Lingwood Primary Academy Newsletter 20th January 2025

lorraine.long • January 20, 2025

Headteacher's Update


It has been a cracking week at Lingwood. One of the highlights was our new cricket coach (Aaron) coming in on Tuesday. The children loved the opportunity to bowl, bat and field, despite it not exactly being summer conditions. I was particularly impressed with how all of the children listened and responded to a new face. 


It has been useful for me to speak to several parents last week about things they think would make the school run more smoothly. Communication seems to be a key theme - as it is in most schools. We are working hard behind the scenes to make sure that parents are kept in the loop as much as possible. Please do come and grab me in the playground at the start and the end of the day if you want to give any feedback.


We welcome back Miss Coley today, and she will start in her role as the main year four class teacher alongside her deputy head duties. There are fewer staff out on training this week so there should be less disruption. Key Stage two staff are currently being trained on how iPads can enhance learning, and we will have some exciting news about this in the near future.


We have had a couple of children off with chickenpox. If your child does have chickenpox, please keep them off until the blisters have 'crusted' over.


I am keen that Lingwood is a school with high standards across the board. One of the expectations we have is about wearing the correct school uniform. Please make sure your child comes to school in the correct uniform, including Lingwood PE kit.


Have a good week.

Regards,


Ben Jeffery

Interim Headteacher

Dates for the diary  

  • Monday 27th January - National Story Telling Week
  • Monday 17th February - Friday 21st Febuary - Half Term
  • Monday 24th February - Return to school

Year Group News

Nursery

Bishy’s have continued to enjoy the book ‘The Good Egg’; as well as continuing to talk more about what it means to be a ‘good egg’, we have been learning some things about the parts of an egg and which animals lay eggs. In maths we have been working on the fast recognition of amounts up to three, while in phonics we have been playing lots of games around distinguishing different sounds in the environment.


Reception

This week, Reception have been reading the book ‘All through the Night’ and finding out about the different jobs people do at night. They have also used directional language to give instructions and thought about their route to school. In maths they have been thinking about the composition of numbers to 5 using 5 frames and peg boards. They also had a visit from the dentist and learnt lots about looking after their teeth.


Year 1

This week, year 1 have been writing their personal recounts to finish off our unit in English.  I was really impressed with how far their writing has come!  We are now moving on to writing informal letters.  In Maths we are starting our addition and subtraction unit for this term and have been practising making numbers using Base Ten equipment.  In Science we have continued our unit on materials and have been looking at what things are made of in school. 


Year 2   

In Year 2 we have been learning about non-chronological reports. We have learnt how to use subordinating conjunctions, how to organise our writing and how to use precise vocabulary. This week we started planning a non-chronological report on Sharks. We can’t wait to continue writing our report on Sharks next week! 


We also started our new Science unit on Everyday Materials. We have learned about different materials and their uses. We also learnt why different materials are suitable for certain objects.

Year 3

This week we have started our unit on third person narratives in writing. In reading we are continuing to read Sam Wu is NOT afraid of the dark which we are really enjoying.This week we have also been working hard to use partitioning to solve division problems. We have also taken part in our second swimming lesson. Everyone is doing really well and working hard to improve their skills and confidence. 


Year 4

Year 4 have continued their work on stories from another culture this week and enjoys listening to Mr Wills tell us stories.  We have been continuing reading Varjak Paw in our reading sessions.  In Maths we have continued our unit on length and perimeter and the children have really persevered, even when questions were really tricky.  Mr Wills was very impressed with the class and really enjoyed working with you for the week! 


Year 5

This week, we have been working hard on multiplication using the expanded method to multiply 4-digits by 2-digits. The children are becoming more confident with this method and have worked incredibly hard - well done! In writing, we have been using expanded noun phrases and dialogue which is building up to support children in writing a third person story set in another culture. In PE, we were joined by an external cricket coach, who focused on some essential skills needed to play cricket - the children are all excited for week 2!

Year 6

Year 6 have worked very hard this week in their assessments and should be proud of their efforts. Also, Year 6 are making great progress with their narrative in English and have written the opening and build-up. In maths they have been adding and subtracting decimals and also started a new unit in geography on settlements and land use.


Achievement Awards

Rabbit Class  -  Hattie - for being confident to try new activities.


Squirrel Class – Mia - for writing a fantastic recount.


Hares Class  – Max- writing a well organised plan for his Sharks non-chronological report


Fawns Class  –  Niranjan - for excellent use of expanded noun phrases in writing.

               

Otter Class - Erin - for wonderfully descriptive writing.


Badger Class – Jacob - for always doing what is expected and for completing your homework on time. Well done!


Fox Class - Amia for big improvements in her maths - she is much more fluent with arithmetic methods now


Star Pupil Awards

Rabbit Class -  Freddie for making really good choices and being patient during turn taking.


Squirrel Class – Esmae - for always being ready to take on a challenge.


Hares Class  – Freddie- for always being a role model for the class 


Fawns Class - Talula Gregg - for helping another pupil when their laptop was not working and offering hers. 
Isaac - for being helpful and supportive at after school club


Otter Class – Ramona - for being ready, respectful and eager.


Badger Class – Everleigh for persevering when multiplying 4-digits by 2-digits using the expanded method. Well done!


Fox Class – Kayden for focusing and trying his hardest in lessons - he has made some really good improvements over the past few weeks.


Congratulations to you all - we are very proud of you!

Attendance Update
   
This week's whole school attendance

96%

  • In first place is Reception  with 98.6%
  • In second place is Year 5 with 98.5% 
  • In third place is Year 6 with 97.6%.


Well done to all the children arriving at school on time, ready to learn lets see if we can increase our attendance next week! 


A reminder that the school gates will continue to be open from 8.30 am. Registration is at 8.40 am and school finishes at 3.25 pm.


Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know 

Remember that every day counts and we are in every day next week!

Attendance Meetings


Dear parents,


This spring term, I will be in every Tuesday morning between 8.30 - 9am to discuss any attendance concerns you may wish to discuss.


I look forward to meeting you all and supporting where possible.


Kara Stock

Uniform Reminder

Please ensure your child comes to school every day wearing the correct uniform, including ties and shoes. 


On PE days, your child should be wearing school PE Kit (black/navy shorts/tracksuit and yellow polo shirt).


Many thanks for your ongoing support.

By ashley.coley July 18, 2025
Dear parents and carers, We made it! It has been a good year at Lingwood, and I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the school. The sun shone at our summer fete last Friday. Events like this are only such a success when you have a group of parents who spend hours of their own time before, during and after the event. Thank you so so much to the members of FOLPA for your amazing efforts all year round. We raised a whopping £1317. We want all of our children to have a lovely holiday and are not setting homework. We do however expect children to read over the holidays. Miss Long recently sent a letter out about a reading challenge, and I have sent a letter out this week about the importance of reading over the six-week break. It would also be a good idea for your child to go on Timestable Rockstars to keep their maths ticking over nicely. We have had a few children turning up to school in incorrect uniform including wearing coloured trainers. Please can you make sure your child has the correct uniform for September. Staff will return to school on Monday 1st September for two PD days and children will return on Wednesday 3rd September. Please see below dates for the rest of the academic year. We are still in the process of moving over to a new communication system called Arbor. You will receive an update before the sort of term. Good luck to our year sixes and to anyone else who is leaving. Have a wonderful summer with your children and see you in September. Have a lovely summer. Stay safe. Mr Jeffery and the Lingwood Team
By ashley.coley July 11, 2025
Dear parents and carers, One week to go! This week we got our SATs results. I am delighted to announce that 81% of our children reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. This is significantly above the national average of 62% and a big increase in what we achieved last year. Those children who did not quite get there have done brilliantly making incredible progress – we are so proud of you all. We celebrated in style at Great Yarmouth on Wednesday. We also have had our phonics results. In year 1, 85% of the year passed their screening. Again, this is above the national average. Those children who didn't quite get there will receive additional support next year. School is far more than results, and it was lovely to see our year 6 athletics team competing at the track in Bury on Monday. They did brilliantly and finished a very creditable 8th out of all of the Unity schools. Continuing with the sporting theme, it is always good to hear about sporting achievements out of school. Esme (year 6) has been representing Norfolk at basketball. Last weekend she took part in a tournament in Essex and did tremendously well coming second. Well done, Esme. Now we have confirmed our staffing for September, I can announce that Mrs Luck will be teaching Fox class on a Monday and Fawn class on a Tuesday. Mr Dibden and Mrs Smith will teach the rest of the week. In Nursery, Mr Scott will be the lead teacher on Monday and Tuesday with Mrs Mann leading on Wednesday to Friday. Mrs Gegory will be there all week. In Reception, Mrs Brighton will be the lead teacher Monday to Wednesday and Mr Scott on Thursday and Friday. I hope to see you all after school for our summer fete. Thank you to FOLPA for running this event. Have a lovely weekend  Mr Jeffery
By ashley.coley July 4, 2025
Dear parents and carers, What an absolute scorcher! The children have coped well in the heat and did really well in their new classes. I am so glad we have had two full days in their new classes - it was time well spent and there was a lovely buzz in each classroom. It is understandable that some children are anxious about being in a new class, especially one with younger and older children. I also understand that this can be a worrying time for parents. As I explained at the meeting last week, we are spending all our meeting time planning to make sure this is a success. Your feedback is valuable to us. A lot of the discussions I have had with parents have been about lunchtimes and children who are not in the same class as some of their friends. We have decided that children will be eat in the hall with their year group rather than their class and when they have their time in the MUGA this will also be in year groups. In September there will be a chance to meet your child’s new teacher and then we will have a proper parents evening before October half-term. A reminder that it is our summer fete next Friday. I have committed to spending some time in the stocks! I am delighted to announce that from September Mrs Smith will be our new SENCO at Lingwood. For the remainder of this term please continue to contact me with any questions regarding SEND. Have a lovely weekend.  Mr Jeffery
By ashley.coley June 26, 2025
Dear parents and carers, It has been quite a week. It was such a lovely day on Tuesday watching the children work together in their houses during a wonderful sportsday. I was blown away by how the children behaved and competed against each other showing our school values of kindness, ambition and determination. The parents were equally impressive with their fantastic support and the parent races were certainly a highlight! It was positive to see a good turnout on Monday evening for our meeting about mixed aged teaching. For those that did not attend I will send my PowerPoint upon request. We are looking forward to our two transition days on Monday and Tuesday. Please see more information below. I am delighted to tell you that when Miss Coley is away on maternity leave in October Mr Dibden will become the interim deputy head. He will continue to be the class teacher for Foxes. I hope to announce who our new SENCO is next week. Have a lovely weekend. Mr Jeffery
By ashley.coley June 20, 2025
Dear parents and carers, I wanted to say a massive thank you to the parents who have come and spoken to me face to face about the changes we are having to make in September. In some schools the easy thing to do is to take to social media and wind each other up. I will try and make myself available in the playground as much as possible for the rest of the term, so please do come and speak to me. I have had several emails asking, ‘Which class is my child is in?’ I understand you want to know, but we will be sending this information out to every parent at the same time next Wednesday. I want the meeting on Monday to be about how all children will have a successful year in mixed classes, rather than focusing on individuals. We have sorted out the classes but want to triple check them on Monday morning. Thank you for your understanding over this. I know some parents have had a few worries over the senco situation. I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago to explain that Ms Clack was now working primarily at Heartsease. We now have an internal advert out for our new senco and hope to be announce who this is in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you have any SEND related questions, please speak to the class teacher or contact me through Mrs Tubby at the front office ( office@lingwoodprimaryacademy.org.uk ). A reminder that Sports Day starts at 9.30am for Key Stage 2, but parent are welcome to come from 9am. Key Stage 1 will start at 1:15pm. Please bring a chair with you. I thought I would share this email I received on Wednesday: Good evening, I just wanted to send a quick email praising the pupils who I saw in the village this morning completing their cycling safety sessions. They were really respectful and polite moving to make sure I could get along the path with my pushchair. I am looking forward to seeing you on Monday evening and for what looks like a very warm Sports Day on Tuesday. Have a nice weekend in the sun. Mr Jeffery
June 20, 2025
Unity Schools Partnership is delighted to announce that we have received some grant funding from the Anguish’s Educational Foundation to support our school. The Trust, of which we are a member school, applied for funding under its charitable foundation to start a Happy Top Up Shed for our families. The project will provide food, warm clothing and bedding, relief from period poverty and energy support. Our knowledge of our families, and the trust between our pupils and families and the school, allows us to provide effective immediate support to help against the ongoing cost of living crisis. Children who have their most immediate needs met will attend school more frequently, engage more and achieve better outcomes. Children who feel the school cares will experiment, commit and be more resilient. Unity Schools Partnership and our wider school community would like to thank Anguish’s Educational Foundation for their support.
By ashley.coley June 13, 2025
Dear parents and carers, It was lovely to see so many parents coming along to our FOLPA picnic today in th every warm sunshine. Our next big event is Sports day on Tuesday 24th June. I will send more information next week, but we hope you can come along and support. Years 3 – 6 will be in the morning and Nursery – year 2 will be in the afternoon. Please make sure you have seen the letter sent out on BromCom about some important changes for September. Have a lovely weekend. Mr Jeffery 
By ashley.coley June 6, 2025
Dear parents and carers, It was great to see Lingwood in the newspaper over half-term. Please see the link below. Lingwood Primary Academy win Acle Cluster Competition | Norwich Evening News Yesterday I received a certificate celebrating the fact that Lingwood was in the top 25% of primary schools in the country for our attendance last term. This is recognition for everyone at the school. Well done and thank you. Please see the letter I have sent out today about the actions we are taking having read all of the responses from the surveys that were sent out last month. Next week I will update you about staffing for September. Mrs Clack is now only working at Heartsease because of a leadership change there. Fortunately, we have got the expertise of Sarah Porter supporting all this SEND for the remainder of the summer term. Have a lovely weekend. Mr Jeffery
By ashley.coley May 23, 2025
Dear parents and carers, This term seems to have gone by in a flash. There have been many highlights but what stands out most for me is how children talk about being part of Team Lingwood and wanting to the very best version of themselves. The year ones had a lovely trip to the SeaLife Centre on Thursday and were absolutely buzzing when they returned. It was great to hear how well they represented the school. This week our attendance is a disappointing 90.6% but our attendance for the whole year still remains above the national average but we are never looking for average at Lingwood! I can report back that the staff quiz team more than held their own but were unlucky not to win! Thanks to FOLPA for organising this and for all their hard work and support. After the half-term break, we will be able to share information about transition days and who your child's teacher is. Have a great half-term and see you all on Monday 2nd June. Mr Jeffery
By lorraine.long May 16, 2025
Dear parents and carers, What a lovely week of weather! I have been really impressed how children have stayed smart with shirts tucked in despite the heat. Well done to year 6 - they coped superbly with their SATs and had a well-deserved reward yesterday. One of the many highlights of my week was hearing from a parent who told me that her children go home and tell them that Mr Jeffery says in assembly that we want to be the best school in the world. Firstly, I am glad children listen to my assemblies, and more importantly, it is great to see and hear children with such great ambition. Mrs Clack is having to spend her Tuesdays at Heartsease for the upcoming weeks. Fortunately, we have the very experienced Mrs Porter supporting the school and carrying out the SENCO role. Her email is sporter@unitysp.co.uk. This week our attendance is once again impressive and stands at 97.4%. Well done to Year 6 for a stomping 100%. Good luck to the staff team (and parent teams!) at the quiz tonight and have a lovely weekend. A reminder that half-term is the week after next (w/c 26th May) with children returning on Monday 2nd June. Mr Jeffery 
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