Newsletters

Prescot Primary School and Nursery                  March 2026

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MARCH 2026

Welcome!

As we come to the end of a very busy and productive spring term, we would like to extend a warm welcome to all our children, parents and carers in this edition of the school newsletter.

It has been a wonderful term filled with learning, events, trips, and achievements across the school. We are incredibly proud of the hard work, enthusiasm, and positive attitude shown by our pupils, and we are grateful for the continued support from our families which helps make our school such a positive and successful community.

Throughout this term, pupils have taken part in a wide range of activities both inside and outside the classroom, and it has been fantastic to see their confidence, skills, and friendships continue to grow. We have also enjoyed welcoming parents into school for events and celebrations, which are always special moments for our children and staff.

As we move towards the summer term, we look forward to more exciting learning opportunities, events, and celebrations.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and partnership with the school.

Challenge Partners Review 2026

Each year, our school takes part in a review process through an organisation called Challenge Partners. Challenge Partners is a national network of schools that work together to improve education by reviewing each other’s practice, sharing ideas, and identifying areas for development. The aim is to ensure that schools continue to improve and provide the very best education for their pupils.

As part of this process, a team of experienced school leaders visit us and spend time in classrooms, speak to pupils and staff, and look at the work we are doing across the school. They help us to identify what is working well and also help us think about our next steps and how we can continue to improve. We welcome this challenge because it is a very supportive and professional process that helps us reflect on our practice and move the school forward.

We are very proud to share that, following our most recent review, our school has been recognised for an Area of Excellence for our work in blending quality first teaching with a technology-rich environment. This means the reviewers recognised the way technology is used to support and enhance learning alongside strong teaching in the classroom.

We would encourage parents and carers to read our Challenge Partners report to learn more about the many positive things happening in our school and the areas we are continuing to develop. Please join us in celebrating this achievement and the hard work of our staff and pupils in achieving this recognition.

Click below to read our report:

https://www.prescotprimary.org.uk/attachments/download.asp?file=579&type=pdf

 

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Oracy in Focus

You may have heard us talk about oracy in school. Oracy refers to the ability to express yourself clearly and communicate effectively through spoken language. It includes speaking confidently, listening carefully, asking questions, explaining ideas, and participating in discussions. These skills are incredibly important for learning, building confidence, and preparing children for the future.

In school, we place a strong focus on developing oracy skills across all subjects and year groups. We do this in many different ways. Children regularly take part in reading aloud, which helps them develop fluency, expression, and confidence when speaking in front of others. We also encourage children to tell jokes, share news, and talk about their ideas, which helps them learn how to speak clearly and engage an audience.

Pupils are given opportunities to present their work to the class, take part in discussions and debates, and perform poetry by reciting poems aloud. WE recently took some Y5 children to Prescot Town Hall to take part in a live debate with other schools. These activities help children learn how to organise their thoughts, speak in full sentences, listen to others, and respond respectfully. Oracy helps children become more confident learners because they are able to explain their thinking, ask for help, and take part in group learning.

How You Can Support Oracy at Home Over the Holidays

There are lots of simple and fun ways you can help develop your child’s speaking and listening skills at home over the holidays:

  • Encourage your child to talk about their day or explain something they have learned.

  • Ask open questions such as “Why do you think that?” or “Can you tell me more about that?”

  • Read aloud together and talk about the story, characters, and what might happen next.

  • Encourage your child to tell jokes, riddles, or stories to the family.

  • Ask your child to help explain how to play a game or how to make something.

  • Have small family debates such as “Which is better – summer or winter?” and ask them to explain their reasons.

  • Encourage them to learn and perform a short poem.

  • Limit screentime where possible and make time for conversation at meals or during journeys.

Developing oracy skills will help children become confident speakers, good listeners, and successful learners. Thank you for your continued support in helping your child develop these important life skills.

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Early Years Update

We loved welcoming parents and carers into our EYFS settings for our Stay and Play sessions. It was wonderful to see the children sharing their learning and enjoying activities together.

Families joined in with a range of fun experiences including creative play, mark making, building, and exploring our indoor and outdoor areas. These sessions help strengthen the partnership between home, nursery and school and support children’s confidence and learning.

Thank you to everyone who came along and made the sessions so special! 

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SEND Update

Most children will find this countdown useful in navigating the school holidays.

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Zebras go to PGL Winmarleigh!

Year 4 had a fantastic time on their one-night residential at PGL Winmarleigh Hall and represented the school brilliantly. Blessed with sunny weather, the children embraced every activity with enthusiasm and courage, tackling the giant swing and climbing activities with determination and resilience. In the evening, everyone enjoyed the campfire, singing songs and sharing stories, which was a real highlight of the trip. Throughout the visit, the children showed how much they are growing in independence and responsibility — even stripping their own beds before leaving! We were incredibly proud of their behaviour, teamwork and positive attitudes, and it was wonderful to see their confidence grow over the course of the trip.

Well do also to those that stayed behind and enjoyed PGL@PCP building their own fires and completing problem solving challenges.

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Attendance Update

We continue to prioritise our work on attendance.

What do we mean by 'persistent absence' (PA)?

Persistent absence means a pupil misses 10% or more of school sessions across the school year. This is the equivalent of about 1 day every 2 weeks, which adds up to almost 4 weeks of learning lost over a year.

We understand that children can be ill or that families sometimes face difficult circumstances. However, when absence becomes frequent, even if it is for genuine reasons, it can have a significant impact on a child’s education and wellbeing.

Why Attendance Matters

Regular attendance is important because:

  • Learning builds over time – missing lessons creates gaps in knowledge that are difficult to catch up.
  • Confidence can drop when pupils return and feel behind.
  • Friendships and social development are affected when children are not in school regularly.
  • Good attendance supports good outcomes in exams and future opportunities.
  • Establishing good habits early helps prepare children for secondary school, college, and employment.

Even missing 1 day a fortnight = 90% attendance, which is already classed as persistent absence.

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Sickness absence

It can be tricky deciding if your child is too unwell to attend school. Most mild illnesses DO NOT require time off school, unless your child has a temperature or has vomiting/diarrhoea. This government guidance may help:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

When we return, we are taking part in an attendance competition run by Everton in the Community. It will run throughout the whole of the next half term and there will be lots of prizes up for grabs.

Any class that achieves 97% attendance will enter 1 ticket into their prize draw. Teachers can also nominate one child per class who they believe has made a significant effort to improve their attendance. They will could be in with a chance of winning a prize for their whole class.

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Our Watchfactory Friends 

Last Thursday, I went to the Watchfactory with some of the other Changemakers. We had lots of fun playing games like chess, dominoes and pool with the residents. We love to go and visit the Watchfactory. It is meaningful to us because they are our friends and it is important to visit our friends. While I was there I learned a new skill from Colin, who taught me how to hold a pool cue properly. I think Leo and I taught some of the residents how to play chess and I know they taught some of my friends how to play dominoes. We were all learning from each other!

We had a fabulous time. I hope I get to go again soon.

Thank you to our special friends.

By Frankie Ward-Thompson, Y3

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Comic Relief 2026

Thank you to everyone in our school community who donated towards Comic Relief (Red Nose Day) on Friday 20th March. As a school, we raised £143.21, and we are very grateful for your generosity and support.

More importantly, the day helped us raise awareness with the children about the importance of helping others and supporting people who may not have the same opportunities or resources as we do. We spent time talking about how charities like Comic Relief help to ensure that children around the world have their basic rights respected, including the right to a safe home, food, clean drinking water, education, and support.

We are very proud of how thoughtfully our pupils engaged with these discussions and showed kindness and understanding towards others. We also really loved to hear them tell their jokes, they really did make us smile!

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Dot-art Competition

Our Y5 shortlisted pieces are now ready for you to vote on! Please cast your vote by following this link by Thurs 16th April.

Click here to vote for Scarlet-Rai, Lucas or Joshua!

https://schools.dot-art.com/schools/prescot-primary-school-nursery_588/

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Here are the Extra-curricular Club opportunities for the next half term:

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Reading Update

The sun has started to make an appearance and the days are getting longer.  This is great news for reading but also brings its own challenges.  Reading has to compete with so many other activities, and our children are busy both in and out of school.  For many children, reading is a solid part of their daily routine, and in the classroom this is timetabled so every child has the same opportunity and experience.  At home, this experience can vary, but we constantly strive to embed that equality of opportunity for every child by providing a huge range of reading books which they can take home, and iPads for our Juniors which they can read on, quiz on and research on.  We know that children who read at home, especially alongside an adult, make better progress, show more interest in the world around them, display higher levels of understanding and empathy, and go on to achieve greater financial and personal stability.  All that from reading!

Many readers reached and exceeded their reading targets last half term and are on course to do it again this half term.  Parents and carers can easily see how their children are progressing on their iPads, but for anyone unsure we are always available for conversations and celebrations about your child’s reading.  We find that children who involve their adults at home have a better understanding of their own reading ability and progress which they love to show off. 

There has, as usual, been many opportunities to shout our successes from the rooftops.  As well as the many rewards given for reaching targets, we have applauded 7 Word Millionaires, 2 Double Word Millionaires and 1 Triple Word Millionaire.  Waiting in the wings for their chance to shine are 17 Half Word Millionaires.  Next half term, we will be launching a weekly year group tournament,in which class competes against class for the highest number of words read whilst maintaining accuracy.  There will, of course, be small rewards to encourage participation and ownership. Watch this space. 

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The Great PCP Bake-Off!

Our recent Bake-Off competition was a wonderful success, with this year’s theme being animals. We were amazed by the creativity, effort, and baking skills on display, with entries ranging from cute cupcakes and biscuit animals to impressive animal-shaped cakes.

This is always a lovely time of year for families to get creative together, and it was fantastic to see so many pupils getting involved at home, baking and decorating with their families. Events like this are not only fun, but they also help create special memories and opportunities for children to practise important skills such as following instructions, measuring, and being creative.

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in the competition and to those who supported the event by buying cakes. Your support helps make these events so successful and enjoyable for our school community.

Our winners were:

EYFS: Luca Elias

KS1: Owen Sarnowski

Lower KS2: Leo Furlong

Upper KS2: Emmett Mitton

Thank you also to everyone who donated an Easter treat or bought raffle tickets.

The Bake-Off raised £557 and the raffle raised £433 which will go towards another debating experience for our children.

Thank you!

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RockSteady Concert

We absolutely loved welcoming families to our Rocksteady Spring Concert and hearing our four school bands perform. It was a fantastic event and a wonderful opportunity for the children to showcase everything they have been working on this term.

The children have been practising very hard each week, not only learning to play their own instrument, but also learning the important skill of playing as part of a group. This includes keeping in time with each other, listening carefully, remembering notes and rhythms, and working together to perform as a band.

Performing in front of an audience takes confidence and courage, and we were incredibly proud of all the children who performed. We also loved how one of our lovely Mums (and former pupil) volunteered to sing - her daughter was so proud!  Thank you to all of the families who came to support the concert and well done to our Rocksteady musicians for a brilliant performance.

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OUR THERAPEUTIC CLASSROOM

As a school, we are always looking for innovative ways to support not only children’s academic progress, but also their emotional wellbeing. This year, we have decided to develop a therapeutic classroom approach to help promote and strengthen children’s emotional wellbeing and readiness to learn.

A therapeutic classroom is designed to create a calm, supportive environment where children feel safe, understood, and ready to learn. The approach recognises that children learn best when they are emotionally regulated and feel secure in their environment. In this classroom, there is a strong focus on routines, relationships, calm spaces, and supporting children to understand and manage their emotions.

We have introduced this approach in one of our Year 4 classrooms as a trial for this new way of teaching and learning. The classroom environment has been adapted to include calm areas, supportive resources, and structured routines that help children regulate their emotions and return to learning more quickly. Staff working in the classroom have also been developing strategies to support emotional regulation, communication, and positive behaviour.

So far, the results have been very favourable. We have seen improvements in pupils’ engagement, confidence, behaviour for learning, and overall wellbeing. Children are developing better strategies to manage their feelings, which is helping them to focus and succeed in their learning.

We will continue to monitor the impact of this approach over time, and we are excited about the positive difference it is already making for our pupils.

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Pupil Tap! Spring Term Summary

During the spring term, our KS2 pupils continued to take part in the weekly Pupil Tap surveys, sharing their views on a range of topics across school life. Some of the questions this term included topics such as celebrating differences, emotional wellbeing, lessons in school, music, RE, and even some fun questions like time travel and what animal they would like to be!

In a fun survey about animals, many children said they would like to be a lion and a large number of children said they would like to own a pet when they are older.

When we asked about worries and emotional wellbeing, most children said they would talk to a friend or a trusted adult if they were worried, which is really positive to see. Many children also liked the idea of a “digital hug” as a way of showing kindness and support.

When asked 'If I were Headteacher, I would…', many children said they would make school feel even more like home, which was a lovely response.

Other surveys showed that:

  • Many children enjoy music in school.

  • Over half of the children said they really like their RE lessons.

  • A large number of pupils said they love being part of their class, which we were very pleased to see.

Thank you to all of our KS2 pupils for taking Pupil Tap seriously and sharing their thoughts so honestly. Their ideas and opinions really do help us to continue improving our school.

Forward financial planning!

Y5 Zebras - PGL Boreatton Park, September 2026

So here we are - Easter break is upon us! We think we all deserve a little rest and relaxation.

Enjoy your two week break and see you all on Monday 13th April.

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