17th October 2025 

Next week 

• Tuesday 21st-Wednesday 22nd – Parents’ evening – slips should have come out with times today 

• Thursday 23rd – PTA Halloween Disco! Come and dance in your best fancy dress! Foundation Phase - 5:30 - 6:15; Juniors - 6:30 - 7:30 

Security 

We have worked hard to improve site security; this means as a norm gates around the site are shut between 9am and 3pm. Please do not climb over them if they are locked. If you need to pick up children inside that time, please come up the drive to the main entrance and sign your child out. 

CAMHS Coffee Morning 

This week, we were pleased to welcome CAMHS for the first of their parent workshops on emotional regulation. It was very well attended and proved hugely beneficial for those who came. There will be three more workshops to follow, and all parents are warmly invited to attend.  

Next week’s session on Thursday 23rd October will focus on Managing Anger, so if your child loses their temper very quickly, or finds it hard to calm down after an angry outburst this session will be helpful for you. The remaining two sessions will be on the 3rd and 13th November (all from 9am-11am). 

We’d also like to highlight a fantastic resource available at Pennard Library, which now has a dedicated section of books focused on emotional regulation. The staff there are very accommodating and happy to order in books of interest, so do pop in if you're looking for something specific. 

Labelling uniform 

We are seeing increasing numbers of lost property that has not been labelled. Please label your child’s clothes and if handed in, they will make their way back to you.   

Playful Learning Tip 

How often do we walk with our ears – there is so much going on to notice and learn from, and it takes no more time than what we were doing anyway. Go for a walk and listen together to the sounds that you hear. Talk about the sounds together “I can hear a noise…”, “ You could make a list of sounds that you might hear and tick them off as you hear them: a bird, a car, people talking, the wind, the rain, a train, a dog barking. Talk about whether the sounds are long/short, loud/quiet. Discuss the rhythm of the noises, “that’s a bumpy noise.” This will develop your child’s listening, focus and attention skills, as well as their ability to pick out individual sounds and filter distractions. 

10^th October 2025

Next week

• Tuesday 14th – 2.30pm - the Governors will be in school to talk through the Annual Governor’s Report for parents and simply chat to any parents who would like to come along. 
• Thursday 16th-9am CAMHS Coffee Morning on ‘Emotional Regulation.’ Please come along after drop off and join this informative session, particularly useful if your child has trouble regulating after experiencing big emotions like anxiety, anger and sadness.
• Thursday 16th Share My Work (Years 1-6). See below 

Office Manager Role

Our office manager Zoe is going to finish at the end of the Autumn term. We’ll be sad to say goodbye, she’s done a great job in the office for the last two years. The advert is now out:

https://www.swansea.gov.uk/article/41355/Bishopston-Primary-School-Administration--Organisation-Assistant

We’ll make more fuss nearer the time, but of course we’re super grateful to Zoe for the work she’s done.

Photos

Roz and Kirsty have sent a message to let us know the school photos are ready, please check your email for the link.  If it’s not there, please contact them directly through their website. Parents have until Thu 23 Oct 2025 to place  order.

Share My Work (Years 1-6) - Thursday 16th October 

This is a lovely session for you to come as a parent or grandparent etc. It gives you some time to talk to your child about their learning within the school. In the Foundation Phase they will show you activities they work on. In Key Stage 2 they will talk you through the learning from their books. It’s always a positive session. We put it before Parents’ Evening in case it brings up anything you would like to discuss with the class teacher.

Please make every effort to stick with the timings below.

We don’t have the staff to bring pupils from the Foundation Phase across to Key Stage 2 or visa versa.

• Foundation Phase - in the FP Hall
  • Year 1/2 - Mrs Ellis and Mr Bean’s Years 1s - 0900-0950
  • Ms Melling & Mrs Gorvett and Mr Bean’s Year 2s - 1430-1520
     

• Key Stage 2 - in the KS2 Hall
  • Year 3 - 0900-0940
  • Year 4 - 0940-1020
  • Year 5 - 1400-1440
  • Year 6 - 1440-1520

Cycle Ride at half term for children – see poster below

After School Club

When the weather is nice, the pupils in ASC often go out onto the FP playground, if you’re picking up or asking a relative to pick up, be aware that they might well be around the corner!

Parents Evening

Parents evening is coming up in the last week of this half term.  If you haven't already, please use the link below to let us know when you would like to meet your child’s teacher. Bookings will be stopped after Monday 13th October at midday. We’ll then get appointments out to parents by Friday 17th. Everyone will be given an appointment.

Parents evening is run for Parent of children in Reception to Year 6. 

https://forms.office.com/e/HQRgtSFTMD

Playful Learning Tip

Help create moments for your child to build their social skills and make friends. You can use imaginary or small-world play to help them build an understanding of emotional vocabulary and positive attitudes towards relationships with others. If you’re using toys during play, try asking questions like:

“Which animals are friends?”       “How is tiger a good friend to crocodile?”    “How could Lion say sorry to elephant?”

This helps your child think about what would be an appropriate response. If they aren’t sure then you can model the correct response through play and prepare your child for social situations in school when you aren’t there.

PTA update

The Halloween disco has been planned for 23^rd October. The PTA would be extremely grateful for any sweetie donations they can top up the sweetie bags with. Please hand them into the office / class teacher. If you can volunteer on the night then please let your PTA class rep know.

Operation Headteacher

I am very likely to be going off on 21st October for an operation on my ankle. To give you some context, aged 16 I had leukemia, the treatment from that caused my lungs to collapse. They treated that problem with very high dose steroids, unfortunately this left me with avascular necrosis in my ankle bones. For the last 10 years doctors have been monitoring my ankles, in particular my right ankle. I regularly have pain in my ankle, but have been able to tolerate it and thankfully do most things with no problem. In the summer term last year, the surgeon (some of you might know him, Paul Williams, he lives in Bishopston), told me he thought that an operation was needed otherwise it was likely to become a significant problem.

There could be some severe trauma patients put ahead of me, but if not, they will look to operate on October 21st.  I've been advised that I will be signed off for 12 weeks.  

Mrs Beynon will be the Acting Headteacher. Her class will be covered for 3 days by Mrs Jones (who already job shares with Mrs Beynon) and for 2 days with Mrs Carmen (she has previously job shared with Mrs Beynon in Y5/6). 

Governors AGR

Please click the link to read through the Governors Annual Report to Parents.

AGR

3rd October 2025 

Next week 

• Monday 6th – Y6 Cycle Training begins for the next two weeks 

• Tuesday 7th – Mountain Phase (Y3/4) Beach school – packed lunches needed 

• Thursday 9th – 3.30-4.00pm - Y4 Residential, Parent Information evening 

Change in INSET date 

We had planned a Cluster INSET (a training day with the other local schools) for 6th February, this has now been changed to 6th March. Apologies for any inconvenience. 

Residentials 

Parents of pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 should have had information this week through ipay about the Residentials. If you missed the information please go onto the school website. 

Residentials | Bishopston Primary School 

By paying the deposit we will include your child in the numbers going. If you need any extra information, please do get in contact.  

PTA update 

The Halloween disco has been planned for 23rd October. The PTA would be extremely grateful for any sweetie donations they can top up the sweetie bags with. Please hand them into the office / class teacher. If you can volunteer on the night then please let your PTA class rep know. 

Harvest festival donations 

We are currently collecting harvest donations to support our local food bank. If you would like to contribute, please bring your donations to the school office.  All items collected will be donated to help families in need within our community. Thank you for your support! 

Playful Learning Tip for Parents 

Turn playtime into learning time by setting up a little shop at home. Use tins, toys, or fruit, and let your child pay with pretend money. Encourage them to write a shopping list, then take turns being shopkeeper and customer. Along the way, they’ll practise counting, reading labels, writing, and using polite conversation – all while having fun! 

26th September 

Next week 

• Monday 29th – Land Phase (Y1/2) visiting the Post Office! 

• Tuesday 30th-Sky Phase Orienteering session 

• Thursday 2nd – CAMHS Coffee Morning, 9am. CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The coffee morning will be a really useful session for any parents who feel their children might be struggling with emotional regulation issues, severe anxiety, bereavement, anger issues etc. 

• Friday 3rd – Sky Phase (Y5/6) Beach school – packed lunches needed 

Change in INSET date 

We had planned a Cluster INSET (a training day with the other local schools) for 6th February, this has now been changed to 6th March. Apologies for any inconvenience. 

Harvest festival donations 

We are currently collecting harvest donations to support our local food bank. If you would like to contribute, please bring your donations to the school office.  All items collected will be donated to help families in need within our community. Thank you for your support! 

Playful Learning Tip 

Hands on activities can also be ‘minds on’ activities if you are outside in nature! Children can count and categorize features of rocks, trees, sticks, or blades of grass. They can order sticks by length, group leaves by colour, or discover the differences between items they have found outdoors. The outside world is a great place for children to develop curiosity and their own ideas about how the world around them works. What happens when we roll items of different weights down the same hill? Does a leaf tell us the kind of tree it comes from? Can we create a human figure out of twigs and leaves? Outdoor activities like these allow children to practice creativity and critical thinking, and to engage in numeracy and science skills. 

PTA update 

The Halloween disco has been planned for 23rd October. The PTA would be extremely grateful for any sweetie donations they can top up the sweetie bags with. Please hand them into the office / class teacher. If you can volunteer on the night then please let your PTA class rep know.  

Drive Reminder 

Please remember, whatever the weather, not to use the school drive in the morning unless you have pre-approval – this is even if you are dropping off for Breakfast / Before School Club.  

Reporting Absences 

Please remember to call the school office in the morning if your child is not attending school (01792 232754) option 1. Please state their name, class teacher and the reason for absence.  

🌟BISHOPSTON YEAR 6 OPEN EVENING 2025 🌟

(A Message from Bishopston Comp) 

We warmly welcome parents and carers of Year 6 pupils to explore our fully refurbished 11-16 secondary school on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd October 2025. You can look forward to viewing practical classroom presentations and exciting workshops, as you explore our nurturing and high achieving school community. Touring our school, you will meet our wonderful staff and pupils and discover what makes us an ‘outstanding, nurturing learning community founded upon mutual respect; empowering all to be lifelong learners and the best that they can be’. In Bishopston, we take pride in valuing, supporting, stretching and challenging each individual pupil. Health, wellbeing and happiness is essential if pupils are to succeed! We offer excellence in our creative, innovative and academic approach to teaching and learning as well as a wide range of outstanding sporting and extra-curricular opportunities. All of this in beautiful Gower!  

💚 Y6 OPEN EVENING tickets available now: www.ticketsource.co.uk/bishopstonschool  

✅ APPLY FOR PLACE between 6th October - 28th November 2025: https://www.swansea.gov.uk/applyforaschoolplace 

Family Liaison Officer 

Hello, my name is Angela Davies and I am currently a teaching assistant working in the school. I also have the role of Family Liaison Officer which entails providing advice and support for parents/carers and families. 

I work closely with families, parents and carers and staff, to ensure that with positive involvement, pupils can overcome potential barriers to their learning, allowing them to have full access to educational opportunities.  

I work with families to provide pastoral support on issues that are having an impact on themselves or their child. You may need support with behaviour issues, emotional wellbeing, relationship breakdowns, grief, attendance or absence and lateness, parenting and many more issues that impact on everyday life. 

Sometimes in our busy lives it is nice to see the friendly face of someone you can talk to.  I am a working mother of two boys so I am well aware of how stressful life can become! Having the opportunity to talk about your concerns or worries is a great starting point.  I will be non-judgmental with the aim of listening and being able to develop a close home school relationship that will benefit both you and your child.  I will meet with you in private and assure you that, having previously taught for over 20 years, have heard almost everything – nothing will phase me! I have close links to outside agencies such as Early Help Hub and CAHMS and will be happy to signpost you to these if we feel appropriate. 

In Bishopston Primary School we believe that by working together, collaboratively and forging a strong home school link, that we can ensure a child will receive the support they need, that is right for them, helping them develop and thrive both academically and socially. 

I work on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. You can catch me in the morning on the Foundation Phase yard but alternatively completing the online meeting request form will ensure I can contact you to arrange a chat or meeting. 

https://forms.office.com/e/3JTmbM76ga 

19th September 2025 

Next Week

• Friday 26th September - School Photos - Roz and Kirsty individual photos. There are over 40 people who have not yet given their consent. Please do this ASAP else your child will not be able to have their photo taken.  

School PIN: 3560 

Link for parents to register: https://randk.uk/register/bishopston?pin=3560 

PTA update

The Halloween disco has been planned for 23rd October. The PTA would be extremely grateful for any sweetie donations they can top up the sweetie bags with. Please hand them into the office / class teacher.  

Parent Governors Needed 

Please do give some thought to this. Any parent of a registered pupil at the school, at the time of the election, is eligible to be a Parent Governor and to hold office for four years even though your child may leave the school in the meantime. If you are eligible and wish to be nominated as a Parent Governor, you should complete the form that was attached to the ipay mail that has come out today. 

Coffee mornings 

Parents who have attended our CAMHS coffee mornings will know how useful and informative they are if you have a child who struggles to regulate their emotions and displays anxiety, anger, low resilience, etc. During the month of October our CAMHS link practitioner, Alison Bond, will be holding a drop-in session for parents who have any concerns about their child’s emotions. You will also have an opportunity to meet our Family Liaison Officer Angela Davies during this session. The dates for these sessions are Thursday 2nd Oct, Thursday 16th Oct, Thursday 23rd Oct. They will run from 9am-10:30am. 

Playful Learning Tip 

If your child is beginning to learn their timetables a great way to practice them is through a game. Here is one to try at home this weekend, ‘Rock, Paper, Times Tables Championship’. Explain to your child that you are going to challenge them to a number game that is just like rock, paper, scissors except on the third lowering of your fist, you reveal a number with your fingers. For example, one player may hold up 7 fingers and the other may hold up 2. The calculation that needs to be solved is 7 x 2. You can play to see who wins the most rounds out of 10. If your child needs to learn a particular times table, then you can keep your number the same while they change theirs. You could even time it to see how many they can do in a minute! It all helps with their times table quick recall. 

12th September 2025 

Next week  

• Tuesday 16th – Mountain Phase (Y3/4) Beach School – packed lunches needed 

Change in Coffee Morning data 

The coffee morning on Phonics that was planned for Tuesday 23rd is now on Thursday 25th 

School Photos 

• Friday 26th September – Roz and Kirsty individual photos  

School PIN: 3560 

Link for parents to register: https://randk.uk/register/bishopston?pin=3560  

Parent Governor Needed 

A governor vacancy is coming up, watch this space. We'll send out the info next week.

Playful Learning Tip 

Story Bag Adventure! 
Give your child’s imagination a boost with this fun, hands-on literacy activity at home! Fill a small bag with 5-10 household objects and let your child pick a few. Encourage them to create a story using the items, then draw or write parts of it. For extra inspiration, try collecting items when out and about - at the beach️, in the woods, or at the park. You’ll be amazed at the stories they come up with!  

Camera Bike 

Cllr Jones has organised a Police Camera Bike to be on the road, hopefully it will have an impact on people driving slowly past the school and through the village 

Clubs 

Next week clubs will start for children. Our clubs are during the lunch breaks.  Most clubs are for the older children, but there are a few for younger ones too.

Bikes on the Playground 

Please can we once again remind parents to get children to dismount from their bikes when they come onto the playgrounds. A child was hurt this week when another child accidentally cycled into the back of them.  

PTA Update 

We wanted to let you know that this year the PTA is taking a new approach to organising events. Each year group is now being asked to run one event per year, with a PTA class rep to coordinate this. We hope this will create more opportunities for people to get involved for a one off event without the need for a big commitment. We would love to see more dads getting involved too, maybe you could recruit a few friends and come along to your class event. We want to raise funds for the school and support the school community for all the children at our school. 

These are the events assigned to each year group 

• Nursery - no event but if you want to get involved please let the office know. 
• Reception -  Sports Day drinks stand, morning and afternoon of 22nd  May 
• Year 1 -  Murton Bonfire Night Glow wand stand  5th November 
• Year 2 - Lantern parade, selling lantern kits. Friday 28th November 
• Year 3 - Christmas fair sweet jar and teddy stalls  Friday 28th November 
• Year 4 -  Fun run  Friday 26th June 
• Year 5 - Halloween Disco Thursday 23rd October 
• Please look out for updates from your class rep on your year WhatsApp group. 

Wonderfest - Saturday 21st September

See poster below

5th September 2025 

Next week  

• Friday 12th – Land Phase (Y1/2) Beach School – packed lunch needed 

Advanced Warning 

• Friday 26th September – Roz and Kirsty individual photos  

Meet the Teacher 

Next week there will be a ‘Meet the Teacher’ session for parents at 3:30pm. During this session you will be given information about the year ahead, expectations and have an opportunity to ask any questions. We look forward to seeing you!  In response to parental feedback, we have arranged these sessions on different days for each phase. They are as follows: 
 

• Monday 8th Sep: Mountain Phase (Mrs Cowling, Mr Evans, Mrs Barrow) 

• Tuesday 9th Sep: Land Phase (Mrs Ellis, Mr Bean, Ms Melling/Mrs Gorvett) 

• Wednesday 10th Sep: Sky Phase (Mr Elias, Mr Williams, Mrs Beynon/Mrs Jones) 

• Thursday 11th Sep: Sea Phase (Mrs Thomas) 
   

Uniform 

It has been great seeing almost the whole school in uniform this week. A big thank you. We know that lots of parents have made a real effort to support the school with this. Please, please keep it up. To reiterate, we think it's a great thing to do for the following reasons:

• Sense of Belonging – Wearing the same clothes helps pupils feel part of the school community. 

• Fairness – Everyone wears the same thing, so there’s less pressure to keep up with fashion or brands. 

• Focus on Learning – Children can concentrate on schoolwork instead of worrying about what they’re wearing. 

• Safety – It’s easier to recognise pupils on trips or in busy places. 

• Promotes Equality – Reduces visible differences between children from different backgrounds. 

• Encourages Pride – Wearing the school colours and logo can boost school spirit. 

• Improves Behaviour – Some research suggests children behave better when they feel part of a team. 

Coffee mornings 

We will once again be running a programme of coffee mornings through the year. We try to make sure the sessions are as useful as possible on a variety of topics. Coming up on Tuesday 23rd September is a session on phonics. You will find this useful if you’re supporting teaching reading at home. 

Parents who have attended our CAMHS coffee mornings will know how useful and informative they are if you have a child who struggles to regulate their emotions and displays anxiety, anger, low resilience, etc. During the month of October our CAMHS link practitioner Alison Bond will be holding a drop-in session for parents who have any concerns about their child’s emotions. You will also have an opportunity to meet our Family Liaison Officer Angela Davies during this session. The dates for these sessions are Thursday 2nd Oct, Thursday 16th Oct, Thursday 23rd Oct. They will run from 9am-10:30am. 

Woodwork Club – donations needed 

We plan to run a small woodwork club this year for the first time. If any parent is able to donate any tools that would be great. In particular we’d appreciate: copings saws, clamps, old hand drills (not electric), sand paper, phillips screw drivers and screws, small hammers. 

Behaviour on the yard 

Our motto is we care for one another and try to be the best that we can be – let's ensure we’re all living this when interacting with each other on the school site. 

Please always be courteous to other parents. If your child has any difficulties with another child in school, don’t be tempted to raise it with the other child on the playground.  Please speak to the teacher.

Drive 

A few people need reminding about the drive. No one should be using the drive unless they have a permit or if it is after 4.30pm when very few people are around. This is the case if it’s sunny or wet!  Even those who have a permit CANNOT use the drive between 0830-0900 and 1500-1540. If you do, we will be looking to revoke the permit, you will need to find alternative arrangements. The rules are in place to keep the children safe. 

Playful Learning Tip 

This tip is for the parents of our youngest learners in Sea Phase, play is central to your child’s progress at this age and these activities will help at home: 

• Playing with blocks. When your child builds a tower, take some away, then add some more. This helps create an understanding of numbers. 

• Fill a basket with different objects: pinecones, leaves, wooden spoons, furry fabric, or pieces of dried pasta. As your child picks one up, ask them how it feels. Describing these items will help your child develop language. 

• When your child is in the bath (supervised!), give them plastic cups and bowls, and encourage them to pour water from one to the other. You can also do this outside with sand or rice! This builds their hand-eye coordination and ability to concentrate. 

• Ask them to tell you a story starring their favorite doll or plushy. Is Teddy a spaceman, a nurse, or a truck driver? The possibilities are endless. This fosters imagination and creativity. 

Music lessons

Neil Southgate has some spaces for private music tuition. Email him directly to find out more and book a slot for your child.  southgate.neil@gmail.com. 

Key Diary Dates 

https://bishopstonprimaryschool.wales/key-diary-dates/