USE THIS: Newsletter Template 2025

| Issue 27 | Summer 1 | Week 1 |

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school, it’s lovely to see everyone back again.

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing Easter holiday and were able to make the most of the recent wonderful Spring weather by visiting local parks, catching up with friends and family, or just enjoying the time to relax.

We have a very busy term ahead, with a HUGE range of trips, visitors, fundraising events and in-school projects, including Y6 SATS, Run Kids Run and a whole host of class based trips.

Many thanks to all who have signed up for our Extended Day menu of activities for this term. We’ve been very encouraged by the overwhelmingly sign-ups!

Please read on for more information about upcoming events.

Book Fair

Our annual book fair will take place from Monday 20th April to Friday 24th April.

The book fair will be set out each morning 08:40 – 09:15 (Monday to Friday) and afternoon 15:30 – 15:45 and 16:30 – 16:45 Monday to Thursday) for parents and pupils to view and purchase from, in the KS1 playground just outside the school hall.

If it is raining it will be located inside along the ground floor corridor.

Disney Musicals in Schools

We are delighted to share that our Year 3 and Year 4 children have begun their Disney Musicals in Schools journey. This year’s production is the ever popular ‘Frozen!’

Children have been introduced to the world of musical theatre, taking part in auditions where they explored different roles and developed their confidence in performing. They have enjoyed reading through the first and second halves of the show, gaining an understanding of the storyline and how each character contributes to the production.

The excitement continued as the cast was officially announced, which is always a special moment!

Rehearsals are now well underway, with pupils beginning to learn Let the Sun Shine On, combining both singing and movement. Children have also been introduced to their rehearsal journals, which will support them throughout this exciting process.

It has been a fantastic start and we are so proud of the enthusiasm and commitment already being shown. We look forward to seeing their confidence and teamwork grow as they bring Frozen to life on stage!

Swimming Lessons for Years 3 – 6

We are delighted to announce that swimming lessons will begin again this term, for pupils in Years 3 to 6.

These lessons are an important (and statutory) part of the national curriculum and provide an opportunity for pupils to develop key skills and knowledge about water safety and learning basic swimming skills and strokes.

Pupils are issued with certificates at the end of each unit of swimming, which acknowledge the skill level that they have met.

All swimming lessons will take part at the Queen Mothers Sports Centre. Classes will complete their lessons in blocks (6 consecutive lessons over two weeks), instead of one lesson per week (over 6 weeks).

This arrangement ensures pupils have the best chance to consolidate and make the most of their lessons, with the opportunity to build on learning over sequential days, as opposed to having a week between each lesson.

On the weeks that your child’s class is swimming, they will need to wear their bathing costume to school with their PE kit over the top. They also need to bring in a bag; a towel, underwear and goggles, plus a cap (if they choose to use one).

Children will change into their PE kit after each lesson and put their towel and bathing suit in their bag to return to school.

If you have any questions or queries about your child’s swimming lesson, please contact the office to arrange a time to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Swimming Lessons for Years 3 – 6

We are delighted to announce that swimming lessons will begin again this term, for pupils in Years 3 to 6. Please see the table below for your child’s swimming weeks.

Pupils are issued with certificates at the end of each unit of swimming, which acknowledge the skill level that they have met.

Children will change into their PE kit after each lesson and put their towel and bathing suit in their bag to return to school.

If you have any questions or queries about your child’s swimming lesson, please contact the office to arrange a time to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Year 3

Tuesday 12 May: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 13 May: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 14 May: 12:00 – 13:00
Tuesday 19 May: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 20 May: 14:30 – 15:30
Thursday 21 May: 12:00 – 13:00

Year 4

Tuesday 02 June: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 03 June: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 04 June: 12:00 – 13:00
Tuesday 09 June: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 10 June: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 11 June: 12:00 – 13:00

Year 5

Tuesday 16 June: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 17 June: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 18 June: 12:00 – 13:00
Tuesday 23 June: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 24 June: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 25 June: 12:00 – 13:00

Year 6

Tuesday 30 June: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 01 July: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 01 July: 12:00 – 13:00
Tuesday 07 July: 11:00 – 12:00
Wednesday 08 July: 09:30 – 10:30
Thursday 09 July: 12:00 – 13:00

Enrichment Clubs

All enrichment clubs (15:30 – 16:30) and booster lessons begin on Monday 20th April.
Please note that there are no morning boosters in the summer first half term.
All permission slips for after school club boosters have been sent home
Please sign and return these to the school office by Monday 20th April.

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.

Run Kids Run 2026

We are thrilled to announce that once again, we have registered to participate in Run Kids Run on Sunday 7th June in Battersea Park.

Run Kids Run is a registered charity helping primary school communities connect with long term corporate benefactors, through a fun running event that promotes a healthy body and mind, while fundraising for our school!

How does it work?

All pupils from Nursery to Year 6 can register to compete in this fundraising event. Nursery & Reception will complete a 1km run, with a parent, and Years 1 – 6 will complete a 2km run. Older siblings can also take part, making it a fun day for all the family.

Then get training and fundraising! After the Easter Break, we will offer an in-school (for pupils only) running club as part of the Summer Term Extended School Day Menu of options. A Just Giving page will also be set up, making donations and sponsorships easy for everyone.

Then on Sunday 7th June, bring your child/ren to Battersea Park from 2 – 4pm. The children will run their races and on completion, will receive an exclusive medal and healthy snack.

You can seek sponsorship from as many friends, family & neighbours as possible, as every donation will go towards raising funds for our school.

Registration forms will be online following the Easter Break.

Our Corporate Sponsor:

We have partnered with OPLM (Old Park Lane Management) ever since our first Run Kids Run in 2024. Like us, they are excited to be working in collaboration to create positive change through a vibrant and ambitious partnership for the benefit of our pupils and the wider local community.

OPLM will be supporting whole-school projects, including School Council visits to their Millbank site and a collaborative art project to design hoardings, with further opportunities for pupils’ artwork to be showcased.

Community Corner

First and foremost, congratulations to Burdett-Coutts’ new Head Choristers, Ambra and Joshua! Well done🙂

We had lovely musical accompaniment this week from Y6 soloists Max and Eleen singing, and later from Y5 pianist Arman leading us out with Für Elise.

This week in Collective Worship, we explored doubt, belief, perseverance and most importantly, peace. In the service, we were read the story of doubting Thomas by our Y6 readers.

Vicar Graham reminded us how Jesus’ first words when he reappeared to his disciples were, “Peace be with you.” You can’t put a price on peace, we decided, but it’s free to share.

Rather than getting angry or frustrated in this new term, we thought about trying to be instruments of peace. Ciaran in Y6 led us in a prayer, we sang our final worship song and Graham performed a blessing.

Bible Teaching of the Week John 20: 19-31

Vicar Graham treated the school to a detailed and entertaining rendition of the Holy Week’s events, from Jesus in the marketplace, to the Last Supper and Garden of Gethsemane, and the crucifixion.

It was an excellent experience for the children that we’re sure will stay in their minds for a while.

Community Questions:

Have you ever found something difficult to believe until you saw it for yourself?
What do you think Jesus wanted to teach His friends when He showed them His hands and side?
What might it mean to trust or believe in something we cannot see?>

Community Challenge:

Take a quiet moment, say a simple prayer, and ask for peace or guidance. Then notice how it makes you feel. You might also encourage a friend who is feeling uncertain, just as the disciples supported Thomas.

Class Assemblies:

01 May: Year 4
15 May: Year 5
22 May: Year 5
12 June: Year 6
19 June: Year 1
25 June: Reception (This is a Thursday as Friday is an INSET day)
03 July: Year 2
10 July: Nursery

Unless otherwise indicated, all class assemblies are on Friday from 09:00 – 09:25. Please ensure you are on time, as late arrival can distract the children and the flow of the assembly.

Any photographs taken cannot be uploaded or shared on social media platforms.

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 events are:

School International Evening and World Day for Culture Diversity – Thursday 21st May @15;30 – 17:30

School Summer Fair – Saturday 20th June @12:30 – 16:00

Meeting dates:

29th April
06th May
20th May
10th June
17th June

Our PTA: The Friends of Burdett-Coutts

World Day for Cultural Diversity & International Evening

This year we are combining these two important events, by including our International Evening alongside World Day for Cultural Diversity.

To celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures in our school community, on Thursday 21st May we’d like to encourage all students, staff, and families to join us in honouring cultural diversity by wearing traditional clothing that reflects your heritage.

Whether it’s a small accessory or full attire, every expression is welcome.

We would also welcome donations of cultural food dishes to share as part of the evening. The school PTA will provide further details about this, alongside any ingredient information that would need to be provided with your food donations over the coming weeks.

Let’s make the day vibrant, meaningful, and inclusive! (and a feast for our taste buds😋)

Biscuits Bytes

Woof!

Welcome back everyone – it has been pawsome to see you all this week. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter break.

I can’t wait to tell you about my adventures in the Easter holidays and I have included some photos of my favourite bits (although one not so good – explaination to follow).

I had a great time exploring two areas of the UK, the Cotswolds and Bath. I visit often as my best friend Koda lives there. I had soooo much fun running through the fields, exploring in the woods and splashing about in streams and pools.

It was beautiful everywhere I went as all the spring flowers were out, so there were lots of blossoms and amazing bluebells in the woods. Not so great for hay fever suffers though – my hoomans were sneezing alot!

I was also very excited to see lots of baby lambs, horses and cows on our walks as well. My hooman says I am very good around animals now as I have been slowly meeting them over many years, so I don’t bark and chase them. I really like it when the baby calves lick my nose (it tickles) and I do the same back – I think we are friends now.

On one of my exciting walks up to Broadway Tower, I was having such fun running back down the hills to the village. I then smelt something I thought was an exciting smell in the grass and went and rolled around in it! Surely my hooman would like this smell too?

Boy was I wrong! My hooman did not want to be close to me and I had to be washed down in a stream as I couldn’t go to lunch or in the car with my new smell. In fact, my new smell was so great, that when we got back to our cottage I had to have a long hot, soapy bath.

Which was kinda fun really, but I got into a bit of trouble for splashing about in the bath too much and then running around drying myself on the carpets – not sure why its’s a get way to dry off? Surely that’s a good thing??

Anyway I finally calmed down and snuggled under a blanket to dry off and in front of a lovely fire where I had many dreams about all my adventures that day.

Now we are all back to school and I can’t wait to jump into lots of summer activities, trips and visits with everyone – it certainly looks like another action packed term.

Wishing you all a great weekend and see you all on Monday.

Biscuit x

Upcoming Events

April 2026:

Monday 20th: Extended School Day Clubs Begin
Monday 20th: Year 6: Black and Blue Drugs Education Workshop with Peter Daniels
Tuesday 21st: Reception Trip to London Zoo
Thursday 23rd: Year 6 out at Kensington Library: Freshwater Theatre Session
Monday 27th: Year 6 visit to The Abbey Centre – Intergenerational Project
Monday 27th: Y2 Trip to Camley Street Natural Park Habitats Workshop

May 2026:

Friday 1st May – Year 4 – Itsu Community Kitchen Workshop (in school) 13:30 – 15:00
Monday 4th May – May bank holiday – School Closed to all pupils
Tuesday 5th May: Y1 Trip to Camley Street Natural Park – Plants Workshop
Tuesday 5th May: Y6 Parents SATS meeting @ 09:00 in the Ground Floor Hall
Thursday 7th May: Treasures of the Orchestra Workshops for EYFS and KS1 classes (in school)
Monday 11th – Friday 15th : Key Stage 2 SATS week. Good luck to all our Year 6 pupils🙂
Wednesday 20th May: Keep Smiling, Tooth Brushing & Fluoride Application Program (Day 2/2)
Monday 25th – Friday 29th: May Half Term – School Closed to all pupils.

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:

With the warmer weather now settling in, pupils are welcome to switch to their summer school uniform options. Please ensure that all pieces of school uniform are named.

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 Summer term uniform options for pupils in Nursery to Year 6 are:

Girls:

Navy blue and white gingham dress
Dark grey trousers, skirt or skort
Short-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)
Navy logo school sweatshirt (for PE lessons: Years 3 -6)
Blazer (Year 6 only)
Plain black shoes (not trainers)

Boys:

Dark grey shorts or trousers
Short-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)
Navy school logo sweatshirt (for PE lessons: Years 3 – 6)
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:

Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation CE Primary School Term Dates 2025-2026 >

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: We have a waiting list for Reception places for September 2026. Please feel free to book a tour and submit admissions documents to secure a place on the waiting list.

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.

To book your tour place, please call 0207 828 6790
For further information about starting Reception at Burdett-Coutts, please click here >

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:

Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
Tap Content & App Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
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, Perschool enjoyed making teddy bear toast as part of our core text We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. During the activity, we talked about different body parts, identifying features such as two eyes and one nose. The children further developed their fine motor skills as they carefully spread toppings and created their own bear faces on the bread. It was a fun and engaging way to combine storytelling, creativity, and hands-on learning!

Nursery:

Nursery have had alovely start to the term, with all children settling back into school really well. We have enjoyed welcoming some new friends into our nursery classroom, and it has been wonderful to see them beginning to settle in, explore their new surroundings and build new relationships. We have taken part in a range of hands-on activities and one of our main focuses has been learning about primary colours. The children have been learning to recognise and name the primary colours: red, blue and yellow. They have also been experimenting with mixing these colours to see how new colours can be created, helping them to develop their understanding of how colours change and combine. We have also revisited patterns, focusing on what makes a pattern and how it repeats. The children explored simple repeating patterns and then created their own using coloured sticker dots. This has helped to build their understanding of pattern as well as giving them the opportunity to practise their fine motor skills.

Reception:

Reception are very excited about our upcoming trip to the zoo on Tuesday and have been very busy exploring the important jobs people do to help keep animals safe and healthy. We have been learning about zookeepers, vets, and animal carers, and the children have especially loved our imaginative vet role play area. They have been doing an amazing job checking heartbeats, weight and teeth, and treating a variety of “wounds” such as sore paws, broken wings, and tummy aches. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, care and teamwork as they take on these important roles in preparation for our visit to the zoo.

Year 1:

Year 1 have been taking their first exciting steps into multiplication! The children have been exploring counting in 2s and 10s using practical resources like bead strings and tens frames to help them really see the patterns in numbers. From carefully grouping cubes to sliding beads along strings, the classroom has been full of hands-on learning, curiosity, and lots of mathematical thinking. The children are beginning to notice how numbers grow in equal steps – a key foundation for understanding multiplication. We’re so proud of how confidently they are engaging with these new concepts and explaining their thinking. It’s been wonderful to see their enthusiasm as they discover that Maths is not just about numbers, but about patterns, connections, and problem-solving!

Year 2:

This week in English, Year 2 began exploring The Twits by Roald Dahl. We read the first three chapters and were introduced to the character of Mr Twit. The children had lots of fun discussing who he is and using exciting vocabulary to describe him, such as hairy and horrid! We focused on Mr Twit’s very unusual beard and used clues from the text to imagine what it might look like (and even what might be hiding in it!). The children then created their own drawings of Mr Twit and labelled them using words and phrases from the story as well as their own ideas. It has been wonderful to see them so engaged, using their imagination and beginning to build a clear picture of a character through reading. We are looking forward to continuing the story next week!

Year 3:

Welcome back to Summer 1. Year 3 have quickly got back into the swing of things and are looking forwards to an especially exciting and busy term ahead. This week we started our new topics, and had a fantastic discussion about gender roles, responsibilities and stereotypes for our first PSHE lesson. We discussed how we all have roles and responsibilities in our families. The children worked in pairs to sort different roles in the household, and what they considered male, female and both. It was a great lesson discussing teamwork and how working together in our families helps each other.

Year 4:

Welcome back Year 4! We are so excited to begin our brand new summer term and it has been wonderful to see the children return with such enthusiasm. We’ve certainly hit the ground running this week, particularly with our times tables as we begin preparing for the Multiplication Check later this term. Your support at home is really valuable, so please do practise as much as you can with your children. Additional practice sheets to support this will be sent home, alongside the list of websites that were shared at the beginning of the Spring term. In PSHE, we are starting an important unit on relationships and problem solving. This will help the children to develop key life skills and build confidence as they begin to think about moving up the school next year.

Year 5:

Year 5 have started the term with energy and enthusiasm. In Writing, we have begun exploring our new text, The Lost Book of Adventure, focusing on how the author presents advice for staying safe in the wilderness and examining the rich vocabulary used throughout. This will support us in creating our own survival narratives in the coming weeks. In Maths, we have successfully completed our unit on area and perimeter and have shown a secure understanding of how to calculate the area and perimeter of a variety of shapes. In PSHE, we explored relationships and celebrated individuality through a thoughtful activity where the class wrote kind comments about each other’s personalities – an experience they thoroughly enjoyed when reading their feedback. In Geography, we concluded our unit on the impact of excessive water, comparing the UK to Chile in terms of water use and rainfall. In RE, we began our Buddhism unit with discussions about diversity and its importance within our classroom and the wider world. Finally, in Science, we have started our new topic on the life cycles of plants and animals and exploring how they’re all unique. We look forward to seeing what we learn this term!

Year 6:

As Mathematicians this week, Year 6 have been developing their skills in interpreting and presenting data. They revisited line graphs, learning to read more complex graphs, including those with multiple lines and understanding how to estimate values between points. They also practised drawing their own line graphs, carefully choosing appropriate scales and labelling axes accurately. They then explored dual bar charts, comparing different sets of data and using keys to interpret information. Later in the week, the class were introduced to pie charts, learning how they represent parts of a whole. They identified proportions, worked out values from given sections and linked this to their understanding of percentages, recognising that a full pie represents 100%.