Newsletter - Friday 26th June 2026
- lfoster51
- Jun 26
- 15 min read
Issue 18 - Summer 2026
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
Dear families,
Thank you for all your support this week during the heatwave. Staff have put many measures in place to keep children as cool as possible including shady breaktimes, indoor lunchtimes and calm activities. I've also seen lots of water play, especially in Early Years! Thank you for your support in collecting children early today. We were keen to stay open to support all families, however today (supposedly the cooler day?!) just became too uncomfortable. I hope that you manage to stay as cool as possible over the weekend. Luckily, temperatures look set to decrease next week. However, children may still need hats, sunglasses and sun cream applied before school so that we can play safely outside.
Thank you again for your understanding regarding our decision to postpone sports days. New dates have been sent via email and can also be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
Thank you to families who were able to join us for Father's Day events in Years 1 and 4! We hope you enjoyed the activities with your children. Pictures can be found here: Year 4 Celebrate Father's Day and here: Year 1 Celebrate Father's Day
New nursery families visited this week - information shared can be found here: Welcome to Nursery!
Next week, children will spend 3 mornings meeting their new class and teachers. A transition pack has been sent out this afternoon to help prepare children for the change. Teachers are excited to meet their new classes and get to know children ready for September!
The holidays are fast approaching and you may be organising holiday childcare - Elston Hall will again host Rise Summer Camp - details can be found later in this newsletter. Other provision, including HAF funded camps, can be found at the bottom of this newsletter under Community News. ParentKind have produced information about how to incorporate adventure into the summer holiday - check it out here for ideas of free activities: The ultimate summer adventure pack for parents.… | Parentkind
Hopefully you've all received the letter from Mr Hawkins explaining the changes for September. I am moving to be Headteacher at another one of our Trust schools - Pheasey Park Farm Primary School - and Mrs Wood will become Headteacher at Elston Hall. Mrs Wood is excited and has already begun spending time here ready for September. I have been at Elston Hall for 17 years and loved working with the best children, families and staff. I will miss everyone and would like to thank you all for your support during my time here. My last day will be Thursday 16th July.
There will be one final newsletter for this academic year on Friday 10th July. Reports will also be emailed out on this day.
Enjoy your weekends!
Warm regards,
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 Summer 2026
Last week, attendance remained at 94.6% - below the current national average of 94.9%. We'd love to see attendance improve and thank you in advance for your support with this. Year 1, 3, 4 and 6 improved last week - well done!
Year group | Up to 22.6.26 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 94.6% |
Nursery | 88.2% |
Reception | 91.7% |
Year 1 | 95.1% |
Year 2 | 94.3% |
Year 3 | 95.3% |
Year 4 | 94.1% |
Year 5 | 94.4% |
Year 6 | 94.8% |
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
Year 1 had an exciting day at Conkers, packed with hands-on learning and outdoor adventures!
The children explored animal adaptations on a nature trail, discovering how different animals have special features that help find food. They then put their learning into practice by creating their own mud monsters, carefully designing creatures with features to help them catch prey. Needless to say, everyone got wonderfully messy! The fun continued with a thrilling 4D film experience, where the children were surprised by special effects—including unexpected splashes of water! They also enjoyed taking part in a dinosaur dig, finding their way through a maze, and exploring the treetops on the tree-top walk.
As well as all the exciting learning activities, the children had time to enjoy some of Conkers’ fabulous playgrounds, where they could climb, explore and play with their friends.
Art Club took advantage of the beautiful weather and took their creativity outside . They designed and created stained glass windows using just masking tape and chalk, working collaboratively to produce their masterpieces. They even finished them with a signature! Families enjoyed admiring them afterwards too. Well done Art Club - you've been a fabulous group this term!
Our Forest School After School Club is always full of fun, adventure and smiles! The children love spending time outdoors, exploring nature, building new skills and working together through a range of exciting activities.
Teaching and Learning Opportunities
As part of their "Welcome to Africa" topic, Year 3 took part in an exciting African drumming workshop. The children enjoyed learning about traditional rhythms and techniques, developing their musical skills while exploring an important aspect of African culture.
As part of our Come Fly With Me: Africa topic, the children explored traditional African pottery and created their own African-inspired pots using the coil technique. They carefully rolled and shaped coils of clay before joining them together to form unique pots. The children showed great creativity and perseverance, producing some fantastic pieces of artwork. Well done, Year 3!
Walk to School
A reminder that we are taking part in the WOW challenge to encourage children to travel to school actively!
Our sports ambassadors have awarded 330 Wow badges for May. 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!
School notices
Parking
We've received complaints from local residents regarding parents parking at the start/end of the day and blocking people's driveways. Please may we remind you to park responsibly and avoid impacting on our local neighbours. Thank you.
Squishies/fidgets
We're seeing more and more squishies/fidgets arriving in school. Please can we ask that these remain at home (unless you have a specific agreement with the class teacher). This is to prevent loss/theft. Children have access to fidgets in regulation stations in each classroom.
Bikes/scooters
Please could we remind children not to ride bikes or scooters on school site before and after school. This is to prevent accidents and keep everyone safe at a very busy time of the day.
Dogs
Please can we remind families that dogs are not permitted on the school site, either on a lead or carried in arms. Thank you for your support with this.
Appointments / parking on staff carpark
We've recently seen an increase in requests for parents to pick up from the front of school at the end of the day. The staff carpark is extremely busy and parents are not permitted to park on there without agreement from school leaders. Please keep appointments to a minimum and park on Shelley Road carpark if you need to collect your child between 3 - 3:20pm. This is to keep everyone safe as children leave school.
Sports News
A huge well done to our rounders team who played their rearranged tournament at Wolverhampton Grammar School against Perry Hall and two teams from Wolverhampton Grammar. Due to the heat, the event was played indoors meaning the children had to adapt quickly to a different format in the sport hall. Regardless of this, the team did extremely well winning two games and drawing one. This means they qualify for the finals that will be played on 3rd July. A huge well done to team who demonstrated great batting, fielding and communication as a team to secure their place in the finals!
This time it was our Year 4 cricketers, who competed in the County Finals at Fordhouses Cricket Club. The children faced some of the best school cricket teams in the county and produced an incredible performance throughout the day. Elston began the tournament with a fantastic 99–49 victory. There was some impressive batting from all of our players, alongside much-improved bowling from Elijah, who got through the entire day without conceding a single wide.
The team then moved on to their second group game against Flax Hill, securing another convincing win, 103–53. Elwood was a real highlight in this match, bowling out two opposition batters.
In the semi-final, Elston faced Tipton Green. The team battled brilliantly, demonstrating exceptional teamwork to claim another 99–49 victory and book their place in the final.
The final saw us take on a very experienced side who had also won all of their matches. Despite a tremendous effort, we narrowly missed out on the gold medal, losing by just five runs. We are incredibly proud of our talented cricketers. They represented Elston with skill, determination and sportsmanship, and we are sure many of them will represent us again in the future. Well done, Year 4 – we are so proud of you!
Elston took part in a football World Cup tournament featuring schools from across the trust. After playing five fixtures, winning three and drawing two, the team reached the final, where they faced Pheasey Park, unfortunately we lost on penalties. This was a fantastic achievement, particularly as the team did not concede a single goal throughout the entire tournament. A huge thank you to all of the Year 6 boys who have represented the Elston Hall football team over the last few years. You have consistently shown great determination and a desire to do your very best for the school. Mr Turner, Mr Green and Miss Willis are incredibly proud of you.
Lunches
Our school menus can be found here: Lunches | Elston Hall.
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
Miss Moore (Class 6) and Mr Mines (Class 16 / Year 4) are coming to the end of their teaching placements at Elston Hall. We've loved hosting them and supporting them to develop, and wish them every success as they begin their teaching careers. Their last day at Elston Hall will be Wednesday 1st July.
Primary Science Quality Mark
We are proud to announce that we are one of 136 schools that has achieved the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) this month, a nationally recognised accreditation that celebrates a commitment to developing excellence in science leadership, curriculum design, teaching and learning.
Led by the University of Hertfordshire, for over a decade the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) has been setting children on a path to a life filled with exciting possibilities and opportunities, by giving them access to a strong foundation in quality primary science education. Over 7000 Quality Marks have now been awarded, impacting on the learning of almost 2,000,000 children.
PSQM is a comprehensive, evidence-informed, professional learning programme which equips primary science subject leaders with the knowledge, confidence, and expert support they need to transform the quality and profile of science education in their schools.
Helen Sizer, PSQM Director said: ‘The Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) recognises a school’s commitment to developing and strengthening science education, celebrating the positive impact this has on children’s learning and understanding of the world around them.
Our congratulations go to the whole school community on this achievement and particularly to the school’s science subject leader - Mrs Holliday - and Curriculum Leader - Miss Willis - who led this process through participation in the PSQM professional learning programme and by driving a cycle of reflection, development and improvement across the school. Their leadership helps to ensure that all children benefit from high-quality science teaching and learning.
Everyone involved should be very proud of the positive difference they are making to children’s learning and of their commitment to continuous improvement in primary science education.’
Out of School Achievements
Well done to Billy who recently played two roles in Central Youth Theatre over two performances. He had 8 lines to say as well as lots of singing and dancing as Monkey 7 and Mouse 1! Well done Billy - we're so proud!
If you would like to share any out of school achievements, please email office@elston.org.uk.
Summer Club
Uniform
You may be starting to think about uniform for September! A reminder that our policy can be found here: 957aab_387b42d178814764935630f765384e60.pdf
Safeguarding
Water Safety Awareness Message from West Midlands Fire Service
During the hot spell over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and half-term holiday, there were a number of tragic incidents around the country, many involving young people. The forecast over the coming weeks is for temperatures to rise again.
To keep yourself and your loved ones safe around water please be aware of the following:
Of all drownings in 2025, 57% took place in inland water – canals, rivers, lakes, ponds – the type of bodies of water we have lots of in the West Midlands.
Even if the weather is warm the water may be cold, causing your body to go inro cold water shock.
If you fall into water Float to Live – put your head back, float on your back and keep yourself stable by using small movements of your hands.
Once you are stable you may call for help or swim to the bank if it is feasible.
Do not go into the water to save people or pets. Call 999 and ask for the Fire Service.
For more information about staying safe around water please visit the West Midlands Fire Service water safety page ( https://www.wmfs.net/safety/water-safety/) or the RNLI Education Resources page ( https://rnli.org/youth-education/education-resources).
Share this video with children: Water Safety Code Cartoon | Videos & Movies on Vimeo
Online Safety:
Please find the summer term Online Behaviours newsletter here: https://sway.cloud.microsoft/sQKaful0JjmSTgQp?ref=Link
Parent Survey
Thank you to all the parents who have already completed the parent survey. If you have not yet had the opportunity, please take five minutes to answer the questions that will help shape our school’s future development.
Your voice is important to us, and we are committed to ensuring that your views inform our future planning. We warmly encourage you to share your views —what we are doing well and where we can improve further. The survey will close on Friday 3rd July 2026.
Summer 2026 Parent Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6F2HR7P
Finally, please remember that our door is always open. Staff are available at the start and end of each day, and we are always here to support you and your children.
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:
Monday 20th July
School will be closed to all pupils on these days.
Monday 29th June – Wednesday 1st July | Transition sessions (am only) Reception – Y6
|
WC Monday 29th June | Year 6-7 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 | Trust Commonwealth event |
Monday 6th July – Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th - Thursday 9th July | Y2 residential |
Tuesday 7th July | Rescheduled - Sports Day – Y4 – 9.15am, Y5 – 10.45am, Y6 – 1.45pm
|
Friday 3rd July | EYFS Colour Festival |
Thursday 9th / Friday 10th July | Y6 Summer Fete |
Friday 10th July | End of Year Reports sent home |
Monday 13th July | House point reward day |
Monday 13th July | RESCHEDULED: Sports Day – Y1 – 9.15am, Y2 - 10.45am, Y3 - 1.45pm |
Wednesday 15th July | Y6 Leaver’s Performances 9:30am and 2:30pm |
Thursday 16th July | Nursery graduation 9:10am and 10:45am |
Thursday 16th July | Y6 Leaver’s events (during school day & BBQ after school 5-7pm) |
Friday 17th July | End of academic year |
Monday 20th July | Inset Day – School closed to all pupils |
Please note term dates for next academic year:
2026 - 2027
School will be closed on the following INSET days:
Tuesday 1st September 2026
Wednesday 2nd September 2026
Monday 4th January 2027
Friday 28th May 2027
Monday 7th June 2027
Autumn Term 2026
Term Time: Tuesday 1 September 2026 to Friday 23 October 2026
Half term: Monday 26 October 2026 to Friday 30 October 2026
Term Time: Monday 2 November 2026 to Friday 18 December 2026
Spring Term 2027
Term Time: Monday 4 January 2027 to Friday 12 February 2027
Half term: Monday 15 February 2027 to Friday 19 February 2027
Term Time: Monday 22 February 2027 to Thursday 25 March 2027
Summer Term 2027
Term Time: Monday 12 April 2027 to Friday 28 May 2027
Half term: Monday 31 May 2027 to Friday 4 June 2027
Term Time: Monday 7 June 2027 to Wednesday 21 July 2027
Community Links
We are pleased to inform you that bookings for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme will go live from Friday 26th June.
Parents and carers can make bookings by visiting: www.yowolves.co.uk
Last year, 45,010 HAF sessions and meals were accessed citywide.
Each daily session provides four or more hours of high-quality activities, and we hope to see even more young people benefit from the programme this year
For summer 2026, we have 36 providers delivering activities across 44 locations citywide. With a wide range of activities available, there is something for every child to enjoy.
The activities are free to attend for :
Pupils eligible for benefit-related Free School Meals
Children supported by a social worker or family worker
Children with an EHCP
Armed Forces Day 27 June at West Park, Wolverhampton 12noon until 4pm – FREE entry
Armed Forces Day returns on Saturday 27 June to honour our Armed Forces and all that they do for our city and country. Get ready for a fantastic day of FREE fun and entertainment for all the family. There’s lots of activities throughout the day with live music all day on stage, FREE children’s entertainment including a cycle skills track, inflatables activities, circus skills workshops and more. There's also fun fair rides, bouncy castles and food & drink stalls including a bar. Don’t miss the Parade at 1pm featuring veterans, standard bearers, and cadets. Let’s show our support and enjoy a wonderful day of celebration.
Bilston Carnival
Bilston Carnival returns on Saturday 4 July at Hickman Park, Bilston Line the streets for the 1960's themed parade at 11am - expect colourful vehicles, groovy walking groups and plenty of Bilston spirit. Then hit the main event at Hickman Park from 12noon to 5pm for a jam packed day with : Live music performances Children's Stage with magic shows & wizard workshops FREE entertainment for the kids including Shaun the Sheep Farmathalon, face painting & more Competitions for the best parade float Families are encouraged to bring camping chairs, picnics and blankets to enjoy the afternoon activities at the park.
Saturday 4 July
Hickman Park, Bilston
12noon to 5pm
Free Entry
Don't miss this amazing event which is guaranteed to be a truly Bostin Day out for the whole family. Find out more. For more information, visit Bilston Carnival Returns on Saturday 4th July | City of Wolverhampton Council
Summer Holiday Bikeability – Learn to Ride Training
Learn to Ride Training (Years 2–3):
The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Sport and Recreation Service, in partnership with the Road Safety Team, is offering Learn to Ride cycle training during the Summer Holidays. This course is aimed at children aged 6–8 years who are unable to ride a bike without stabilisers.
Book directly at: 👉 www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/parking-and-roads/cycling/bikeability
For Level 2 and 3 Bikeability Training (Years 4–6):
The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Sport and Recreation Service, in partnership with the Road Safety Team, is offering Level 2 and 3 Bikeability cycle training during the Summer Holidays. These courses are aimed at children aged 8–15 years:
Level 2 teaches children to ride confidently and safely on quieter roads, following the Government’s National Standard for Cycle Training.
Level 3 is available for those who have already completed Level 2 and wish to develop advanced cycling skills for more complex road environments.
Book directly at:👉 www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/parking-and-roads/cycling/bikeability
If you have any questions, feel free to contact: maria.williams@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Does your child shine at home, but struggle socially around other kids? The team behind The Dog House is making a brand new BBC series about childhood friendship and are looking for kids aged 5 to 8 who are finding it hard to make a friend.
If this sounds like your child – or someone you know – filming is in July/August 2026, and we would love to hear from you.
🔗Apply at: https://bemyfriend.tv/
