Newsletter - Friday 27th June 2025
- lfoster51
- Jun 27
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 29
Issue 17 - Summer 2025
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
We've had a busy fortnight and enjoyed many extra curricular activities in the sunshine!
Year 2 enjoyed a wonderful residential to Beaudesert last week - many staying away from home for the first time! We were so impressed with their independence and bravery when taking on new challenges. Please see the blog here for some amazing photos of their trip! Year 2 Residential | Elston Hall
Year 3 have enjoyed their adventures at The Wild this week - look out for a blog containing pictures coming soon!
We've also enjoyed sports days and many sporting competitions over the past couple of weeks. Pupils have been extremely successful and worked together to achieve their very best. See below for the results of our endeavors! Thanks to all families who were able to attend sports days. The children appreciated all your support. Pictures can be found here: Eggs, Obstacles & Energy: A Week of Sports Day Fun
Thank you once again for your support with book fair. Mrs Powell organises this each term and has confirmed that we raised £1243 in commission from sales. This will be used to purchase books for pupils in school.
Next week, pupils will have the opportunity to meet their new teachers on Meet Me Monday, Transition Tuesday and Welcome Wednesday! They will spend the mornings in their new classrooms before returning to their normal classes after lunch. Most Year 6 pupils will also be off to visit their new secondary schools at some point next week - we'd like to wish them luck. Show your new schools what great additions you'll be by making a great first impression and showing them our ELSTON values!
Have a great weekend,
Miss E Foster
Headteacher
Attendance
We track attendance weekly and monitor any pupils falling below 96%. As we near the end of the school year, these last weeks are vital for learning before the children move up to the next year group as well as lots of exciting events such as trips and sports days. We want to ensure that we provide the best possible education we can and this starts with excellent attendance.
Our attendance remains at 95.3%, above the national average of 94.8%. We are in the top 40-50% of schools nationally.
Please could we remind families to inform school of any absences before 9am. Please call 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. Families can now also email attendance@elston.org.uk to report any absences. Families may now also report absences on the Arbor app!
If your child has a medical appointment, please bring them to school before and after wherever possible.
Year group | Up to 25.6.25 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 95.3% |
Reception | 94.5% |
Year 1 | 95.5% |
Year 2 | 95.5% |
Year 3 | 95.0% |
Year 4 | 95.9% |
Year 5 | 94.9% |
Year 6 | 95.1% |
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! Please note that any pupils arriving after 9:30am will receive a 'U' mark which affects their attendance.
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.
Reports
This year, reports will be sent out via email and available to download on Arbor! They will be sent out on Friday 11th July. We hope that this will prevent any copies going missing and also support our split families. If you require a paper copy, please inform your child's class teacher. If your child has taken any statutory assessments this year, you will also receive the results of that. This includes end of Reception assessments, Year 1 Phonics Screening Checks and any Year 2 retakes, Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check and Year 6 SATs.
Parent Survey
Your views are important to us!
Every year we ask that you take time to complete a parent survey in order to provide us with vital information which can then be used to inform our school improvement plan. For these to be used most effectively, it is important that you answer the questions based on where you think the school is now, rather than the past. This means we can identify any positives but also any new actions we may need to take. If you would like to explain any of your responses further, please use the box at the bottom of the questionnaire.
These surveys are anonymous and confidential, unless you would like a personal response from us.
As always, we appreciate your support with these and the more responses we receive the more effective the data produced will be, in enabling us to make further improvements.
Please follow this link to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZWTK5FB
If you have any issues accessing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Summer Camps
Staff news
After over 40 years of dedicated service at Elston Hall, Mr Wilde will retire at the end of term. Mr Wilde has taken care of the site and ensured that our premises are safe and welcoming. He will be missed by all the staff but he has definitely earned a rest! We'd like to thank him for his hard work and wish him a happy retirement.
School uniform
As we near the end of the school year, can I please remind families that expectations for school uniform remain high. On PE days, trainers worn should be white or black. You will find a copy of our Uniform Policy by clicking on the following link: https://www.elstonhall.org.uk/school-policies/64c7704f-f8ff-45b0-8655-40b9ac42812e
Also, a reminder that jewellery should not be worn for PE, including earrings. If you are thinking of having your child's ears pierced, it would be helpful if this could take place at the start of the six week holiday so that there is enough time for them to heal before returning to school in September. Thank you!
Sports News
Cricket Success
Children from Year 5 and 6 took part in The City Cricket Championships competing against 11 schools. Winning 5 out of 10 to top their league and then beat Wolverhampton Grammar school in the final to claim gold! Mr Turner and Mr Green are overjoyed and so proud of our team! Well done Elston!
Following success at the city competition, our cricket team had the special opportunity to represent the city against 9 of the best cricket teams around Staffordshire County.
Elston displayed great spirit and determination throughout the group stage but unfortunately narrowly missed advancing to the next round, we are incredibly proud of how our team represented both our school and our city.
A huge well done to all our players—you've done Wolverhampton cricket proud!
Nursery Starters - September 2025
This week, we hosted parent meetings for our new Nursery starters in September 2025! All the information shared can be found here: New Nursery Information 2025
Missing Scooter
A black scooter has gone missing. It did have a label with the child's name on. If anyone has taken it home in error, please can it be returned to school. Thank you.
Lunch
Our regular lunch menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall. Please review these with your children so that they know what is on offer each day. An allergen free menu will be launched soon - parents of children who will be eating from this menu have been contacted.
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
Summer term 2025
Week beginning 30th June - Transition week Y6-7. Transition mornings in school.
Thursday 3rd July - Year 5 trip
Monday 7th July - Year 6 trip
Tuesday 8th July - Rocksteady concerts
Thursday 10th July - Year 6 Summer fete
Friday 11th July - End of Year reports out
Tuesday 15th July - Year 6 Leavers performances 9:15am and 2pm
Wednesday 16th July - House point award day. Parent drop in 3:30 - 4:30pm
Thursday 17th July - Nursery graduations 9:15 and 10:45. Year 6 Fun Day. Year 6 Leavers Party 5-7pm
Friday 18th July—Last day of summer term
Autumn term 2025
Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd September - INSET days - school closed to pupils
Wednesday 3rd September - Pupils return to school
Monday 27th October - Friday 31st October - Half term
Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January - Christmas Holidays
Spring term 2026
Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February - Half term
Monday 30 March 2026 to Friday 10 April 2026 - Easter Holiday
Summer term 2026
Monday 25 May 2026 to Friday 29 May 2026 - Half term
Community Links
Yo! Wolves
Please be advised that Yo! Wolves HAF (Holiday Activities and Food) Programme bookings have gone live!
Running from Monday 21 July to Friday 31 August 2025, all activities 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, or pupils that attend a W-ton school that have a SEND, EHCP or have a W-ton Social Worker, we have extended the offer to children that are Educated from Home.
There are over 35 providers offering activities at 47 citywide locations, activities include snooker, multi sports, martial arts, DJing as well as arts, crafts, fun days out, dance and drama workshops, photography and much more.
Booking places is easy at www.yowolves.co.uk
Bikeability
Bookings are now open for the Bikeability Summer Holiday training courses at Aldersley Leisure Village. These sessions are always in high demand and are designed to support children who may not have had the opportunity to participate in Bikeability training during school time.
Three types of courses are available:
Learn to Ride – for children aged 6–8 years, focusing on those who are not yet able to ride without stabilisers.
Level 2 Bikeability – for children aged 8–15 years, teaching them to ride confidently and safely to the Government-approved National Standard for Cycle Training.
Level 3 Bikeability – available for riders who have already completed Level 2 training, offering advanced skills for more challenging road situations.
Parents can book directly via the following link:
OT - Wolverhampton NHS Trust
OT have produced a range of videos to support practitioners and parents/carers. These videos include sensory issues and gross/fine motor development. Videos can be found here: OT Videos - YouTube
NHS
Make sure your child is up to date with their MMR vaccine
Parents and carers in the Black Country are being reminded to get their children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).
Measles is a highly infectious disease which can lead to serious complications if it is not treated. In the most severe cases, it can develop into more threatening conditions such as severe lung infections , especially in those with a weakened immune system.
Symptoms of measles include:
a high fever
rash
cough
runny nose
watery eyes.
All children are invited for their first MMR vaccine on the NHS when they turn one. The second dose is given when they reach three years and four months of age. Having two doses of the vaccine provides the best protection against MMR.
Parents who are unsure if their child is up to date with all their routine vaccinations should check their child’s Red Book (personal child health record), the NHS App, or contact their GP practice.
Adults and older children can also be vaccinated at any age if they have not been fully vaccinated before and are being encouraged to come forward if they haven’t had two doses.
Online Safety
Online safety app alert: 'Monkey' - App stores also offer - (Monkey Cool & Monkey Chat)
Monkey is an app that can be downloaded to connect to total strangers through video calls. You do have to be 18yrs+ but as with most apps online, there are no age verification checks.
Please see link below with information about the risks of children using the app.
