Successful Staying Safe Week
Our recent Staying Safe themed week was a big success with a variety of visitors and visits across the week. These included Emergency First Aid, food safety and cooking at Allerton Grange, drugs awareness (d:side), fire safety (Moortown Fire Station), road and firework safety and stranger danger (Police) and staying safe around dogs (Dogs Trust). Have a look on the class news pages to see some photos from the week.
The key message was how to be safe in a variety of situations:
‘I learnt how to use a knife, for chopping vegetables, safely by not cutting towards you.’
‘Be safe near the oven.’
‘I have learnt how to put somebody in the recovery position.’
‘I have learnt that you should not go into the water to save someone.’
‘The surface of the water is warm but the bottom is cold and people who can swim can still drown.’
‘Never give out your personal information.’
Here are some useful websites if you would like to follow up any of the work done by your child / children throughout the week:
General safety
http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/index.html
Staying Safe online
Fire Safety
http://firekills.direct.gov.uk/index.html
Road Safety
http://www.dft.gov.uk/think/education/early-years-and-primary/
Electricity Safety
http://www.switchedonkids.org.uk/
Food safety
SEAL statement 10 October
This week, our SEAL statement is ‘I can make my classroom a good place to learn’.
At this stage in the first half term, children will be familiar with our established school rules but also their class contract. Teachers, this week, will be looking for those children who consistently follow these and who therefore make their classroom a good place to learn.
As a reminder, our three school rules are:
- Follow instructions
- Use positive language
- Keep hands, feet and objects to yourself
Ask your child what’s in their own class’s contract.
SEAL statement 3 October
‘I can do something brave’ is the SEAL statement for this week.
Following our Staying Safe themed week we are now returning to our New Beginnings SEAL theme and this week also sees the start of our new topics.
As children are settling in to their new classes and getting more familiar with their new routines they may be more comfortable to try something brave, maybe working with someone different in their class, trying to answer a question they are not 100% sure about or attempting to move up their learning mountain.
SEAL statement 26 September
This week, it’s Staying Safe week and ‘I can keep myself and others safe’ is our statement for the week.
From staying safe around dogs (Dogs Trust) to drugs safety (d:side for KS2), emergency first aid to a cyber bullying drama workshop, safety while exercising (street dancer) to road safety (police) – we have lots of activities planned for the week!
Some classes will be visiting the local fire station and also Allerton Grange to learn about food safety and take part in an ICT based photography session based on safety.
Our School Council have even set the homework for the end of the week.
Between 3pm – 3.30pm on Thursday 29 September, dside (an interactive drug education provider) will be offering parents and carers the opportunity to meet their representative, in the dining room, to discuss any of the aspects covered during their visit. There will also be information available for you to take away.
Should you have any questions about the week please contact your child’s class teacher or speak with me directly.
We hope your child / children enjoy the week.
Cyber-bullying
Cyber-bullying
Next week is our Staying Safe themed week. Children will learn about safety in a variety of contexts: in the kitchen, in the playground, during sports, during travel – your child might even use a police speed camera to catch out those speeding drivers on Shadwell Lane!
Over the past few years, there have been growing concerns about cyber-bullying – the use of technology, particularly mobile phones and the internet, to deliberately upset someone.
We regularly teach our children about e-safety, but here’s some good advice for parents / carers:
- Be alert to your child being upset after using the internet / phones – they may be secretive or change relationships with friends.
- Your child is just as likely to be a bully as to be a target.
- Talk to your child and understand how they are using the internet and their phone.
- Use safety tools and parental controls – if you’re not sure how, contact your service provider. Please note tools are not always 100% effective.
- Remind your child not to retaliate.
- Keep any evidence of cyberbullying – emails, online conversations, texts etc.
- Report the cyberbullying.
- Contact us at school so we can take action if it involves other pupils.
- Contact the service provider eg website, phone company etc.
- If the cyberbullying is serious and a potential criminal offence has been committed then consider contacting the police.
The Directgov website has some useful information and support.
SEAL statement 19 September
‘I know how others might feel when they are in a new situation’ is the SEAL statement this week.
We have a number of new children and members of staff who have joined Moortown Primary school this September. We hope they are settling in well. How do you think they might feel in their new school?
Staying Safe themed week 26 September
We are looking for parents / carers who have a job related to safety.
If you can spare some time, during our Staying Safe themed week (26 September), to come in to talk to the children about how safety affects your work please speak to your child’s class teacher or leave a message at the office.
Thank you.
Write away!
Did you know we have two published authors in our school community?
Year 3 parent, Emma Barnes, has a new book out for children called How (Not) to Make Bad Children Good. Aimed at 7-10s, it’s the story of naughty child, Martha, who is so bad that an Interstellar Agent, Fred, is sent to Earth to try and sort her out. Emma will be appearing at Waterstones on Saturday 24 September.
We’re all very proud that Carolyn Hazell, our Year 6 teacher, is also a published author. Her book, Pav the Plumber Saves the Day, is popular amongst our children, and a great resource in school to promote reading and writing. Our current Year 6 pupils are being inspired to write great character descriptions, and a former pupil described Miss Hazell as ‘inspiring’ as a teacher and writer.
Find and compare schools' performance
The following information is an extract from a recent email from the Department of Education to schools. Parents / carers who need to consider what school their child should move on to after Moortown Primary might find it helpful. Please note that the most up-to-date 2011 exam or test results may not yet be available.
The Department for Education has launched a new web tool helping parents / carers find and compare local schools’ performance. It significantly improves parents’ ability to choose the right school for their child.
The ‘compare schools’ tool brings together a wide range of performance data in a single place.
Parents can find schools by name, keyword or location or browse via an interactive map. Each school has its own mini-site with a range of useful information such as spend per pupil and test and exam results. Parents can also compare their school with others nearby – or with any other school in England.
For the first time on the Department’s website, parents can:
- select the schools that interest them and compare performance side by side
- view a full list of schools in England and filter to find schools with similar characteristics
- use an interactive map to view local, regional and national averages for school performance.
For more information, visit http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/search
SEAL statement 12 September
Our SEAL statement for this week is ‘I understand what SEAL means.’
This week we are looking more closely at what SEAL represents and in particular what are the social and emotional skills and aspects of learning that SEAL is trying to develop.
The aspects of learning are:
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Self awareness |
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Managing feelings |
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Motivation |
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Empathy |
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Social skills |
These aspects are often considered to fall into two categories – personal (eg self awareness) and interpersonal (eg social skills).
Within each of these aspects of learning there are many skills.
The SEAL resources allow children to develop the concepts, understanding and skills over time, building on what they have previously learned.