Dear Parents,
Please take a little time to reinforce messages of respecting our bodies,
Pantosaurus messages:
Your pants cover up your private parts.
Your private parts belong only to you.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule
Great News! We will be able to offer a Nurturing Programme for parents and carers.
It’s aim to support parents and carers to get the best out of family life.
Where: St Joseph’s Infant School, Water Street, Port Talbot, SA12 6LF
When: Wed 20th September at 9:00
Contact details: 01639 882579 or speak to Mrs James or Ms Beaumont
Check out familylinks.org.uk for more information on
The Parenting Puzzle book and the Nurturing Programme
What is the Nurturing Programme?
Children are rewarding, stimulating and fun, but looking after them can be
stressful and challenging.
The Nurturing Programme helps deal with those challenges so
that you can have a calmer, happier life.
A tried and tested programme, it helps us think about what we do,
why we do it and how it makes us feel.
What does it cover?
Over the 10-week Programme, you will look at lots of different topics, including:
Understanding why children behave as they do
Recognising the feelings behind behaviour (ours and theirs)
Exploring different approaches to discipline
Finding ways to develop co-operation and self-discipline in children
Learning the importance of looking after ourselves
Practical information What does it cover?
Over the 10-week Programme, you will look at lots of different topics, including:
Understanding why children behave as they do
Recognising
the feelings behind behaviour (ours and theirs)
Exploring
different approaches to discipline
Finding ways to develop co-operation and self-discipline in children
Learning the importance of looking after ourselves
Partners are welcome and it’s also fine to come on your own
or with a relative or friend
There are ten 2-hour sessions with a tea and coffee break
8-10 parents are invited and there are two Family Links trained group leaders
You need to come to all ten sessions as they fit together like a puzzle
Thanks to Amy, Eleanor, Kelly, Rachael, Jessie, who attended the meeting on Thursday 7th September 2023. Apologies from Carina and Carly.
Event for Autumn Term
All children and parents are invited to a Welcome Come Back Disco in Our Lady of Margam Parish Hall, 13th September from 5 – 6:30 pm. Entrance £2. Sweets, drinks, crisps and glow sticks will be on sale. Please could a responsible adult stay with children.
Recycling Uniform – Pope Francis’ asks us to look after our common home
Thanks to our team of willing parents, uniform will be put out in rail (outside when possible/ in entrance when not) to be recycled. Please take coats and uniform free of charge. If you have good quality uniform/coats to recycle please send in washed and ironed on a hanger if possible.
Proposed activities for 2023-24
Autumn
Christmas Movie Night- pop corn and hot chocolate (Margam)
Singing in Care Home/ hospital (ideas welcome)
Giving something back -Shoe Box /Gift Tag / Mr X /Local Community
Food Bank – local
Spring Term
Easter Disco
Easter egg hunt
Easter Bonnet
Charity Danceathon
Easter Service
Beach Walk
Summer Term
Festival of colour – multi cultural celebration
Fete
Beach Walk
Teddy Bears Picnic
Next Meeting: 11th October 2023 at 9:00am.
Pupil Development Grant (PDG) Strategy Statement
This statement details our school’s use of the PDG for the 2022 to 2023 academic year.
It outlines our strategy, how we intend to spend the funding in this academic year and the effect that last year’s spending had within our school.
School Overview
| Number of pupils in school | Full time 110, Part Time 20 Full time equivalent 120 |
| Proportion (%) of PDG eligible pupils | 38% as of January PLASC |
| Date this statement was published | October 2022 |
| Date on which it will be reviewed | October 2023 |
| Statement authorised by | Headteacher- Mrs Julie Beaumont Rees & Governing Body |
| PDG Lead | Deputy Headteacher – Mrs Sarah Turner |
| Governor Lead | Chair of Governors – Miss Teresa Welsh |
Funding Overview
| Detail | Amount |
| PDG funding allocation this academic year | £26,450 |
| Early Years PDG | £26,450 |
| Total budget for this academic year | £52,900 |
Part A: Strategy Plan
| As our children grow throughout their time at St Joseph’s Infant School, we aim to build independence, resilience and resourcefulness among learners to provide them with the skills required to solve problems and make decisions now and in the future. Through our concept/theme-based approach, we aim to foster a curiosity and love for learning in our children, ensuring that they are equipped with the knowledge, skills and dispositions for future challenges as lifelong learners in a rapidly changing world. All pupils to make progress in Literacy, Numeracy and thinking skills. Curriculum and provision is equitable and inclusive. Use of the Pupil Development Grant supports these aims to be inclusive for all children and increase opportunities for additional learning opportunities, increase their wellbeing and enable inclusion in experiences inside and outside of the classroom. |
This explains the outcomes we are aiming for by the end of our current strategy plan, and how we will measure whether they have been achieved.
| Target | Success criteria |
| To develop children’s understanding of the language of learning and higher order thinking skills | |
| To develop and successfully implement ALN reform within the school. | |
| To increase range and participation in Collective Worship. | |
| To improve the spelling, grammar and handwriting within children’s writing (Read Write Inc) |
Activity in this academic year
This details how we intend to spend our PDG this academic year to address the challenges listed above.
(1)Learning and Teaching
Budgeted cost:
Teaching Assistant- (L2) 27.5hrs per week £16,903.00
| (1)Activity | Evidence that supports this approach |
| To meet the language needs of e-f pupils as identified in assessment, through effective delivery and monitoring of specific literacy based interventions | Following Covid younger children have lower language skills than previously and need re-enforcement of speech, language, phonics and reading skills to have a positive impact on reading skills. |
(2)Wider strategies
Budgeted cost:
Teaching Assistant – (L2) 18.5 hrs per week £14,023.00
Teaching Assistant (HL) 37hrs per week £30,963.00
| (2)Activity – wider strategies | Evidence that supports this approach |
| Fund a team of highly qualified and well-motivated of 2 TA’s to provide bespoke or small group support to pupils who require health and wellbeing support through a range of approaches – Play therapy, Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, Smart Moves, Sensory Circuits. | The school has seen a significant increase in the overall Wellbeing of a number of pupils. Programmes which have been successful have been re-introduced and more staff have been trained to deliver and support more children. |
| (3)Budgeted Cost | £2,664.00 £2,664.00 |
| (3)Community Engagement for pre school: Half Day Language and Play 1 x TA L4 for 3hrs a week, 39 weeks Half Day Baby Sensory 1 x TA L4 for 3hrs a week, 39 weeks | School self-evaluation and listening to parental surveys highlights the importance of our school as a learning community and the potential importance of our impact on early childhood experiences. |
| (4)Budgeted Cost | £250.00 £1,700.00 |
| Community Engagement Extra Curricular After school ballet club Camera Club | In line with New Curriculum for Wales, we are Embedding 4 Core Purposes, setting aspirational goals, supporting pupil well- being through the provision of a range of After school activities |
Total budgeted cost: £69,167
Total Grant Allocation: £52,000
Externally provided programmes
Please include the names of any programmes that you purchased in the previous academic year. This will help us identify which ones are popular in Wales.
| Programme | Provider |
| Read, Write, inc. | In school |
| Inspirational Ballet for Under 7- | Madam Eleanor |
| Camera Club | Jack Moyse |
BRAND NEW!! Online course ‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ from the Solihull Approach (NHS).
Access for free:
Did you know Public Health Wales have PRE-PAID for every parent and carer in Wales to access a course for parents/carers (access now for life-long access)? FREE (with access code: SWSOL or NWSOL at: www.inourplace.co.uk) for residents in our area. There are courses for parents, carers and grandparents about children from bump to 19+ years.
How do I access for free? Go to www.inourplace.co.uk and register, and then please use SWSOL if you live in South and Mid Wales and NWSOL if you live in North Wales to get free access to all the online courses (funded for residents): or
If, like many parents, you have already used this code, log into your account here and this course will be ready in your dashboard to start whenever you are ready.
Can I tell my family and friends?
Absolutely! Share the news with family members and other families in the area so that they too can take advantage of this fantastic opportunity.
How long is it?
‘Understanding your child’s mental health and wellbeing’ itself is in 2 parts (2 modules long in total):
1. Take Part 1….
2. …then take ‘Understanding your child’ OR ‘Understanding your child with additional needs’ (11 modules each taking 10-15 minutes to complete, benefitting from time to digest in between)….
3. …then take Part 2.
If you like this… …you might like the other courses ‘Understanding your teenager’s brain’ (short course) or ‘Understanding your child’s feelings’ (taster course) , or other courses in the series. www.inourplace.co.uk
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back to the Spring Term. I hope that you have had a holy, healthy and restful Christmas. We have missed the children and all staff are looking forward to them returning tomorrow.
However, this is a cautious return as NPT moves to COVID 19 HIGH RISK level. Our aim is to keep school open, to do this we will need to reintroduce the systems we have developed to keep all our families, children and staff safe. I am very aware that there are vulnerable individuals within all our families. I thought it would be useful to revisit how you can help us all to keep as safe as possible. It is really important that if your child have any of the 3 key symptoms that they do NOT attend school:
New guidance for children 5-17 years identified as close contacts advises that they take a Lateral Flow Test every day for 7 days or until 10 days since last contact with the person tested positive. Please inform school should you have a positive case in the family.
Could we ask your support as parents to help with the following:
Sadly, we will be suspending Language and Play for January, but will definitely review the situation in February. Hopefully, working together we will be able to provide learning and teaching based in school throughout this very challenging time ahead.
Thank you for your support.
Ms Julie Beaumont
Fantastic News!
Language and Play is back up and running!
Dear Parents, Carers, and children,
Welcome back to a new academic year, a fresh beginning for everyone. We are so looking forward to seeing everybody on Monday morning. I hope that you have had a great summer holidays and I’m sure that the children are ready for the exciting new learning and challenges that we have planned for them.
Organisation of School day for September
The systems we have in place have been successful in keeping everyone safe. In September, as we transition into a new norm, we will continue with a staggered approach to the start and end of the school day. As we are finishing building work in the front side yard there will be a few changes for the next few weeks.
| Start | Location | Pick Up | Location | |
| Nursery
Mrs Coughlin |
9:00 | Nursery | 11:30 | Nursery |
| Reception –Mrs Mapp/
Mrs Torrance |
8:55 | Teachers will meet children by the Front Ramp (next to my office) to enter into the main yard. | Week 1
6th-10th at 1:00 pm Week 2 13th -17th at 2:00 pm Week 3 2:50 |
Main playground, left hand side |
| Reception /
Year 1 Mrs James |
8:50 | Main Entrance | Year 1 finish at 2:50
Reception children Week 1 6th-10th at 1:00 pm Week 2 13th -17th at 2:00 pm Week 3 2:50 |
Main playground, right hand side |
| Year 1/ Year2 Mrs Turner | 8:50 | Front Ramp | 2:50 | Front Ramp |
| Year 2 Mrs Owen
(Miss W) |
8:45 | Front Ramp | 2:45 | Front Ramp |
Breakfast Club
Will be available for Years 1 and 2 from Monday 6th September 2021. Whilst Reception children can access Breakfast Club from Monday 20th September. Please complete and return consent from to our Cook Mrs Pat McGimpsey. Drop off from 8:20
Belated congratulations to Pat on celebrating a big birthday during the Summer holidays.
Lunchtime Routines
We hope to return to using the dining hall for lunch. Initially with Reception, then adding other Year groups as the month progresses. Reception children will stay for lunch from day one. School hot dinners are available, or if they prefer, children can bring a lunchbox. Please remember to write your child’s name clearly on the lunchbox to avoid confusion and tears. As a Healthy School, wherever possible, could we encourage healthy choices.
Water Bottle- clearly labelled
Hydration is vital to good learning and wellbeing. Please send your child daily, a clearly labelled bottle filled with water.
Our school vision at St Joseph’s Catholic Infant school is to develop eloquent and truthful learners who are ambitious and capable. Eloquent in what they say of themselves and in the relations between people and the world. To be eloquent in our Foundation Phase setting, children must learn to speak with confidence and then build on these skills to develop reading and writing skills.
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney
Collaboration with parents to develop ambitious, capable learners
During lockdown some children have flown with reading development, however, many for lots of different reasons have plateaued or regressed.
We would like all parents to work with us to help improve every child’s reading skills.
How?
Step 1: Be consistent. Read daily with your child 10- 15 mins
Step 2: Practise reading the Oxford Reading Scheme daily. It is always good to ‘walk ‘ through the book before reading, looking at pictures on the cover, and looking through the book together. Go over any tricky words. Set children up to achieve.
Step 3: Log on to Oxford Reading Buddies for short burst 3 times a week. This is a fantastic resource which tracking shows is being underused. Logon codes will be resent later this week.
Step 4: Use flash cards sent home as a home learning tool. Make the activity fun. Keep it short, make it a game. Make additional flash cards if your child finds a word tricky. Help them recognise common words by sight. Make sure they know the names of the main characters.
Step 5: Use fun resources that surround us in a language rich world. Teach them songs and nursery rhymes; clap rhythms of the words, help them to think of another word that begins with…
Make use of online resources such as:
· BBC Bitesize has a good section on ‘Top tips to support your child’s reading at home’ which may be of help with strategies.
· readingrockets.org has ideas for family reading activities.
· The Pori Drwy Stori website has lots of activities/ideas for families (https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-do/programmes-and-campaigns/poridrwystori/
· The Literacy Trust also has information/support for parents (https://literacytrust.org.uk/)
