Half Term – School is closed next week for the half term holidays, and reopens on Monday 7th November.
Fruit – If you would like your child to have a piece of fresh fruit everyday, please pay on sQuid – Fruit Autumn 2 ( This offer is open for Year 1 to Year 6 pupils)
Reception and Year 7 Admissions – Just a reminder that if your child is in Nursery or Year 6 then it is time to apply for a place for next year. The application window closes on the 25th November. Please go to https://swansea.gov.uk/applyforaschoolplace for more information.
Caswell & Oxwich Classes – Over the next few months, we’ll be working with researchers from Cardiff University and University of the West of England, Bristol, on a project that’s exploring children’s ideas about the changing food system. The research is looking at children’s hopes for, and ideas about, food systems of the future – especially at how they might become more ethical and sustainable. Caswell and Oxwich pupils will be involved, completing questionnaires in class this term, before participating in workshops in the spring. The workshops will introduce children to the global context of the food system and will encourage them to think about the information they need to engage critically with, and act on, complex and competing claims about different types of food. Information packs and Consent Forms are being sent home today.
Class Assemblies
Oxwich E – Mrs Evans – Friday 11th November 9.00am approximately
Bracelet B – Mrs Breeze – Tuesday 15th November 9.00am approximately
Parents, Carers and Grandparents are invited to join us for the class assemblies. Please queue at Gate 2 on Trafalgar Place ( once the classes have been let in and the gate is closed)
Children in Need – On Friday 18th November we will help raise money for Children in Need. Children and staff are invited to wear something ‘Spotty’, and donate to this worthwhile charity. Suggested donation is £1.00 per child. Please pay with online with sQuid – Charity Offer.
Advance Notice – Bracelet Bay Classes are going to the Gower Heritage Centre on Tuesday 29th November, for activities based on the story “The night before the night before Christmas”. We will confirm the price when we return after half term.
Inset Days – We have 2 Inset Days at the end of term, so the last day in school will be Wednesday 21st December.
Welsh Water: Help for vulnerable families With October Half Term fast approaching, we know some families will struggle to afford essentials. Families with children who receive traditional free school meals and are in receipt of a qualifying benefit, may also be entitled to help towards their water bills from Welsh Water. What financial support is available from Welsh Water? By switching to Welsh Water’s HelpU tariff, customers could save up to £230 off their water bill. Find out more here.
Shwmae! It was lovely to see the children and staff dressed in red today to celebrate Shwmae day, and have the opportunity to share the Welsh Language.
Flu Vaccine. The school nurses will be with us on Friday to give the Nasal Flu Vaccine to those who have consented. If you haven’t returned your form please do so as soon as possible, even if you are not consenting. If you have misplaced your form, please ask the office for a spare.Thank you
School Disco – The Friends of Brynmill Primary are putting on a school Disco on Thursday, please see the posters, and Dojo posts for more information. There is also a carved pumpkin competition.
Parking – As we all know, finding a parking spot is not easy around the school. However we would like to remind parents that the children’s safety is paramount, therefore DO NOT PARK on the double yellow lines at pick up and drop off times.
Oxwich Bay Classes Residential Trip – We are gauging interest in a residential trip to Llanmadoc in the Summer Term for the Year 5/ Year 6 classes. Please complete the form https://forms.office.com/r/6j2awMvgUu
Half Term – The half term holidays are from Monday 31st October to Friday 4th November.
Fruit Tuckshop – Please pay £7.00 for the half term leading up to Christmas if you would like your child to have a piece of fresh fruit or healthy snack from our Tuck Shop. (For Y1 to Y6 children). Alternatively you are welcome to send in a healthy snack for them to enjoy at breaktime.
Workshop for Parents – On Wednesday 26th October we have a Safety/RSE workshop for parents at 4.30pm. Please use Gate 1. This will give us an opportunity to talk about relationships education (RSE), and our shared approaches to keeping learners safe online.
Free Breakfast during Half Term
NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. Online programme.
I am pleased to tell you that this term we will be participating in the NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. online programme. This consists of an online assembly and supporting classroom based activities. Speak out. Stay safe. is a safeguarding programme available to all primary schools in the UK and Channel Islands. It aims to help children understand abuse in all its forms and to recognise the signs of abuse in a child friendly way. Children are taught to speak out if they are worried, either to a trusted adult or Childline.
In the online assembly, the Speak out. Stay safe. messages are delivered in a fun and interactive way with the help of their mascot Buddy as well as special guest appearances from Ant and Dec.
We have studied the content of the materials and are extremely confident that they are appropriate for primary-school-aged children. By the end of the programme, we’re convinced children will feel empowered – knowing how they can speak out and stay safe.
If you would like to know more about the Speak out. Stay safe. programme you can find information on the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout or I would be happy to discuss any questions that you may have.
Additional resources – Adapted assembly for home use – The NSPCC has also developed an adapted version of their assembly for parents/carers to use at home with their children.This can be found here:www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/safety. With the help of celebrities, the film focuses on how a child can get support if they have any worries or concerns.
To complement the assembly, there are some resources that can be used to enable further discussion whilst doing activities with your children. These are hosted on the NSPCC website www.nspcc.org.uk/activities.
Online safety hub – You may also like to visit the NSPCC Online Safety Hubwhere you will find advice and information on a range of different online safety topics including gaming, social media, sharing nudes, parental controls and more.
You will also find online safety information for families of children with additional needs and disabilities. We have worked with Ambitious about Autism and parents and carers who have children with additional needs and disabilities to create activities to help talk about online safety which you can find at www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/online-safety-families-children-with-send.
Childline Under 12’s Website – Childline also have a website with age appropriate advice for primary school children on topics such as bullying. It also has games and other interactive tools. Your child can visit it at www.childline.org.uk/kids.
If you’d like to know more about the NSPCC’s work, or take a look at the wide range of information and advice which is available for parents and carers, please visit their website www.nspcc.org.uk/parents.
Talking PANTS with your children – Talk PANTS is a simple conversation to help keep your child safe from sexual abuse. From P through to S, each letter of PANTS provides a simple but valuable rule that can help keep your child safe. You can find out more and download the free resources at www.nspcc.org.uk/pants.
Penguin and Ladybird have partnered with the NSPCC to create a brand new Pantosaurus book aimed at children ages 4 – 8. You can find copies of the new book on sale, either in Matalan’s selected stores and online, selected SPAR stores or athttps://shop.nspcc.org.uk/. All profits from the sale of this book will support the NSPCC.
Support the NSPCC – You may be interested in the NSPCC’s new selection of BUDDY goodies available from the NSPCC shop at https://shop.nspcc.org.uk/collections/buddy which make perfect gifts for children – and all profits go to help keep children safe.
Attendance Letter from the Director of Education
Dear Parent / Carer, I am delighted that schools have been able to return to normal opening this autumn following two and a half difficult years. However, after such an uncertain time not everything has returned as it was before the pandemic. For example, we have noticed that many children in Swansea are not attending school as regularly as they were previously. We are worried about this because evidence suggests that good attendance at school improves life chances for children and young people and we want to be certain we do everything possible to ensure each child in Swansea has the best opportunity to succeed. The most obvious benefits of regular school attendance are that pupils are given the best opportunity to learn when they are in school. Good attendance supports achievement in learning and helps children to progress. We would like all children in Swansea to leave school with the qualifications they need to take the next steps they want to in their lives. That may be employment or further study but whatever they choose, good attendance at school should offer the stepping stone to the next stage. It is also important to know that regular attendance at school can help children and young people improve their wellbeing. Benefits of attending school regularly include: building good habits and establishing routines which in turn help children to feel secure and gain confidence. building good relationships with adults and other children is much easier when attendance is regular. These relationships help children develop self-esteem . for a few families, children’s regular attendance at school allows parents to get other things done and makes the time at home more enjoyable. children who regularly miss sessions, or are often late for school, often feel they are missing out or need to try harder just to understand what is going on or what other children are talking about or doing. regular attendance helps many young children to be supported to naturally separate from their parents or carers and begin to develop life skills. We realise that the uncertainty of the last few years has had an impact on many families and children. We would like to encourage all families to try and return to regular attendance at school, if they are not already. If you feel you need any additional help and support then you can contact your child’s school or our Education Welfare Service educationwelfareservice@swansea.gov.uk who may be able to offer help and support. Regards Helen Morgan-Rees Director of Education
Harvest Festival – The following classes are taking part in our Harvest Festival on Thursday at 9.15ish. Please queue at Gate 2 (after the children have been let in at the start of the day, and the gate has closed after them.)
Oxwich D, Caswell J, Bracelet L & Caswell T.
Harvest Collection, we are collecting long lasting food (tins and packets) to donate to those in need, if you have anything to donate, please send donations in from Monday.
Trips – We will make the decision on Monday as to whether the Caswell & Oxwich Trips are going ahead, at the time of writing unfortunately we haven’t received enough voluntary contributions to cover costs. If you are able to contribute please do so over the weekend. Thank you
Free School Meals & other grants. – As the cost-of-living rises, no child should go without. In Wales, nearly half of parents are not claiming the free school meals that their children are entitled to. We are writing to remind you of the three types of support you might be entitled to.
Don’t miss out on Free School Meals. School meals promote healthy eating, increase the variety of food your child might eat, and can improve behaviour and social skills. If you receive certain benefits, or your circumstances have changed, check if you’re entitled through Free school meals – Swansea
If your child already gets free school meals, there could be more help available through School Essentials (PDG Access). This helps with the costs of school essentials like uniforms and equipment to make sure they are ready for the school day.
Please note, if you are in receipt of Free School Meals, parents will still need to apply separately for School Essentials (PDG Access) to access all of the funding available.
Attendance – If you have any attendance messages please contact the school office by email/phone or School Gateway, please do not use ClassDojo.
Reminder – School Photos – The school photographer will be with us tomorrow ( with Wednesday as a reserve day) Please ensure you have registered with them to have your child’s photo taken.
School Trips – Caswell & Oxwich have trips coming up, and we are asking for voluntary contributions to cover the costs. Unfortunately trips may be cancelled if we are unable to cover the cost of admission and transport.
Vomiting & Diahorrea – The current guidance is that children must stay off school for 48 hours following any vomiting or diahorrea.
Inset Day – Reminder we have an Inset Day on Friday, when school is closed to pupils for staff training.
Caswell H – Mrs Howard’s class assembly is tomorrow, parents and grandparents are invited to come and watch. Please queue at Gate 2 (after the classes have come in and the Gate has been locked).
Building a strong community
Home school communication is important to us at Brynmill. In terms of home/ school communication, we want to ensure that:
parents and carers contact the member of staff who is best placed to respond.
important messages are not missed simply because they have not been sent directly to the ‘right’ member of staff.
Class Dojo is currently used as a means of communication. Messages can be sent to class teachers and some other school staff. Staff will try their best to check communication throughout the school day; however, the school day is extremely busy and therefore messages may not be seen until it’s too late. If there is an urgent message please contact the school office.
Please be aware that messages sent outside of the working day (approx. 8:30 am – 5:00 pm) may not be read and therefore class teachers and school staff are unlikely to respond. For this reason, we respectfully ask parents and carers to avoid contacting staff outside of the working day if at all possible
Here are a few examples of the types of things that you may want to raise or discuss and the staff member who is best placed to respond:
Class teacher
Family Wellbeing Leader
School Office/ Admin Team
Sharing important information with your child’s class teacher
Mrs Ciaburri is our Family Well Being Leader she can be contacted by phone or on class dojo.
Mrs Morgans – School Administrator Miss Rees – Attendance and Dinner money (sQuid) & general enquiries Mrs Evans/ Miss Woollacott – Resources and general enquiries.
Any worries or concerns about learning or issues directly related to your child in class
Anything relating to the mental or emotional wellbeing of your child, for example, request for support with routines at home
Important messages, for example an unplanned problem with collection arrangements.
To update Mrs Ciaburri with information that you would like to share.
Messages about your child’s attendance, any issues in relation to absence or punctuality.
Squid/ Dinner Money/ issues with Class Dojo.
Please do not send urgent messages/ messages about attendance or squid to your child’s class teacher as they will not be read whilst your child’s teacher is teaching. Please speak to our school office instead.
If you are not sure who to speak to, please speak to a member of the Admin Team, giving a brief reason for your call.
End of year concerts
Many of us have missed the end of year concerts for the past couple of years and have been eagerly awaiting news of their return in 2022. Each Bay Team will perform a morning and an afternoon concert. The after school performance (with exception of Pobbles) will start at 4 pm, which has the advantage of pupils being able to stay at the end of the school day so not needing to be collected and brought back to school. Additionally, children are less likely to be very tired the following day as the concerts will start and finish earlier. We wanted to give parents/carers/ families as much notice as possible, please find details below:
