights and responsibilities.
I have the right to be safe.
I have responsibility to make safe choices.
This week, our living and learning statement encourages us to take responsibility for our own safety. Using the learning from our themed week, we thought about how we can assess our own risks and stay safe.
Using one piece of large paper, Year 4 created a poster. Throughout the day, the children added their own thoughts about assessing risks to the sheet.
Ask your child about other potentially unsafe situations and how they can take responsibility and assess their own risks.
Investigating Shadows
This week, Year 4 have been investigating shadows. The children were able to recognise that shadows are formed when the light, from a light source, is blocked by an opaque object.
Before we began our investigations, we enjoyed watching a short film clip about creating shadows called ‘Wonderful World.’ In this show, the audience are on the same side of the screen as the puppeteer so you can see him working.
During the presentation the creator shows shadows of both an adult hand and a child’s hand at the same time. Both hands belong to the same person.
How did he do it?
We discussed our thoughts and suggested ideas.
“Is one hand close and one far away?” questioned Noah.
“I think that the light is moving closer,” stated Jess.
This led us to thinking about how shadow sizes can be altered.
The class were asked to set up their own experiment that would enable them to be able to investigate the following:
- find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change
- make systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units
- recording findings using simple scientific language and tables
The children actively investigated how shadows change as the light source is moved further away from an object. They worked in teams to take measurements and look for patterns in the data they collected.
The class discovered that:
- an object close to the screen casts the clearest shadow
- the distance of the light source from the object affects the size of the shadow
- the further away the light source, the smaller the shadow.
Were there any patterns?
“Our results did show that the shadow of the object gets bigger the closer it gets to the light source.” Group 4
“Our results did not really have a pattern. We thought that the reason for this might’ve been that the room wasn’t dark enough. Our shadow was hard to see and measure.” Group 1
Finally, the children used their results to form a conclusion. 
Great investigating Year 4!
At playtime, it was lovely to see that some of Year 4 were creating their own shadows using the sun as the light source.
Living and Learning: Staying Safe week comes to an end
The final two days of our Staying Safe themed week continued to be filled with visitors, visits and more great learning.
Thank you to Allerton Grange who supported our themed week by hosting two of our classes. Year 6 had to be very safety conscious when attempting to scale the climbing wall. The technology department allowed Year 5 to safely investigate and explore a variety of different equipment.
Rachael from the Dogs Trust visited all classes on Thursday to talk about keeping safe around dogs. The children were taught to always check with an owner to see if it is safe to stroke a dog and what to do if a dog runs towards you. Have a look at Year 3’s class news post to find out more.
Jane Cusworth from Leeds Beckett University also joined us on Thursday to cover some basic first aid with different classes. Thank you to those parents and carers who joined her for the first aid workshop at the end of the day.
On Friday, Steve from British Military Martial Arts gave some great self defence tips to the children. BMMA run a martial arts after-school club at school every Monday so contact the office if you’d like more details.
There was also a water safety theme to the day with a visit from the Canal and River Trust to help to keep us safe by rivers and canals. Key water safety messages were given such as lying down on the floor when pulling someone out of the water.
Finally, thank you to Catering Leeds, our school meal provider, who gave hand hygiene sessions to Reception and KS1 classes. Keeping our hands clean and safe from germs will protect us from becoming sick and passing on germs to others.
There have been some great safety messages across the week from all our visitors. Ask your child/children what they have learnt across the week in respect to staying safe
- online
- at home
- at school
- in their environment
Safety Week Summary
We have come to the end of our ‘Safety’ themed week. Year 4 have had many visitors relating to different aspects of staying safe. We would like to thank Mrs Taylor who works hard to organise the events during a themed week. She has provided us all with many interesting and exciting safety workshops.
Below are a few snippets from some of the sessions.
Safety Week: Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust
We all enjoyed a visit from Dogs Trust on Thursday. The dedicated staff help find homes for hundreds of dogs. It is important that children understand how to behave around the dogs in their homes and in the community so they can enjoy their company and remain safe. 
There are many benefits of having a dog in the family:
- they provide loyalty
- petting a dog or cat can reduce anxiety and owning a pet can aid relaxation
- walking a dog and caring for them is good exercise
- children can learn about responsibility, compassion and respect for another living thing
However, we often hear in the media of children getting bitten by dogs. Year 4 learnt all about different dog behaviours and how to remain safe around them.
The reasons dogs bite:
- protecting themselves or their property
- may be in pain
- may feel trapped
- may have been surprised by your actions
- may be very excited
Ask your child how these dogs may be feeling. Would it be safe to approach them? What does their body language tell you?
Rules when we are out and about:
Always ask before approaching any dog. (CONSENT) Ask the owner where on the body to stroke the dog.
Never touch a dog that is left alone outside a shop or similar situation.
Don’t enter a garden if a dog is loose, even if you know it.
Never run or shout around a dog. Always walk past calmly.
Do not hug a dog. How would you feel if a stranger hugged you?
So how should we behave around dogs?
Always be calm, quiet and move slowly around pets.
If a strange dog runs up to you or if the dog you are visiting is very excited to see you:
- stand still
- make no noise
- if you are carrying food or toys, drop them away from you
- fold your arms
- look away from the dog
- move away slowly
- never run
This will make you very boring to the dog and help him to calm down
If you are knocked to the ground:
- roll up into a ball with your face to the ground
- make no sound
- cover your face with your hands
Thank you Dogs Trust
Living and Learning: Giving Consent
Continuing our learning about staying safe, Year 4 thought about consent and what this actually means.
First of all, what is consent?
“It means you say yes.” commented Emma.
Consent is the act of giving permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.
“Do we always have to give our consent?”
“We can say no and not feel bad about it,” stated Musa.
“Why do we ask for permission?”
“You can ask to play with someone’s toys or ask your friend if they’d like to play your game,” said Jasraj.
“Asking for permission can keep us safe. If your parents say no then you should accept that,” quoted Sami.
“Never consent to competitions online,” suggested Mrs Freeman.
The children went on to name occasions where they believed they should ask others for their consent.
“Would you like to play this online game with us later?”
“No, I’d rather not as it’s not really my thing. Thank you for asking.”
We talked about respecting boundaries and that each and every one of us has the right to say NO! This doesn’t have to be said rudely but it is very important that if you don’t want to do something then you don’t give your permission.
The important thing to remember about consent is that you should always respect others when they say ‘no‘. That is their choice to make, not yours! Even if you might not like their choice you should always respect it.
“Can I take your photo?” asked Mrs Freeman.
“Yes, of course that’s fine,” replied Sami.
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t,” said Jess.
“Thanks for asking but no,” stated Noah.
“I’m not happy about that so no,” mentioned Felix.
Year 4 were taught that they have the right to withhold consent or to give consent at a later date. Giving consent and knowing that it can be withdrawn at any time, is all part of staying safe. Using the poem below, the children used some inference skills to decipher the effects peer pressure can have on individuals and the importance of saying yes/no for the right reasons.
Peer Pressure 
The fear of being left out is what it’s all about
No one wants to get laughed at or be the odd one out
No one likes to feel rejected put down and dejected
we all love to feel accepted, we’re all affected
but you have to learn to be your own person
just be yourself and aim to be your best version
You’re not a robot programmed to follow without thinking
just acting brainless with empty eyes blinking
I understand the pressure it doesn’t stop as you grow
It’s natural to follow where everyone goes
and sometimes it’s ok to go with the flow (follow the crowd)
but other times you have to swim against the tide and so (do your own thing)
you’ll have to say no, when everyone says yes
and be firm with your choice deep in your chest
and overcome that fear of being left out
because that’s what peer pressure is really all about.
Year 4 showed empathy, understanding, maturity and a good understanding throughout our lesson.
Well done!
Living and Learning
Today, Year 3 and 4 discussed what consent is.
Daisy: “It’s when someone gives you permission to do something.”
Harman: “It’s when you need to ask your parents to do something.”
Edris: “Consent is when I have permission to get a snack from the kitchen from my mum or dad. I have to ask them for permission first.”
Billy: “Consent is something you have.”
This opened up lots more questions such as
- Do we just automatically have consent straight away if we have asked for permission?
- Are our parents the only people who can give permission to us?
- Do we have the right to give permission or not give permission?
We talked about the fact that we need to always ask for consent when our actions affect someone else. For instance we need to ask for consent when:
- Making physical contact with someone – even giving them a hug.
- We want to play on our parents’ computer.
- We want to take a photograph of someone.
We practised doing this by throwing a beanbag across the classroom and always asking for consent to do so from the receiver. We also saw how important it was to give someone time to think, make their mind up, give us their response and not pressure them to hurry up. We showed respect to those that said no by accepting that no means no and not ever ‘ask me again in 5 minutes time’.
Year 3 and 4 practised using their voice and not giving in to peer pressure and copying what their friends did – maybe they didn’t want to catch the beanbag. This applies in lots of situations – everyone (young and old) has the right to say no and be respected. We need to make sure we are actively asking and listening out to hear for permission to be given or not.
We talked about our right to change our minds. Just because we are used to receiving a hug from a friend or have always had our picture taken for class news posts, doesn’t mean we have to keep on giving consent. We can say no and not be questioned on this. It is our right. This includes with our class teachers and other adults. With this in mind, we discussed feeling nervous or guilty about saying no. We discussed that the more we got used to doing it – and taking that safe risk of just saying no – the easier it would become. We also shared that if we had any worries about this we could always talk to an adult or a teacher for some help.
Sun Safety
Today, as part of our themed week, the children learnt about the risk factors associated with the sun. On top of this, we also thought about all the benefits that sunlight provides us with.
It is very important that we know how to look after our bodies at all times. We do this from the inside with a balanced diet and exercise, but also from the outside with protective clothing and following health and safety rules. One thing that lots of people enjoy is being outside in the sun. It is important to understand that the sun can be damaging to our bodies if we don’t take precautions and protect ourselves from its powerful rays. The sun can be very strong even on days when it doesn’t feel very hot or there is a strong breeze in the air. We should take precautions at all times. As well as having harmful effects on unprotected skin, the sun can also benefit our bodies and can have a positive impact on our mood and other bodily functions.
We asked the classes to work in pairs and answer these given questions
Is the sun bad/good for you? 
Why do we need the sun?
This work formed a good link to our current Science learning ‘investigating light.’
“The sun is our biggest source of light.”
Did you know that it takes about 8 minutes for the sunlight to be seen on the earth after it has left the sun?
“In very bright weather it is dangerous to look directly at the sun without protective glasses.”
After completing and discussing the children’s responses, we all enjoyed a ‘Sun Safety’ spot the difference activity. Can you find all twenty differences between the pictures?
