Newsletter 4th February 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had a very creative week at Mousehold. I have seen Nursery and Reception children enjoying making lions, dragons and tigers to dance with to help them remember their learning about Chinese New Year. Children from across the school have been decorating the GoGo Dinosaur. Each child will have contributed to the project. It has been wonderful seeing the progress as the dinosaur comes to life. The Year 2 recorder club are making good progress and playing some catchy tunes. Year 1s are enjoying learning how to play the ukulele in their weekly lessons with Anna. School is buzzing with creativity. Please see photos on our school Facebook page or at the bottom of the home page on our website.

Partnership News

Both schools are sharing systems of documenting school improvement and this is ensuring some consistency as children move from Mousehold to George White. Mousehold staff attended some training related to Trauma and Attachment theory this week and some of this training will be shared with staff from George White Junior School to benefit all children.

The Senior Leadership Team have been working closely with Sam Petchey – new Head of School at George White from after Easter. This is aiding a very smooth transition to summer term.

School Council news – A hello from Mrs Jennings and School Council

This year the School Council are focussed on improving road safety on the roads around our school. We have designed posters and have started making a video to publicise our road safety campaign. The School Council have also met with our local city and county councillor Julie Brociek-Coulton and talked about road safety outside of school. They were so polite and confident telling Julie all of their ideas about what is working well outside our school gates and what we are worried about. The children talked a lot about respect on the roads and how important it is that drivers take note of the 20mph speed limit and stop parking on the pavements.

Julie told us that she is hoping to re-install bollards outside our school and next year we will get a flashing sign with a smiley/sad face to tell drivers about their speed on Mousehold Avenue. She is also arranging for the police to visit us and GWJS to support with road safety. Well done School Council, Mrs Jennings and all the staff at Mousehold are very proud of you all.

Safeguarding – Online Safety

Online life and offline life is just life

For many of us, we see our online lives and offline lives as different, but children are growing up with technology and the internet and for them there isn’t a difference; online life and offline life is just life.

Technology can move at an extraordinarily fast pace and it can be difficult to know how to start talking to your child about what they’re doing online, who they might be speaking to or discussing the potential risks and issues.

Talking regularly with your child is the greatest tool to help keep them safe online. Talking regularly and making it part of daily conversation, like you would about their day at school, will help your child feel relaxed. It also means when they do have any worries, they’re more likely to come and speak to you.

At school we regularly teach and learn about different aspects of staying safe online. Follow this link to brilliant advice from the NSPCC about how to start your conversation:

https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/talking-child-online-safety/

Please see our Safeguarding page for all of our policies and more information about safeguarding.

Designated Safeguarding Leads

Mrs Westall, Mr Tolson, Miss Wood, Miss Balachandre

These members of staff monitor and manage all safeguarding practices and ensure staff are supported and have the training they need. Please ask to see one of these adults if you are worried about the safety of a child at school.

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child out of school hours then the number to ring is:

CADS – Children’s Advice and Duty Service – 0344 800 8020.

A message from our Mental Health Champions

Tips for Boosting Children’s Wellbeing

https://www.parentclub.scot/articles/looking-after-yourself-winter

It’s not only adults who can feel low during the winter season, children do too. Here are some small things you can do to boost their mood:

  1. Get outside – walking, playing, kicking a ball, cycling scooting – fresh air is good for the soul and often improves sleep too.
  2. Do something creative, crayons, paint, glue – it isn’t just fun, it helps develop children’s confidence, helps express feelings, and improves focus. To keep the cost down, you could collect things from outside fir cones, leaves sticks and make a nature collage.
  3. Coorie – in – This is a Scottish word that means to snuggle or cuddle. It’s all about getting cosy and warm. Make a den, take some stories in and snuggle down and read. The feeling of warmth and safety releases great wellbeing endorphins.
  4. Dance – Put some favourite tunes on and dance away! Not only is the exercise good for you all, but the happy endorphins that are released are great for mental wellbeing too.
  5. Hugs – Hugs make all the difference when things feel tough, a feeling of safety, love and acceptance.
  6. Practise gratitude – This is something we’ve mentioned before, but it really does work. Everyday ask your children something they are grateful for. They may come up with the same three things but that’s okay – make a display on the fridge!

Dates for your diary

Parent/Carer and Teacher meetings

These are planned for the 2 weeks after February half-term. Please look out for the booking system on Parentmail

Monday 14th February – Friday 18th February – HALFTERM. School closed.

Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your continued support.

Yours faithfully
Mrs Rebecca Westall
Headteacher

Mousehold Infant and Nursery School is part of Inclusive Schools Trust