Dear Parents/Carers,

This last fortnight has flown by and there have been some real highlights.

A huge thank you to Mr Wilson for inviting in the Falconry Centre and their amazing birds of prey to really captivate the birdwatching club. The children have been able to see these incredible birds of prey up close and personal - An awesome experience!

We have also been continuing our Maddie's Captains program that is working with a group of our Y6 girls to develop positive self-esteem and emotional wellbeing. This program is delivered by coaches and players at Gloucester Rugby club and is part of our ongoing focus on wellbeing for our young people. The children are really enjoying working through the program and having great fun.

Thank you to Ms Field who arranged the Online Harm Workshop for parents. I heard that this shared some powerful messages and guidance for parents on how to keep children safe in the ever-evolving and complex digital world. The session was so good we are considering booking it for staff training to further enhance our own understanding both as staff and parents ourselves. I know the parents that attended felt that the messages were hard-hitting but also supportive.

School Trips - 7 Before 11

At Kingsholm we recognise and celebrate the rich diversity we have within our school. However, we also understand that children come from different backgrounds and due to various reasons have varied experiences outside school. 

As staff we feel it is vital that children experience certain things during their primary years. These can help make connections within learning, help them relate to books and stories they may come across and support them to understand the world they live in.

Would you believe we have children that...

Have never seen a giraffe!

Have never walked in a forest!

Have never made a sandcastle!

Have never seen a live stage show!

Have never seen Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament!

I challenged the staff to identify 7 experiences they felt all primary school children should have had before the end of Year 6 (Age 11) and they identified the following:

Visiting a farm

Visiting a zoo

Playing on a beach

Walking in the woods

Going to the Theatre

Visiting London

Residential - Staying away from home 

We have made the decision to make these experiences a priority over the seven year journey from Reception to Y6. Each Year group has been tasked with creating a trip that allows children to experience these one of these.

As these trips are not curriculum based we will be asking parents to fund them in order to take part; however, we recognise that finances are always tight and therefore we have decided on the following plan to ensure all pupils are able to take part.

All trips (except the Theatre trip - due to this being a Panto / Residential - Booked for January) will be scheduled for the summer term. This gives us the best chance of good weather and also provides a long time for money to be collected.

In the coming weeks a letter will be coming out to begin payment plans - We are aiming for trips to be around £20 maximum. This will cover any entry costs and coach travel. Destinations have yet to be confirmed and it may be that the trips are slightly cheaper or more expensive when this is organised. However, we are asking that parents begin to pay in advance so that the cost can be spread over the coming months. There are more than 20 weeks before the summer term begins which would equate to £1 a week! If trips are cheaper refunds will be issued (or money rolled over to the following year's trip). 

Unfortunately, we will not be able to take pupils from families that have not paid. If you feel that the finances of this trip may be an issue please do come and speak to us as we will always look to work with families to find a way of making this work.

The plan is to make these trips part of a child's journey through Kingsholm giving every child the chance to experience these 7 experiences before they are 11 years old.

Look out for the letters that will be issued soon.

Kind regards,

Mr Larner

Joke of the week:

What do you call a man with no shins?

Toe-Knee

We have been running some lovely after school clubs this term which have included - Multisports for Year 3, Speedstacks, Craft Club, Football for Years 1 & 2, Birdwatching, and Wriggly Cooking.  The clubs will run for one term at a time and then change.  Please look out for the new list of clubs which will be sent through schoolping in due course.  

Young Voices, Netball and Football will continue as normal.

 All our school policies are available to view on the school's website, under the 'Key Information' Tab. We will share any updated policies with you here.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy August 2026

[pdf 679KB]

We are delighted to have been invited to take part in a Tesco colouring competition to mark Remembrance Day.

Early next week, children will bring home a poppy picture to colour. A winning entry will be chosen by Tesco and a number of the pictures will be included in a special display at the St Oswald's store in early November.

We hope lots of children will enjoy taking part. Good luck to everyone entering, and thank you for your continued support.

 Please can we have all entries returned to the school office by Friday 23rd October.

Please feel free to contact the School Office on the means below:

Guinea Street

Gloucester

GL1 3BN

01452 530 777

virtualoffice@kingsholm.gloucs.sch.uk

Visit us on the web at www.kingsholmprimary.co.uk