Sheet Primary School Parent Portal - Newsletter : 5 January 2023

Dear Parents/Carers,

A huge thank you to you all for your wonderful Christmas messages, cards and gifts given at the end of term and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year with friends and family.

Our INSET morning was delivered by The Flying Child, which is a survivor-led, non-profit organisation, founded by Sophie Olson – a survivor of intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse. Their core aim is to normalise speaking about child sexual abuse, in society, in professional settings and within the survivor community itself. It was a powerful training session for ourselves and 4 other schools in the area.

We have had a good 3 day week to ease us back into school (welcomed by everyone I think!). All classes start their new learning topics and topic webs will be published on the website next week.

All classes have seen the age appropriate videos published by the rail network this week https://switchedonrailsafety.co.uk/ https://learnliveuk.com/network-rail-primary-school-safety-talk and we have managed to gain a 'silver' badge accreditation (Gold by the end of the month). If you would like to, you can share this at home with your children too. Our proximity to the railway lines and the level crossing make this a very important part of our safeguarding responsibilities here at Sheet.

In other news, 'Living Streets' came in yesterday to hold an assembly on our 'Walk to School Challenge'.

WOW is a pupil-led initiative where children self-report how they get to school every day using the interactive WOW Travel Tracker. If they travel sustainably (walk/wheel, cycle or scoot) once a week for a month, they get rewarded with a badge. It's that easy! We have said park and stride for 10-15 mins will count as a walk.

On average, WOW schools see a 30% reduction in car journeys taken to the school gate and a 23% increase in walking rates. We have completed a baseline and 65 children were driven to school on 14th December. I am hoping we can really improve that figure with this initiative and everyone loves a badge!

Some quick reminders:

Uniform - Smart school uniform please, dark plain blue/navy PE kit on PE days (which stay the same this term).

Headlice - we've had a couple of cases in school, please can you check your child(ren)'s hair and treat if necessary before returning to school.

Clubs - Don't forget all clubs start next week including the Maths morning clubs.

Stationery/resources - a friendly reminder that if you haven't paid towards your termly stationery, please do so on scopay.

We welcome Evie and Becky Dudin who joined us today from Australia into Year 2 and Year 4 taking our total children up to 107!

Have a wonderful weekend, hopefully the rain and winds will ease and we get some crisp sunny days.

See you Monday!

Julie Robinson

Example Content

Tips for managing wellbeing online

Have regular conversations with your child

Give children the chance to talk about what they're experiencing online, what apps and sites they use and who they're talking to.

Talking regularly, like you would about their day at school, will help your child feel relaxed and mean that when they do have any worries, they’re more likely to come and speak to you.

Remind them that it isn’t just you that they can talk to – another trusted adult or a Childline counsellor might be easier sometimes.

When children communicate online, misunderstandings can lead to disagreements or arguments. Encourage your child to look at the Childline website, which has lots of useful advice articles:

Feeling good on social media

Coping with stress

Worries about the world

Childline’s Calm zone is also packed with tools and activities to help children de-stress and discover new techniques that can support them when they’re feeling down. Young people can also talk to each other about their worries on the Childline message boards.

Consider that what children see online is often through a filter. It isn’t just images and videos that can be filtered or edited, but bodies and lives too.

Take breaks

Our devices are designed to keep us coming back. Features like infinite scrolling, app notifications, auto play and rewards for playing games every day are all persuasive designs to increase our use. 

Mobile and wearable tech such as phones and smart watches can make us feel like we’re always online and it can help everyone to take a break sometimes, to help switch off from online pressures.

You can use the settings on individual apps, or in the device settings, to silence notifications for a period of time.

You can also use the 'do not disturb' mode available on most devices to mute calls and notifications, to help avoid distractions.

Use wellbeing settings and apps

These sites and apps are specifically designed to help children with their online wellbeing: 

BBC Own it which gives advice as they chat to their friends online.

Headspace for Kids is an app to teach children the basics of mindfulness in a fun way. It’s aimed at 3-12 year olds, with different content for the different age groups. Free for Headspace subscribers, limited access for non-subscribers.

JoyPoP is an app designed to help users find their inner resilience to deal with the highs and lows in their day to day lives. By rating mood for the day, users are directed to complete different activities to help switch to positive emotions. App costs £6.99.

You can also find out what apps your child uses the most and have a look to see if there are wellbeing guides which explain their settings to help support children's wellbeing.

Spring 5 January 2024

Kingfishes Cake Sale

Attendance

Internet Safety - Wellbeing online

Tips for managing wellbeing online

Have regular conversations with your child

Take breaks

Use wellbeing settings and apps