Please can parents ensure parking is respectful and lawful. We’ve received a concern today from residents who had their driveways blocked at pick up time this afternoon. As our school grows the parking becomes increasingly difficult at pinch point times, parents are encouraged to park on the WMC car park and not in front of residential properties on The Grove which can cause problems for our local community.

We thank you and encourage you to show respect and consideration for local residents.

New online art gallery showcases creativity of our schools

A new online art gallery is now live on SharePoint which showcases artwork and creativity from all schools in our Trust. This term, all schools have been invited to participate in a landscape art project inspired by the magnificent Shropshire landscape around us. Huge thanks to Louise Rhodes, Head of Creative Arts and PE at Bridgnorth Endowed School, for organising the project and online gallery.

Our school contributed to the gallery and Louise visited our school this week, she was particularly impressed with our art curriculum and thoroughly enjoyed the morning with Mrs Chaplin, our Art and Technology lead.

Visit the Trust’s online art gallery

This year we applied for a grant through the Armed Forces Covenant to create a specific space in our school.  We were really hopeful that due to our increase in service pupils and based on both individual and collective needs, we might have been successful in our mission to create a purpose built space for our pupils to learn and thrive. But unfortunately we were unsuccessful with the bid. The reasons for being turned down were:

• Due to our project being a capital bid, meaning it was for an extension to our building, which I am particularly disappointed with as I did investigate this prior to submitting my initial request as was told funding could be for this purpose.
• Due to the stipulation that the project could only be used by service pupils and that this would be difficult to adhere to once a building was in place. Again I am disappointed with this outcome. We run an inclusive school, pupils mix together and all use the same spaces. I agree it would be difficult to keep the room solely for service pupils.

Thank you to the service families who contributed and supported this bid. The project received overwhelming support from all involved, just wasn’t meant to be this time!

So what’s next..

We are determined to provide an additional space on our school site to cater for children’s additional needs, as we desperately need this due to our increasing numbers and the increasing needs of some of our pupils. Perhaps this unsuccessful bid was actually a blessing as ultimately we don’t wish for any pupils to be isolated into demographic groups, so the space that we hope to achieve will be inclusive for all our pupils, but used predominantly by those with the greatest need. I am working with our Trust Inclusion Director on a refined version of the project in a new bid to provide a space to meet the changing needs of our school population. A space for specific interventions or groups to take place and a calming sensory space to meet the needs of our current and future pupils.

I will keep you posted on the future developments.

Mrs Lyall

Reports will be sent home on Friday 11^th July. If you would like to discuss the report, please ring school on Monday 14^th July to arrange a telephone appointment with your child’s class teacher. Please return the family response sheet before Friday 18^th July to confirm that you have received your child’s report. Thank you.

Adults are asked to come in via the lobby at the specified time below. They will then go to classrooms to meet their children, then walk to the hall when the lunch is ready. Families will eat together with the youngest siblings, for example, if you have children in classes 5, 2 and R, you will eat with class R and should come to school at the specified time for class R. After lunch you can go out on the playground with your child to play playground games (weather dependent!) if you would like to, or adults can leave straight after lunch.

At the end of our lunchtime play we will have a Father’s Day ‘good sports’ running race, this is optional, and at your own risk!! The children will cheer on any willing participants, which will get them in the mood for their sports day races/events which will commence from 1.15pm.

• 11:20am – Class R adults arrive in school. Eat in the school hall at 11.25am.
• 11:30am – Class 1 adults arrive in school. Eat in the school hall at 11.35am.
• 12:00pm – Class 2 adults arrive in school. Eat in class 6 at 12.05pm.
• 12.10pm – Class 3 adults arrive in school. Eat in the school hall at 12.15pm
• 12.15pm – Class 4 adults arrive in school. Eat in the school hall at 12.20pm
• 12.25pm – Class 5 adults arrive in school. Eat in class 6 from 12.30pm
• 12.35pm – Class 6 adults arrive in school. Eat in school hall from 12.40pm

Our PTA volunteers will be selling ice-creams on the rear playground at the end of the school day every Friday for the rest of this term to raise funds for school projects.

Dear Parents and Carers,

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a recent update from Roblox—a popular platform among many young people—that introduces new parental control features designed to give families greater transparency, oversight, and control over children’s online activity.

New Features Now Available on Roblox

Roblox has launched several key tools that allow parents and carers to tailor their child’s digital experience more closely, including the ability to:

• Block specific users from their child’s friend list, removing messaging and engagement with that person.
• Block individual games or experiences, beyond general content maturity settings, for more precise content management.
• Track the time spent on Roblox and gain insights into which experiences children are engaging with most.

To access these features, parents must link their own verified Roblox account—a safeguard ensuring only trusted individuals can adjust parental settings.

Updated Roblox Safety Centre

Roblox has also redesigned its Safety Centre as a one-stop hub for resources, guides, and reporting tools to help support safe and informed usage of the platform.

While no system is ever completely secure, these developments are a positive step. They reinforce the importance of combining technical tools with education, support, and most importantly —open conversation. Discussing online safety and gradually involving young people in these decisions can encourage greater digital responsibility and trust.

At Hodnet, we continue to support pupils in becoming responsible digital citizens and encourage families to stay informed and engaged with their child’s online world. Should you wish to learn more about Roblox’s safety features or need support navigating them, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Thank you for your continued support,

Mrs Lyall.