Infant Newsletter
- Mr Davies
- May 15
- 6 min read
Friday 15th May 2026
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Headteacher's Update
This time of year, parents often start to think and worry about their child moving onto their new year group. We wanted to reassure you of the steps we take to support children to 'move on' successful.
Teachers carefully plan the class environment, routines and learning for September so it mirrors the class experiences they are used to, this allows children to start the new year with very similar expectations. Over the autumn term the teachers carefully adjust the provision but this is gradual and planned carefully once children are ready and settled.
In Year 2 class teachers work with the children to find out about the friends they would ideally like to be in a class with next year. We make every effort to ensure all children have a circle of friends in their new Year 3/4 class.
We build in lots of informal opportunities for children to get to know their new teaching staff and then they have a visit morning to their new class on Thursday 10th July. After this we continue opportunities to get to know their new classroom and staff team e.g. stories with their new teacher and teacher swaps.
We identify key children who might need a bit of extra support in transition. For example, in Year 2 we have a Transition Group (look out for a letter for some children coming soon) led by Miss Hawkins (our Nurture Lead) for a small group to have extra visits to the Junior site. In Year R and Year 1 staff also identify children who might need more opportunities to get to know staff, visit their new classes and make transition booklets to look at over the summer.
In September we offer visits to the classroom ahead of day one for some key children to drop in and see their new room and meet their teacher. Look out for an invite towards the end of term.
Top tips for parents:
Focus on what is the same about the new year group rather than what is different.
Talk positively about the change and what is exciting or they can look forward to.
Acknowledge any worries and say this is usual to feel a bit nervous about something new.
Explore the school website to see photos of staff and get to know their names.
Try not to share your own worries with your child or let them hear you worrying about it.
If you are concerns about your child's transition, please talk to your child's class teacher.
Punctuality Matters
We are noticing an increasing number of pupils arriving late at both the infant and junior schools. All pupils must arrive on site and be ready to enter the building at 8.45am each day.
Arriving on time is essential. It ensures that children are calm, settled and ready to begin learning straight away. The first part of the day is often when key instructions, early morning routines and important learning take place. When a child arrives late, they can miss vital information, feel unsettled joining part-way through, and disrupt the learning of others.
We appreciate your support in ensuring that all pupils arrive punctually so that every child can start the day confidently and make the most of their learning time.
Reminders
Please can I remind parents not to enter the Infant School building unless you have signed in at reception. This is an important part of our site security policy.
We will be operating a full timetable of Outdoor Learning lessons - pupils will need their normal 'Outdoor Learning Kit' in school for this, in case of wet weather and to protect their limbs from ticks and stings. Thank you.
Sporting Visitor
We were very excited to welcome boxer Hannah Beharry into school this week! The children loved getting active with Hannah and were amazed by her fantastic boxing skills. They took part in four different activities which challenged them to work hard, stay focused and try their best.
Hannah also shared her inspiring life story and spoke about the importance of perseverance and confidence. The children were left with some very wise words to remember: “Try everything, as you never know what you might love and never give up!"
School Council work as Courageous Advocates
Our Junior School Councillors have been hard at work agreeing with their classes on a global injustice that the children feel strongly about and want to raise awareness of. They have chosen the plight of endangered animals, affected by climate change and are busy planning a day of awareness and fundraising!
What: a non-uniform day and donation (£1 +) to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Charity (dress as an animal or animal theme clothing, can be as simple as t-shirt with an animal on).
When: Friday 22nd May (final day of this half-term)
Why: to raise awareness of animals at risk around the world; each class will be researching animals at risk and then presenting these to each other at the end of the day.
Our School Councillors will be leading a very special assembly next week so the children will then know a bit more about the day and dress code too!
Federation Arts Week
Next week classes across the Federation will all be engaging in lots of art activities all with the theme of 'our wonderful world'. Promoting awareness of the environment and exploring new artists and themes. We look forward to the week and hope to also invite parents/carers in towards the end of the week to view their finished artworks and share in their success!
Tesco Grant Reminder!
Please don't forget that our Pond Fundraising Project has been selected to participate in the 'Tesco's Stronger' Starts grants programme. This is where shoppers select which charity they would like to support by posting their blue tokens in their choice of slot, before they leave the store.
Our Pond project is now featured at the Tesco Extra store at Pinchington Lane until the end of July 2026. It would be wonderful if our families and community could support this project by shopping at this store and encouraging others to do so please. If successful we could raise up to £1500 towards our new pond.
Maths Parent Workshop
Mr Scott will lead this parent workshop on how to support your child with number and calculation across the whole of Primary School.
Safeguarding Matters
Attendance Matters
Our school attendance target is 97% and above for all children. We are committed to:
Promoting good attendance and reducing absence, including persistent absence
Ensuring every pupil arrives at school on time and ready to learn
Ensuring every pupil has access to full-time education to which they are entitled good attendance means being in school at least 97% of the time (184 days or more) good punctuality means being in school at 08:45 ready to learn.
Strong attendance is directly linked with stronger academic achievements as well as contributing to increased sense of belonging and strong social relationships.
Friends Of The Schools of Woolton Hill
This week we had an artist come in for a second drawing session, which again was fully booked. The youngsters had a great session drawing dinosaurs, dragons, unicorns and some Minecraft characters. These sessions have been really popular and we have received some great feedback.
We are now on the countdown to Woolfest 2026 which just 6 weeks away. Details have been emailed earlier this week about the poster competition where the winning design will win a free family ticket.
Don’t forget to vote for us in the Tesco blue token collection at Tesco Extra on Pinchington Lane.
Facebook Page
Details of the activities we are doing are always posted on our Facebook page. So that you don’t miss out on the up to date information, make sure that you join our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17nbptqZaE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Wildlife Pond Project
Thank you for the donations that have been coming in. Please continue to spread the word. If you would like to donate please click on the below link or please share the link with friends, family or businesses that you know who may be willing to contribute.
Details of the wildlife pond project and how the fundraising is going can be found on the PTA section of the School website, along with events that we are running.
Click here to visit the PTA page. https://www.schoolsofwooltonhill.com/pta
Dates For Your Diary
Woolfest – Friday 26th June
Quiz Night – Friday 16th October
Santa Run – Tuesday 5th December
Pre-loved uniform
We have now created a record of the preloved uniform stock that we have and this can be found via the below link.
If you spot something that you would like, just message Lottie Sheppard on 07825 829277 to purchase it. If you have out grown items that are in good condition, please drop these off to either school office and these will be collected.
Get Involved
As a friendly group of volunteers we are always looking for people to join our team, whether it is to help out with one off events or more regularly, any help is greatly appreciated. Support the Friends so that we can support our schools.
Email us at Friendsofwhjs@gmail.com
Community Event
Star Awards
The following children received Star Awards this week! They should all be really proud, well done!
8th May: Lilah, Henrietta. Eloise L, Arlo, Tereza, James C
15th May: Sophie M, Daisy, Louie M, Elodie, Orla, Athena
Life Learning
Self-Regulation
8th May: Iris, Oscar L, Daniel
15th May: Sophie C, Isla S, Stanley B
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