This Week at Beckfoot Priestthorpe
It’s been another busy and exciting week at Priestthorpe! Our children have been busy painting self-portraits and learning orienteering skills as part of our wider learning across school.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us for our FOPPS AGM on Monday. We have some exciting dates and events planned for the year ahead — more information can be found below in our FOPPS News and Diary Dates section.
Thank you also to everyone who attended Mrs Gunning’s drop-in sessions. Please remember, you can arrange a meeting with Mrs Gunning at any time if you would like to chat.
On Thursday, Mrs Gunning led a special assembly to launch Black History Month. We’re looking forward to lots more fun, creative and inspiring activities over the coming weeks. The children have already started learning about important Black historical figures, including Mary Seacole and Walter Tull, discovering more about their lives, achievements and the important contributions they made to history. We’ll be exploring their stories through lots of art, creativity and wider learning, giving the children opportunities to express their ideas and celebrate the achievements of inspiring individuals.
🌟 SENDiVERSE 2026 – Fun Activities for Children and Young People with SEND
This October half-term, children and young people with SEND and their families can enjoy a fantastic range of activities across the Bradford District as part of SENDiVERSE 2026.
There are 71 activities to choose from, including scuba diving, LEGO building, forest adventures, music-making, sensory play, storytelling, crafts, pumpkin trails and much more! 🎨🌳🎵
Most activities are completely free, with something available for a wide range of ages and interests.
Families can explore the full SENDiVERSE programme and find out more about activities and booking information here:
https://www.the-leap.org.uk/sendiverse2026
FOPPS AGM and Committee Elections
FOPPS held its Annual General Meeting (AGM), bringing together members to reflect on the year gone by and look ahead to another exciting year of supporting our school community. We are delighted to announce the newly elected FOPPS committee:
- Co-Chairs: Lorna Turner and Jenny Gregory
- Secretary: Laura Hempel
- Treasurer: Karen O’Malley
A huge thank you to our new committee for taking on these roles and to everyone who continues to give their time, energy and support to FOPPS. From all of us at school, thank you for everything you do — your fundraising, events and community spirit make such a difference.
Keep your eyes peeled for some important dates! There are lots of exciting FOPPS events and activities to look forward to, so make sure you keep an eye on the newsletter, school communications and Class Dojo so you don’t miss out.
The Chair’s Report will be sent via Eschools, giving you an opportunity to hear more about the year that has passed and FOPPS’s plans for the year ahead. Here’s to another fantastic year for FOPPS — we can’t wait to see what’s in store!
Dates for your Diary
OCTOBER
Tuesday 6 October, 5:30pm – 6:30pm – Read Write Inc. Phonics Event, led by Miss Harps – all parents/carers welcome
Thursday 8 October, 4:15pm start – North Bradford Cross Country League (2026-27) – Northcliffe Park (see Eschools for details)
Tuesday 13 October, Reception – Year 6 Flu Immunications – see eschools for more information and provide your consent
Thursday 15 October, 4:15 start – North Bradford Cross Country League (2026-27) – at Baildon
*NEW* Monday 19 October, Year 6 Bonfire Talk
*NEW* Friday 23 October, FOPPS Break the Rules Day
Friday 23 October – SCHOOL CLOSES FOR HALF TERM
NOVEMBER
Monday 2 November – SCHOOL REOPENS
Monday 2 November – Individual School photographs
Thursday 5 November – Reception and Year 1 children Fluoride Varnish visit – see eschools for more details
Sunday 8 November, 10:40am – Remembrance Parade in Bingley – Email [email protected] if your child would like to take part
Thursday 12 November – Year 5 Design and Technology day with Mr Hepp from Hepp DT Education
Monday 16 November – Wednesday 18 November – Year 6 Residential to Robinwood
Wednesday 18 November – Year 3 school trip to Nell Bank – details to follow shortly
Thursday 19 November, 3:30pm – 8:00pm – Parents’ Evening – all parents/carers must attend
Friday 20 November – SCHOOL CLOSED FOR DATA DAY
*NEW* Tuesday 24th November – Year 4 school trip to Leeds City Museum – details to follow shortly
Thursday 26 November – Year 4 Class Assembly – all Year 4 parents/carers are welcome
Attendance
Attendance
Thank you to everyone for your commitment to attendance last week — our whole school attendance was 95%
Infants 1 – 97.7%
Infants 2 – 99.3%
Year 3 – 94.6%
Year 4 – 98.2%
Year 5 – 93.3%
Year 6 – 96.6%
Pride of Priestthorpe
Well done to this week’s winners!
Infants 1 – Nathan and Azaan
Infants 2 – Olivia. N and Freddie
Year 3 – Mavisha and Betsy
Year 4 – Hazel and Jasmine
Year 5 – Noah and Lydia
Year 6 – Poppy and Ruby
Kindness Awards
Introducing our new Kindness Award, well done to this week’s winners!
Infants 1 – Rupert
Infants 2 – Isabella
Year 3 – Elijah
Year 4 – Bella
Year 5 – Ayden
Year 6 – Evie
What have children been doing this week?
Check Class Dojo, teachers will regularly share updates and photos from your child’s class. You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see highlights of what’s been going on across the school.
Pride Beyond School
We love seeing what our children are achieving beyond the school day! Whether it’s sporting success, music and dance achievements, community involvement, or personal milestones, it’s wonderful to celebrate the talents and efforts our pupils show outside of school. Please email [email protected] if you would like us to share anything on the
Home Learning
Our homework expectations, or ‘home learning’ as we prefer to call it, have been carefully planned to develop children’s foundational knowledge whilst not being too onerous for parents.
We have two learning platforms we use in school and the weekly expectations for home learning;
Read Write Inc. Phonics for Infants 1 and Infants
We use Read Write Inc as our Phonics Programme. Phonics helps children learn the sounds letters make, while Read Write Inc. teaches children to read and spell confidently through sounds, blending and practice.
Accelerated Reader Year 2 upwards
Once children have completed the Read Write Inc. phonics programme, they will have access to Accelerated reader. This is where children read books and then answer questions to check their understanding. Children choose books from their personal reading range in school and then read the book at home. They then take a quiz on what they have read, and when they pass the quiz they choose another book. Through reading and quizzing they are developing their word reading skills alongside an understanding of what they have read.
All children in school should read at least 3 times a week but daily would be even better!
- Please record the reading in their record book which their teacher will check weekly.
- Please help them to access the online quiz if required
Numbots and Times Table Rockstars
We use an online platform to help the children learn vital number facts whilst playing fun games. These number facts are the essential building blocks for their maths learning. To get the best out of Numbots or TTRS, we recommend that children play regularly for short bursts of time, aiming for 3 minutes, five times a week.
- Please encourage your child to log on as often as possible and meet the minimum weekly goal of 15 minutes.
- Their class teacher will check their engagement with the games weekly to keep them on track.
We recognise the need to support a balanced use of screen time, so there is a maximum time limit set of 15 minutes a day and a curfew of 7.30pm.
We really value your support with home learning, and it will have a huge impact on your child’s progress in school. Please help us to support your child by helping them to engage with their homework each week. A text will be sent home if your child has not met their weekly target so you can help them to stay on track.
