Weekly Parent BulletinWeek of Monday 3 March (Week B)

Dear Parents and Carers, 

A wonderfully busy first week back for our school community.

In your weekly bulletin, I am delighted to start including examples of the wonderful work that our students are completing each and every week. Students are working so very hard and the results often sparkle. 

Lunchtime extracurricular clubs continue to be a success. Mr Coppack (Teacher of PE) has told me that at least 30 students sign up to compete in the 5-A-Side Football Club every Wednesday and Friday. 

We have also had some excellent extracurricular sporting activities happening this week (Great Big Dance Off and National Cup girls football). More details will be shared about these next week. 

For now, I hope you have a peaceful weekend and find the following articles informative. 

Yours faithfully, 

Dr J Simpson

• Mon 3 Mar: Year 7 PSHE Workshop with 'Equation'
• Wed 5 Mar: Year 7 SEND Bookable Reviews
• Tue 11 Mar: Year 9 Options Evening (5:30-7:00pm)
• Mon 17 Mar: Year 7 PSHE Workshop with 'Equation'
• Mon 17 Mar: Bronze DofE Parent Information Evening (4:30-5:30) with Mr Garnham
• Tue 18 Mar: Year 13 Geography Residential Field Visit (until Fri 21 Mar)
• Wed 19 Mar: Year 9 Parent-Teacher Meetings (4-7pm)
• Thu 20 Mar: Maths Challenges (Year 9 and 10) organised by Miss Wignall
• Tue 25 Mar: Year 11 Parent-Teacher Meetings (4-7pm)
• Thu 27 Mar: Year 7 Walesby Educational Visit (residential) with Miss Weston
• Thu 27 Mar: Year 11 SEND Drop-Ins
• Fri 28 Mar: Year 7 Walesby Educational Visit (residential) with Miss Weston
• Mon 31 Mar: Year 8 PSHE Workshop with 'Equation'
• Tue 1 Apr: Parent Internet Safety Workshop (4-5pm) with Mrs Gray
• Wed 2 April: Year 9 Options deadline
• Thu 3 April: Year 9 Ambition Educational Visit with Miss Cockayne
• Fri 4 April: SEND Coffee Drop In Morning

Online Safety Parent Workshop - we will be hosting our annual Online Safety Parent Workshop which provides an opportunity for parents/cares to come into school to learn what is new in the online safety world, how to navigate social media apps and how to support their child when online.  More information will be coming out on how to book onto this workshop. 

Ready to Learn - all students should have a pencil case which has all the necessary stationary needed for their lessons.  Please can we ask that you check your child's pencil case and ensure that they have the right equipment over the weekend.  See link for what they should have.  https://www.nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk/page.php?p=uniform

• Next week, all parents/carers will be receiving their half termly attendance letters which highlight the importance of attendance and the number of absences they  have had so far this academic year.  
• At Nottingham Free School, we talk about our key phrase of ‘Attend Every Day’, whilst recognising and supporting students that are improving their resilience in attending school.
• A key theme running through our guidance is ‘Contact us for support’. Whenever there are circumstances beyond your control that affect your child's attendance, we will always be here to support and guide you.
• If you have any concerns or worries about your child attending school, please contact Mrs Mills or your child's Head of Year who will be able to support you.

• All children will be experiencing subject-based careers videos in their lessons next week.

• Please take a look at the National Careers Week website to access lots of information and opportunities:  https://ncw2025.co.uk/

Take next week as a great opportunity to speak to your child about future careers they might want to aim for!

Mrs P Barrett (Careers Coordinator) 

• A reminder of the dates: 20, 21, 22 May 2025 (3 days)
• If you haven't yet given us information about your child's placement, please do so via this form.  We need the information months in advance in order to perform the necessary checks.   https://forms.office.com/e/qMPHraFRrc
• If you need some assistance, please get in touch with pbarrett@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

Thank you

Mrs P Barrett (Careers Coordinator) 

• The dates are 14 - 18 July 2025 (5 days).
• A letter has been sent out to parents/carers with further details.
• Please give us information about the placement via this form:  https://forms.office.com/e/SQQmjGkKWV   
• We would ideally like this information by just after the Easter break.
• If you need some assistance, please get in touch with pbarrett@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

Thank you

Mrs P Barrett (Careers Coordinator) 

We are pleased to provide you with access to buy specially discounted tickets (40% off!) for the upcoming Super League Basketball Cup Finals, which take place on Sunday 9th March @ Motorpoint Arena Nottingham.

The Cup Finals are a showpiece event in the British Basketball calendar, and you can be part of the 7,500 crowd in the spectacular surroundings of Motorpoint Arena Nottingham to enjoy this fast-paced double bill of the two top pro teams from the Men’s and Women’s leagues as they battle it out to become the last team’s standing.

The day also includes a national league game from our local team, the Nottingham Hoods as well as world-class entertainment from cheerleaders, mascots and other entertainment acts.

Schedule:

• 11.30am           Doors Open
• 12.30pm           Women’s Cup Final
• 3.30pm              Men’s Cup Final
• 6.15pm              National League – Nottingham Hoods vs Milton Keynes Breakers
• 8.00pm              Expected finish time

Our school has secured access to tickets for just £15 each for both Adults or Children (normal ticket prices £33 Adult / £25 Children) which is a discount of 40%! But hurry, this offer will close on Friday 28th February. You can book your tickets from:

https://shopbritishbasketball.com/products/2025cupsecondary

To add tickets, click Add to Cart, then you can increase your ticket request to the desired numbers.

Tickets will be dispatched to you direct from the seller.

Please be aware that this is an exclusive offer for parents and children to purchase tickets for the event. This is not a school trip and parents/carers will need to accompany any children who do plan to attend. 

Ashley Hall  (Teacher of Languages and Physical Education) 

• An A3 QR poster payment has been displayed at Lidl Carrington Nottingham NG5 2DA as part of a scheme to help people give money in a safe and reliable way to people sleeping rough or facing homelessness in Nottingham.
• The Nottingham Street Aid initiative launched in February 2023 to give people a simple way of donating directly to those in need of support.
• The number of people sleeping rough has increased by 21 per cent in the city over the last two years, rising from 604 people to 729.
• Dr Paul Scotting, who has been coordinating the initiative, says around £600 per month is being raised through the payment point in Sherwood near the Co-op store Mansfield Road.
• He said: “We hope the people at Sherwood will take this opportunity to donate £3 per tap to the fund, every penny of which will be spent on items to help someone who is homeless.
• To donate, people approach the QR poster and scan with their smart phones, and a £3 donation will be made.
• It will appear on bank statements as a payment to the Notts Community Foundation, which is one of the partners of the initiative.
• The idea for the initiative was inspired by Cambridge Street Aid, Dr Scotting says, and a similar initiative has also been running in Leicester since 2019.
• Money donated goes into a fund managed by the Notts Community Foundation, and charities can bid for access to some of the money which must be spent on items for a person who is homeless.

For information and advice if you are homeless, please see Homelessness - Can we help you - Nottingham City Council

Best wishes,

Nottinghamshire Police