We have a new Junior Leadership Team

After a very busy day at the polling station, we have a new Junior Leadership Team. The votes have been counted and verified and we would like to say ‘Congratulations’ to:

Poppy & Milan, Teddy & Rowan; Lucas & Samanvi; Joshua & Ana: Archie & Nathaniel; Raushan & Evie; Maya & Charlie.

We’re confident that they will represent their classes really well; they also have a very important job, in a couple of weeks, in helping to choose our new school charity.

Well done to everybody who made a speech; it’s not an easy thing to do – it’s amazing that so many of you had a go.

Happy half term to you all. See you on 04 November 2024.

Our weekly message: Thursday 24 October

This week’s message is one day early because tomorrow is a training day.

What happens on a training day?

Training days are exactly what they say on the tin – a day jam-packed with training for teachers to make sure they’re all fully skilled and prepared. In recent Ofsted inspection reports, the impact of the training we provide for teachers across Sphere Federation is rated highly:

Teachers have secure subject knowledge… The professional development available for all staff is of high quality, and they appreciate the collaborative support shared among the schools in the federation.

Scholes (Elmet) Primary Ofsted inspection report, 21-22 May

Professional development for all staff is exemplary. Leaders have planned high-quality training.

Moortown Primary Ofsted inspection report, 19-20 March

At the training day tomorrow, teachers from across Sphere Federation will gather for five different learning sessions: phonics teaching; using technology as a teaching aid; gymnastics; Art skills; and Living and Learning.

Talking of Living and Learning…

Living and Learning

‘I use what I’ve learnt in Living and Learning’ was this week’s Living and Learning statement. It’s an opportunity for teachers to return to some of the learning this half-term, including rights and responsibilities, protected characteristics, and democracy. Help at home…

• talk to your child about what they’ve learnt
• check out our Living and Learning Curriculum Guide – page 6 gives you an overview of next half-term’s mental wellbeing theme

Our school charity for 2024-25

Each year, our Junior Leadership Team select a charity to support – we ask for donations after Christmas and Summer productions for example. Last year, our charity was Leeds Hospitals Charity. This year, the shortlist was selected by our Admin staff across Sphere Federation. Start thinking about each of these below, so your child’s ready to pass on their views to their Junior Leader representative in Me and My Community week.

• Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an independent charity providing a lifesaving rapid response emergency service to 5 million people across the whole of Yorkshire. Money raised keeps both of their air ambulance helicopters maintained and in the air.
• Leeds Mind provides help and support for people who may be experiencing issues impacting on their mental health and wellbeing.
• Willow Foundation supports young adults, aged 16 to 40, who are living with a life-threatening or life-limiting condition.
• Action Against Hunger aim to save the lives of vulnerable people affected by hunger. Action Against Hunger fights hunger and malnutrition around the world, because no child should ever suffer or die from it. Stop hunger today.
• Zarach‘s mission is to end bed poverty in England. It believes no child should live in poverty. All children should have their basic needs met so that they can achieve their full potential in life. Give every head a bed.
• Leeds Hospitals Charity has been nominated again. The charity aims to support patients, families and staff. They fund for lifesaving equipment, treatments, research into rare diseases and home comforts.

Applications for Reception 2025

Applications for a Reception place for September 2025 can be made from 01 November 2024 to 15 January 2025.

Guidance on applications can be found on Leeds City Council’s You Tube video about applying for a school place.

If you’d like to come and have a look around our school, our next open sessions are on Thursday 14 November at 1.30pm and Friday 29 November at 9.30am. No need to book – just turn up!

Our weekly message: Friday 18 October

As a teacher, one sign of getting old arises when a parent tells you they were in your class as a child. This happened to me the other day. Crazily, I think I’ve still got the tea-towel (now more of a rag, I admit!) with all the pupils’ self-portraits on that the PTA sold back in 2000 or thereabouts. Perhaps I should hunt it down to show his children their dad’s artwork of the time!

This week’s message has four articles: an overview of how we teach Reading in our school, news about the Junior Leadership Team, news about a Leeds competition, and an article linking attendance with social and emotional development.

Reading in our school

At Moortown Primary, we teach reading in a variety of ways in order to promote a love of reading, to develop decoding skills and fluency, or to develop specific reading skills. Each element forms our Reading Diet – all the different learning, activities and skills that we do over the week that involve reading.

For children in Reception and Key Stage 1…

Story time is a hugely important part of our Reading Diet. Enjoying books together and listening to an adult read out loud enables children to access texts that they can’t necessarily read themselves. We often ‘narrate’ what we are thinking as we are reading; wondering out loud what a character might be feeling, describing what a word means or what we think might happen next. We also enjoy reading non-fiction (fact) books in this time, too. They’re often linked to our Topic or Science learning and children can listen to and learn new facts that they can share and discuss.

Our daily Phonics lesson is crucial to children’s reading journey. Words are split into phonemes (sounds) that are matched to graphemes (written letters). This helps children break down words (decode) and begin to read. We follow a systematic phonics programme that has a huge amount of built-in practice. Repeating and revisiting sounds and words helps children learn to read quickly and effectively.

Our Reading Practice sessions happen four times per week. They give the children repeated opportunities to read the same book at least four times, developing their phonics skills. They’re also used to develop decoding skills, fluency, prosody (expression) and comprehension throughout the week. The books are matched to the child’s secure phonic knowledge so they should be reading fluently and with increasing pace as they progress through the books. The fifth session of the week involves a visit to the school library where children can choose a book to share at home and to promote their love of reading.

Our Daily Poem gives us an opportunity to really celebrate our love of reading. We choose all different sorts of poems. Children really enjoy trying to memorise it over the course of the week or read it with the teacher by the end of the week – especially if it’s a funny or silly one!s

For children in Key Stage 2…

Reading is still a big feature right across Key Stage 2. Each class has dedicated Class Novel time where children enjoy simply being read to and discussing language. We develop fluency by reading the same short text again and again over the course of the week. To develop specific skills, Reading Skills lessons happen four times a week and often include learning in other subjects, too. Every class visits the library once a week so make sure you check in with their child about their current choice. Children enjoy a weekly Book Club where they enjoy some relaxed independent reading and complete a directed activity.

Help at home by reading every day with your child for around ten minutes and discuss the words and phrases the writer has used and what they mean. If a child is read a story or book daily, by the time they are 5, they’ll have heard approximately 296,660 words – imagine how many more words a child will have heard by the time they’re 7, 11…!

Junior Leadership Team

‘I take part in democratic decisions’ has been our Living and Learning statement this week. This is in readiness for next week, when we have our annual Junior Leadership Team elections.

Our Junior Leadership Team is one of the ways that children are encouraged to take an active part in school life. The election process allows children to develop an understanding of one of the British Values, democracy.

This week’s whole school homework is all about the election and democracy, ready for the elections next Thursday (24 October).

We’ve been asked by a parent to publicise Recycle Week…

Rescue Me – Recycle!

Did you know it’s Recycle Week?

It’s not too late for your child to get involved by designing a Leeds Recycling Superhero! They can create their very own recycling hero and show everyone how to see recyclable items as treasures, not trash.

And for the rest of us, it might be worth reminding ourselves of what we can recycle here in Leeds. The latest Recycle Now research shows that about nine out of ten people regularly recycle, but nearly eight out of ten of us put one or more items into the rubbish bin that could have been recycled. (Did you know we can now recycle glass in our green bins?)

Finally this week, the first of a series of messages about what a child misses if they’re absent for a prolonged time. We know children are sometimes ill and have to spend time out of school – that’s inevitable – but if we factor in regular holidays, children really struggle…

If your child was absent for five days in a row…

…they’d miss out on loads of opportunities to develop their social and emotional skills. They’d miss out on at least 5-6 hours of pure social time at playtimes and lunchtimes – time to play and chat with their friends. This is time when children can stay physically active, and also time when they learn to interact – making friends, choosing games to play, agreeing and learning to disagree. This is all valuable time to develop confidence, resilience and simply to have fun!

The impact of low attendance…

• Children who miss school miss out on not only learning and education, but also spending time with other children and friends, which helps with developing social and emotional skills.
• Children who miss school more than others can find it difficult to keep friendships.
• Children who stay away from school tend to struggle more with their mental health later on.

By going to school, children can meet with their friends for social and emotional development and not become isolated at home.

Being in school is important to your child’s academic achievement, wellbeing, and wider development.  There is evidence to suggest that regular school attendance is a key mechanism to support children and young people’s educational, economic and social outcomes. Schools can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a contributes to better mental health and wellbeing.

(DfE Education Hub, September 2023)

Our weekly message: Friday 11 October

Most of this week’s message is about our first themed week of the year…

Me and my community themed week 

Our next whole school themed week is all about identity, diversity and community. It takes place in the week beginning Monday 04 November. This is the first of two themed weeks in the year.

Children will learn about what it means to belong to a community, from family to national or even international communities. Importantly, our children will also learn to respect and celebrate different communities. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of our Living and Learning education.

Events and learning during the week will include looking at our own identity including belonging and self-esteem, diversity of people around us including race, age, religion and disability, and children will also be getting out into the community, working with local organisations and taking pride in the local area for example by litter picking.

Active travel in the community

We encourage children to get out in the community in an active way on their way to and from school, with prizes available as part of the themed week. By walking/scooting/biking to school, families will be keeping our community safer and healthier by reducing congestion at the school gate. Maybe even pick up a piece of litter on the way! Even by parking further away from school, your child could then to do the final part of their journey by foot, bike or scooter. Bike and scooter storage facilities are available beside the Year 3 and 4 classrooms.

Email us (moortownoffice@spherefederation.org) a picture of your active travel, maybe by a landmark in our community on your route to school, for the chance to win one of five vouchers. Entries to be submitted by noon on Friday 08 November.

New school charity

During the themed week, classes will have the chance to discuss our charity shortlist*. After class discussions, the Junior Leadership Team will have the final vote for which charity they’d like our school to support, replacing our current charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

*This year, we’ve invited all the Sphere Federation admin staff to suggest a charity each.

Identity day  

On the final day of the Me and My Community themed week (Friday 08 November), we’ll celebrate our differences and our identities: a non-uniform Identity Day. Children are invited to dress in clothing that represents part of their identity, for example uniform from a club they attend, a team they are part of or support, or traditional dress to represent their heritage. (There’s no donation or contribution required for this day.)

PTA coffee morning

As part of the week, we welcome all parents and carers to an informal coffee morning on Friday 08 November. This is a chance to meet other members of our school community including representatives from the PTA. A whole school community Wake up Shake up will follow at 9:50am in the main playground.

Can you help?

Maybe you speak another language and you’d be happy to speak to children about this or you’d like to share about your own family culture and heritage. If so, please contact the office to pass on your details. Also, do you have any local community links that may support our week?

Governor election outcome

Thank you if you voted in the recent parent governor elections.

Mr Craig Barker will become the new Parent Governor when Mr Matt Hick’s term of office ends on 19 November 2024. Mr Barker’s period as governor is 4 years from 20 November 2024. His appointment is subject to satisfactory DBS checks.

Finally this week, a reminder well in advance… Our parent-teacher meetings will be on Tuesday and Thursday in the last week of the term. Please save the date!

Moortown Magic

This amazing photo was taken by one of our Y2 parents last night – the aurora over Moortown Primary. Wow!

Our weekly message: Friday 04 October

Watch us while we work

Thank you to everyone who came along to our Watch Us While we Work session – it was great to see so many of you. And thanks if you found the time to fill in our online feedback form – here’s one of the comments:

The teachings were really efficient and structured. And the advice to parents about home support is really useful and pitched at the right level.

We take your feedback really seriously. One thing we’re often asked is whether we can organise this differently to help children who are in different year groups. We’ll keep exploring whether this would work, but in the meantime, do remember to next Watch Us While We Work session on Thursday 23 January.

Class trips

Previously, you’ve told us you’re keen for class trips to happen. We value trips as a way to enrich learning and broaden children’s learning experiences. Our list of the main trips we’ve got planned are on page 4 of our Topic Curriculum Guide (but please remember we sometimes have to re-arrange or even cancel based on availability, or reluctantly if we don’t receive enough in voluntary donations).

The rest of this week’s message comes from our Writing Curriculum Leader…

Spellings

By now, you’ll be familiar with the homework arrangements. Every week in Key Stage 1, or every half-term in Key Stage 2, your child is given a set of spellings to learn as part of their homework.

But why? They’ll probably just use autocorrect on their computer or tablet when they’re older, won’t they? You, like many others, might have found yourself asking these same questions. And, to an extent, there’s some truth in this.

However, we believe spelling is a really important life-skill that is crucial to your child’s success in education. We find that children who can spell more accurately feel more confident about their writing – and we want all our children to feel proud and confident of their learning.

Also, research shows us that thinking about spellings takes up a large part of your working memory when writing (or typing). This means that if you’re able to have to think less about spelling, you’ve more brain power to think about other things: word choice, thinking creatively or pitching your written communication at the right level for your reader.

Help at home by helping your child learn their spellings. This doesn’t need to be for long and it doesn’t need to be boring. Here are some practical tips for effectively learning spellings at home…

• Ask your child to spell their words on the way to school, driving to the shops or walking the dog
• Use some ideas from our Super Spelling Strategies to make learning spellings more creative
• Place the words on Post-It notes around the house so your child is reading them regularly
• Practise them whilst doing something active (throwing a ball, kicking a football, playing tennis etc)
• Most importantly of all, remember that little and often is much more effective than one big session: five minutes every day will lead to much better outcomes than one 30 minute session each week

If you’d like any help about how to support your child with their writing, please speak to their class teacher.

Next week, we’ve the school photographer in to take individual pics (the class pic is taken later in the year. There’s also a Reception Stay and Learn session. Have a good weekend.

Connect Challenge

Today, the whole school completed our Connect Challenge, in memory of Rob Burrow, by running walking or skipping seven laps of the back playground and the green. All the children gave 100% and were even asking to do extra laps. It was a great active morning!

Thank you for your donations so far. You can still donate on Gateway until the end of the week with money raised to be split between the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal and our school charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

Thinking of others

One of our Y4 friends went to Leeds Pride in the summer; she was in the parade and won the best dressed competition!

Part of her prize was a £50 charity donation and she has chosen to donate this to the school charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

Somebody having lots of fun but still thinking about other people. What a great example to others!

Our weekly message: Friday 27 September

This week’s Living and Learning message is a great one to think about at home: I know that rights come with responsibilities…

• At school for example, children have the right to play, and that comes with the responsibility to play alongside others safely and respectfully.
• Think about this at home. For example, in your house, it might be that your child has the right to be online, but the responsibility to be online for a limited amount of time each day.

Connect challenge

It’s our Connect Challenge next Wednesday morning, in memory of Rob Burrow. Children should come in outdoor PE kit to be ready to complete their seven (Rob’s rugby shirt number) laps of the green and the back playground. Please make any donation via Gateway. Money raised will be split between the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Appeal and our school charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.

Food in school

This week, we want to flag up a page on our website you perhaps don’t visit much – Food in school. This page has lots of information about school dinners (including the current menu), free school meals and packed lunches.

• We’ve a general policy on food in school, setting out some key points, including the importance of water and we don’t allow birthday foods.
• If your child has school dinners, please check out whether they may be entitled to free school meals.
• If your child has a packed lunch, have a look at our packed lunch guidance.

On the subject of food in school, don’t forget to alert us to any allergies that your child may have.

Staying healthy…

Last week, we mentioned the West Yorkshire NHS website Healthier Together, launched to provide consistent advice from local health and care professionals.

Linked to this, check out this guide to keeping your child healthy from the UK Health Security Agency.

…for good attendance

It’s worth thinking about what your child might miss if they were absent for five days in a row…

For younger children learning to read, they’d miss five, half an hour phonics lessons – that’s a full two and half hours of phonics teaching. In this time, they’d miss out on learning four new graphemes (eg ay, ou, oi, ea) and practising reading and writing these in words and in sentences. They’d miss learning up to four new tricky words, too. Your child would also miss valuable time to practise the previous week’s graphemes and developing fluency in reading words containing those sounds. As well as the phonics lessons, your child would miss four reading practice group sessions and would not have the time to read and re-read the physical book in school. In these sessions, we develop fluency, prosody and comprehension. They’d also miss the library session and not be able to choose a new book to take home.

Before deciding to keep your child at home, remember to check this NHS site: Is my child too ill for school?

Governor recruitment

We’ve had two expressions of interest from parents who are interested in joining our Governing Board. This means we now have an election. Please take a couple of minutes to read each of the two candidates’ written statement and make your vote. Thank you.

Finally, a quick reminder…

We’ve another Watch Us While We Work session next week – Tuesday morning. This is the first of two opportunities in the year to see some Maths and Reading being taught in school so that you can support your child at home.