Two very important events are taking place during the last week of term 3- Children’s Mental Health Week and Safer Internet Day. Whilst these are areas that we revisit across the year, these dates in February give a fantastic opportunity to highlight the importance of the wellbeing of our children and young people.

Tuesday 7^th February was Safer Internet Day, and all of our pupils took part in activities and a special assembly about keeping ourselves safe online, with a particular focus on the SID2023 theme of ‘Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online.’

Children in Nursery and Reception shared Childnet's Digiduck stories, which explore the themes of responsibility, friendships, and being a good digital citizen. Year 1 and 2 pupils talked about online safety rules, using a chatterbox to help them think about different scenarios and the best approaches to take, and how to use the internet in an appropriate and friendly way. In Key Stage 2, the children discussed different methods of online communication, how to keep ourselves safe by using them in an appropriate way. The children also shared ideas for what they could do if they came across something online that they didn't expect or like.

To help parents and carers to support their families at home, we created an online safety newsletter, filled with links to useful websites, articles and resources. We hope that our Safer Internet Day approach will help to open up communication between children and their trusted adults, build understanding and confidence, and remind children that they don’t need to face difficult situations alone.

We love learning, especially through experiences and trips, and our pupils have had some wonderful opportunities over the course of the term, to further develop their understanding and spark their interests!

We often join with our Federation Friends from Denton Primary School, and our Early Years classes were visited by Little City as part of their People Who help Us topic. Before the end of term, our Lower Key Stage 2 classes will be visited by Explorer Dome as part of their Awesome Earth topic.

Our eldest pupils are focussing on World War II, and recently visited Bletchley Park to learn about the role that it played during World War II. They took part in a simulated intelligence operation to further their understanding.

Pupils in Years 1 and 2 went on a long coach adventure to London, to visit the Transport Museum, as part of their Tremendous Transport topic. We had a fantastic day, and the children handled their big adventure incredibly well. The museum staff commented on their wonderful behaviour and we were very proud of them!

These experiences really help to develop the curiosity and excitement for learning in our pupils, and this is also evident in our day to day classroom learning and when we have visitors in school. Hopefully parents and carers also see this passion for learning at home too!