Newsletter - Friday 13th February 2026
- lfoster51
- 1 day ago
- 12 min read
Issue 10 - Spring 2026
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
We've arrived at the end of the first half of Spring term and what a busy few weeks we've had!
Children have worked very hard and we've celebrated much success across the curriculum.
Year 6 took part in mock-SATs tests this week, providing an opportunity for them to become familiar with rooms and procedures, ready for the real tests in May. We're so proud of how hard they've worked! Thank you to staff and children across the rest of school who have stayed quiet during testing times, and made adjustments to their timetables to support Year 6. Thanks everyone!
I hope you enjoy reading what we've been up to over the past fortnight. Children (and adults!) have definitely earned a rest this half term. Lets hope the rain stops for at least a couple of days!
Just a reminder that Monday 23rd February is an INSET day and so school will be closed to pupils while staff receive training. We will welcome pupils back on Tuesday 24th February.
Thank you, as always, for your continuing support.
Have a great half term,
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.
Winter bugs are going around. If you aren't sure whether to send your child into school, this information may be useful: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS
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.
For more information, see our latest attendance newsletter here: Attendance Newsletter Spring 2026
This week, attendance remains at 94.5% - this is below the current national average of 94.8%. We'd love to see attendance improve and thank you in advance for your support with this. Year 1 continue to have the highest attendance so far - well done! Reception, Year 2 and Year 4 have all improved attendance since the last newsletter - brilliant!
Year group | Up to 6.2.26 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 94.5% |
Reception | 91.3% |
Year 1 | 95.1% |
Year 2 | 94.3% |
Year 3 | 94.6% |
Year 4 | 94.2% |
Year 5 | 94.4% |
Year 6 | 94.2% |
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
We were delighted to welcome Reflexions back to our school today, where they delivered training to our Wellbeing Champions to help promote positive wellbeing across the school community.
Our local PCSO visited our school to speak to Year 6 pupils about social media use and criminal responsibility. The session helped children understand how their online choices can have real-life consequences and how to stay safe and responsible both online and offline.
Children’s Mental Health Week is a valuable opportunity to reflect on how we care for our mental and emotional wellbeing. Throughout the week, the children have taken part in activities focused on wellbeing, self-expression, and recognising what helps them feel calm, confident, and supported.
To mark the end of the week, the children came together to Dress to Express!
Teaching and Learning Opportunities
A huge well done to all the students who participated in the recent STEM Challenge! Our incredible bridge builders showed remarkable creativity and problem-solving skills. We are thrilled to announce our winners, who were awarded a special voucher as a token of their achievement. But the excitement didn’t stop there—every child who entered received a prize in recognition of their hard work and dedication.
We couldn’t be more proud of our budding engineers and their innovative designs. Keep up the fantastic work, everyone! See the link on this blog for all our fabulous entries: STEM Bridge Building Challenge
Year 1 became animal experts this week as they turned into poo detectives in their science lesson! By carefully examining different types of 'animal poo', the children worked out whether it came from a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore. There were lots of great discussions, brilliant thinking and plenty of giggles as the children discovered how an animal’s diet can leave important clues behind!
As part of our Unity in the Community topic, Year 1 had a fantastic experience visiting a local residential home! We received a warm welcome from both residents and staff and were treated to a drink and a biscuit.
Afterwards, we sang some nursery rhymes and were met with lovely praise from the residents. It was wonderful to see the huge smiles on their faces as a result of our singing and visit!
We also had the chance to speak with the carers and learn about the residents, including the oldest resident, Dorothy, who is 97!
A big thank you to everyone at the home for having us — it was a truly memorable experience for Year 1!
Year 6 children have been exploring War of the Worlds alongside history lessons on different wars and the symbolism of the poppy. In art, the children experimented with oil pastels and pencil crayons to design their own poppy sketches. In DT they practised sewing techniques like running stitch and back stitch on binca fabric. Using felt and embroidery thread, they created beautiful poppies, finishing them with buttons. The project culminated in a hands-on workshop where children proudly worked with their adult!
Year 6 children learned all about the components and functions of blood. They discovered that blood is made up of four main parts: plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. To help them understand this better, the children took part in a fun hands-on activity. They used different everyday materials to represent each component of blood, showing how they all work together inside our bodies.
International Schools Award
Information for all settings: New kids online safety website launched as part of government campaign
A new website was launched on 16th February to support families and encourage regular conversations about what children are seeing online, asking simple questions, like “who shared this” and “why?”.
Based on parents’ main concerns and needs, it provides:
tips for parents’ conversations with their children
actions to support each stage of their child’s life
parental controls information
You can also find trusted resources from charities and third parties, where parents can access other forms of support (like speaking to an expert).
The website will continue to grow and be developed this year, supporting the Online Safety Act and wider government aims.
Walk to School
Our Sports Ambassadors have relaunched our 'Walk to School' campaign this week, which will start from Monday 2nd February. They are asking children to 'actively travel' to school at least once per week. This will be logged in class daily and children who walk actively at least once per week will be awarded with a Wow badge each month in Y1 - Y6. Further information for parents can be found here: WOW - the walk to school challenge
Wow Badge Design Competition
Our Sports Ambassadors have also launched an exciting 'Wow Badge design' competition that can be done by all pupils. Children can bring their designs into school for submission (our top three designs will be submitted as chosen by the Sports Ambassadors). Please bring all entries in by Tuesday 24th February.
Storytelling week
We hope you enjoyed the stories that we shared during Storytelling Week. Thanks to all out contributors! If you missed them, please find all videos on our website: Recent News | Elston Hall
School notices
Bikes/scooters
Please could we remind children not to ride bikes or scooters on school site before and after school.
Children should also avoid playing on the EYFS equipment including the mound, trim-trail and school bikes/scooters.
Parking
We respectfully request your continued cooperation in ensuring the safety and well‑being of our school community during drop-off and pick-up times. The roads surrounding the school and Shelley Road carpark can become congested, and it is essential that all drivers exercise caution, adhere to speed limits, and show consideration for pedestrians and other vehicles. Unfortunately, we have received several complaints and reports of near-misses in recent weeks and have requested support from the police. Please refrain from stopping on the yellow zig‑zag markings, and park only in designated areas to help maintain clear visibility and safe access for all. Your patience, courtesy, and commitment to safe driving contribute significantly to creating a secure environment for our pupils, staff and families. Thank you for your ongoing support and for helping us uphold the highest standards of safety around the school.
Sports News
Children worked well as a team to compete against other schools in a table cricket event, including some secondary schools. Children supported each other and showed great sportsmanship.
Elston Hall were victorious and took home the medals and trophy!
Our boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams competed at Fordhouses Cricket Club against 15 schools from across Wolverhampton and Bilston. A total of 168 pupils took part in the event, with Elston represented by 16 runners from Years 3, 4, 5 and 6.
We are incredibly proud to share that our girls’ team finished in 1st place, while our boys’ team narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, finishing an impressive 4th overall. This is an outstanding achievement, particularly as many of our runners were competing in a cross-country event for the very first time.
A special mention once again goes to Alba, who achieved an incredible 1st place finish out of 168 competitors across the city — a truly exceptional and talented athlete.
Alongside a fabulous support team of our parents and families encouraging them throughout, our Elston children really shone today; not just for their athletic talent but for the warmth, camaraderie, resilience and support of each other, even running alongside till the last athlete was home. Team Elston all the way, making us proud.
A huge well done to our superb netballers who braved the cold, wet weather to play in the Netball Hub event held at St Chads. Elston Hall took 11 players to play as part of two mixed Year 5 and 6 teams. Despite the freezing conditions, the children played brilliantly. Team 2 lost one match, drew 2 and won 2 whilst Team 1 won 5 matches and drew one. Overall just one defeat out of 11 matches played!
Lunches
Our school menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall.
See our special menu for World Book day:
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.
Please can we remind families to cut up grapes if they are sent into school for lunch or snack time.
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.
Key Dates
Please note, all dates are subject to change.
Inset days:
Monday 23rd February
Friday 19th June
Monday 20th July
School will be closed to all pupils on these days
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 |
Friday 27th February | EYFS Dino Discovery Day – Inspiration Day |
Monday 2nd March | Y5 Swimming for Class 18 starts Class 4 Parent Phonics Meeting and Workshop 2:20 |
Tuesday 3rd March | Class 5 Parent Phonics Meeting and Workshop 2:20 |
Wednesday 4th March | Class 6 Parent Phonics Meeting and Workshop 2:20 |
Friday 6th March | World Book Day – dress as a book character Year 4 Reading workshop Author Visit Day 1 – Pep the Poet |
Monday 9th March | Author Visit Day 2 - Pep the Poet Reflexions: Year 6 Children’s workshops – Preparation for SAT’s |
WC 9th March | Last week for extra-curricular clubs (due to parents evening & Laches Wood) British Science Week |
Wednesday 11th March | Year 3 Mother’s Day workshops - afternoon |
Thursday 12th March | Reception Mother’s Day assembly (KS2 Hall 2.30pm) |
Monday 16th March | Reflexions: Preparation for SAT’s - Parent workshop 2-3pm Year 1 Dinosaur Day Workshop |
Tuesday 17th March | Rocksteady Concert |
Wednesday 18th March | Parents Evening (4.00pm - 6.00pm) |
Thursday 19th March | Year 5 PCSO visit Parents Evening (3.30pm - 5.00pm) |
Friday 20th March | Red Nose Day |
Monday 23rd March | Year 6 Mock SATs |
Wednesday 25th March | Year 2 trip - West Midlands Safari Park |
Thursday 26th March | EYFS Easter Bonnets Parade (in school) |
Thursday 26th March | Nursery Easter Sing Song (KS1 Hall 11am &2.30pm) |
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 |
Tuesday 28th April | 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 |
TBC | Reception Trip |
WC Monday 8th June | Y1 Phonics Screening window |
Monday 8th June | Sports Day – Y4 – 9.15am, Y5 – 10.45am, Y6 – 1.45pm Reflexions: Transition - Year 6 Children’s workshops |
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 Reflexions: Transition – Parent workshop 2-3pm |
TBC | 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 |
Thursday 2nd July | Yr 5 trip to Safeside |
Monday 6th July | Last Y6 top up swimming session |
Monday 6th July – Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th - Thursday 9th July | Y2 residential |
Friday 3rd July | EYFS Colour Festival |
Thursday 9th / Friday 10th July | Y6 Summer Fete |
Friday 10th July | End of Year Reports sent home |
Thursday 16th 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
Yo! Wolves HAF February programme is now open for bookings (from 27th January). Offering hundreds of activities, events and food for the city’s children and young people and their families during the half term break.
Running from Friday 16th – 20th February, 4 hours of activities or more are fully funded and will include a meal.
The holiday activities are free for all children and young people of school age receiving benefit related school meals, and with SEND or an EHCP (are working with a Social or Family worker). The activities include arts, crafts, fun days out, dance and drama workshops, photography and much more. Booking places is easy at yowolves.co.uk
