Newsletter - Friday 9th October 2026
Issue 3 - Autumn 2026
Proud to be ELSTON! Empowered, Listeners, Successful, Together, Open-Minded, Nurturing
As we reflect on another busy and successful week at Elston, I would like to thank all of our families for your continued support. It was wonderful to welcome so many of our Key Stage 1 families to our Harvest Assembly, and we are incredibly grateful for your generous donations. The produce was collected this week by The Good Shepherd, who were extremely thankful for the kindness and generosity shown by our school community.
We were also delighted by the fantastic turnout at our Reception parent workshops. We hope those who attended found them useful in supporting learning at home. If you were unable to attend, please do speak to your child's teacher, as we will be happy to provide the resources and information shared.
A further thank you goes to everyone who supported our Book Fair. Encouraging a love of reading remains a key priority for our school, and your support helps us continue to develop exciting reading opportunities for our children.
Looking ahead, we are very much looking forward to welcoming families into school next week for our Parents' Consultation Evenings – Wednesday and Thursday (please see further details below). These meetings are an important opportunity to celebrate your child's achievements, look at what they are learning and to discuss their next steps in learning.
We are particularly excited to launch the Daily Mile next Tuesday, an initiative that will see our children enjoying regular physical activity as part of the school day. The enthusiasm from both children and staff has been wonderful, and we can't wait to see the positive impact this will have on wellbeing and learning across our school.
As always - a huge thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to our school community.
Have a brilliant weekend!
Mrs Wood
Headteacher
Personal Development
Our Y6 children had a wonderful time on their residential to Whitemoor Lakes! The children crammed in a variety of exciting activities into their three days including abseiling, zip wires, neon dodgeball, fire lighting, team games, football, problem solving, canoeing and high ropes. A huge thank you to the staff who supported the visit. Pictures can be found on our website.
Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our Year 2 Harvest Assembly. We hope you enjoyed the children's wonderful performance! The generous donations made to school were handed over to the Good Shepherd Centre in Wolverhampton by our Head Boy and Head Girl to support those in need within our local community.
Our Y1 and Y2 children enjoyed a fun filled assembly delivered by Jack from Tech Tigers. Details about the after school club that will be launching at Elston Hall after half term can be found on the poster below. Parents are invited to book their places via the website After-School & Holiday STEM Clubs, West Midlands | Tech Tigers
The school was decorated in yellow as we celebrated Hello Yellow day this year! It was wonderful to see so many children wearing yellow accessories to help us celebrate. In classes, children had a range of activities linked to mental health. Our new Wellbeing Ambassadors did an amazing job launching the day by presenting an assembly to the KS2 children on Thursday. They talked about different feelings we have, how we show these feelings and who we can talk to about our feelings. We are grateful to those who have been able to donate to YoungMinds charity so far. Anyone who still wishes to donate can do so via this link https://fundraise.youngminds.org.uk/fundraisers/elstonhallprimaryschool/hello-yellow
As part of our Hello Yellow day, our Wellbeing Ambassadors started work to become 'Health Champions' - a project led by the Wolves Foundation. We were joined by Grace who leads the project. She met with the ambassadors and started to work with the ambassadors about what makes someone a 'health champion'. The ambassadors will continue the programme over the next few weeks!
School notices
There have been several incidents recently where cars have failed to stop at school crossings. Information leaflets have been sent via email from the Senior School Crossing Patrol Office to outline the importance of supporting the school crossing patrols.
Parents' Evenings
Our Autumn Parents' Evenings will take place on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th October. Bookings are now live on Arbor and will close on Tuesday 13th October. Please make a booking before this time.
On the day you attend, please enter the school via the KS1 hall doors. Our lost property items will be out in the KS1 hall on these days - please claim any missing items. There will also be some additional agencies available for parents to speak with in the KS1 hall. We look forward to welcoming parents into school.
Please note, each meeting is limited to 5 minutes to look at your child's learning - if you need to discuss any matters further, please contact the school office.
There will be no extra-curricular clubs on the wc 12th October due to the Parent Consultation Meetings taking place (except the Tuesday dance session which will still go ahead).
Safeguarding
This is a message from West Midlands Police about Halloween and Bonfire Night.
We want everyone to have an enjoyable Halloween and Bonfire Night this October half term. This information is to provide you with useful advice to keep you, your child, and your community safe.
On the run up to half term, your child might get a visit from one of our local officers visiting their school to deliver important messages about how to stay safe around fireworks and keep themselves safe in the darker nights.
To help start that conversation with your child about personal safety, stranger danger, and antisocial behaviour School Officer PC Smith has created a short video for you to watch with your child. Watch here: https://youtu.be/hyIRME6G9hU
A letter with further details will be emailed to parents.
Curriculum
Thank you to all the families who were able to attend our Reception Phonics and Maths Workshop.
The children thoroughly enjoyed sharing their learning with their grown-ups, and we hope you found the session both enjoyable and informative. We hope it gave you a valuable insight into how your child is learning in school and how you can support their learning at home.
Further details about the information shared can be accessed via the school website.
Sporting News
We are so proud of the 9 children who represented Elston Hall at the All Aboard Festival at Aldersley Leisure Village! The children took part in four fantastic activities: Rugby, Rebound Trampolining, Bowls and Dance. They showed amazing skills, enthusiasm and determination throughout every event. Well done to all involved!
Representatives from our netball club attended the first 'Netball Hub' event of the year at St Chad's this week. The team consisted of some experienced Y6 players along with some new Y5 netballers. The team finished the event undefeated after 4 very competitive games. Well done!
A huge well done to 14 fantastic runners from Y3 - Y6 who participated in the Cross Country event at Aldersley this week. The children competed in mixed team relays with one of our teams taking 2nd place overall in the event. A great achievement!
Well done to our boys football team who competed in a friendly match against St Anthony's. The match finished 5-2 to St Anthony's, but the team showed great determination and team work despite the score.
Well done to our boys, who competed at the Wolves Training Ground in Compton. The team played 6 games in total, winning 3, drawing 2 and losing just 1. The boys were superb from start to finish, conceding only one goal throughout the entire tournament! This is a huge credit to their hard work, determination and commitment to defending as a team.
2026 - 2027 Key Dates
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
Date | Event |
WC 12th October | No clubs all week due to parents’ evenings (Tuesday Dance Club will still go ahead) |
Wednesday 14th October | Parents Evening 4.00 – 6.00pm |
Thursday 15th October | Parents Evening 3.30 – 5.00pm |
Monday 19th October | Reflexions Parent Workshop 2-3pm: Understanding and supporting your child’s anxiety |
Tuesday 20th October | Nursery Family Group – parent invitations |
Tuesday 20th October | Year 3 Tanglewood trip – Class 10 and half Class 12 |
Wednesday 21st October | Year 3 Tanglewood trip – Class 11 and half Class 12 |
Thursday 22th October | Nursery Family Group – parent invitations |
Monday 26th October – Friday 30th October | Half term – School closed to all pupils |
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.
Year group | Up to 2.10.26 |
Whole School (Without Reception children) | 96.09% |
Nursery | 91.26% |
Reception | 93.06% |
Year 1 | 95.39% |
Year 2 | 97.27% |
Year 3 | 95.59% |
Year 4 | 96.63% |
Year 5 | 95.84% |
Year 6 | 95.83% |
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.
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