Newsletter

I hope that you have all had a wonderful start to the summer holidays, thankfully the sun has decided to shine this week.  I would like to thank parents and carers for their continued support throughout the year and I would also like to thank and commend all of your children for their hard work, kindness and positivity. 

Once again it has been a busy year with many opportunities to celebrate the talents and achievements of our children.  Most recently, their sporting and dramatic endeavors were on full display during our annual sports day and the school production of 'School of Rock'.  Details of these and many other recent events within school are celebrated in this newsletter and I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as we have enjoyed participating in them.  

At the end of this term we will say a fond farewell to several members of staff and I would like to thank them for their hard work and commitment in supporting our students throughout their time at NFS.

• Mr Haggerwood - Teacher of Science
• Miss Mbando - Teacher of English
• Mrs Nailer - Administrative Assistant
• Mr Parish - Teacher of Science
• Mr Phillips - Teacher of Science and Teaching Assistant
• Dr Whotton - Teacher of Maths
• Mrs Williams - Teacher of Art
• Miss Witko - Academic Mentor

A number of existing members of staff will also take up new posts at NFS in September:

• Miss Furlong - Acting Head of English
• Miss Hinson - Lead Teacher of English

Finally, we will be welcoming a number of new staff to the NFS family in September.

• Mr Lemin - Teacher of Science
• Mrs Waterhouse - Receptionist / Administrative Assistant

I wish you and your families an enjoyable and safe summer and look forward to welcoming your children back into school in September.

Dr Simpson - Head Teacher  

Safeguarding Updates:

As the academic year is drawing to a close and the 6 weeks holidays are approaching, it is important that safeguarding never stops and our support to parents over the holidays continues.  The following Designated Safeguarding Leads will be contactable over the summer via email:

• Mrs Kay Gray - Deputy Headteacher (kgray@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk)
• Mrs Susan Seymour - Safeguarding Officer (sseymour@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk)
• Dr Jo Simpson - Head Teacher (jsimpson@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk)

We would like to remind parents of the following agencies that are available to them during the holidays should you have any concerns:

BASE 51:

BASE 51 is a young person's charity supporting 11-25 year olds in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. They have the following services available:

• Counselling for 10-25 year olds - both free and low-cost
• Outburst LGBTQIA+ group
• Youth Club
• Young Leaders Programme
• The Studios @ Base 51 recording studio

For further information please visit their website: https://www.base51.org/

Be U Notts:

Be U Notts is an accessible early intervention service that is easy to navigate; providing timely access to advice, guidance and support for children and young people, families and partners.  Be U Notts delivers: community drop-in sessions; 1-1 therapeutic support; group sessions; online and virtual support; and self harm support.

For further information please click on the link which will take you straight to their website: https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/nottinghamshire/be-u-notts-service/

Ask Lion:

Click on the following link to find out what support is available in Nottingham: https://www.asklion.co.uk/kb5/nottingham/directory/home.page

KOOTH:

KOOTH is a safe, confidential and non-stigmatised way for children and young people to receive free counselling, advice and support online.  Staff are fully trained and qualified counsellors, available Monday to Friday from 12pm until 10pm each night and weekends from 6pm to 10pm.  

For further information please click on the link which will take you straight to their website: https://www.kooth.com/

ACT Early (Prevent Radicalisation):

Early intervention for people who are worried about someone close who is expressing extreme views or hatred.  

For further information please click on the link which will take you direct to the website: https://actearly.uk/

Fearless (Part of Crimestoppers):

Fearless gives young people the power to report a crime 100% anonymously.

For further information please click on the link which will take you direct to the website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/fearless

Mrs Gray - Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral) and Designated Safeguarding Lead

We enjoyed our third 'Culture Day' at Nottingham Free School on Friday the 19th July. It was a great celebration of our diverse community with some amazing and creative outfits. Mr Wright put together a fantastic playlist of student and staff requests to represent all the nationalities of our school. Student leadership voted on the best dressed in each year group with some very worthy winners. The equality and diversity group really enjoyed announcing the winners at the end of the day. We raised £102 for Doctors without borders and £95 for Hayward House Hospice.

We understand that there was an issue with ParentPay on the day, so these are still available if you want to contribute.

Mrs S Wilken and Mrs B Inglis - Heads of Personal Development

After a long wait, the NFS Big Art exhibition was back on this year on the evening of the 8th of July. Our students involved proudly exhibited their work and enjoyed showing their creations to families and friends.

There was a great atmosphere, with fantastic entertainment from the music department bands, while our brilliant student leaders guided visitors round and sold refreshments.

The event was well attended, with over two hundred parents and members of the community attending to see the exhibition, and even some ex-pupils even came by to say hello. It was a very proud moment for the Art department and definitely an event that will be back next year, so watch this space!...

Mrs S Wilken - Head of Art and Personal Development

On Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th July, students worked really hard on our school musical for this year - School of Rock.

As always, this was a student-driven spectacle - their performances on and off stage; their incredible set design; and lets not forget the much anticipated return of our live band!

Thank you to all of the students and staff who have worked so very hard since January to put on this brilliant show; and thank you to all parents, carers and students who came to watch the show.

Overall, it was another huge success and the students should be very proud of themselves!

Miss L Wilson - Head of Music

Please continue to monitor your child's activity online.  Ensure that you are aware of what apps they are accessing and our advice continues to be that you familiarize yourself with the app so that you know how to use it. The following websites provide support for parents and resources on how to manage conversations:

• https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
• https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/online-safety/
• https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/
• https://www.internetmatters.org/schools-esafety/parent-online-support-pack-teachers/

Please check our school website regularly for online safety updates.

Mrs Gray - Deputy Headteacher (Pastoral)

Please click here to see attached the new menu cycle ready for the start of the new school year.

For any enqurieis, please contact the main office in the first instance - contact@nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk

Aspens Services Ltd.

What are the timings of the school day for the next school year?

Have the timings for the school day changed in any way, compared to this school year?

• Please note for children in Years 7, 8 and 9 Thursdays have an earlier finish of 2:45pm
• This is different from this past school year, when Year 7, 8 and 9 children finished at 3:45pm on Thursdays.

How are we supporting parents/carers with children in both Key Stages, if you collect your children from school on Thursdays?

• We appreciate that this change means some parents/carers might have to make two trips to collect their children from school on Thursdays.
• To support these parents/carers, their Year 7, 8 or 9 child(ren) can attend a study period in our school library, supervised by a teacher, until 3:45pm.
• This means those parents/carers will have a single collection time of 3:45pm on Thursdays.
• Please let us know that you need this provision by completing this form: Click Here

Dodgeball Leadership

Some Sports Leaders were selected by British Dodgeball to be involved in their National Primary Schools Finals.
Pupils were given the opportunity to be assistant referees at the finals. As part of the offer they also  received:

• free access to the governing body’s online officiating course
• a morning workshop to allow them practical experience of refereeing before the event
• refereeing experience during the late morning/afternoon with experienced dodgeball players, who qualified for the National Final

Our students were an absolute credit to the PE department and the school, in front of National Schools, the British Dodgeball National Governing Body and even the Sheriff of Nottingham!

CAT Dance Workshop

20 students were selected to take part in a Dance Workshop, provided by FABRIC Dance (based in Nottingham). Students experienced Contemporary Dance by a qualified Instructor, accompanied by a live musician.

Students conducted themselves admirably and were a credit to the school. This has enabled us to develop our school-community club links, whereby some students have attended sessions outside of school.

Any students wishing to experience similar are invited to collect a leaflet from the PE noticeboard. There are a number of workshop sessions over the summer holidays.

The Great Big Dance-Off, National Finals (Cheltenham)

Following our success at the East Midlands Regional Heat, the Enrichment Dancers travelled to Cheltenham to compete in the National Finals of the competition.

Students were up against exceptionally technical dancers, which was intimidating for some of our dancers to see during rehearsals! Reminding the group that what we lack in technical ability, we make-up for in style, the dancers left everything on that stage!

Out of 21 finalists, we placed 11th (one judge had us at 6th!), which is something they should all be incredibly proud of. Our dancers hailed from a real range of dance experience and only really had their short enrichment sessions to learn the choreography and hone their performance.

They continued to prove what we have always championed within PE… we may be small, but WE ARE MIGHTY!

Miss K Singleton - Head of PE

In Preparation for September:

All ear piercings need to take place at the start of the summer holidays as this allows the ear to heal in sufficient time.  Earrings are expected to be taken out for PE lessons. 

Please see the school website (https://www.nottinghamfreeschool.co.uk/page.php?p=uniform) for uniform requirements.  If you have any queries then please email reception or email your child's Head of Year who will be able to provide you with some clarity.

Pre-Loved Uniform:

Our Pre-Loved Uniform stock is ever-chaning, and we are committed to supporting our school community with access to quality pre-owned uniform - you can visit our uniform page to make a request.

Summer Activities | Nottingham City Libraries

We have lots of actvities to keep your little ones busy over the summer holidays!

www.nottinghamcitylibraries.co.uk/summeractivities/

 

Summer Reading Challenge | Nottingham City Libraries

The Summer Reading Challenge is back and starts on Saturday 8th July!

www.nottinghamcitylibraries.co.uk/summer-reading-challenge/