Clowning Around!

We kicked off the summer term with an amazing experience - our very own circus which many of you visited over the weekend. From juggling to diabolo and slack lines, it was an unforgettable event. We even had our Collective Worship under the big top, creating memories that will last a lifetime. A huge thank you to Circus Ferrel for making it all possible!

What an amazingly supportive group of parents you all are - we are very near to 100% attendance for our recent Parent's Evenings. Please make contact with your child's Class Teacher if you have had to reschedule.

Our Mini London Marathon has been a great success this week and our activity levels have soared. Please return your sponsorship form as soon as possible and our Eco Champions and House Captains will return this to you, next week, along with your child's lap count. Any money raised can come into school over the next 2 weeks. Primarily, we ran for fitness. Any money raised for the WWF is a bonus but is not compulsory.

A huge thank you and well done to Mr Newman for completing the Norfolk Marathon in a very impressive time. At the time of writing he has raised over £450 for the school's PTA. Thanks also to Willow Class for making/bringing cakes in last week and to all cake buyers and sponsors!

We all deserve a 3 day weekend. See you all on TUESDAY,

Mrs B

PS Our very own Vicar Lesley (pictured above) will be bravely undertaking a sponsored head shave on Wednesday 15th May 2024 at 12:00 (yes high noon!) on Bury St Edmunds market. Look for the St Nicholas Hospice gazebo!

LESLEY AND SHARON BRAVE THE SHAVE FOR ST NICHOLAS HOSPICE

justgiving.com

A great day out for Year 3,4 and 5 to take part in a very 'hands on' day of computer programming. We used Micro: Bits, Crumble Robots and Edisons. The showcases were amazing.

'I liked seeing the robots moving and programming them. I also liked how we got to learn how robots are improving the world.' Joseph Y4. Izzy in Y5 told us, 'I liked all the things to do with computing. I also liked it because we programmed robots. Eloise (Y4) 'I liked the Micro:Bits but I loved the Showcases!'

The Knowsley May newsletter is available here.

Is being online affecting our child’s mental health? There are many positives to being online, but we do need to be aware of the negative aspects including those that may impact our child’s mental health and well-being, for example:

• Social media (spending too much time on social media, comparing ourselves to others, filtered images and desire to achieve likes).

• Cyberbullying

• Seeing inappropriate content

• Constantly connected/information overload

• Excessive screentime

• Negative impact on our sleep

Further information

If you're not already convinced by the impact of social media, Dr Vivek Murthy (US surgeon general) says allowing children to use social media is like giving them medicine that is not proved to be safe.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/20/young-people-becoming-less-happy-than-older-generations-research-shows

• Childnet discusses digital well-being in more detail and includes top tips and conversation starters: https://www.childnet.com/help-and-advice/digital-well-being/

• The NSPCC provides further information about mental health including signs to look out for and how to get further support:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/depression-anxiety-mental-health/

We are delighted that Miss Louise Wainwright is now part of the staff team. Many of you will have spoken to her on the playground and visited her in the classroom this week. Ivy Class parents have another opportunity to meet her and look around the classroom on Tuesday 7th May at 2.45 pm.

We are pleased that Future Stars Coaching has chosen Bardwell as its base for its May half term holiday programme. Blake is a former pupil at the school!

On behalf of SCC -

Dear Parent/Guardian

To celebrate your child’s first year of learning an instrument through our Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) programme, we would like to invite them to join one of our free WCET Stars Ensembles.

Starting this term, these free ensembles will run for 7 weeks with a performance in the final week.

As part of our commitment to music making in Suffolk Schools, we want your child to experience making music as part of a large ensemble / orchestra with other young musicians. As well as developing their musical skills they will improve their confidence, develop their creativity and sense of achievement, make new friends and have fun!

The WCET Stars Ensembles will be running at:

Bury St Edmunds (West Suffolk Junior Music School) - Abbeygate Sixth Form College, Beetons Way, IP33 3YU – beginning Friday 10 May 4.20pm – 5.00pm (all instruments welcome)

Afternoon School Cleaner

Minster Cleaning Suffolk – Bury St. Edmunds

Job description

Due to continued growth, Minster Cleaning Suffolk needs you! We are looking for an individual to work at Bardwell CE Primary School. The hours for this role are 15:30-18:30, Monday to Friday term-time with occasional prearranged school holiday work. You will require an enhanced DBS, if you do not already hold one you must be confident of approval for this before applying. £12 per hour.

Responsibilities:
- Perform general cleaning duties to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in assigned areas
- Sweep, mop, and vacuum floors
- Dust and wipe down surfaces
- Clean and sanitise restrooms
- Empty waste bins/replace liners
- Refill soap dispensers, paper towels and toilet paper as needed
- Clean windows, mirrors, and glass surfaces
- Follow established cleaning procedures and safety guidelines

Skills:
- Attention to detail to ensure thorough cleaning
- Ability to work independently and follow instructions but also able to work part as a team
- Strong time management skills to complete tasks efficiently
- Physical stamina to stand, bend and lift for extended periods of time

5 Great Reasons to Join the Minster Cleaning Services Team:

• Training, equipment and all necessary cleaning materials to perform your role safely and effectively will be provided
• You will have the support and back up of a dedicated, caring supervisor and a friendly office team
• We are a stable and thriving company trusted to clean for thousands of organisations UK wide
• You will have the chance to make a real difference to people’s working environments
• Our company values – Reliable, Consistent, Trustworthy, Flexible, Friendly and Great Value

This role is lone working but a job share could be considered for the right candidates, splitting to 1.5 hours per day per person.

JOB REF: MCS42

Note: This job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position. It is not an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, or requirements associated with the role.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: £12.00 per hour

Expected hours: 17.5 per week

Benefits:

• Company pension

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Work Location: In person

z.harbour@minstercleaning.co.uk

Monday - Cooking

Tuesday - Games (board games and outdoor)

Wednesday - Coding

Thursday - Forest

As always, please provide a snack. Every club will start with the chance to play outside before starting the main activity.

If you are a parent of a child aged 0-11 we need your help to tell us how and where we should plan extra provision to be most convenient to parents.

‘Wraparound’ provision will be increased where there is demand – this means term time childcare before school (from 08:00am) and after school (until 18:00pm). Wraparound provision can be with a school, or with a private, voluntary or independent provider or with a registered childminder.

Wraparound care is a service which would need to be paid for by families.

Wraparound childcare questionnaire parents and carers

Contact: wraparound@suffolk.gov.uk

Information from Suffolk County Council

The new Separating better app offers free support for separating parents. It has been created by relationship experts at OnePlusOne, a leading relationship research and innovation charity.

Separating better will equip parents with the practical information and emotional skills they need to help them self-manage their separation and put arrangements in place that work in the best interests of their children.

For full details please click the link above.

In addition to the app, which can be downloaded from app stores or OnePlusOne’s website, Suffolk residents also have free access to the following online courses offering relationship support:

• Me, You and Baby Too – a course for new and expectant parents.
• Arguing better – a course to help improve conflict resolution and communication skills.
• Getting it right for children – a course to help separating and separated parents co-operatively parent together and develop positive communication skills.

To access the courses, parents can visit the Parent resource sign up page on the OnePlusOne’s website and select Central England and then Suffolk from the list of options. They can then create their own personal account to access the courses as often as they’d like.

Contact: ReducingParentalConflictTeam@suffolk.gov.uk

All our upcoming workshops can be booked for free on our Eventbrite page, a referral is not needed to access them. Information on all our workshops, past and present, as well as workshop recordings, can be found on our website.

Yours sincerely,

Psychology in Schools Admin Team

Easter raffle- we are really pleased to announce we raised £100 from the Easter raffle. Thank you to all those who donated items and purchased tickets and congratulations to those with the winning tickets, we hope you enjoyed your prizes! A huge thank you also to the shhh! baker and Everyman cinema for providing prizes for this event!

We are really pleased to announce that Gary did an amazing job completing the Norfolk marathon on Sunday! Well done Gary!

We are waiting for the final total raised but we are so proud that Gary has done this for our school! Look at this amazing photo of Gary and Stan!

If you would like to make any further donations please use Gary's just giving page or the PTA would gladly take any cash payments if that is your preferred method.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gary-newman-1?utm_term=RzbgDk5YW

Cars on the green- look out for the poster in this newsletter. This is a fantastic event held in Bardwell each year. It’s a great day out especially if you are interested in cars and planes as we are expecting a spitfire flypast. Watch out for your raffle tickets coming home in book bags in May for your chance to buy tickets to win a cash prize ( please return any unused tickets) Not only is this a fantastic event but Bardwell school receive a percentage of total raffle ticket sales for this event. Please put it in your diary - Sunday 26th May!

Ivy class bake sale- this half term is Ivy class‘ turn to bring in bought or homemade cakes to sell in the school playground. Note a change of date to Friday 17th May.

Welly Boots- Last call for wellies! - If you would like to purchase a pair of our colourful wellies this will be your last opportunity! Please ask a member of the PTA! Remember all proceeds will go to school art supplies as requested from the person who made this generous donation.

Thank you for all your help and support for your Bardwell PTA.

Term dates for 2024-25 are now available - ask in the office for a hard copy. They are also available from the school website (scroll down for 2024-25).

Download PDF

Download Google Docs/Word

We have a family looking for a red Bardwell sweatshirt, age 5. Please check your laundry baskets/cupboards and bring it in if you have it.

Please continue to ensure that your child's name or initials remain readable in all items, so that we can reunite them.

Thank you.

We have a space on our Governance committee for a parent governor. If you are interested in joining us to help support the school please contact the SGC Chair via the office and register your interest. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to ask.

• Walking home unaccompanied form (Y5/6)

If you would like to give permission for your Y5 or Y6 child to leave the school unaccompanied at the end of the day (including after ASC sessions) please download and complete this form, or contact me to ask for a hard copy to be sent home with your child.

• Arbor contact details

Please take the time to check that all your details on Arbor are up-to-date. For example: Do we have the emergency contact details for at least two parents/guardians? Is/are your phone number(s) correct, including any work number? Is your doctor's surgery information still correct? You should be able to make changes via the Arbor website or app. If you have any problems, please don't hestitate to ask.

• Asthma medication & healthcare plans

I have recently contacted you if your child's healthcare plan or medication is out of date - it is so important that we have a plan that is 1yr old or less so that we can work with you to keep your child safe in school. Please ensure you speak to your medical practitioner ASAP to obtain an updated plan.

The dates below have been set for the full academic year but are subject to change. Please keep an eye on the newsletter and your email for any date/time changes and for additional events.

We are matching with SCC term dates and PD days for the 2024-2025 academic year, please see our Term Dates page on the school website or ask in the office if you'd like a printed copy.

Spring Term (event, year group(s), day, date, time)

School photographs (Class & Whole School, children with photo permission only), 20/05/24. Please wear your clean, colourful sweatshirt.

Residential Y5/Y6 (returning on Friday), Y5/Y6, Wednesday, 22/05/24.

Summer Term (event, year group(s), day, date, time)

Swimming lessons, Y2-Y6, Thursdays.

SET Ixworth Y6 into Y7 Meet the Tutor evening, Y6, Thursday, 13/06/24, 4pm to 7pm

Sports Day , All, Friday, 14/06/24, 1.30pm

Sports Day reserve date (if weather is poor), All, Friday, 21/06/24, 1.30pm

Transition day 1 of 2 SET Ixworth, Y6, Tuesday, 25/6/24,

Transition day 2 of 2 SET Ixworth, Y6, Wednesday, 26/6/24,

Transition Day TCC Day 1 of 2 (and Parents' Evening), Y6, Wednesday, 10/07/24,

Transition Day TCC Day 2 of 2 (and Parents' Evening), Y6, Thursday, 11/07/24,

Leavers' Trip, Y6, Tuesday, 16/07/24,

Leavers' Service at Church , All, Thursday, 18/07/24, 1.15pm

Next academic year

School photographs (Individual & siblings, all pupils), 25/09/24. Please wear your clean, colourful sweatshirt.

You may be aware that we have a large minibus taxi transporting some of our pupils to and from school. We have an established risk assessment with the taxi company and Suffolk County Council's transport safeguarding team, developed to ensure the safety of transported children, drivers, staff and other families. This states:

• the minibus has to drop off and pick up children at the gate entrance to meet a member of staff for handover
• in the morning they drop off between 8.30-8.35am and leave promptly at 8.35am
• in the afternoon, they may wait along School Lane, then pick up promptly at 3.30pm.

The taxi takes priority for access at the gate during these times, so we ask that all other families are aware of this and time their entrance to / exit from school accordingly.

The school premises open at 8.35am to all pupils.

We have been asked by the trustees of the Bardwell Charities fund to encourage our local families to apply for financial support. They've said,

"There is money available whether for trips, music lessons, uniform or other need.
Please DO encourage parents/carers to apply."

You might, for example, wish to request some help with the Y5/Y6 residential, or with transport costs for HAF holiday programme activities. All you need to do is write a short email explaining:

• that you are resident in Bardwell
• what the need is and why it is important for your family/child.

Please note that, contrary to previous information, we have recently been informed by Bardwell Charities that this information only applies to Bardwell residents.

Send your email to bardwellcharities@btinternet.com

If you would like any help with your request, please ask Mrs Allman who is happy to help and will keep all information you share with her confidential.

To find out more, please visit our webpage at:

http://bardwellcharities.onesuffolk.net/

The Dun Cow pub on Up Street warmly invites you to use their car park at drop off and pick up times - marked green below. The walk from there to school is under 5 minutes. Thank you to Alan and Denise for this continuing offer.

You may also park near the Church porch from where there is a footpath that comes out to School Lane next to the Windmill.

Please ensure that if you park along School Lane you do not block any driveways and avoid the residents' parking spaces at 25-43 School Lane (marked red below, parking in the green spaces is fine).

• Sunday 5th - Holy Communion, 10am
• Wednesday 8th - Coffee Morning, 10am
• Sunday 12th - no service in Bardwell. Team services 9.30am Ixworth and 11am Troston
• Saturday 18th - Messy Church, 2.30pm
• Sunday 19th - Pentecost Morning Worship, 10am
• Sunday 28th - no service in Bardwell. Team services 9.30am Ixworth and 6pm, Ixworth Thorpe.

Bardwell Church is open every day 9am to dusk.

Please see the church website for other services and information.

Sports Camp 28-31 May 2024

Tuesday 28 May: 9.00am-12.00pm Gymnastics or Team games / 12.30-3.30pm Target games or Dance or Parkour

Wednesday 29 May: 9.00am-12.00pm Football or Skateboarding & Archery / 12.30-3.30pm Football or Skateboarding or Summer Sports

Thursday 30 May: 9.00am-12.00pm Inflatables & Multisports / 12.30-3.30pm Inflatables & Multisports

Friday 31 May: 9.00am-12.00pm Nerf and laser Tag / 12.30-3.30pm Nerf and laser Tag

Flyer attached

Ages: 5 – 13 yrs

Venue: Beyton, Thurston Sixth (IP30 9AA)

£12 per workshop

www.gvtssp.org

Kind regards

William Hopkin-Jones

Please find attached two flyers for free virtual training sessions for parents. We would be grateful if you could send these out to the parents in your schools.

Neurodiversity workshop flyer

Supporting Young People's Menthal Health workshops flyer

Lois Mickleburgh [she/her]

Business Support Officer (WSI)

Inclusion Service

Children & Young People’s Directorate

Suffolk County Council

Bardwell is an inclusive school where children are treated with equality and their individuality celebrated. Our school’s active uniform plays a key role in promoting pride, self-confidence, and a feeling of belonging. We strongly believe that this contributes to the children's well being, removing the additional pressures of deciding what to wear and the added stress of meeting the expectations of peers. In an ever increasing world of social pressure for young people, our uniform removes the points of difference between students and provides a greater focus on school based activities and learning. Therefore, in the interests of equality;

● Active uniforms should be worn at all times

● Spare clothes should be our active uniform NOT home clothes

● Hairstyles must not attract undue attention

● No make-up

● Piercings and jewellery should be discreet and safe to wear, e.g. single studs in ears.

Your child can wear any one of the six Cog colours (red, royal blue, navy blue, green, yellow, purple) as their polo shirt, OR a white one. These are the only acceptable colours for the polo shirt. Please note that the polo shirts do NOT need to have the Bardwell logo on but the sweatshirts MUST.

Colourful polo shirts are available in the school uniform ranges of all the major supermarkets. Logo'd polo shirts (white) and sweatshirts (all colours) are available only from our uniform supplier, Gooddies.

As always, children are also welcome to wear gingham dresses, in any of the six Cog colours, during any term.

You may wish to consider setting Kiddle as your default browser on your home devices. They say:

Kiddle is a kid safe visual search engine. Kiddle returns results for each query in the order shown:

1. Safe sites and pages written specifically for kids. Handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors.
Typically, results 1-3.

2. Safe, trusted sites that are not written specifically for kids, but have content written in a simple way, easy for kids to understand. Handpicked and checked by Kiddle editors.
Typically, results 4-7.

3. Safe, famous sites that are written for adults, providing expert content, but are harder for kids to understand. Filtered by Google safe search.

Typically, results 8 onwards.

Since Kiddle results are either handpicked and checked by our editors or filtered by Google safe search, you know you get kid-oriented results without any explicit content. In case some bad words are present in a search query, our guard robot will block the search.

We are very keen to have children attending school if they are well enough. Please have a look at this NHS advice if you are unsure.

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

If your child is ill, you must phone into the school before 9am, giving a reason for the absence ('unwell' is not sufficient), leave a voicemail if you need to. Please do not email in for absence.

We recommend that you are familiar with the Tilian Attendance Policy.

Suffolk County Council has asked us to share with families their updated 'Cost Of Living Support' information.

Your child may be eligible for free school meals throughout primary school. This could save you approximately £484 per year.

​

To check or apply online, visit: https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/children-families-and-learning/schools/school-meals-uniforms-and-trips/apply-for-free-school-meals/

​

Check if you're eligible

Your child will get free school meals if you receive any of the following:

• Income Support

• Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance

• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

• Guarantee element of State Pension Credit

• Child Tax Credit but no element of Working Tax Credit and have an annual income (as assessed by HM Revenues & Customs) that does not exceed £16,190

• If you are supported under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• Working Tax Credit during the four-week period immediately after your employment finishes or after you start to work fewer hours per week

• Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 (£616.67 per month), as assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).
  

To check if your child is eligible, apply online for an immediate response or call 01473 260989.

We encourage you to apply, because the school receives additional funding (Pupil Premium) for all children on income-related Free School Meals.

​

Email: bardwell@tilian.org.uk
Website: https://www.bardwell.org.uk/
Location: School Lane, Bardwell, Bury Saint Edmunds IP31 1AD, UK
Phone: 01359 250854
Twitter: @BardwellPrimary