I can honestly say that I am seeing spots before my eyes today. This is because today is ‘Children in Need’ and in honour of that we have let the children come to school in non-uniform which had to include something spotty. These sort of days help to lift the spirits in school and I think they are especially important at the moment as there is not much going on outside of school. ‘Children in Need’ is also an important fundraiser and again, this event is more important than ever because a lot of the charities it supports had not had the support they usually have because of the pandemic. I would like to thank everyone for their donations that were sent in today and I will let you know in my blog next week how much we raised. As I explained last week, we have to leave the money for a couple of days before we can count due to the pandemic.

I think that some people may have misunderstood something that we put in last week’s newsletter. As I explained in the letter we are having to keep the classrooms well ventilated because of Covid and this means that some children may find it cold during the winter months. To help alleviate this I said that children could wear either fleeces or their coats in the classroom to help keep them warm. However, I meant for these to be worn on top of their school jumpers and not instead of a school jumper. If children do not have on a school jumper, they will not be allowed to wear fleeces or coats in the classroom. Can I also ask that KS2 parents ensure that their children wear their ties to school? I have seen a number of children coming to school without them – remember that a tie is part of school uniform.

We have had a bitter sweet event in school this week. The good news is that Ms Davis has returned to school. However, because of her return Mr da Rocha is going to be leaving us (again). I know he has done a wonderful job in the Nursery and everyone at Little Heath would like to wish him all the best for the future – which may involve another return to Little Heath!

Next week in school is ‘Anti-Bullying Week’. The theme this year is ‘United Against Bullying’ underlying the important fact that it is everyone’s responsibility to stop bullying, even people who are just bystanders to the event. We are starting the week by having all the children coming into school wearing odd socks (they have to wear normal uniform apart from the socks). We do this event every year and we think it is very important that we keep repeating the message so that no child feels they have to tolerate bullying.

Have a great weekend. We have been fortunate to have some lovely weather this week but it does not look too good for the weekend. All the agencies who support us keep telling us how important being outside is for both the children’s physical and mental wellbeing so try to get your children outdoors if you can – even if it is just for a short time. See you all again on Monday.