Newsletter - Friday 10th October 2025
- lfoster51
- 6 hours ago
- 10 min read
Issue 3 - Autumn 2025
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
I hope that you are all well. It has been lovely to see so many of you in school at our recent events including our book fair, Reception workshops and Year 2 Harvest assembly. Thanks to everyone who sent donations in - they were collected by the Good Shepherd who will ensure the food reaches people in need. Click here to see our blogs: Harvest, Phonics and Maths Workshops.
Myself and Miss Willis have visited all classrooms over the past couple of weeks and it has been fantastic to see pupils engaged in their learning and producing some fantastic work. Classes are now settled into their new routines and we are proud of all of our pupils for their hard work! See our blogs here for information about what Year 1 and Year 6 have been up to: Jam-Packed Learning in Year 1! Year 6 Pizza Making Fun!
Year 5 enjoyed a fact-packed visit to the Space Centre! Pupils behaved brilliantly and staff were extremely impressed by the knowledge they bought to the trip following their Earth and Space science topic. Mission Control: A Trip to the National Space Centre
We have lots more to look forward to over the next couple of weeks including Year 1 DT workshops and a Year 2 author visit.
Parent consultation bookings go live next week - look out for more information coming soon via email.
Thank you for your continued support. Enjoy your weekends,
Miss E Foster
Headteacher
Attendance
We track attendance weekly and monitor any pupils falling below 96%. From time to time you might receive letters regarding your child's attendance. These letters are sent to many families and are sent regardless of whether you have contacted school or not to inform us of the absence.
Last year, our overall absence was, 95.3%, above the national average of 94.8%. We are in the top 40-50% of schools nationally. Well done!
Please could we remind families to inform school of any absences before 9am. There are several ways you can do this:
By calling the school office on 01902 558866. If you are calling before 8am, please leave a voicemail and this will be picked up and reasons for absence recorded on Arbor.
By adding reasons for the day's absence on Arbor's Parent Portal
By emailing attendance@elston.org.uk explaining the reasons for absence
If your child has a medical appointment, please bring them to school before and after wherever possible.
This week, attendance remains at 96% - well done! Years 1, 3 and 5 saw attendance increase. Year 1 have the highest attendance so far - amazing!
Year group | Up to 09.10.25 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 96.0% |
Reception | 95.7% |
Year 1 | 96.7% |
Year 2 | 95.4% |
Year 3 | 96.5% |
Year 4 | 95.4% |
Year 5 | 96.4% |
Year 6 | 95.8% |
Punctuality is vital to ensure that pupils have a calm and organised start to the day, and can make the most of every minute in school! Our doors open from 8:45 until 9am. Anyone arriving after this time should enter through the dining room doors where a Late mark will be recorded. Please note that any pupils arriving after 9:30am will receive a 'U' mark which affects their attendance.
Personal Development
Clubs are well underway and pupils are enjoying the activities on offer. Teamwork, Energy, and Fun in Multi Skills and Football! Extra Curricular Clubs are in Full Swing!
Our ambassadors have also been busy!
A big well done to our recently appointed Sports Ambassadors, who stepped up to lead a warm-up session during their PE lesson in celebration of National Fitness Day! Ambassadors in Action!
Our junior safety ambassadors have taken on a leadership role to help promote safety and wellbeing among their peers. This week they have improved their own safety knowledge by watching a live road safety broadcast. Pupils will also conduct health and safety walks around school to support our site team ensure that school is safe and well maintained! Empowering Our Junior Safety Ambassadors
Uniform
One of our school rules states, 'we take pride in our school and the uniform we wear'. Wearing the correct uniform ensures that pupils are ready to learn and safe. Please ensure that pupils wear the correct uniform as detailed in the policy which can be found here: Policies | Elston Hall
PE hoodies should only be worn on PE days, not with smart trousers. PE jogging bottoms should be plain black with no logos. Trainers should be black or white and only worn on PE days. At all other times, plain black school shoes should be worn.
Earrings must be removed for PE - they cannot be taped. Please inform your child's class teacher if your child has recently had their ears pierced so PE staff can make appropriate arrangements. Once they are healed, they must be removed prior to PE. For this reason, we advise parents to book piercings at the start of the six week holidays to ensure pupils can participate fully in PE lessons. Thank you.
Arbor
99% of our families use our Arbor Parent Portal! This enables payments to be made, messages to be received and key information to be updated.
Please could we request that families review the information to ensure that contact numbers and medical information are up to date. Please also ensure that all consents are complete so that staff know what permissions your child has. These include the publication of photographs and food tasting.
We require at least two emergency contacts per child. Please add on any contacts who you have given permission to collect your child and add this onto their information e.g. grandparents.
School will use email to send letters and in-app messages to send shorter reminders. Please enable notifications and check 'junk' to ensure emails are received. A reminder of our communication methods can be found here: Communication | Elston Hall
If you are having any issues accessing the Arbor app, please contact the school office.
Year 6 - 7 transition
A reminder that secondary school applications must be submitted by 31st October. Apply for secondary school places | City Of Wolverhampton Council
Hello Yellow
Today we celebrated Hello Yellow. Thanks to all pupils who took part and for families who sent in a donation.
Health and Safety on site
We love to see pupils arriving at school in an active way, including on a bike or a scooter. Just a reminder that pupils (and adults) should dismount once they arrive at school and walk their bikes/scooters to prevent accidents.
Dogs are not permitted on site whether on a lead or carried in arms.
The carpark is extremely busy and there were two near-misses last week. We encourage drivers to take extreme care when entering and exiting the carpark and will remind all children to walk carefully off site.
Pupils are not permitted to play football on KS2 playground at the start of the day to prevent accidents.
Thank you to everyone for your support with this.
Vaccination UK
Vaccination UK, who are commissioned by the NHS to provide child immunisations within schools, will be attending our school to deliver the Flu Nasal Spray’s or IM alternative (porcine free injection) soon. It is important that Vaccination UK receive a consent form back for every child, even if you do NOT wish for your child to receive the immunisation, there is an option to decline. Failure to complete a consent form, may result in your child missing their flu immunisation this year. We cannot guarantee that you will be contacted by the team to obtain consent. Please complete the below link to state whether you wish to consent or decline.
Sports News
Elston's cross-country team were back up and running again in the mixed relays, in their first race of the year. Elston placed 1st place showing lots of hard work, teamwork and determination. We are so proud of our students, many of them who haven't ran in a cross country event before.
A special shout out to Alba who placed 1st place across the city again for the 4th year running!
Well done Elston💚
Well done to the Year 6 children who participated in the Netball Hub at St Chads. The event, designed to engage children in netball, was a huge success with the Elston Hall winning all 5 games with scores of 4-1, 1-0, 2-0, 7-0 and 2-0. For many of the children, this was their first time participating in a competitive game of netball. Miss Saunders and Miss Willis were exceptionally proud of their team work, communication and effort. Well done!
A huge well done to our girls football team who played their first match of the year against Long Knowle. The girls showed excellent teamwork, communication and listening skills that contributed to an amazing 8-0 win! Well done to the girls team, an excellent start to the season.
Lunches
Our school menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall Scroll down to find the winter menu which will launch after half term!
For parents who pay for school meals, please could payment be made the week before meals are taken to prevent debts accruing. Please be aware that, should your child's debt reach £30, then school will no longer provide school dinners until the debt is cleared.
Key Dates
Please note, all dates are subject to change.
Inset days:
Monday 23th February
Friday 19th June
Monday 20th July
School will be closed to all pupils on these days
Date | Event |
Monday 13th October | Class 4 DT parent workshop 2:30pm |
Tuesday 14th October | Class 5 DT parent workshop 2:30pm |
Wednesday 15th October | Class 6 DT parent workshop 2:30pm |
WC 20th October | No clubs all week due to parents’ evenings Year 6 mock SATs |
Monday 20th October | Flu immunisations |
Tuesday 21st October | Parents Evening 4.00 – 6.00pm |
Wednesday 22nd October | Parents Evening 3.30 – 5.00pm Y2 Author Visit |
Monday 27th October – Friday 31st October | Half term – School closed to all pupils |
WC Monday 3rd November | After School clubs resume |
Tuesday 4th November | Y2 Residential meeting 3.30pm |
Wednesday 5th November | Y4 Lego workshop |
Monday 10th November | Nursery rhyme week Anti-bullying week Odd socks day Diversity Celebration (invite only) |
Wednesday 12th November | Year 4 cinema trip |
Friday 14th November | Children in Need |
Monday 17th November | Last week for after school clubs |
Thursday 20th November | Y6 Blist’s hill trip |
Monday 24th November | Y5 Swimming for Class 17 starts |
Tuesday 25th November | Flu immunisation catch up session |
Tuesday 25th November | Rocksteady Concert Year 3 trip |
Wednesday 26th November | Year 3 trip |
Thursday 4th December | Year 1 and 2 Christmas fayre |
Friday 5th December | Reception trip |
Monday 8th December | Reception height and weight (School nurses) |
Tuesday 9th December | Reception height and weight (School nurses) |
Wednesday 10th December | Reception height and weight (School nurses) |
Wednesday 10th December | Christmas Dinner day / Christmas Jumper day |
Thursday 11th December | Year 1 Christmas Performance 9.15am & 1.30pm Year 2 Christmas Performances 10.15am & 2.30pm |
Friday 12th December | Nursery Christmas Performance 9.15am & 1.30pm Reception Christmas Performance 10.15am & 2.30pm |
Monday 15th December | Y3 Christmas Performance 9.15am & 1.30pm Y4 Christmas Performance 10.15am & 2.30pm |
Tuesday 16th December | Y5 Christmas Performance 9.15am & 1.30pm Y6 Christmas Performance 10.15am & 2.30pm |
Friday 20th December | End of term |
Monday 5th January | School reopens to all pupils |
Monday 5th January | Swimming Y5 resumes (Class 17) |
WC Monday 12th January | After School clubs / Y6 Boosters Start |
Thursday 22nd January | Year 3 History workshops |
Friday 23rd January | Year 3 History workshops |
TBC | Reception Phonic parent workshops |
TBC | Year 1 care home visit |
TBC | Year 1 Community Day |
Tuesday 3rd February | Year 4 DT workshops |
Friday 6th February | Number Day |
Monday 9th February | Children’s Mental Health Week |
Tuesday 10th February | Safer Internet Day |
TBC | Reception Mother’s day assembly |
TBC | Year 1 Phonics workshops |
Friday 13th February | Dress to Express day (to celebrate children’s mental health week). Red Nose Day. |
Monday 16th February – Friday 20th February | Half term – School closed to all pupils |
Monday 23rd February | Inset Day – School closed to all pupils |
WC Monday 23rd February | After school clubs resume |
Monday 2nd March | Y5 Swimming for Class 18 starts |
Friday 6th March | World Book Day – fancy dress Year 4 Reading workshop |
WC 9th March | Last week for extra-curricular clubs (due to parents evening & Laches Wood) British Science Week |
TBC | Year 3 Mother’s Day workshop |
TBC | Reception Mother’s Day assembly |
TBC | Year 1 Dinosaur Day |
Tuesday 17th March | Rocksteady Concert |
Wednesday 18th March | Parents Evening (4.00pm - 6.00pm) |
Thursday 19th March | Parents Evening (3.30pm - 5.00pm) |
TBC | Nursery/Reception Easter bonnet parade Nursery parent Easter singalong |
TBC | Year 2 trip |
Monday 23rd March | Year 6 Mock SATs |
Wednesday 25th – Friday 27th March | Y6 Residential Visit to Laches Wood |
Friday 27th March | End of term |
Monday 13th April | School reopens to all pupils |
Monday 13th April | Swimming resumes (Class 18) |
WC Monday 20th April | Extra-Curricular After School clubs begin |
TBC | Year 4 Rainforest workshops |
Monday 4th May | Bank Holiday – School closed to all pupils |
WC Monday 11th May | Y6 SATs Week |
Monday 18th May | Y6 Top up swimming sessions start (selected pupils) |
Monday 18th May – Wed 20th May | Y4 Conwy residential – no extra curricular clubs this week |
Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May | Half term – school closed to all pupils |
WC Monday 1st June | After School clubs continue |
Monday 1st June | Y4 MTC window Reception trip Year 6 Bikeability |
Tuesday 2nd June | Year 6 Bikeability |
Wednesday 3rd June | Year 4 Bikeability |
WC Monday 8th June | Y1 Phonics Screening window |
Monday 8th June | Sports Day – Y4 – 9.15am, Y5 – 10.45am, Y6 – 1.45pm |
Friday 12th June | Sports Day – Y1 – 9.15am, Y2 - 10.45am, Y3 - 1.45pm |
Monday 15th June | Sports Day – Reception – 9.15am, Nursery am – 10.45am, Nursery pm – 1.45pm |
| Nursery trip |
Thursday 18th June | Year 1 Father’s day events |
Friday 19th June | Inset Day – School closed to all pupils |
Monday 22nd June | Year 4 Father’s Day events |
TBC | Year 1 trip |
Monday 29th June – Wednesday 1st July | Transition sessions (am only) Reception – Y6
|
WC Monday 29th June | Last week for After school clubs Transition week |
Tuesday 30th June | Rocksteady Concert |
Monday 6th July | Last Y6 top up swimming session |
Monday 6th July – Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th - Thursday 9th July | Y2 residential |
Thursday 9th / Friday 10th July | Y6 Summer Fete |
Friday 10th July | End of Year Reports sent home Reception colour festival |
Monday 13th July | Nursery graduation |
Wednesday 15th July | Y6 Leaver’s Performances |
Thursday 16th July | Y6 Leaver’s events (during school day & BBQ after school) |
Friday 17th July | End of academic year |
Monday 20th July | Inset Day – School closed to all pupils |
Community Links
