News

Read the latest news, updates and reminders from Moortown Primary.

Top class swimmer

Posted on 23 April 2025 by Mrs Weekes

Our friend in Y3 (with flippers for feet!) has another title to her name! She has been striving to be number one in the UK and she has acheived her goal. She is now number one across the UK for 50m in the butterfly stroke! She was the only 8 year old girl to swim it in under 50 seconds. She swam her race against 12 year olds and although nervous she rose to the challenge and was  awesome.

Well done – amazing achievement!

Our weekly message: Friday 04 April 2025

Posted on 04 April 2025 by Mr Roundtree

Last week, we were sad to say goodbye to Miss Lowry, our Reception teacher. Miss Lowry had taught at Scholes (Elmet) Primary (one of our Sphere Federation partner schools) for many years, and was covering for Mrs Wood. But the goodbye was alongside a big hello to Mrs Wood (teaching Monday to Thursday) and Mrs Brown (teaching Friday). 

Did you see the Year 3,4 production? We were so impressed by the singing and solo performances!  Every child put so much effort into it. Well done to all.

Easter events

Last week, we mentioned this guide from Child Friendly Leeds to help children and families in Leeds navigate their way through the Easter holidays. You might also want to check out another guide from Active Leeds – anyone up for some paddlesports?!

National Youth Strategy

The government is creating a new ten-year National Youth Strategy to tackle the challenges for this generation of young people and to ensure every young person can thrive. The strategy aims to bring power back to young people and their communities to improve youth focused services.

Rhe government wants to hear the views of children and young people aged 10 to 21 (and up to age 25 with special educational needs or disabilities).

Encourage your child to complete the survey to share with the government what they think on a range of themes.

If they don’t have time to complete the survey, then encourage them to share their quick thoughts with the government on what could be improved.

Need some help?

MoneyBuddies is the biggest independent money advice service in West Yorkshire. They offer free, impartial debt advice, budgeting support, letter writing, energy bill saving, income maximisation services and more.

They’re an independent organisation that works in partnership with Leeds City Council, Councillors, other leading charities in Leeds, The Leeds Debt Forum and the Community Fund ( Big Lottery) to deliver Money Buddy sessions across Leeds. Their sessions are delivered by dedicated staff and volunteers.

Have a happy and healthy holiday. We’ll see you again on Tuesday 22 April.

English School Swimming Association North East Heat

Posted on 02 April 2025 by Mrs Taylor

Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 swimmers who took part in the English School Swimming Association North East Heat at The Grammar School at Leeds. For most of the team, this was the first competitive swimming event they had taken part in so well done to all the children for their determination and also for taking responsibility by practising prior to the event. The team were then inspired by watching our City of Leeds swimmer take part in his individual races.

I’m going to practise more swimming to get faster to compete again in Year 6.

This was a great opportunity for us! Not everyone gets the chance to do this.

Our weekly message: Friday 28 March 2025

Posted on 28 March 2025 by Mr Roundtree

We’ve loved playtimes this week. It’s been great to see our children on The Green enjoying happy and healthy playtimes. (Sorry if clothes have been a bit mucky –  it does indicate your child’s had a good time, though!)

Look our for our Learning Updates next week. These ‘mini-reports’ are sent home at the end of the Autumn and Spring terms.

Easter events

It’s time to get creative! Get started with your ideas and plan how you’re going to decorate your egg for the Easter competition. If you’re using a real egg, please make sure it’s hard boiled or blown so we don’t have a messy entry!
Please bring your entries in on Thursday 03 April so they can be judged on Friday.

Also next week, if your child’s in Y3 or Y4, we’re looking forward to seeing you at one of the Spring productions – Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday evening.

Talking of Easter…

Check out this guide to help children and families in Leeds navigate their way through the Easter holidays. The guide’s has lots of free or low-cost activities for a range of ages, in the city centre and in your community.

Compliments

I can give and receive compliments has been our Living and Learning statement this week. It’s all about being polite and making each other feel good about ourselves.

Help at home… Spend next week giving compliments to each other at home. Try to make sure the compliments are about what we’ve done and not just how we look – we’ve got more power to change what we do than how we look so these compliments can be much more effective. Some children find it hard to receive compliments, so this week of giving compliments might help, too.

Thinking of going on holiday in term-time?

From time to time across the year, we’ve let you know the impact of missing five days of school. We’ve thought about it in terms of Reading, Writing, Maths, Science, and the social and emotional aspects of school. Taking a week’s holiday during term-time means your child misses…

  • over 4 hours of learning in Reading
  • over 4 hours of learning in Writing
  • over 5 hours of learning in Maths
  • over 10 hours of learning in other subjects
  • over 6 hours of opportunities for social time and play

Missing all this in one week means your child will miss significant chunks of teaching and will have gaps in their learning.

Schools are expected to issue penalty notices for unauthorised term-time absences.

The fine for school absences across the country is £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this is charged at the higher rate of £160. 

Fines per parent are capped to two fines within any three-year period. After this, legal action like a parenting order or prosecution is considered. 

So far this school year in Leeds, there have been 4,350 penalty notices issued.

 

See you next week for the last week of the Spring term.

Musical Magic

Posted on 28 March 2025 by Mrs Weekes

One of our Y4 friends, Oliver, is a very talented musician. Last week, he took part in the Rothwell Competitive Music Festival.

Not only did he take part,  he came 1st in the cello class competition (under 11 years) and he received the Beatrice Stables Cup trophy.

In another competition, at the weekend, he competed in a piano competition (under 16 years) he came 2nd place. His expressive tones and confidence in techniques were acknowledged in the feedback that he got.

What an amazing talent. Well done, Oliver!

Our weekly message: Friday 21 March 2025

Posted on 21 March 2025 by Mr Roundtree

Thank you if you managed to visit us this week for our second Topic Review session of the year. Please let us know your thoughts.

Thank you also if you made a contribution to today’s Comic Relief fundraising. We’ve raised a fantastic amount of £217.16 – well done!

There are four articles in this week’s message, one of which is a question for you: Do you know someone who might be interested in becoming a governor?

I can find solutions to different problems.

Our Living and Learning statement this week has been I can find solutions to different problems. This is a really useful one to practise at home, too. We all encounter problems – disagreements with family or friends, for example. In the long run, supporting your child to find their own solutions to problems is better than getting involved yourself.

Help at home. Spend time thinking about the solution more than the problem itself – this will help to move on. Look out for problems in a film or a story you’re enjoying together. Pause and discuss different solutions. If your child comes to you with a real problem, responses such as ‘How do you think you can solve this?’ can be really powerful. (Of course, remain sympathetic and reassure them you’re around if they need more help.)

Find each week’s Living and Learning statement in our calendar – look for the entry at the start of each school week.

Ofsted

You might not be aware that all three Sphere Federation schools have been inspected in the last year:

The inspections judge schools in five separate areas:

  • the quality of education
  • behaviour and attitudes
  • personal development
  • leadership and management
  • early years provision

We’re delighted to say that all three schools have been judged to be good or outstanding in all the areas. (In fact, Early Years is judged to be outstanding in all three schools!)

The power of schools working closely together in Sphere Federation is a key part of this. The successful federation has many benefits, including:

  • better, broader offer for pupils – both curricular & extra-curricular
  • really effective professional development for staff
  • better recruitment, succession planning and retention of staff
  • close cooperation so teachers and support staff learn from each other
  • greater capacity for innovation
  • strong governance

Talking of governance…

Do you know someone who might be interested in becoming a governor?

Here are two extracts from the inspection reports about the Sphere Federation Governing Board:

Governors support and challenge leaders in equal measure. They ensure funding is available to support vulnerable pupils. They fulfil their statutory duties effectively.

(Moortown Primary, March 2024)

Governors are skilled and knowledgeable and fulfil their responsibilities well. They make regular visits to school. They use these visits to evaluate the impact of leaders’ decisions.

(St James’ CE Primary, January 2025)

Our Governing Board has vacancies – do you know anyone who might be interested in becoming a governor?

There are already quite a few governors who are parents, but if you feel you can add to our Governing Board, please let us know. If you’ve a relative or friend (not a parent of a child attending a Sphere Federation school) who might have the time and skills, please encourage them to consider taking on the role. It would be great to develop the diversity of the Governing Board, too.

Interested individuals should contact our Chair of Governors, Rachel Cooper: rachelcooper@spherefederation.org

 

Finally this week, West Yorkshire Police have asked us to share the following…

Vaping

Whilst more of a problem amongst older children, some children of primary age are regularly using vapes.

Vaping might be an effective way for adults to cut down on cigarette smoking but buying or selling vapes to children under the age of 18 is illegal.

A lot of young people use vapes because of their popularity. It’s easy for them to buy vapes online, in local shops and through friends or social media. However, many of the vapes targeted at children not only have high levels of nicotine, making them very addictive, they often contain illegal drugs or chemicals.

Some of these vapes are so strong that just taking one puff is causing some children to become very unwell – some even needing hospitalisation.

Here are some key points and tips for you and your child:

  • if they don’t vape, don’t start
  • explain the dangers and risks – even if you vape yourself, the dangers to children are far greater
  • if you know they vape, encourage them to try cutting down with the aim of trying to stop
  • don’t use a disposable vape with more than 2% nicotine or with more than 600 puffs – this constitutes an illegal (and therefore unregulated) vape
  • don’t use a vape which claims to have THC, cannabis, spice or any other illegal drug content – these can cause children to become very unwell, very quickly
  • make sure they know that if they feels unwell after using a vape, they should tell a trusted adult immediately and seek medical advice – this is because if a vape makes a child feel unwell it’s likely to contain an illegal product
  • if you’re worried about your child’s use of vapes, seek the advice of a health practitioner or your GP

Check out these two websites, too:

 

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 14 March 2025

Posted on 14 March 2025 by Mr Roundtree

From time to time. we like to remind you of information and guidance on a particular subject. This week, check out our packed lunch guidance, part of our Food in School website page. Why not try one of the packed lunch top tips!

Watching and browsing online

According to Ofcom, 90% of children are watching online videos and browsing the internet regularly. Many children like to stream videos and look up information. It can be a fun way to learn and relax. However, they must be guided. The online world is filled with inappropriate content and dangerous material. It’s important that you’re able to steer your child towards the right places when online. Internet Matters has published a guide dedicated to supporting adults in setting digital boundaries for children so that they can make smart choices and build healthy online habits. You’ll find practical tips on managing content access, the use of safety controls, advice on setting boundaries and ways to educate children on how to stay secure online.

EYFS survey

Thank you to the Reception parents and carers who completed our recent survey. All those who responded agree that…

  • their child is happy at school
  • we place a high priority on reading
  • they’re happy with their child’s progress
  • they find our Reception staff approachable
  • the Class News page helps them to support their child

We received some great feedback…

  • Moortown Primary feels more like a community than a school. The children and team are welcoming, positive and proactive.
  • We’re very pleased that [our daughter] got a place at Moortown Primary…it’s an incredibly supportive and friendly environment
  • Moortown is lovely and supportive. We always feel listened to and any concerns dealt with quickly and efficiently

We’re exploring some the the comments to see if we can improve what we do, and we’ve passed on individual comments to the individual staff concerned.

Washing pods and capsules

Where do you keep your laundry and dishwasher washing pods? It’s quite common to store these in a cupboard low down. The Child Accident Prevention Trust has recently published guidance.

Finally, here’s another in our series of pieces about missing a series of days at school. This one relates to writing skills.

If your child was absent for five days in a row…

We typically teach writing in 2- or 3- week blocks. Children who miss five days struggle to access the learning in that whole block because they miss a large part of the sequence of learning. They might miss the initial lessons so they have no idea what they’re writing about or why; they might miss the teaching of key skills and the opportunity to practise these; or they might miss the opportunity to plan and write their own piece. They also miss the regular practice, and teaching, of handwriting, grammar, spelling and vocabulary.

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Our weekly message: Friday 07 March 2025

Posted on 07 March 2025 by Mr Roundtree

First of all this week, congratulations to all of Year 4 who won their Skipping School heat against four other Leeds schools and have now qualified for the Leeds final in June. 

Also, well done to our Year 3 and 4 cross country runners who represented Leeds in the West Yorkshire final yesterday. We had a Year 3 top 10 finisher out of 146 runners and the Year 3 girls team achieved 6th place out of 21 teams.

The rest of this week’s message is about Computing, our current topic…

This half-term, we’re developing our knowledge of computers and computer programming.

Computer programming is super. Creating games, animations and solving real world problems is fun and encourages creativity – it’s challenging, too!

Importantly, the skills your child will use and develop are transferable to other subjects and areas of life. For example, the concept of decomposition in programming is concerned with breaking down a large task into smaller chunks. This concept could be used when writing a story, solving a maths problem or tidying a particularly messy bedroom! The process of debugging is about identifying and fixing an error in a program. It requires systematic, objective thinking and plenty of resilience.

Each phase has age-related specific knowledge, skill sand vocabulary. See pages 12 and 13 of our Topic Curriculum Guide.

Years 1 and 2

Children will learn about how technology is used beyond school in our homes and all around us. They’ll begin to consider what a computer is and isn’t.

In programming lessons, they’ll create animations in Scratch Jr by creating and debugging algorithms. They’ll then continue to use Scratch Jr to create an interactive quiz.

Years 3 and 4

Children will reason about what exactly makes a computer a computer. Is a games console a computer? Is a TV a computer? Is a bedside lamp a computer? Next, they will learn about inputs and outputs and identify different examples of them in everyday technology.

They’ll then be introduced to Scratch. They will learn how they can add or change sprites and backdrops and then begin to experiment with making their sprites move. They’ll look at programs created on Scratch and use logical reasoning to explain what will happen when these programs are run. They’ll learn about the importance of sequencing in programming when they recreate a well-known melody. Finally, they’ll create their own ‘band’ on Scratch by programming different instrument sprites to play sounds.

Years 5 and 6

Children will learn about what a computer network is and that the Internet is an enormous computer network. They’ll also learn about the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web.

In programming lessons, they’ll be introduced to BBC Microbits – pocket sized computers – which they’ll program to do lots of different things. This will allow children to gain a deeper understanding of concepts like sequence, selection and variables.

Some of this vocabulary may sound alien to you but, as the topic goes on, your child will be able to tell you what they mean and give examples of how they’ve used them in their projects. Some of the projects your children will be making are a magic 8-ball style program which will give you an answer to all your questions and a pedometer to count the number of steps they’re making.

How can you help?

Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning in class. Class News is a good place to go to find out more about what your child’s up to in school.

The school library and local libraries have lots of books about coding and computer games which your child will be able to borrow and develop both their reading skills and computing knowledge.

Finally, try programming with your child. There are loads of programming apps and software available to download, often for free.

Here’s a list for Key Stage 1:

  • Daisy the Dinosaur (Apple only)
  • Beebot
  • Tynker Junior
  • Scratch Jr
  • Code Karts

…And one for Key Stage 2:

  • Lightbot
  • Tynker
  • Scratch Jr
  • Scratch

Our weekly message: Friday 28 February 2025

Posted on 28 February 2025 by Mr Roundtree

We’re now well and truly into the second half of the school year and we hope it’s a happy and healthy one for your child at Moortown Primary. Positive relationships between home and school have a key role to play in ensuring this. We welcome your questions, comments and concerns. Do catch us at the start or end of the school day for any quick conversation, and for anything longer or more sensitive, please call us or arrange a meeting.

School dinners

Our school dinner menus have been updated. Check out the updated menus.

On the same website page, please check out the information about free school meals, too. Free school meals are available to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. They’re also available to some older children according to family income. It’s important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch or is in a younger class – this is so we can receive additional funding (called the pupil premium) which we can use to help your child.

Early reading – myth busting!

‘My child’s reading practice books are too easy.’

In Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, we use reading practice books that are matched to your child’s phonic knowledge. We read a physical book in school at least four times over the week in Reading Practice sessions. Your child is then set this book as an ebook. They should be able to read this book fluently and independently – giving them a chance to show off their amazing reading to you, sharing their success!

We also send home a ‘Love of Reading’ book – this is a library book for sharing. This is the most important homework you can do at home. Developing your child’s love of reading so they become a lifelong reader is a wonderful gift. Find out more on the Little Wandle website or watch this video about reading at home.

Attendance matters

For the first half of the year, from September right up to the Spring half-term, our whole school attendance figure was 96.2%.

  • that’s higher than the national figure for primary schools (94.8%)
  • it means we’re in the top 10%-20% of schools nationally
  • after a bout of infections in Key Stage 1 in the Autumn term, we’re now catching up with the full 2023-24 attendance figure (96.7%)

Here’s the attendance figures for each class:

  • Reception: 95.5%
  • Year 1: 94.0%
  • Year 2: 93.6%
  • Year 3: 97.4%
  • Year 4: 97.4%
  • Year 5: 97.8%
  • Year 6: 97.8%

Thank you for making sure your child attends school as much as they can.

Reception – reminder

Today is the last day for parents/carers of children in Reception to complete a short survey – it’ll only take 5-10 minutes. Your feedback helps us to explore ways we might be able to improve the Reception year. It’s also an opportunity to let us know any specific questions or concerns you might have – we’ll try to respond to all of these (leaving your name will help, but that’s optional).

Thanks to everyone who’s completed the survey so far.

Next week, look out for our Key Stage 1 and 2 Topic update for the Spring 2 term…

Charity fundraising

Posted on 25 February 2025 by Mrs Weekes

One of our Y3 friends spent some of her half term holiday thinking about other people. She spent time making bracelets and then she sold them to friends and family. She did a great job and raised £7.67. She has decided to donate this money to our chosen school charity, Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Amazing job!

Moortown Primary School, Leeds
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