Spring 2 Newsletter
Dear Parents and Carers,
It has been a pleasure to welcome everyone back to school for the second half of the spring term. The children have returned with enthusiasm and focus and staff have wasted no time in channelling this energy into engaging learning experiences across the curriculum. The weeks ahead promise to be full and rewarding, with a number of key events taking place during March and April. Further details are outlined below for your diaries.
Forthcoming Dates/Events: -
Thurs 5th Mar World Book Day
Friday 6th Mar PTA Book and Bake Sale in the school hall.
Mon 9th Mar Reception Classes to visit Horsforth Library
Mon 9th Mar Y6 Parents’ SATs information meeting 3.15pm
Tues 10th Mar PTA disco
Wed 11th Mar ‘Hands on History’ Stone Age Visitor to Y4
Fri 20th Mar Red Nose Day
Fri 20th Mar Y5 ‘Rewind to Easter’ - Lister Hill Baptist Church
Tues 24th Mar Parents’ evening (3.20-5pm)
Wed 25th Mar Parents’ evening (3.20-7pm)
Thurs 26th Mar Y1 visit to St James’ Church
Wed 1st April KS2 Easter assembly 9.15 am
Thurs 2nd April Rec/KS1 Easter assembly 9.15am
Thurs 2nd April School closes for Easter
Mon 20th April School re-opens for the summer term
But Firstly…
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Many thanks to Mrs Riley (Art Subject Coordinator) for leading an inspiring whole-school project (‘Take One Picture’). All pupils took part and used a famous painting as a starting point for discussion, creativity and cross-curricular learning. The project concluded with a well-attended exhibition in the last week of term in the school hall, where pupils were proud and delighted to ‘show-off’ their work to parents.
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Thank you once again for the thoughtful feedback shared via our last parental survey. Please be assured that we value all responses and are committed to acting upon them wherever possible. One area highlighted for further development was increased opportunities for extra-curricular competitive sporting activities and so we are pleased to report that, as a direct response, a programme of cluster football fixtures with neighbouring schools has been arranged with Y4 competing in February and Y5 and Y6 matches planned for March. We look forward to planning even more enrichment opportunities ahead.
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Many thanks to our English Leads (Mr Tyrrell and Mrs Stevenson) who have invested much time and effort organising this year’s fun events for World Book Day next Thursday. School is already ‘buzzing’ with designs of characters (both heroic and dastardly) capable of incredible super-powers! Do talk to your children about this event. The main aim of World Book Day is to reach out to families, as well as children and schools, to encourage ‘shared reading’ and ‘reading for pleasure’, which in turn, will improve life chances for children now and for generations to come. Thank you for supporting this event and please don’t forget to spend your World Book Day tokens! For a full reminder of all activities taking place, parents can refer to the World Book Day newsletter sent out before the holidays.
School Meals Update
We are pleased to have welcomed Midshire Catering as our new school meals provider from January and the transition has gone very smoothly. Thank you to parents for engaging so positively with the CREATE ordering system. The children love using the new touch-screen in the hall to see what has been chosen for them, and the number of children having school dinners across school is higher than ever! It is important that all pupils are registered with CREATE, even if they usually bring a packed lunch, to ensure we have essential dietary and allergy information in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Please keep details up to date and contact the school office if you need any support. Our thanks to Mrs Sheard, the office team and Midshire Catering for making such a positive start.
Comic Relief Day
On Friday 20th March, Broadgate will once again be pleased to support Comic Relief/Red Nose Day - the charity that funds so many worthwhile causes and vital projects tackling poverty, inequality and injustice in the UK.Thanks to Miss Marr who is currently consulting widely with School Councillors throughout school on how best to raise funds this year. The council members themselves will send out more details, nearer the time.Watch this space!
Y6 SATs information meeting
Just a reminder for all parents of Y6 pupils, that the time for Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) is fast approaching and to keep parents fully informed, Y6 staff will be holding an information meeting for all Y6 parents on Monday 9th March at 3.15 pm. The aim is to give parents a clear understanding of the tests themselves, including the format, content, expectations etc. so that they are in a position to best support their child’s preparation, manage any needless anxieties etc. as well as asking questions directly about the May tests. Please do try to attend.
Spring Term Parents’ Evenings
A timely reminder too, that Spring term parents’ evenings will be held on Tuesday 24th March (3.20 – 5pm) and Wednesday 25th March (3.20 - 7pm). As always, this is a valuable opportunity for you to speak to the class teacher, to hear how your child is getting on and how you can best support them. Appointments should be booked through the online booking system on Ping. More details will follow nearer the time. Please remember your children learn best when the communication between home and school is warm and positive, so please do make every effort to attend.
Road Safety Issues
Can we once again, respectfully remind you of the need to show due consideration to the people living in the vicinity of school when collecting children by car. We have again been contacted recently by residents living adjacent to the school grounds, understandably angry and frustrated, because parked cars regularly block their driveways at the beginning and end of the school day, and engines are being left running adding unnecessary, unhealthy fumes into the local environment. We ask for your urgent co-operation in this matter. Congestion and obstructions caused by badly parked cars anywhere in the vicinity of the school building is always an ongoing concern to us, so please help us to keep your children safe.Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Easter Assemblies
Parents are warmly invited to our Easter assemblies which will be held on the last two days of this term. Parents of children in Years 3-6 (KS2) are invited to attend Wednesday’s assembly at 9.15am. Parents of children in Reception, Years 1 and 2 are invited to Thursday’s assembly at 9.15am. The children are looking forward to performing their Easter songs for you, as well as showcasing some of the work that they have been doing in class. We do hope that you can make it.
PTA news update
We are incredibly fortunate to have such a supportive and highly effective PTA. Following the success of the Christmas Cracker event last term, the PTA is now planning a Book and Bake sale on Friday 6th March and a children’s disco on Tuesday 10th March. Further details will be shared nearer the time. Our sincere thanks to the PTA for their continued hard work and to families for supporting them so generously.
Attendance Update
We have recently received our termly attendance summary data (from the Department for Education) for pupils in Y1-6. We are delighted that overall attendance continues to improve. From the start of the academic year to the end of December, overall attendance at Broadgate was above the national average. This reflects the positive impact of the work taking place in school and the support of all our families. While we are pleased that attendance is moving in the right direction, we know there is still more to do and we are grateful for parents’ continued support in helping every child attend school regularly and so benefit fully from learning. Good attendance supports not only academic progress, but also children’s wellbeing, routines and sense of belonging. By working together to support regular attendance, we give children the best possible chance to thrive now and in the years ahead. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Safeguarding
We’d like to take this opportunity to gently remind parents about the importance of supervising young children at all times on the school site and in the immediate vicinity, including in parked cars. We fully understand how challenging drop-off and pick-up can be - particularly in poor weather - and we know how tempting it can be to keep little ones warm and dry for what feels like a very short time. However, for safety and safeguarding reasons, children should not be left unattended in vehicles, even briefly. Thank you, as always, for your understanding and continued support in helping us keep all children safe
Recognition of Broadgate Pupils’ Achievements
We were very heartened to receive a letter last week from the Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson) recognising the strong outcomes achieved by our least advantaged pupils at the end of the 2024/25 academic year. She congratulated the Broadgate team on its performance which she said, “placed it among the very best nationally”. The letter commended the dedication of staff and the hard work of pupils and encouraged the school to continue sharing effective practice with others. We are very proud of this recognition but remain committed to continuing to improve outcomes for ALL our pupils, in line with our relentless pursuit of “Continuous improvement towards the best imaginable”.
And finally…
The weeks ahead promise to be busy and rewarding and we are grateful for the ongoing support of our families as we work together to provide the very best for our children. As always, we remain a school with an ‘open-door’ approach - no question or concern is ever too small - please do not hesitate to contact us if you need support or wish to talk something through.
Warm regards
Sarah Qualtrough