Crestwood Park Primary School

This first week back has been one of both pleasure and pride. It is great to be back and already our children have made us so proud. Congratulations especially go to the children who were recipients of awards at our ABC assembly this morning.

On a more disappointing note, it has been brought to our attention this week that some of our pupils have posted hurtful comments via messages as part of a whatsapp group. This becomes even more concerning as such comments spill over into school life. Can we please take this opportunity to urge parents to closely monitor any groups your children become part of.

Please consider the guide below… minimum age restrictions are there for a reason.

Belated Happy Birthday to Josh, Angel-Leigh, Thomas, Leila-Rose, Ian, Stanley, Roma, Lucas, Isabella, Daisy-Mae, Millie, Jake, Jack, Shannon, Betsy and Harper-Rose who celebrated their Birthday during the Christmas Holidays. 

We would like to say a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to... Aaron, Ava, Reece, Savannah and Sienna who have celebrated their birthday this week, or will be celebrating over the weekend.

Reception Ella, Aaron, Alexander, Jak, William, Stanley, Jack, Adah, Evelyn, Alexander, Bailey, Jacob, Travis, Ezmae, Archie, Ella, Tyler, Jackson, Rudy, Sophie, Roman, Willow-Grace, Elsie, Henry, Harry, Layna, Beatrice, Paisley, Kayden, Riley

Year 1 Brianna, Theo, Harlen, Zachary, Emma, Eva, Archie, Billie, Arthur, Melissa, Joey, Conor, Riley, Amelia, Thomas, Oliver, Lainey, Cody, Darcie, William, Nico, Mia-Louise, Kara, Jaylen, Lewis, Harmonee, Jessica, Kayden, Sienna-Rose

Year Two Betsy, Eve, Lotty, Grace, Zach, Ava, Mason, Isabella, Fearne, Nathan, Rosie, Heidi, Mihail, Delilah, Nahla, Ashley, Joshua, Hassan, Cailen, Evan, Chloe, Emilie, Benjamin, Millie, Joshua, Frankie

Year Three Isacc, Dollie-Lou, Jayden, Lucas, Xavier, Oceanna, Angel-Leigh, Jenson, Elsie, Isabella, Harper-Rose, Declan, Jake, Benjamin, Faith, Alesia, Isla, Rosie, Katya, Haidar-Ali, Ashleigh, Leila-Rae, Lilly Mai, Evelyn-Mae, Caelan, Nathaniel, Amber, Renesmai

Year Four Lily, Molly, Esmè, Rhys, Daisy, Kaiden, Lillie, Harrison, Ty, George, Annalise, Amber, Harvey, Daniel, Kyle, Nicholas, Rosie, Danielle, Faye, Teddy, Jack-James, Logan, Amelia, Isabella, Thomas, Eden, Samuel, Darius, Ameliya, Leah

Year Five Harry, Savannah, Sienna, Joseph, Nate, Tiana, Rosie, Oliver, Max, Dannii, Brogan, Jakob, Mabel, Ian, Reece, Taylor, Jack, Ava, Alina, Sara, Jamie, Alana, Elliot, Rhylee, Shannon, Jacob, Lola, Callum, Ethan, Dylan

Year Six Georgie, Harry, Scarlett, Alyssia, Sophia, Travis, Daniel, Harper, Autumn, Joshua, Noah, Kyron, Molly, Molly, Georgia, Lily, Cooper, Troy, Amelia-Rose, Dakotah, Miley, Gordon, Grace, Daisy, Dominic

I am sure you are aware that one of the ways we reward our children in school is by awarding Housepoints. 

These are for a range of reasons, usually linked to how well your children have done with an element of their work. 

Children are given a coloured token to match their team colour. These are collected from classrooms at the end of every week and put into the tubes which you can view in our entrance. 

During the week you may well receive a message about these points. We do not notify parents of every housepoint awarded but aim to send messages on a regular basis. 

Consequently, the graphs on our website in the News and Events section will not reflect the entire totals for housepoints in school.

Instead, our tubes of counters will be how we measure and determine who the winning house is at the end of every term! 

Every week we would like to celebrate a piece of work which has been created by our children. If you child produces work at home that you would like to share, please send it in to us at info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk 

We have been struggling to obtain someone who holds a Level 2 Lifeguard qualification in order for our children to go swimming.

We are exploring other avenues but we thought we would ask our community if anyone would be willing to help support the school during swimming lessons as a lifeguard, or you perhaps know someone with this qualification who may be intersted?

If you are, or know someone who is please contact the school office and we can discuss this further.

The talent show is due to take place

at The Crestwood Secondary School

at 6pm on Thursday 26th January.

Children who would like to be considered for a place in the show need to have returned the slip they have been given today to school by Monday 16th January.

The first times-tables champ of 2023 is George in year 4, with over 500 correct answers in just one week!

Can you beat that to be next week's TTRS champion?

Your child’s school has chosen to be part of an exciting behaviour-change initiative to encourage more children and their families to walk to school.

WOW – the walk to school challenge is delivered by Living Streets, the UK charity for everyday walking, to help as many children as possible experience the benefits of walking to school.

The pupil-led challenge enables children to self-report how they get to school every day.

If they travel actively (walk/wheel, cycle, scoot or Park and Stride) at least once a week for a month, they get rewarded with a badge. It’s that simple!

As you are aware, the developers of the Ketley quarry site in conjunction with Dudley Council have submitted outline planning permission for 650 houses. The plans detailed propose to open up Lapwood Avenue as an entry point to the new estate. 

We have attached a letter with more information from the Crestwood Park Residents Action Group and how to object to these plans.

Flu and coronavirus (COVID-19) are currently circulating at high levels and are likely to continue to increase in coming weeks.

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said:

It’s important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible. If your child is unwell and has a fever, they should stay home from school or nursery until they feel better and the fever has resolved.

Helping children to learn about the importance of good hand hygiene is also key, so practice regular handwashing at home with soap and warm water. Catching coughs and sneezes in tissues then binning them is another simple way to help stop illness from spreading.

Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if you do have to go out, wear a face covering. When unwell don’t visit healthcare settings or visit vulnerable people unless urgent.

Remember that flu vaccination is still available for all eligible groups and is the best protection against the virus. We have seen good uptake in older age groups but vaccination among young children remains low. Flu can be very unpleasant and in some cases can lead to more serious illness. Getting your child vaccinated protects them and others they come into contact with, and it’s still not too late.

Key Points

The key points are as follows:

1. There is no evidence that a new strain of strep A is circulating

2. Schools should follow government guidelines on managing strep A

3. Schools should notify their local health protection team (HPT) of suspected cases and outbreaks

4. The local HPT will conduct a risk assessment to inform further actions

5. Individuals with confirmed or suspected strep A should not attend school

6. Parents and staff should be informed about cases

7. Infection control measures should be implemented in schools with cases

Strep A is a common type of bacteria that can cause a range of infections, including tonsilitis and scarlet fever. Most strep A infections are mild and can be easily treated with antibiotics. In very rare cases, the infection can cause a more severe illness known as invasive group A strep (iGAS). Information regarding the symptoms of strep A can be found on the NHS website.

Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has indicated that there is an out-of-season increase in scarlet fever and strep A infections. There is currently a higher proportion of iGAS cases in children than normal, but it still remains uncommon.

The UKHSA has stated that there is no evidence that a new strain of strep A is circulating or that there is an increase in antibiotic resistance. The agency has said the increase is likely due to increased susceptibility to these infections in children due to low numbers of cases during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, along with current circulation of respiratory viruses, which may increase the chances of children becoming seriously unwell.

It is with immense pride and satisfaction that I can end my first newsletter to you all with the news that we have now received our OFSTED report. So, I can officially share our result with you all and that is that we are officially a GOOD school!

I urge you to please read the report, which is now on our website in the About Us section under OFSTED.

Please click here to be taken to the page.

The report is a credit to the staff, school and you as parents. To sign off, I will leave you with the words from the opening paragraph of the report which reads…Pupils enjoy attending Crestwood Park Primary. They flourish because adults take great care of them. Staff know them and their families well. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school.

Take care all, have a wonderful weekend and thanks once for more for all of your support….

Mrs Kennedy xxx

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is the responsibility of everyone in our school and at all times we consider what is in our children's best interests. We work to ensure our children our safe and cared for and by doing this we are protecting their health and development and preventing them from harm.  If we are worried, we will raise concerns, share information and take prompt action with the aim of ensuring families receive the right help at the right time.