Newsletter - Friday 24th April 2026
- lfoster51
- Apr 24
- 10 min read
Updated: Apr 24
Issue 13 - Summer 2026
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
Welcome to the Summer term! I hope your children enjoyed the Easter holidays. Its been lovely welcoming them all back into school to begin a very busy term.
Thank you to families who passed their condolences onto staff following the loss of Miss H Jones. She will be very missed, particularly by our breakfast and after-school club children who were always so well cared for by Miss Jones. Her colleagues have supported each other since returning to school and are considering ways to honour her memory.
As ever, we've had a very busy fortnight in school with lots of learning and extra activities taking place. Summer term events are planned and can be found at the end of the newsletter.
The weather has been lovely at the end of this week. It may be time to start thinking about hats, sunglasses and morning sun cream applications!
Thank you, as always, for your continuing support.
Have a great weekend,
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 has dropped slightly to 94.7% - 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 and now Year 3 have the highest attendance so far - well done! EYFS saw attendance increase - keep it up!
Year group | Up to 22.4.26 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 94.7% |
Nursery | 88.9% |
Reception | 91.9% |
Year 1 | 95.1% |
Year 2 | 94.4% |
Year 3 | 95.1% |
Year 4 | 94.2% |
Year 5 | 94.6% |
Year 6 | 94.9% |
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
Extra-curricular clubs started this week and it's been wonderful seeing children enjoying a wide variety of activities!
Find out what our Year 6 pupils got up to on their final residential here: Year 6 Residential to Laches Wood | Elston Hall. Thank you to staff for supporting pupils on this trip - it couldn't happen without you! A huge well done to pupils who tried something new -we're very proud!
Fun was also had by children who didn't attend Laches Wood!
Teaching and Learning Opportunities
Following our Easter Reading Challenge, we are delighted to share that 78 pupils from across the school took part. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm for reading, with so many children embracing the challenge. As a thank you, every participant received a special bookmark to celebrate their effort. In addition, eight lucky children were selected at random to win an Easter egg prize—well done to all who joined in and made the challenge such a success!
Year 2 had an exciting and memorable trip to West Midlands Safari Park as part of their “Going Wild” topic and science learning. During the safari, they spotted a wide range of incredible animals, including lions, antelopes, elephants, giraffes and camels, to name just a few!A high light of the day was walking through the lemur trail, where the children got within touching distance of these amazing animals. After lunch, the children took part in a fantastic hands-on experience. They had the opportunity to learn about and meet a variety of animals up close, including rats, chinchillas, giant snails, cockroaches and rabbits. This was a wonderful chance to develop their understanding of different animal groups and habitats.
To finish off the day, everyone enjoyed some time playing together in the adventure playground. It was a fun-filled day of learning and exploration, and the children represented the school beautifully throughout the trip.
Click the link above to see pictures; more can also be found here: More Safari Park Fun!
Walk to School
Our sports ambassadors have awarded 328 Wow badges for March. Children can continue to carry out their active travelling and remembering to log this each day in class to earn their next badge. Children only have to do one active type of travelling per week to earn a badge. Don't forget to send photos of your children actively travelling to school to add to our gallery!
Thank you to families who have sent in some active travel pictures which have been added to our website: Walk to School | Elston Hall
Sports Ambassadors would love even more photographs of children actively travelling to school - this could be walking by themselves or with a sibling/ friend or using a bike or scooter. If the picture can feature their wow badges then even better! These pictures will be used in school and on our website to show our active travelling. If you'd like your child to be featured, please email photographs to office@elston.org.uk with the subject 'Walk to School'. Thank you!
School notices
Bikes/scooters
Please could we remind children not to ride bikes or scooters on school site before and after school.
EYFS area
Unfortunately, we have had to dispose of several resources, including bikes and scooters, because they were being damaged before and after school. These items are intended for children’s learning during theschool day.
To protect our remaining equipment, we will be closing the Reception area gates before and after school.Please remind your children (and small siblings) that outdoor resources, including nursery equipment, should only be used during school hours (9:00 - 15:20).
Thank you for helping us keep our resources safe so all children can enjoy them.
Uniform
Could we please remind families of our uniform expectations, especially for our PE uniform. Black bottoms should be worn with a bottle green top and hoodie. Our policy can be found here: 957aab_5c700421c1cb4f8cbe5835ef6afbb04e.pdf
Parking
Please see the following information from the City of Wolverhampton Council:
We are continuing to experience significant issues with parents and carers parking on restricted areas during school drop‑off and pick‑up times. Unfortunately, despite previous engagement efforts, the situation has not improved.
‘Until now, our Civil Enforcement Officers have approached drivers observed parking in contravention and requested that they move their vehicles before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Increasingly, drivers are relying on this warning and continuing to park unlawfully until instructed to move. These restrictions must remain clear at all times to ensure the safety of pupils, parents, and carers.
‘To address this ongoing issue, we will be changing our enforcement approach. Any vehicle parked in contravention of restrictions near schools will now receive a Penalty Charge Notice immediately, without a prior request to move. If a driver leaves the location after the issuing process has begun, the PCN will be issued by post to the registered keeper of the vehicle.’
Matthew Bowden
Senior Parking Service Officer
City of Wolverhampton Council
Sports News
Year 4 pupils demonstrated outstanding racket skills while competing against schools from across the city. Elston entered two teams, both of which performed exceptionally well. Team A won every match, securing an impressive 1st place overall and bringing home the gold for Elston. Team B also delivered a fantastic performance, winning several matches and displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout the competition. Both teams represented Elston with pride, and we are extremely proud of their achievements. A special mention goes to Olivia and Isha, who have now secured gold for Elston for the second consecutive year—an outstanding accomplishment. Well done to everyone involved.
Miss Maguire and Miss Foster were delighted to take nine children to the In2 Hockey Festival at Aldersley Leisure Village! The team took part in four 6‑a‑side games and finished joint 5th. The children played brilliantly as a team and learned so much throughout the afternoon. Umpires and parents commented on how noticeably each player improved as the tournament progressed. The team demonstrated excellent defensive skills, and we celebrated goals from Freddy, Phoebe and Farid!
A big thank‑you to Miss Maguire for her excellent coaching, and to the families who came along to support and encourage the team. Well done, everyone — we are so proud of you all!
Seventeen boys and girls from Years 2, 3, and 4 took part in an exciting 7-a-side football friendly against Wolverhampton Grammar School. Both teams were outstanding, demonstrating excellent teamwork, passing, movement, and some fantastic goals throughout. The boys delivered a superb performance, winning their game 8–2. The girls also put in a determined performance against a strong Grammar School side. Although they were narrowly defeated 4–1, they showed great resilience and had some excellent spells of play, displaying impressive skills and teamwork. Overall, we are incredibly proud of all the children. It is a pleasure to watch them play with such enthusiasm and smiles on their faces. Well done, everyone!
We are incredibly proud of our girls’ football team! After a fantastic group stage, winning all four games, they faced a tough Uplands Primary School side in the quarter-finals. Elston battled hard in the first half, creating plenty of chances but unable to find that clinical edge, going into half-time at 0–0. After the break, Elston came out flying and continued to create opportunities on goal. However, the Uplands goalkeeper made a series of outstanding saves to keep the score level. With around 10 minutes remaining, Alba picked up the ball near the halfway line, drove through the Uplands defence, rounded the keeper, and calmly finished into the back of the net—1–0 to Elston!
We are so proud of this team. They consistently demonstrate our school values—excellent sportsmanship, resilience in challenging moments, and outstanding teamwork. A truly talented group, and no matter what happens next, we couldn’t be prouder.
The girls were incredibly unlucky to lose on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the semi-finals. It was a fiercely competitive game, with both sides evenly matched and battling for every ball. Neither team could be separated in normal time, and it ultimately came down to penalties. Unfortunately, despite a strong effort, the shootout didn’t go our way, with Woodthorne’s stand-in goalkeeper, making a decisive save.
An unbelievable group of girls—full of heart, effort, and team spirit. The Year 6s will be hugely missed.
Mr Green, Miss Willis and Mr Turner have loved watching these girls grow and develop, and they couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them. They’ve truly made Elston proud!
Lunches
Our school menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall.
We have a special menu for Census Day on 21st May:
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.
Staff News
Good luck to Mrs B-C who will be running the London Marathon on Sunday to raise money for Spinal Research. We wish her lots of luck!
Arbor
100% 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
Key Dates
Please note, all dates are subject to change.
Inset days:
Friday 19th June
Monday 20th July
School will be closed to all pupils on these days.
Wednesday 29th April | Year 4 Rainforest workshops |
Monday 4th May | Bank Holiday – School closed to all pupils |
Friday 8th May | David Attenborough’s 100th birthday – Focus Day |
WC Monday 11th May | Y6 SATs Week |
Monday 18th May | Y2 SATs week 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 Year 6 Bikeability |
Tuesday 2nd June | Year 6 Bikeability |
Wednesday 3rd June | Year 4 Bikeability |
Thursday 4th June | Reception Trip to Theatre |
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 |
Tuesday 9th June | New Reception Parent meeting 3.30 KS1 hall |
Wednesday 10th June | New Reception Parent meeting 3.30 KS1 hall |
Thursday 11th June | New Reception Parent meeting 3.30 KS1 hall |
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 |
Wednesday 17th June | Year 1 Conkers Trip |
Thursday 18th June | Year 1 Father’s day events |
Friday 19th June | Inset Day – School closed to all pupils |
Monday 22nd June | Last week for After school clubs Year 4 Father’s Day events |
Tuesday 23rd June | New to nursery parent meeting 3.30 |
Wednesday 24th June | Y6 Trip (all day) |
Thursday 25th June | Reception to Year 1 transition parent meeting 3.30 |
Monday 29th June – Wednesday 1st July | Transition sessions (am only) Reception – Y6
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WC Monday 29th June | Transition week Y6-7 |
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
