BlueCoat Primary School News

Blue Coat's commitment to play remains relentless. Thanks to Tesco Bags scheme funding, our pupils were able to have input into designing their very own 'Dengineering Zone' on our school field. The den building village is intended to allow children to develop their creativity whilst offering the physical, cognitive and social challenges of constructing their own shared structures with friends.

The children were insistent about the inclusion of a platform allowing them to play at height and a series of physical challenges for them to overcome -  such as a slackline to test their balance!

The school, like any decent learner, is always looking to improve . We recognise the role that feedback plays in learning to do better. So, at this year's summer consultations, parents were asked to submit their views on paper replicas of the online Ofsted Parent View survey. The web version has fewer submissions and paints a very different picture to that of nearly 200 paper submissions we collected in school.

With questions ranging from pupil happiness through to leadership and management, the survey tries to capture the main themes that parents are expected to have a view on. 

Yesterday was a very special occasion for the million or so people who took part in 'Outdoor Classroom Day'. The idea was coined to celebrate and inspire outdoor learning and play.

Why would we support such a cause? Outdoor learning has been shown to improve children’s health, engagement with learning, and leads to a greater connection with nature. We firmly believe that the element of play not only teaches critical life skills such as resilience, teamwork and creativity, but is central to children’s enjoyment of childhood.

Recently, Year 6's took part in a breakfast club aimed at socialising and settling nerves ahead of their pinnacle assessments (SATs). The club, but particularly the prospect of hot toast(!), was so popular with our eldest pupils that it got our team thinking...

As we approach May, primary school calendars nationally highlight the Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) for pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 classes.

The tests have had several revisions over recent years, some of which were covered in our Maths meeting for parents. The Government has produced some information for parents in both a handout and video format. These can be accessed below:

Service is a value central to all Christians' hearts and we've been pondering why that is through collective worship and Religious Education lessons this term. Today was a celebration of this value through a focus on the festival of Easter in Key Stage 1. 

Thanks to Reverend Axford, Reverend Langley and Mrs Blaken, the children were lucky enough to benefit from the company and experience of a vast team of adults in school. Members of the church, Open the Book team and parent volunteers spent time in classes to help the children through a series of carousel activities that saw them make crowns, crosses, stained glass windows, and Easter baskets.

'Service' is our Christian value in focus this term, and today our pupils took to 'serving' those in need through their fundraising efforts. Awash in the colour of red, our children have been sporting the primary colour in the name of Comic Relief and raising money in the process for the international charity.

Last night, Blue Coat sent a Year 6 team to compete in the Rotary General Knowledge quiz held at Cam Hopton Primary School. A local event in which 6 schools competed, the quiz spanned a range of subjects over 6 rounds, including: Geography and History; Sport and General Knowledge; Current Affairs; Entertainment; Science and Nature; and English and Maths.

Our handpicked team took part in a selective quiz in school so as to 'qualify' for the school team. The successful quizbods this year were: Matt, Blyth, Patrick and Benjamin. A team of boys who defined the essence of 'teamwork', they showed great learning behaviours by arriving at sensible guesses to questions they didn't know, conferring on their answers, and showed respect to the quizmaster whenever they were unsure about wording of questions.

On Tuesday evening, the school hall was packed with parents eager to find out more about the most challenging Maths curriculum faced by primary school pupils. The evening took parents through a series of items, including:

• the aims of the new Maths curriculum
• the principles underpinning these aims
• the opportunities offered
• the challenges posed
• the standards of Mathematics expected of different age groups
• how the school is striving for future readiness in maths
• how parents can support at home

  Read More: Future Ready Mathematics: A Meeting for Parents

The most challenging Maths curriculum yet is being taught throughout primary schools nationally.

What does this mean for my child?
What are the opportunities?
What are the challenges?
What is the school doing about it?
How might I support my child at home?