School Newsletter : 06 March 2026

| Issue 23 | Spring 2 | Week 2 |

Holi (Festival of Colour) Indian Dance Workshop

On Wednesday 4th March, we were delighted to welcome a fantastic Indian dancing workshop into school as our community celebrated Holi!

Holi, often known as the Festival of Colours, is a vibrant Hindu celebration that marks the arrival of spring, the triumph of good over evil, and love. Traditionally celebrated in India and by Hindu communities around the world, it is a time when families and friends come together to share music, dancing and colourful festivities.

The workshop gave children from Reception all the way to Year 6 the opportunity to experience the energy and excitement of Bollywood-style and traditional Indian dance. We were so impressed with the way pupils threw themselves into the rhythms, movements and complicated choreography with huge smiles on their faces!

A huge well done to all the children for their fantastic participation – it was truly such a joyful way to celebrate together as a school.

Out and About…

Thursday 5th March: Year 3 Trip to the Natural History Museum: Volcanoes Exhibition

Year 3’s trip to the Natural History Museum week was so much fun! First the children watched a show about earthquakes and volcanoes, which they had an existing wealth of knowledge about and so were able to answer many of the questions. After that, they explored the gem gallery and rock exhibition (related to our current science topic), and the earthquake exhibition. They also stood inside the model of a shop, which moved as if a small earthquake was happening. It was a great day consolidating learning and exploring new things too.

Wednesday 4th March: Year 5 Escape Room Experience

Year 5 had a fantastic day celebrating their learning with an exciting trip to Escape Hunt! We started the day full of excitement as we travelled by train to Woking. Once we arrived, we spent some time playing in the park and enjoying our lunch together before walking to the Escape Hunt venue.

At Escape Hunt, the children split into three teams and each group took on a different themed escape room challenge. Miss Probert’s group entered an Alice in Wonderland themed room, Miss Polly’s group tackled an Aladdin adventure, and Mr Raheem’s group stepped into the legendary world of Excalibur.

For the next hour, the teams worked hard to solve a variety of clues and puzzles in order to escape their rooms. The children showed fantastic teamwork, thinking outside the box, supporting one another and celebrating each success when a clue was solved. It was wonderful to see everyone collaborating and persevering through the challenges.

All of the groups did brilliantly and had so much fun. A special congratulations goes to Miss Polly’s team, who escaped the fastest with an impressive time of just 50 minutes! Well done, Year 5 for representing our school so brilliantly and for showing such great teamwork throughout the day.

Club Reminders

Breakfast Club

  • Due to high demand for breakfast club places, we will not be able to accommodate ad-hoc requests anymore.
  • Should you need to use our Breakfast Club facilities on an  ‘ad-hoc’ basis due to a work or other commitment, please email or phone the school office the day before to see if there is space on the day you require.
  • Please do not just turn up on the day as we may not be able to help out. Kindly note that the number of pupils we can accommodate on any given day is dictated by the number of staff.
  • A reminder that our breakfast club register is currently full.
  • If you require a 3-day or 5-day breakfast club place, please complete a form (available from the office) to be added to the waiting list.
  • Our waiting list is regularly reviewed and should demand remain high enough and is sustainable, we will able to employ another adult to facilitate the additional numbers of pupils wishing to enrol in this wrap around provision.

After School Club

  • Due to the high demand for After School Club places, we are currently full for both 3-day and 5-day requests.
  • If you require a 3-day or 5-day After School Club place, please complete a form (available from the office) to be added to the waiting list.
  • Our waiting list is regularly reviewed and should demand remain high enough and is sustainable, we will able to employ another adult to facilitate the additional numbers of pupils wishing to enrol in this wrap around provision.

Late Collection

  • We understand that on occasions you may be running late due to circumstances outside of your control.
  • If this should occur, please email or phone the school office to inform them and of your expected arrival time.
  • This helps us ensure staff who work until 18:00 will be able to leave on time, with a member of the SLT providing cover if needed if they are unable to stay.
  • We thank you for understanding with this request.
  • A reminder that that a £5 late charge is applied to your fees for every 5 minutes that you are late.

Parents Evening

Our Spring term Parent Teacher Meetings will take place on Tuesday 24th March for all years apart from Reception.

Reception Class Parent Teacher Meeting will take place on Thursday 19th March.

Parents can book their meeting slots from 09:30 on Monday 2nd March via the Arbor App.

Each appointment slot is 15 minutes long. The first 5 mins are set aside for you to look at, discuss with and comment on your child’s work before meeting with the class teacher.

Please remember to complete the feedback slip provided, before you meet with your child’s class teacher.

If you experience any problems signing up on the Arbor App, please contact a member of the school office team, who will be happy to assist you.

Potential extension of our Preschool to include Under 2s

Dear families,

Currently our Preschool offers 12 spaces for children aged 24 – 36 months. These children then transition into our 3-year old Nursery Class the term after their third birthday. We are conducting a viability process with the view to extending to our current Preschool provision to include children (babies) under 24 months.

From September 2026, we are looking to:

  • extend our Preschool provision to include an Under-2s room, to cater for for babies from 3-months to 23-months.
  • change our annual opening hours, to enable this provision for 47-weeks per year for Nursery to Preschool (including under 2’s) children.

This change in opening hours will allow us to offer holiday wrap-around care, in the form of a Holiday Club Provision, for Reception to Year 6 pupils.

At this stage, we would like to know if any of this additional offering (eg: Under 2s, change in opening hours and Holiday Club Provision) is something that would be of interest and benefit to our families, and we therefore we are asking for your feedback.

Please email the school office indicating your interest in an Under 2s place and a short Google form will be emailed for you to complete.

Feedback from this form will help to inform any decisions we make and, should it go ahead, the overall package of wraparound care offered.

We will share further information about the shape of the Holiday Club Provision in the next issue of the school newsletter. Our aim is to confirm before the end of March if this provision is going ahead, after which time you will be able to enrol your child.

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts and feedback.

National Children’s Dental Health Month

NHS Keep Smiling Toothbrushing and Fluoride Application Programme

As part of National Children’s Dental Month, all Nursery to Year 6 pupils will have come home with a toothbrush and toothpaste pack.

Two weeks ago, Nursery to Year 2 pupils would have brought home a letter and consent form with regard to the Keep Smiling Toothbrushing and Fluoride Programme.

Parents & carers, if you haven’t already, please read this letter and complete the consent form and return it to the school office by Friday 27th February.

Even if you are declining to take part, you must complete this form. There is a separate section for declining.

Many thanks to all those who have already returned their consent form.

If you have misplaced your consent form, a spare copy can be collected from the school office.

Biscuits Bytes

Woof….

Wow, it has been a SUPER busy week at school, with trips and visits, bake & book sales (my favourite) and dressing up for World Book Day!

There have been so many successful learning experiences for pupils who went on excursions this week – not to mention great fun! As well as a fantastic day of dance workshops for all year groups on Wednesday this week.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported our PTA’s Bake & Book sale this week. With your support, they raised an amazing £240!

Everyone who took part in our World Book Day celebrations yesterday looked amazing. Well done for all the creative costumes on display. Our book fair will be arriving later on in the term and pupils will be able to use their book fair tokens then.

This week has definitely felt like Spring has sprung, although it is still a bit chilly in the mornings. During the week I helped to plant out some of the spring bulbs and the chickens joined in, stretching their legs in the lovely warm spring sunshine.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and looking forward to seeing you all next week 🐶

Biscuit x

Community Corner

This week in collective worship, we explored the new beginnings that salvation through Jesus brings. We celebrated the second Sunday of Lent on 1st March.

In church, we were treated with some excellent piano playing from Arman in Year 5. We also sang Lord of the Dance and Spirit of God. The former talks of a “Pharisee”, which was brought up in our reading.

We explored what Nicodemus heard about being born again, and Vicar David gave us some excellent ideas about what this ‘rebirth’ means, and how Christians believe there are two births in a Christian’s life.

Bible Teaching of the Week: John 3:1–17

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, visiting Jesus at night to acknowledge him as a teacher from God. Jesus tells him that to see the kingdom of God, we must be “born again” of water and the Spirit. Jesus explains that salvation comes through belief in the Son, who was sent to save the world.

Community Questions:

  • How do we see God’s love in our daily lives?
  • What does it mean to be “born again” or start fresh with God
  • How can we show love and kindness to others like Jesus teaches
  • Who might need our help or encouragement this week?

Community Challenge:

  • This week, try to notice one person who might need a kind word or action from you and do something to show God’s love to them.

Spring Term Class Assemblies:

Class assemblies take place on Fridays, starting at 09:05. Please ensure that you are on time and that your mobile phones are turned off. Kindly note that no filming or photography is permitted at any time.

  • 20th March: Reception

Our PTA: The Friends of Burdett-Coutts

If you are a parent, carer or a guardian of a child that attends our school, then you are automatically a member of our Parent Staff Association, Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

Being part of our PSA offers an exciting opportunity for you to meet other parents, whilst supporting our school, through organising fundraising events, volunteering and much more.

Even if you can only give a small amount of time, you will be making a difference to the school experience for your child and other pupils in our school.

Our meetings take place on  Wednesday mornings from 09:00 – 10:00 in the Ground Floor Hall, with refreshments. Everyone is welcome!

Our next event: School Easter Fete Thursday 26th March @ 15:30 – 17:30.

Spring term meeting dates:

  • Wednesday 11th March
  • Wednesday 25th March

Easter Fair

Glue guns at the ready!

Upcoming Events

March 2026:

  • Monday 9th: Happy 5th Birthday Biscuit!
  • Monday 9th  – Friday 13th March: Science Week – This year’s theme: Curiosity: What’s Your Question? Keep an eye on the newsletter for more information about events and activities taking place.
  • Tuesday 10th:  Choir Club at the Royal Festival Hall, singing Bach Magnificat with Westminster School (more information to follow).
  • Tuesday 17th: Proms Praise Concert at the Royal Albert Hall – Choir Club pupils performing, (more information to follow), 16:00 – 20:00
  • Friday 20th: Last day for all Extended School Day and Booster Clubs for the Spring Term.
  • Wednesday 25th: Pimlico Music Foundation Concert: Disney at St. Gabriels Church. Choir Club pupils performing 18:00 – 20:00 (more information to follow).
  • Thursday 26th: School Easter Fete: 15:30 – 17:30
  • Friday 27th: Last day of school for the Spring Term. School finishes for all pupils at 13:30.

1. Pupil Medications

A polite reminder to parents and carers that we are unable to give over the counter or prescription medicines to pupils unless they have an agreed medical plan in place.

Should your child requires medication to be taken 3 times per day due to winter season illnesses, please give them their doses before school, after school and before bed time.

Alternatively, if you’re able to do so, you can pop into school during your child’s lunch break (12:30 – 13:30) to administer a midday dose if required.

Please do not put any medications, creams, ointments etc in your child’s book bag. This can be very dangerous for other pupils or adults who may have allergies or if other children access these items.

If you have any questions, please email the school office and a member of staff will get back you. Many thanks for your understanding with this important Health & Safety issue.

2. Pupil Permission Forms for Trips

Parents & carers, please ensure that when pupil trip letters are sent home requesting permission for trips or visits, that you correctly read and complete the forms attached and return them to school by the date requested.

When forms are returned late, it is a challenge to manage and accurately provide the required confirmation / information to venues – which are usually requested 48 hours in advance. Furthermore:

  • Our admin and catering teams face additional pressure to prepare lunch orders and first aid.
  • These are difficult to amend at the last minute, and it also pulls them away from other duties & responsibilities they have.
  • Teachers are also unable to assign group pupil:adult ratios to ensure a smooth trip briefing with other staff/parents supporting the trip.

Because of this, pupils will miss out on attending a trip if the correct permission slips are not returned by the designated deadline. Instead they will be assigned appropriate class work to complete in a supervised buddy class.

Many thanks for your understanding and support with this matter.

3. School & PE Uniform:

Please ensure that your children are wearing the correct school uniform to school each day. It is important that all pupils are also wearing the correct school shoes – which are black shoes, and not trainers.

The Autumn/Winter term uniform options for pupils in Nursery to Year 6 are:

Girls:

  • Dark grey trousers, skirt or skort
  • Long-sleeve white shirt (Years 3 – 6)
  • White school logo polo shirt (Nursery – Year 2)
  • Tie (Years 3 – 6)
  • V-neck navy school logo jumper (Years 3 – 6)
  • Navy logo school sweatshirt (Nursery to Year 2)
  • Blazer (Year 6 only)
  • Plain black shoes (not trainers)

Boys:

  • Dark grey shorts or trousers
  • Long-sleeve white shirt (Years 3 – 6)
  • White school logo polo shirt (Nursery – Year 2)
  • Tie (Yers 3 -6)
  • V-neck navy school logo jumper (Years 3 – 6)
  • Navy school logo sweatshirt (Nursery to Year 2)
  • Blazer (Year 6 only)
  • Plain black shoes (not trainers)

On PE days, pupils must wear the school PE kit only.

This is especially important for safety.  Having the correct shoes for physical activities, and clothing that is not restrictive, for completing physical activity are essential for helping us to ensure pupils complete all PE lessons safely.

The Autumn/Winter term PE kit for all pupils from Year Reception to Year 6 consists of:

  • A school navy logo t-shirt
  • Navy  leggings, tracksuit bottoms or skort (no logos etc)
  • Plain black trainers
  • A school logo sweatshirt (not the v-neck jerseys for KS2 pupils. Sweatshirts are available from the school office in KS2 sizes).

Please note that pupils who do not have the correct PE kit will not be able to participate in their PE lesson. They will be given alternate work to do, and a note will be sent home highlighting why they were not able to complete their lesson that day.

We thank you in advance in supporting our school’s uniform policies.

Term Dates 2025-2026

Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2025.

Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school (on time) every day.

Alternatively, you can click on the image thumbnail on the right to view the PDF (please note this will open in a new window) or you can click on the link below:

Preschool, Nursery & Reception Admissions

We currently have the following availability for places in our Early Years provision from January 2026:

  • Nursery Class (3-year olds): 1 part-time (afternoon) place available at present.
  • Preschool (2-year olds): From April 2026 we have 4 full-time places and 2 part-time (afternoon) places available

September 2026 Reception class vacancies will be announced in May 2026.

If you are looking for a Preschool, Nursery or Reception place for your child, please come along for a 30-minute bespoke EYFS tour. Here, you’ll have the chance explore our Early Years setting, speak to key staff and ask any questions regarding admissions, and your child starting with us at Burdett-Coutts.

Contact us to register for our tours which take place every Thursday, with times available from 09:15 – 14:30 during term time.

Online Safety

Did you know that not all apps are safe for children, with many popular ones having certain age restrictions. For example, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook operate a minimum age of 13+ years, and therefore primary school children should not have their own, nor access to, such apps or accounts.

As parents, you can help safeguard your children online by researching these apps and their purposes, as well as their age restrictions, BEFORE agreeing to download them. If you do choose to download them, remember that parental controls such as password protection, can be set up so that in-app downloads or purchases, cannot be completed by the children themselves.

For example, to prevent iTunes, Apple App Store purchases or downloads, all you need to do is:

  1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
  2. Tap Content & App Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
  3. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
  4. Select a setting and set to Don’t Allow.

Tips on how to install parental controls on other apps and devices (Android or Apple) can easily be found online, or even from the app developers themselves.

Funding eligibility letter for Pupil Premium, Early Years Funding & Free School Meals

Due to changes in the eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and qualifying for 30 hours of funding for Nursery provision, many pupils currently enrolled at our school may now be entitled to one of these funding allocations.

We will be issuing letters to families who are currently not in receipt of the above, asking you to complete the registration for the identified funding option your child/ren maybe eligible for. Thank you so much in advance for your help in completing this.

This funding allows us to increase additional staffing hours to run booster groups, and an exciting range of extended day activities, that benefit our school and your child, and your cooperation is greatly appreciated at this difficult time for school budgets.

  • If you should have any queries with regards to the letter sent to you, please contact Mrs Deary or the school office.

Preschool:

This week, Preschool have been exploring the wonderful world of colours through hands-on sensory play. The children used their hands to move, press, and spread paint, experimenting with different colours as they worked together to create a beautiful rainbow display. Through this creative experience, the children were developing their fine motor skills, hand–eye coordination, and sensory awareness. As they mixed and blended colours, they also began exploring early science concepts such as colour recognition and cause and effect. Working alongside their friends supported their communication skills, turn-taking, and collaborative learning.

Nursery:

This week Nursery have been celebrating Easter and learning about why it is a special time of year. As part of our discussions about new life and the signs of spring, the children made their own little Easter chicks. We talked about how chicks hatch from eggs, linking this to new beginnings and the changes we see in nature at this time of year. The activity also supported the children’s fine motor skills through cutting, sticking and painting, while encouraging creativity!

Reception:

This week, Reception’s core text Supertato has been a huge class favourite! The children have absolutely loved diving into the story and have thrown themselves into their creative writing with fantastic enthusiasm. They have designed their very own super characters, dreamt up clever gadgets, and created some seriously sneaky traps to capture Evil Pea! The imagination, teamwork, and excitement in the room has been incredible. We have some truly amazing authors and problem-solvers in the making. Our learning has gone beyond the classroom as we have discovered the real superheroes around us! We have been thinking about the important people who help us in school and then branching out into our local community. We were very lucky to welcome a visit from a dentist, who spoke to us about making healthy choices to keep our teeth strong and healthy; a wonderful example of a real-life superhero helping us learn how to look after ourselves!

Year 1:

This week in Science, Year 1 have been learning all about planting and how things grow.We carefully planted rhubarb, potatoes and wildflowers, learning about what plants need to grow and why patience is such an important part of being a gardener. The wildflowers we chose will encourage insects and help support our local ecosystem — we are already thinking like real scientists! Our school chickens — Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Nugget — were very excited to see us working in their garden. They supervised closely (and very curiously) while we prepared the soil and planted our crops. Now comes the exciting part… waiting, observing and recording what happens next. We cannot wait to see the first signs of growth and watch our garden come to life over the coming weeks.

Year 2:

This week, Year 2 were visited by the Keep Smiling Dental Health Team. They spoke to the children about how to take care of their teeth and why it is important to brush twice a day. The children also learnt how sugary foods can affect our teeth and why visiting the dentist regularly helps keep our smiles healthy.

Year 3:

Year 3 have really enjoyed learning about Chinese New Year and Ramadan. We learnt about the origins of Chinese New Year, traditions, and that this is the Year of the Horse. We made some paper fortune cookies and wrote special messages in them. We gifted them to others to share our positive energy. We have also learnt about Ramadan and Eid this week, and have enjoyed sharing the many traditions and celebrations some of our class experience during this time. We made some lovely art to celebrate our learning. Finally we experienced an Indian dance workshop to celebrate Holi Festival. It’s been a fantastic week exploring other religious events and learning more about each other.

Year 4:

It has been another busy and exciting week in Year 4! In Writing, we are creating imaginative adverts inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, which we are currently reading in class. The class have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the wonderful world of Willy Wonka and are now using persuasive language and exciting descriptions to advertise their own magical creations! Last week, we also took part in a creative project where we designed our own islands. Using mixed media, pupils depicted places, people and objects that make them feel a sense of belonging. It was a fantastic opportunity for reflection as well as artistic expression, and the finished pieces are something they should be very proud of. In RE, we are exploring the Easter story through the lens of forgiveness, looking closely at how forgiveness is represented in the Bible. Everyone has been engaging in thoughtful discussions and making meaningful connections between the story and their own experiences.

Year 5:

Year 5 have had an eventful week, continuing their Writing learning on The Promise and looking at the Writer’s Knowledge that make the text a well written text. This will help us when writing our own text next week. In Maths, we continued learning about decimals and moved towards identifying and writing thousandths in decimal form. In Geography, we looked at how water is a friend and foe in New Zealand and compared this to other countries around the world. We’ve been busy learning about Jesus’s sacrifice and destiny in RE, leading up to Easter. In PSHE, we have started learning about how to be healthy in today’s world. We’ve had fun dressing up for World Book Day and doing activities related to this fun event. It has been an eventful week and we look forward to another busy week next week.

Year 6:

As Geographers this week, Year 6 have been exploring rivers and the water cycle. The class began by imagining themselves as raindrops falling to Earth, thinking about where they might land and the journey they would take next. This introduced the concept of the water cycle as a continuous, closed system that has existed for millions of years. Pupils then focused on rivers in England, using atlases to identify major rivers, locate their sources and mouths, and name the seas they flow into, including the North Sea, Irish Sea, English Channel and Atlantic Ocean. They also tracked the course of different UK rivers and identified key towns and cities along the way.