Article 29

Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.

What a very busy six weeks it has already been!

We have enjoyed a fantastic start to the term, with lots of exciting learning and events taking place across the school. This half term has included SATs, whole-school assessments, ducklings in school, the Condover Parent Assembly, class assemblies, a visit to Little Owl Farm, and talks from the School Nurses to name a few.

It has been wonderful to see the children so engaged in their learning and enjoying such a wide range of experiences.

Have a great half term and we will see you on Monday 1^st June.

Mrs Crook and Miss Stanton.

Thank you

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our recent jumble sale.  The sale provided affordable clothes, books, and toys, helping families while also recycling unwanted items. It was also a lovely opportunity for staff, children, families and the local community to be brought together. As well as this, the sale raised almost £275 for school funds and donations were made to local charities including Brierley Hill Baby Bank, Acorns in Kingswinford, Black Country Women's Aid and The Kids Clothes Project (Brierley Hill).

Yr 6 Football Friendly vs Oldswinford Primary School 

On Monday 18th May, Year 6 pupils from Blanford Mere Primary School took part in an exciting football friendly against Oldswinford Primary School. The match was closely contested throughout, with both teams showing excellent teamwork, determination and sportsmanship. Unfortunately, Blanford Mere narrowly lost 2–1 after Oldswinford scored from a last-minute corner. Despite the result, all of the players represented the school brilliantly and should be very proud of their efforts.

KS2 SATs 

Well done to Year 6 who had a tough week of SATs tests last week.  They have been sent off to be marked and we will send the results home, separate to the reports in July.

On Friday 8th May, Blanford Mere proudly celebrated the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough.

Sir David is a renowned English broadcaster, natural historian and environmental advocate, celebrated for his ground-breaking nature documentaries and lifelong dedication to educating the public about the natural world.

Every class enjoyed watching clips from some of Sir David’s best-known documentaries, including Life on Earth and The Blue Planet, which showcased breath-taking photography of habitats and wildlife from amazing locations around the world.

The children learned many fascinating facts about Sir David’s life and career. They discovered that he is thought to be one of the most well-travelled people on the planet. During the filming of The Life of Birds, he travelled an incredible 256,000 miles — the equivalent of travelling around the world ten times! The children were also amazed to learn that newly discovered species have even been named after him, including the ‘Attenborough’s Goblin Spider’.

Sir David’s work has inspired generations to appreciate and protect the natural world, making him one of the most influential figures in conservation. To honour this, each class created their own ‘Class Pledge’ to help care for the planet and their local environment. Promises included recycling more carefully, saving water and electricity, and reducing unnecessary plastic waste by taking care of resources.

The whole school also took part in a live Zoom assembly produced by Picture News to celebrate and learn more about our national treasure. This was followed by a range of exciting activities including research, fact files, art, geography work and even re-enacting Sir David’s famous gorilla encounter, with children imitating his wonderfully calm and recognisable voice!

It was a fantastic day of learning and celebration, inspiring us all to continue looking after our incredible planet.

5-6O-Mya: We created a double page spread and found out that David Attenborough has animals named after him. I couldn't believe it when we watched his extraordinary encounter with three gorillas! 

5-6R-Harry H: I enjoyed watching the videos about David Attenborough and taking part in the live assembly.

5-6B-Abel: I found it interesting that David Attenborough has visited most places in the world and hasn't been attacked by many animals!

5-6B-Sierra: I loved the fact that David Attenborough has seen lots of animals and created lots of documentaries - I have watched  'A Life on Our Planet' and really enjoyed it.

3-4CW-Willow: I liked watching the amazing videos of Sir David Attenborough with a range of animals or plants. He was always very close by to the animals when filming. His passion is for protecting the wildlife and their habitats.  

3-4CW-Isla: I liked how we re-enacted the time when the gorillas climbed over Sir David Attenborough. We had to practise using a smooth, wispy voice with high and low pitches to become him for the afternoon.

3-4C-Violet: I really liked watching the videos about David Attenborough with the animals and learning lots of facts. I liked making my poster all about him. He is very inspiring. It was really fun.

3-4C-Zailey: The day inspired me to want to help the environment somehow. It was amazing to find out that he has been knighted twice for his achievements. 

2D-Grace: It was good to learn about David Attenborough and everything he achieved.

2D-Jess: When I went home, I did more research and even watched him get knighted!

2H-Leo R: I've really enjoyed learning about David Attenborough. He has done so much in 100 years.

1C-Jersey: I enjoyed watching the videos of David Attenborough meeting all the different animals.  I also learnt that he loves all animals - except rats!

1DJ-Ezra: David is amazing and he helps so many animals.

Reception-Rory T: I watch David Attenborough all the time I love animals and birds especially.

Reception-Teddy R: We have to look after the animals and keep the Earth clean.

Safeguarding

We all have a responsibility for the welfare of our children. If something concerns, you about the welfare of a child within school then please contact the class teacher in the first instance who will refer to the Schools Designated Safeguarding Leads within school. If you have concerns which are not school based, you can: Call the Front Door service on 0300 555 0050 during office hours (9am - 5pm). Out of office hours contact the Emergency Duty Team on 0300 555 8574 or in an emergency call 999.

Alternatively, you can call ChildLine on 0800 1111 or email them by visiting https://www.childline.org.uk/

Article 19 states that every child has the right to protection from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and bad treatment. 

Free school Meals – particularly children in Year 2

When our current Year 2 cohort move to Year 3 in September, they will no longer be entitled to Universal Infant Free School Meals. Free School Meals will then only apply to children where their parent’s income satisfies the following conditions at the time of applying:

If you get any of the following support payments your child may be entitled to receive free school meals:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• the guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit Run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit (you must have less than £616.67 a month net earned income (after tax - and not including any benefits)​
• Children who receive a qualifying benefit in their own right are also allowed to receive free school meals.
• Children under the compulsory school age who are in full time education may also be entitled to receive free school meals.

If you meet the above criteria, then please complete the online form below.  You will be notified by Dudley Council if you are successful, they will also inform the school. 

Parents can apply online via http://www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/your-council/council-tax-and-benefits/benefits/free-school-meals/. 

LOA during term time

Whilst you may think this is beneficial, taking a holiday during term time means that children miss important school time, and it will be difficult for them to catch up on work.  If requesting LOA, you must do so by requesting an LOA form from the school office at least 10 days before your intended leave.

It is at the discretion of the head teacher and governors of the school which the child attends as to whether leave during term time is authorised.  Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. In this instance the head teacher will determine the length of time a child can be away from school.  Please note leave is unlikely to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday. 

If after considering whether there are exceptional circumstances and the school does not agree the absences, you take your child out of school, the school may record this as unauthorised absence. This could result in a fixed penalty fine being issued by the local authority and as a result you may be fined in respect of each parent and each child, payable up to £160 for each. Therefore, two parents and two children could potentially receive fines amounting to a maximum £640. If you choose not to pay the fine the local authority may take legal proceedings against you.

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/learning-and-school/education-support-service/school-attendance-advice/

Penalty Notices (Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003)

Penalty Notices will be considered when:

• A child is absent from school for the purpose of a Leave of Absence in term time and the absence has not been authorised by the school.
• A child has accumulated at least ten sessions of unauthorised absence and further absence has occurred following written warning to improve. The threshold is 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. A school week means any week in which there is at least one school session. This can be met with any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. 4 sessions of holiday taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within 10 school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive (e.g. 10 sessions of holiday in one week) or not (e.g. 6 sessions of unauthorised absence taken in 1 week and 1 per week for the next 4 weeks). Penalty Notices will be used in accordance with Dudley Education Support Service.

Dates for the Diary 2026.

Thursday 21^st May – VIP Day

Friday 22^nd May – INSET Day – School closed to children.

Monday 1^st June – Back to school.

Thursday 4^th June – Rec – Year 6 Sports Day (Weather Dependant. Reserved date Thursday 11^th June)

Friday 5^th June – Year 4 SPARKS.

Friday 5^th June – Nursery Sports Day.

Monday 1st June - Friday 5th June - Year 4 MTC

Monday 8^th – 19^th June – Year 1 Phonics Check and Year 2 Re-check.

Thursday 18^th June – Reception – Year 1 Parent Meeting.  3.30pm – more details to follow.

Thursday 25^th June – Reception new intake parent meeting 3.30pm

Tuesday 30^th June – 9-10am Blanford Babies.

Thursday 2^nd July – Reports out to parents.

Friday 3^rd June – TTRS Dress Up Day.  More details to follow.

Monday 6^th July – Transition Day – New Classes.

Wednesday 8^th July - Parents Evening.

Wednesday 15^th July - Blanford's Got Talent

Friday 17^th July.  VIP Day - School closes for the summer break.

Tuesday 1^st September 2026 – Return to school.