Autumn 1 Newsletter
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the new academic year! We hope you and your family have enjoyed a happy, restful summer and have had the opportunity to make some special memories together. It has been wonderful to see the children return to school looking so smart, confident and enthusiastic, ready to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. The start of a new school year is always filled with excitement, fresh challenges and endless possibilities and we are looking forward to another term of inspiring learning, memorable experiences and personal growth for every child. As always, our dedicated staff team remains committed to providing the very best education and care, helping every child to flourish both academically and personally. Thank you for your continued support and partnership. It is by working together that we can ensure every child has the happiest and most successful start to the year.
Please take a few moments to read through the information and key dates below.
Key dates/events
Fri 4th Sept Non-uniform day for Blue House
Mon 7th Sept Nursery and Reception to re-open
Tues 15th Sept Nasal flu vaccinations
w/b 5th Oct Reception 2027 Open Week
Friday 9th Oct Mindmate meeting for EYFS and Y1 parents (More details to follow.)
Thurs 15th Oct Fire Brigade visit for Y5 and Y6
Thurs 15th Oct KS2 Harvest assembly 9.15am
Fri 16th Oct KS1 Harvest assembly 9.15am
Thurs 22nd Oct School photograph day
Thurs 22nd Oct School closes for half term
Fri 23rd Oct Staff training day – school closed for pupils
Mon 2nd Nov School opens 8.35am
Wed 4th Nov PTA Firework Night (More details to follow.)
Tues 17th Nov Parents’ evening 3.20pm-5.00pm
Wed 18th Nov Parents’ evening 3.20pm-7.00pm
Staffing Update
Our staffing team remains exceptionally stable and well established and we are delighted to welcome back a familiar team for another exciting year. At the end of the summer term, however, we did have to say a fond farewell to five much-valued members of Team Broadgate. Mrs Woosey and Mrs Burgin have left us to begin their teacher training and whilst we are incredibly sad to see them go, we couldn’t be prouder of everything they have achieved. We have no doubt they will become exceptional teachers, bringing the same warmth, skill and dedication to their own classrooms. Mrs O’Hara has decided that the time has come to step away from full-time work and enjoy a gentler pace of life. We thank her sincerely for her years of care and commitment to our youngest children and wish her many happy years ahead. We also said goodbye to our site-supervisor, Mr Wade, who retired after many years of dedicated service. His practical skills, willingness to tackle any challenge and unwavering commitment to the school have been invaluable, often saving Broadgate both time and money. We hope retirement brings him every happiness and we hope that he might still be available to answer the occasional cry for help! Finally, Mrs Stevenson retired after an incredible 32 years of service to Broadgate. During that time, she taught generations of children, including many of our current parents, leaving a lasting legacy within our school community. Her calm, dependable nature, professionalism and unwavering commitment to ensuring every child achieved their very best earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues, pupils and families alike. To each of them, we extend our heartfelt thanks for the enormous contribution they have made to Broadgate over many years. They have each played an important part in shaping our school community and enriching the lives of countless children. We wish them every success, good health and happiness in the exciting new chapters that lie ahead and they will always be warmly welcomed back to Broadgate.
Class and Curriculum Information
Class information letters were sent out yesterday sharing key details of cohort-specific logistics such as PE days, reading book and spelling requirements, homework expectations etc. If you have any further questions, please do contact us. In addition, please be aware that a whole wealth of information linked specifically to the learning in each class can be found on both the class and curriculum pages of our website: https://www.broadgateprimary.org.uk/leeds/primary/broadgate
Class pages give you an overview of what the children will be learning in each term and the curriculum pages contain progression maps showing which content is learned when and how the learning of each year group builds upon that of the previous years’ for every subject taught across school.
House Cup
We are delighted to announce that the House Cup winner for last academic year was Blue House. It was a tightly fought contest with house points flying thick and fast in the final weeks of term in response to fantastic work and superb behaviour across the school. Congratulations to our winners! As a reward there will be a non-uniform day for all children in Blue House on Friday 4th September. All other pupils should come to school in school uniform as normal, with everything to play for as the competition begins all over again! Good luck to children in all houses. Be proud of every house point you earn for your team!
Reception 2027 Open Days
Whilst currently still engaged in the process of admitting our new 2026 Reception pupils, the time is already upon us to start preparing for next year’s 2027 cohort. Parents of children due to start school in September 2027 must soon decide which school they want their child to attend. Consequently, our Open Days for welcoming any prospective new parents will be held during w/b 5th October - more details to follow shortly. If you know anyone looking for a school place for September 2027, please do spread the word on our behalf!
Parking Outside School
As we start this new school year, please can we respectfully remind you of the need to show due consideration to the people living in the vicinity of school when collecting children by car. Please do not park on the zig zag lines or block the driveways of local houses. Congestion and obstructions caused by badly parked cars anywhere in the area surrounding the school building is both a danger to pupils and an ongoing vexation for our neighbours. Please help us to keep your children safe at all times. Thank you in anticipation of your support.
Children’s Centre Update
This September marks the end of an era, as following a city-wide reorganisation of Children’s Centre services by Leeds City Council, the Children’s Centre based at Broadgate will no longer operate from our site. Services will continue to be delivered across the community, with Mrs Birch and her team relocating to a new base whilst returning regularly to Broadgate to provide satellite sessions, including Stay and Play opportunities for local families. We would like to thank the Children’s Centre team for their valued contribution to our school community over many years and wish them every success in their future work supporting families across Horsforth and beyond. Over the coming academic year, the school will gradually take ownership of the Children’s Centre building, creating an exciting opportunity to develop additional learning spaces and resources for our children. We are already beginning to explore ways in which the building might be used to enrich the curriculum, including the possibility of establishing a dedicated library area and music hub to inspire creativity, nurture talent and provide even more opportunities for ‘awe and wonder’. We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with Mrs Birch and her team to support children and families within our wider community.
Attendance Matters
At the end of the last academic year, we were delighted to receive confirmation from the Department for Education that Broadgate’s attendance continues to improve and remained above the national average throughout the year. This is something our whole school community should be proud of and reflects the positive impact of the work taking place in school, together with the fantastic support of our families - so thank you all.
Attendance really does matter. Every day in school is an opportunity to learn something new, build confidence, strengthen friendships and make lasting memories. Children can’t benefit from the learning if they are not here.
As we begin a new academic year, let’s see if we can make it our best year yet. Could 2026-27 be the year Broadgate achieves its highest attendance ever? Together, let’s aim for every day to count - because every day really does matter!
Congratulations to Arthur!
We are incredibly proud to share the exciting news that Arthur, a Broadgate Y6 pupil, has been shortlisted as one of the final twelve candidates for the Leeds Children’s Mayor. This is a fantastic achievement and a real credit to Arthur’s thoughtful ideas and commitment to making a difference for children across Leeds. We would also like to thank Councillor Dowling, one of our school governors, who visited school last term with a colleague, to explain the important role of the Leeds Children’s Mayor and inspire our pupils to get involved. During September, all Broadgate children will have the opportunity to learn about the twelve finalists and take part in the official voting process in school, helping them experience democracy in action. Watch this space…
Reminder of Training Day Dates
Please can we remind you of this year’s remaining training days when school will be closed for pupils whilst staff are engaged in compulsory professional development: -
· Friday 23rd October 2026
· Friday 27th November 2026
· Monday 4th January 2027
· Friday 28th May 2027
PTA Support
A massive thank you to our small, but mighty PTA for their ongoing work behind the scenes to enhance the school experience for all our Broadgate community. The PTA have big plans again for this year, including a repeat of last year’s highly successful firework night on 4th November. Please do join in if you can, as every penny spent on PTA initiatives and events goes straight back to the children. The PTA are always on the lookout for help in their mission, so please email them at broadgatepta@hotmail.com if you are able to support their wonderful cause in any way (however small).
Here’s to the start of another fantastic year at Broadgate as the children’s learning journeys continue. We look forward to working in ever closer partnership with you, as together we continue to strive for ‘continuous improvement towards the best imaginable’ for each and every child!
Warm regards,
Sarah Qualtrough