Keep up to date with all the news happening in the school at the moment. Articles are added during the week. Parents are encouraged to check regularly. Our weekly bulletin, emailed directly to parents, summarises content for the week.

• Industrial action, Thursday 2nd March: school closed, childcare and Nursery open

  Wed 22 Feb 2023 Peter Dunmall

  The National Education Union (NEU) is taking industrial action again on Thursday 2nd March in the London region. As a result of this action, for the core school day:

  • main school, Reception - Year 6 - closed to all pupils.
  • ARP - closed to all pupils.
  • Nursery - open to children, as usual. Children to attend and wear Nursery uniform as usual.
  • childcare, Breakfast & After-School Clubs, and specialist clubs are open as usual. Pupils may attend and wear clothes of their choice.

   

  The risk of not having enough staff to teach pupils in school, including the risk of a picket line and staff not wishing to cross any picket line, means that the main school and ARP are closed to all pupils.

   

  Wrap around childcare - Breakfast and After-School Clubs - are open. If parents wish to cancel a booking, we will issue a credit to your child's childcare account. We are trying to be flexible to support any essential childcare needs at times we would usually be open while giving parents the flexibility to cancel if a booking no longer suits your arrangements.

   

  Specialist clubs - before and after school - will run as scheduled. If your child does not attend we will offer a refund, on request to the clubs email address. 

   

  Instrumental music lessons provided by tutors from Ealing Music Service will not take place and are likely to be rearranged for later in the school year. Miss Neil-Smith will contact parents individually when arrangements for each instrument and tutor are known.

   

  Pupils who receive a benefits-related free school meal may collect a packed-lunch from the school office on Thursday morning.

   

  We are not providing remote education because we want to maintain harmonious employee relationships and do not expect teachers who are taking strike action to plan and prepare lessons in advance or teachers who are not taking strike action to cover for their colleagues. Parents may wish to use lessons and resources published by the government funded Oak Academy.

   

  Whilst parents will, inevitably, experience some inconvenience, please remember that this industrial action has met all legal requirements and that teachers do not take the decision to strike lightly. Our teachers hold mixed views. Some, including very experienced class teachers, say that they are taking industrial action for the first time because they feel so strongly. Others say that they are torn between a loss of pay, not wanting to be on strike but rather teaching and supporting pupils in school.

   

  Some teachers may attend picket lines at the Wyndham Road and/or Coombe Road entrances. Access for pupils and parents should not be restricted by any picket lines.

   

  Further industrial action is planned:

  • Wednesday 15th March,
  • Thursday 16th March.

  Our arrangements for further strike days may change. We will assess risk and publish arrangements a week in advance.

• PTFA Fielding Eggs on sale for new half-term

  Tue 21 Feb 2023 PTFA

  The PTFA are pleased to announce that Fielding Eggs are back on sale for this half term (Feb-Mar). Two families each week will be able to secure 50% of the eggs that are laid that week. At the moment this is between 16-18 eggs (and excludes the eggs laid at weekends as these are donated to those helping to feed the chickens during Saturday and Sunday).

  If you would like to be one of those families, click on the link and select the week.
  https://www.tickettailor.com/events/fieldingptfa/764678#

• PTFA Quiz Night Joining Instructions

  Tue 21 Feb 2023 PTFA

  The PTFA are looking forward to those parents/teams planning to attend the Fielding Quiz Night this Friday (24 February). For those that have tickets already, doors will open at 7pm and we'll aim to start by about 7.20pm.

  
  The winning team member will each get an Apple Home Pod Mini (worth £99) so it's certainly worth getting those brains in gear!  Don't forget to bring along some loose change as we will be playing Heads or Tails (the cash pot goes to the winner).  We'll also be running a raffle where you can win one of the latest Apple iPads or a pair of EarPods. (We'll have a credit card machine available to take money for the raffle).
  
  A Mexican Dinner will be served at around 8.30pm with plates, cutlery and napkins provided by the PTFA.  Please bring along any drinks, cups, desserts, snacks that you wish to consume during the night.  Can you also bring a bag to take home any empty bottles so they can be recycled at home.
  
  A reminder that when leaving the school site at the end of the night to be as quiet as possible - the school is in a residential neighbourhood.

• PTFA Meeting Agenda: Monday 27 February

  Tue 21 Feb 2023 PTFA

  Some big projects have been put forward by the school for the PTFA to fund and we'd like to hear your feedback. So this is a reminder for all Class Reps and parents interested in PTFA activities to join one of the two online meetings on Monday 27 February. We'll also discuss the latest events in the calendar including the Quiz Night and upcoming Magic Show. 

   

  We still have quite a few events to deliver to hit our £35,000 target and each year group will need to deliver one major event during the course of the academic year (excluding the Summer/Christmas Fairs). We should remember that any new projects for the school are on top of the current target.

  
  The two meetings will be held at 10am (with Mr Dunmall attending) and 8.30pm via online Zoom. Register for the morning meeting here (https://bit.ly/3YS8gEr) or the evening meeting here (https://bit.ly/3kiNLSo)
  
  Feel free to drop any questions or feedback to fieldingPTFA@gmail.com

• Annual Parent survey, what you told us and next steps

  Tue 21 Feb 2023 Clare Haines

  Thank you for your responses to our annual parent survey

  This year we had a huge response rate with 650 pupils being represented.

  We are delighted that our main strengths have been positively recognised by parents. The Governing Board and school leaders will begin to consider the areas for improvement over the next few months. We also recognise that some parents have highlighted other individual strengths and areas for development. Your comments will be shared in full with the Governing Board. For now I have provided a summary of your responses.

   

  The things you told us you like most about Fielding are (576 responses)

  Teaching and academic standards

  Teachers

  Values, ethos

  Environment, facilities

  Wraparound care, clubs

  Pastoral care, well-being, behaviour expectations, inclusiveness

  Sense of community

  Clear communication

  Breadth of curriculum offer

  Wider curriculum opportunities (Gardening, cooking, specialist subjects)

  Expectation and aspiration

  Support for those who need to catch up/have SEND

  The things you told us you would like to see improved are  (530 responses)

  Communication, too many channels, not enough communication, more communication about what pupils are learning, direct access to class teachers, tone,

  Clubs, booking, variety, availability, allocation, fairness

  More academic challenge

  Catering, halal food, less puddings

  SEND and support for those who struggle, more TAs

  Sports offer, encourage those who are less sporty, more equitable

  More arts, craft, creative activity - make learning more fun

  Behaviour, consistency and fairness

  Homework, too much, not enough

  Class sizes

  Nursery organisation, sharing what children are doing

  Themes for the leadership team and/or Governing Board to discuss further:

  Clubs,

  • variety on offer
  • capacity
  • booking system

  Communication,

  • opportunities for face-to-face meetings with class teachers, particularly in the lower years
  • year group noticeboards, how can we make these more informative, without parents having to click on lots of links?
  • resolving concerns, who and when?

  Behaviour policy,

  • review consistency of use, including sharing positives with parents
  • use of traffic light system
  • bullying, communication with parents

  Homework,

  • year 1 & 2, too much?
  • years 3 - 6, not enough?
  • creative home learning, does it add value?

  Site safety,

  • dogs on site, review in line with updated guidance
  • safer streets

  School meals,

  • halal offer
  • deserts
  • quality
  • communication regarding school food standards

  Read the full summary and year-on-year comparison:

  • Annual Parent Survey 2023

• KS2 Battle of the Bands results...

  Mon 20 Feb 2023 Reena Patel

  The results are in for our February half-term Battle of the Bands

   

  In the Years 3 & 4 Battle, congratulations to 4S  who scored an overall 217 points over the break on Times Tables Rock Stars and the overall top player prize went to Szymon Kowalkowski (4S) Rock Name – Blue Rolie. Well done 4S and Szymon, extremely impressive scores.

   

  In the Years 5 & 6 Battle, congratulations to 6F who scored an overall 659 points over the festive season. The overall top player prize went to Matthew Hammond (6F) Rock Name – Journey Falcon.

   

  A big well done to our winners as this is not the first time their class has won and the top players!

   

  A special congratulations to James Reilly (3F) who stormed the competition and achieved a prize for his dedication and efforts towards the tournament over the holidays. Hadi who is known as rocker name 'Jonah Case' accumulated an amazing total of 3,662 points during the tournament! 

   

  Since returning back to school this week, many pupils have shown real excitement and enjoyment from participating in this battle and determined to be the next Fielding Band winners. Pupils are proud that they had the opportunity to contribute towards their band and collate points collectively as a team.

   

  Please continue to encourage practice at home for at least three times a week for a minimum of three minutes in any of the game stages as we have seen a rapid increase in fluency in KS2 from the regular practice taking place in school and at home. Pupils are already rapidly recalling tables and overall showing great confidence and motivation to be even better. 

   

  A big well done to all KS2 band members for participating and fulfilling your roles by showing great teamwork to earn points for your class band.
   

  The next KS2 battle will be over the Easter holidays however the weekly year group tournaments are running so continue to practice to boost your speed, fluency and confidence and look out for the upcoming holiday tournament launch!

• Year 6 Virtual Pentathlon - 1st Place in Long Jump and Shuttle runs

  Mon 20 Feb 2023 Natasha Pasha

  27 children from Year 6 were selected to take part in the Virtual Pentathlon against 8 schools in Ealing.

  The children were divided into three divisions based on their scores. 

  The Pentathlon event consisted of five events: long jump, speed bounce, chest push, vertical jump and shuttle runs.

   

  Long Jump

  Division 1 - 5th

  Division 2 - 1st

  Division 3 - 2nd 

   

  Speed Bounce

  Division 1 - 5th

  Division 2 - 4th

  Division 3 - 3rd 

   

   

  Chest Push

  Division 1 - 5th

  Division 2 - 2nd

  Division 3 - 3rd 

   

  Vertical Jump

   

  Division 1 - 5th

  Division 2 - 3rd

  Division 3 - 2nd 

   

   

  Shuttle Runs

  Division 1 - 3rd

  Division 2 - 1st

  Division 3 - 2nd 

   

  A special thanks to all the children below who participated ...

  Rosa (6P), Lilah (6P), Isra (6P), Hera (6P), Pepper (6P), Matthew (6F), Zahra (6F), Isla (6F), Zakariya (6F), Jacob (6H), Aiden (6F), Maan (6F), Reuben (6S), Riza (6F), Evie (6S) Lyla (6H), Emma (6F), Anna (6F), Natalie R (6P), Manasvita (6P), Haydence (6P), Anya (6F), Lana (6F), Leo W (6P), Ellen (6F), Theo F (6P) and Imogen (6F). 

  

• Fielding Book Day, Friday 3rd March, and this week's Reading Celebrations

  Fri 10 Feb 2023 Philippa Whaley

  ​​​​​​'Access to books and the encouragement of the habit of reading: these two things are the first and most necessary steps in education and librarians, teachers and parents all over the country know it. It is our children's right and it is also our best hope and their best hope for the future.' Michael Morpurgo.

   

  Fielding Book Day

  Fielding will be celebrating World Book Day on Friday 3rd March (the National day is Thursday 2 March).

   

  To mark the occasion, children (and adults) will choose their favourite book character or a favourite book and bring in or wear 3 clues to what the book is for their class to guess. For example, this could include a mask or props, which of course may be home-made. 

   

  In addition to this, all children in the school will take part in buddy reading, sharing books that they love with another child or children in another year group. This is back by popular demand from the children as it has been such a success in previous years. 

   

  Nursery will buddy read with Year 5.

  Reception will buddy read with Year 4. 

  Year 1 will buddy read with Year 3.

  Year 2 will buddy read with Year 6.

   

  Michael Morpurgo online event, KS1 and KS2

  Children will also be taking part in an online 45 minute event with Michael Morpurgo. In this Q&A session, Michael will be talking to one of the Read for Good storytellers about his inspiration for War Horse as well as reading an extract from the book. First published in 1982, War Horse was inspired by accounts told to Michael by First World War veterans and by witnessing first-hand the connection between animals and a young boy at his ‘Farms for City Children’. War Horse follows Joey the horse from the fields of Devon to the deadly chaos of trenches during the First World War, a powerful story of friendship and humanity on both sides of the war.

   

  Readathon (27.2.23-5.3.23)

  During the week of World Book Day 2023 (Monday 27.2.23- Monday 5.3.23), pupils will also be taking part in Readathon. Since its first Readathon in 2000, Fielding has raised a grand total of £5381. This has led to many books being donated to much-needed schools and hospitals. During the week after half term (week commencing  20th February), your child will receive a sponsor card, book mark and details on how to take part and start raising money. Please see the film below for further information.

   

  Find out more about Readathon here.

   

  Reading Celebrations

  A huge congratulations once again to the many pupils across the school who have been reading books for pleasure from the recommended reading lists and completing reading response activities in their pink book to achieve bronze, silver, gold and even platinum certificates! The options for these activities can be found in your child's reading record or on their year group noticeboard on the website. We look forward to celebrating further reading achievements after half-term!

   

  All pupils who attend Fielding are expected to read for 20 minutes at home every day. This may be to a parent, other adult or independently, if able. Teachers check pupils' reading records every day and sign them weekly to ensure that this is happening and will be following up with pupils and parents when it is not. As well as signing their reading record every day and writing the name of the book and pages they've read, pupils and parents are encouraged to record new words they come across and discuss the meanings of these together.

   

  Book Fair

  With the support of our Junior and Senior Librarians, we are once again welcoming and running the Travelling Books book fair after half-term. It will be situated in the KS1 library from Tuesday 7th March- Monday 13th March and will be open for business between 8:15am and 8:45am in the mornings and 3:30-4pm each afternoon. We look forward to seeing you there!

   

  

• PTFA: Earlybird Tickets - Magic Extravaganza (Sun 5 Mar)

  Wed 08 Feb 2023 PTFA

  The PTFA will be hosting a Family Magic Extravaganza, featuring local magician Samuel Hurst and four of his magician friends.

  We're excited as it will be Sam's first visit since 2017 and they'll be performing an exclusive event just for Fielding Primary School.

  The performance will bring together five different acts during the afternoon including:

  • Sam Hurst (Magic)
  • Tom Brace (Magic)
  • Luspinda (Hula Hoop Artist/Performer)
  • Steph and Layla (Ventriloquism)
  • Kieron the Mighty (Balloon extraordinaire and has 1.2million followers on TikTok)

  Earlybird Tickets go on sale Wednesday 8 February at 8pm priced at £8 plus 50p transaction fee. From Sunday 19 February ticket prices rise to £9.50 plus 50p transaction fee.

  A huge thank you to Sargeants Estate Agents for sponsoring this event.

  

• KS2 TTRS BoB - who will be the next set of winners?

  Tue 07 Feb 2023 Reena Patel

  Fielding pupils, it’s that time again to battle against the other classes within your year group and phase!

  Our next battle will begin on Friday 10^th February at 4pm and will end on Sunday 19^th February at 6pm.
   

  Two battles will take place during these dates and times:

  • Lower KS2 (Years 3 & 4) 
  • Upper KS2 (Years 5 & 6)
     

  Important Notice:

  Maths Circle has reported that some pupils are using out of date versions of TT Rock Stars so please take this time to update the app and use the latest version of it and website to ensure pupils receive the most secure, feature-rich and enjoyable experience of TT Rock Stars. Some versions are so far behind that you are missing out on key updates which have taken place.
   

  Solution:

  If using the website at home, please can parent(s) / carer(s) visit play.ttrockstars.com/reset to load the latest version in their device's browser. Otherwise update the Times Tables Rock Stars app from the app store.

  Times Tables Rock Stars (TTRS) continues to be the greatest phenomenon of learning times tables at Fielding as it is fun and challenging for all of our pupils. Through its carefully sequenced programme of daily times tables practice, it ensures no child is left behind in practice and for those that are confident, over-practice is ensured to increase higher levels of automaticity.
   

  How to play:

  Pupils can login via their personalised username and passwords. If they are unsure of this, they can check with their class teacher. 

  Click here to access the site.

   

  How to earn points: 

  Every correct answer in any game type is worth 1 point towards the class team. Pupils can play in Garage, Rock Slam, Soundcheck, etc and earn 1 point per correct answer. 

   

  Pupils should not confuse Battle points with coins! Coins are separate. They will still earn 10 coins per correct answer in the Garage, 5 per correct Soundcheck and 1 coin per correct answer everywhere else. 

  Prizes

  The winning class will be announced on Monday 20^th February and will win: 

  • The TTRS Trophy to keep until the end of term
  • An inflatable guitar to keep until the of term 
  • TTRS Certificate

  From the winning class, the pupil who scores the most points for their class team will win: 

  • TTRS Keyring
  • TTRS Pencil 
  • TTRS Certificate 

  TTRS promotes the "little and often" technique which is why pupils only need to play between 3-10 minutes a day as part of their daily practice and whilst doing this over the half-term they will be earning those points for their class band! To promote this further, a daily minutes restriction has been set to 30 minutes to stop children from excessive screen-time during the half-term.
   

  We look forward to see how this Battle of the Bands 'rocks' out and I look forward to announcing the next winners.
   

  Havin a rockin’ half-term break rockers!