Dear Parent / Carer,

Next week we will be marking Autism Acceptance week. There are a range of activities that children will be involved in, including a sponsored walk and 60 pieces of artwork. On Friday, children (and staff) are invited to dress up in 60s style. As always, we appreciate that many of our children will not want to come in different clothes, and therefore if you would like to send clothing in a bag we can try and encourage them to put part or all of the costume on at school. If you feel that this would be too stressful for your child, we respect your decision for your child not to participate in the dressing up.

Chickens: You may have seen on our chickens if you have been in to

school recently. We have three beautiful silkies that are already laying eggs.  

Children have enjoyed visiting the chickens in our growing area

and collecting eggs.

Climbing Frames: We now also have two fantastic climbing frames. These are large pieces of equipment that all children can use and encourage them to develop a range of physical skills, as well as communication and interaction. As you can imagine, children have enjoyed exploring these.

Sustainability: The school continues to have work done to install an Air Source Heat Pump. This will lead to a more sustainable way of heating the school. Understanding how children can play a role in caring for the environment is an important part of our curriculum. We are proud of our Silver Level certificate for work in supporting pollinator habitats in partnership with St. Denys Church. Well done to the Chestnut pathway children who took part in this project.

Teachers: We have been pleased to welcome two new teachers this term; Jack Sutherley in Hedgehogs class and Kalpana Mistry in Stoats. Natasha Gibbins has now left on maternity leave and we are eagerly awaiting news of her baby, due on 5^th April.

Easter Activities: The Disabled Children Service are offering free activities sessions for disabled children to attend over the Easter holiday.  Further information and the link to the registration for is available at families.leicester.gov.uk/disabled-children-activity-programme.   

Chicken Pox: This week, we have had a number of cases of chicken pox in school. We ask that you monitor children over the weekend and if they have symptoms of Chicken pox, please do keep them at home. An itchy, spotty rash is the main symptom, and this can appear anywhere on the body. More information can be found on the NHS website here; https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/chickenpox/

Red Nose Day: Thank-you to all parents/carers who contributed to our Red Nose Day collection. The school raised £60 in total.

Positive Behaviour Support: Sally Bott, our Assistant Headteacher who leads on behaviour ran a very informative and helpful workshop for parents this week. She is also doing another workshop about Emotional Regulation and Zones of Regulation:

Either:  Monday 28^th March 10am – 11am at Oaklands 

Or:         Wednesday 6^th April 10am – 11am via Teams (a link will be sent to your email address)

If you have not yet signed up, please do simply call the office to let us know you would like to attend. Attending on site is a good way to also meet other parents and share advice so if you decide last minute that you can come, please do just come along as we would like as many parents as possible. Sally is extremely experienced with a wealth of training in this area and Emotional Regulation is something that it is important we all work together on to best support our children.

Kind regards

Sarah Osborne