Forest School after school club
Our new KS2 Forest Schools club started this week, with pupils learning about safe risk management. They were safely and successfully using tools to complete amazing creations. Well done for your superb teamwork and supporting each other to succeed. Great fun was had by all! Huge thank you to Mrs Gregory for providing this club opportunity.
Pharmacy First information for parents from the NHS
Did you know there is a new NHS service available in ALL pharmacies across Shropshire…
If you, your child, or a family member is feeling poorly, ‘Think Pharmacy First’. Your local pharmacy is a great place to get healthcare advice and treatment. Pharmacies are easy to reach, usually located within local communities, and often open evenings and weekends. Your local pharmacist can treat you and give you medicines for minor illnesses like coughs, colds and eye infections without you having to wait to see a doctor first. It can be quicker to see your pharmacist than your GP.
Pharmacists can help if you have:
• Sinusitis – sinus infection which can be a blocked or bunged-up nose as well as pain/pressure around the eyes, cheeks and forehead (aged 12 years and over)
• A dry, scratchy, or sore throat which can also include pus-filled spots or white patches on your tonsils (aged 5 and older)
• Earache, which may feel sore, itchy and blocked, and you may also have a high temperature (aged 1 to 17 years)
• Infected insect bites which can include redness, weepiness, swelling and is hot to touch the skin (aged 1 year and older)
• Impetigo, which can give you itchy, weeping sores that become crusty, commonly around the nose, lips and chin (aged 1 year and older)
• Shingles, which can give you a painful rash and make you feel unwell (aged 18 years and over).
• A urinary tract infection which can feel like a burning or a pain when you pee
(women aged 16 to 64 years)
Advice is free and confidential, and the pharmacy will send your GP an electronic update so that this can be recorded on your health record. Normal prescription charges and exemptions (those who do not have to pay, including children) will apply.
If the pharmacy team can’t help you, they will tell you by referring you to an appropriate healthcare setting.
School Book Fair
Dear Parents/Carers,
We have arranged for a book fair – Scholastic Books, to visit the school from Friday 26th September until Wednesday 1st October. We aim to have just the one book fair per year.
The fair will be open from 3:15 – 4:00pm and will start during the MacMillan Coffee Afternoon on Friday 26th. The children will have an opportunity to browse books during the day on Monday 30th September.
It is a CASHLESS fair and a card reader will be available or alternatively scan the QR code provided at the fair to pay securely online.
This will be an excellent opportunity to introduce the children to a wide and varied range of reasonably priced, good quality books. At the same time you will also be helping the school to acquire new books for the library and classroom through the commission we earn on each book sold.
Thank you for your continued support
Upcoming events updated 12.9.25
- Swimming at Market Drayton Swimming pool will start for Y5&6 on Friday 19th September for 5 weeks, this takes us up to half term. After half term, swimming starts for Y3&4 on Friday 7th November for 5 weeks.
- Y6 Bikeability has been changed. It will now take place in December. Information to follow.
- We will be working with the NSPCC over the next few weeks, focussing on their speak out to stay safe campaign. Each class will watch a specific age related assembly and the NSPCC team will come in to deliver workshops to Y2, Y5 and Y6 on Tuesday 23rd September.
- MacMillan coffee afternoon on Friday 26th September in the school hall from 2pm. We welcome cake donations on the day and children are welcome to come to school wearing green.
- Phonics workshop for Reception parents Monday 29th September 2.30pm in the hall.
- Individual and sibling photographs Thursday 2nd October, preschool age children optional family photographs from 8.30am in the hall.
- Flu nasal spray for YR-Y6 on Wed 15th October.
- New starters to Reception 2026/27 open mornings will be on Wed 10th October and Wed 26th November 10am-11am, tours of school at 10.15am.
- Harvest assembly will be led by Rev Becky on Monday 13th October in school, children and staff only. Donations for MD food bank welcome please. Donations will be taken to the food bank on Fri 17th October.
Upcoming sporting fixtures/events:
- Netball – Thurs 25th September at MDJS
- Cross Country – Thurs 16th October at Grove school
- Dance event – Tue 14th and Wed 15th October at William Brookes School. 7pm (auditions for this are currently taking place – see Miss Manton and Mrs MacCallum for details).
Upcoming educational visits or visits or visitors:
- Fri 19th Sept – Music event at Thomas Adams school
- Tue 23rd Sept – NSPCC workshops Y2, Y5 & Y6
- Tue 30th Sept – Severn Trent Water whole school assembly and workshop for Y4
- Tue 7th Oct – Y4 to Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
- Fri 10th October – Y6 Enterprise event at Thomas Adams school
- Tue 14th October – Illustrator visit
- Wed 15th October – KS1 author visit
- Fri 7th November – Y2 to Ancient High House in Stafford.
- Wed 19th November – Y1 to Blists Hill
- Y3 to Beeston Castle – date TBC
- Y5 and Y6 to Liverpool museum – date TBC
Please see our website for all diary dates including class assemblies, events and school visits.
Calendar – Hodnet Primary School
Annual planner events
Hodnet-Primary-School-Term-Dates-2025-26.pdf
School term dates – a reminder that we have 2 weeks holiday in October starting this year. See below the dates that school is open to pupils.
Autumn term
- 2nd September – 17th October
- 4th November – 19th December
Spring term
- 5th Jan – 13th Feb
- 23rd Feb – 27th March
Summer term
- 13th April – 22nd May
- 1st June – 22nd July
Link to this year’s key school events that parents are invited to and welcome to attend. Please note that there may be additional events and these are subject to change, but where possible we will endeavour to keep them as planned. We aim to provide as much notice as possible to support parents with organisational plans for school events.
Celebrating Success. Certificate of Achievement 12.9.25
Well done to everyone who received awards or shout outs today. We are very proud of you.
- Class R – Phoebe for always having a fantastic smile and beautiful manners. What an excellent Tough Tortoise.
- Class 1 – Antione for fantastic listening and concentration in phonics lessons. Well done for being a Wise Whale
- Class 2 – Daniel for being an excellent learning role model, always showcasing our school values. A brilliantly Busy Beaver.
- Class 3 – Sybil for showing superb KS2 learning behaviours, a role model for learning. Well done.
- Class 4 – Oliver for always being ready to learn, a great role model for the class.
- Class 5 – Harlow for great perseverance and always trying her best.
- Class 6 – Theo for being helpful, kind and a great team player.
- KS1 Headteacher’s – Amelia in class R for increased confidence and settling into school life. Well done, we are very proud of you.
- KS2 Headteacher’s – Beatrice P in class 5 for being responsible, reliable, sensible and kind to others. Well done.
- Lunchtime – Samuel in class R for speaking clearly and standing smartly to order his lunch. What a superb Wise Whale.
- Raffle ticket – Leo in class 5.
Celebrating Success. Book Worm 12.9.25
Well done to everyone who received awards or shoutouts this week, we are very proud of you.
Today we celebrated reading in our celebration assembly, with praise for lots of children for their reading at home and reading throughout the curriculum in school.
- Class R – Luan
- Class 1 – Harry C
- Class 2 – William H
- Class 3 – Betsy
- Class 4 – Sophie
- Class 5 – Willow
- Class 6 – Milly H
Congratulations to all our chosen Book Worms, your reading at home and school was excellent this week.
Remember to keep up those good reading habits.
Hodnet Hall Gardens delicious fruit
We send a huge thank you to the team at Hodnet Hall Gardens, who provided free apples and pears for our children to enjoy this week at playtime. They were delicious and welcomed by all!
Procedures for Earrings
Children can wear earrings for school in the form of a small stud. Hoops or dangling earrings are not permitted, studs only, thank you. These rules must be adhered to for health and safety reasons.
Earrings must be removed for PE. The only exception for this is if ears are newly pierced, when tape can be used to cover them and additional care is needed during activities. Tape is not permitted for general use, again for health and safety reasons, as this can actually make it easier for earrings to be ripped out of ears during sport or when removing tape, it can also encourage infection.
On PE days, pupils either need to come to school without their earrings in, or bring a small box to put their earrings in for the duration of the PE lesson. Please note that staff are not able to take earrings out or put back in, pupils must be able to do this themselves. They can use the mirrors in the toilets if this helps them.
This term the PE days are as follows:
- YR – Friday
- Y1 – Thursday
- Y2 – Monday and Thursday
- Y3 – Wednesday and Friday
- Y4 – Wednesday and Friday
- Y5 – Wednesday and Friday
- Y6 – Wednesday and Friday
The procedures for earrings apply to all sporting activities including PE, swimming, after school or lunchtime sporting clubs and school team fixtures.
Thank you for your continued support with this matter.
Mrs Lyall, Headteacher.
Up to date pupil information
Please can parents ensure that home addresses and phone numbers are up to date. If you have changed address over the summer or recently or got a new phone or email address, please ensure that the details are updated by emailing Mrs O’Connor or Mrs Rhoden in the school office on admin@hod.318education.co.uk. Thank you. It is essential that we can contact you in an emergency and have the correct home address/es for our pupils.
Thank you for your continued support.
Guinea Pig weekend care
We are looking for a group of families who would be willing to care for our guinea pigs for weekends on a rota basis. At the moment they are taken home by staff every weekend, and as they are now bigger and stronger, we would like to open this up to families who are able to provide a caring, loving home for them at the weekend.
What would this involve?
- Taking the cage and the bag of essentials (bedding, hay, food) home on a Friday after school, the cage is large, so it might not be suitable for all cars – this would need to be checked prior to agreeing to look after them.
- Feeding and looking after the guinea pigs from Friday night to Monday morning – daily water, daily vegetables and food (dry food provided by school).
- Providing a space for them to be outside, weather permitting and general handling care.
- Returning the cage, guinea pigs and essentials bag on Monday morning. Ensuring it is cleaned and ready for the week (if necessary).
If you would like to volunteer for this and have suitable space at home for a large indoor cage and can ensure the safety of the school pets, i.e no other pets at home which might endanger them, then please contact Mrs Lyall or Miss Darmanin to register your interest.
Weekly House Points 12.9.25
Weekly house point totals are:
Owls = 103
Badgers = 127
Squirrels = 129
Foxes = 103
Well done to the Squirrels team this week.
Shropshire LA music lessons
Please see the links below to information about music lessons on offer for pupils in Shropshire. We currently have children learning to play the piano/keyboard and guitar. These take place within the school day, usually a Friday afternoon) and instruments are provided. The tuition for music enables pupils to read music and wok towards their grades if they wish to. Children also have the option to play in our termly church service to showcase their talents.
Instrumental lessons | Shropshire Music Service
Booking form:
Shropshire Music Service Instrumental Lesson Enrolment Form
Please note there are significant reductions for eligible pupils including contributions from the music service and 50% reduction for families in receipt of pupil premium. See the link or contact them for further details.
- 01743 874145
- admin@shropshiremusicservice.org.uk
Police patrol reassurance
The police monitor schools based on parking concerns and general community safety. I can confirm that there wasn’t a threat to school or need for police assistance yesterday. The police attended site at 3.15 as part of their usual community patrols. There are no concerns with site safety or the upper gates. They patrol to ensure parking is respectful and lawful and that our children and families are safe.