Riverside News Issue 468 - 17.10.25 - Riverside Primary School

⭐ STAR of the Week ⭐

Leopard: Harrison G

For his fabulous re-telling of The Owl Babies story. Harrison has loved learning the story through using a story map and Makaton signs. His enthusiasm for performing in front of the class was delightfull! Well done Harrison!

Zebra: Chester W

For having an incredible love for learning. Chester strives everyday to be a brain stretcher or Risky Risk Taker! Keep up the hard work superstar!

Lion: Livvy E

For making a great effort in all your subjects! In English, you have worked hard to write sentences using adjectives to describe the witch, and in phonics, you have been carefully segmenting and blending words. You are a super sitter on the carpet and have been answering lots of questions. Great job!

Bear: Austin M

For amazing participation in phonics lessons this week. You have been an absolute superstar, joining in with our flashcards and segementing and blending words during our whole class carpet sessions.

Otter: Harper J

For her wonderful enthusiasm with our Talk for Reading story, Room on the Broom. Harper read part of the story to the class with great expression and excitement. She also produced fantastic writing, using brilliant adjectives to describe the witch. Well done, Harper!

Seal: Theodora L

For writing a fantastic set of instructions on how to trap a water goblin! Theodora carefully used time conjunctions, imperative verbs and some brilliant expanded noun phrases to make her writing clear and exciting. Keep up the wonderful work!

Dolphin: Nancy E

For being a superstar – always ready to learn, answering lots of questions in maths and sharing lots of ideas in writing lessons. Well done, keep it up!

Giraffe: Ella C

For always being helpful in the classroom, volunteering to help with anything that needs to be done, and being a wonderful role model to others. You consistently show a positive attitude and strive to do your very best every day. Well done!

Turtle: Leilani K

For demonstrating exceptional behaviour at all times and being a shining role model for Year 4.

Panda: Hayden H

For demonstrating creativity and confidence by designing an impressive VR game in computing and presenting his concept effectively to the class.

Tiger: Lenny K

For outstanding effort and perseverance in Maths. You have shown great focus and determination in your learning. Well done!

Meerkat: George N

For showing great Strive during our Duxford school trip. He demonstrated real maturity, showing enthusiasm throughout the day, asking thoughtful questions and making excellent links to our classroom learning.

Rhino: Mark K

For excellent work in computing during our Digital Citizenship unit, showing great understanding of online safety in the end-of-unit quiz and demonstrating real achievement.

Kangaroo: Benjamin H

For being a super tour guide around Duxford, asking intelligent questions and having a wonderfully inquisitive mind!

Koala: Eleanor E

For her amazing engagement during our trip to Duxford – she asked thoughtful questions and shared her fantastic knowledge with others. You really made us all at Riverside proud!

📅 UPCOMING EVENTS! 📅

Dates not shown on previous issues are added in RED!

Autumn 1 2025

22/10/25 — Individual Photographs

23/10/25 — Year 4 Egyptian Day

23/10/25 — EYFS Parent classroom drop in sessions

24/10/25 — PTA Spook-A-Thon

24/10/25 — Children break up today

Autumn 2 2025

03/11/25 — Children return today

04/11/25 — Parent/Teacher Consultations

06/11/25 — Flu Immunisation

06/11/25 — Parent/Teacher Consultations

14/11/25 — Children in Need 2025

15-23/11/25 — TTRS Maths Week England

21/11/25 — INSET Day

24/11/25 — INSET Day

01/12/25 — Christmas Post Box Open

03/12/25 —Tudor Banquet Day – Special Menu!

03/12/25 — PTA Event – Christmas Sale

08/12/25 — PTA Event – Christmas Sale (after school)

10/12/25 — Christmas Jumper Day

10/12/25 — Christmas Dinner – Special Menu

18/12/25 — Christmas Post Box Closes

Letters

Below are a list of letters, leaflets and posters uploaded to the website this week.

Leaflets/Posters for Parents

Letters sent this week

Year 2 Infant Music Festival – 13.10.25

Safeguarding Concern – Children’s Books by Andrew Cope 13.10.25

Previous letters, leaflets and posters can be found on the school website Events & Letters > Letters & Parent Meetings

Reminders

Reporting Pupil Absence

This is a reminder to all parents/carers that the correct way to report absences is to leave a message on the absence line answerphone daily. If messages are sent by email to the admin email address they will not be registered in time for the morning attendance and you may then receive a call from our attendance team.

Supervision

This is a gentle reminder that parents are responsible for supervising their children and siblings on-site before and after school. We have had a couple of incidents reported to us which were considered ‘near misses’ and children could have got hurt. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

KS1 Playground
Please do not allow children to play on the equipment either before/after school. At the end of the day, parents and children should leave the site promptly . This enables us to open up the playground for our other clubs. Thank you.

KS2 Playground
Please note that the day in KS2 does not start until 8:40am when the doors open. Children should not be left unsupervised on the playground before this time. Children should not play on the equipment. Thank you

Latest Facebook Posts

📸 Individual & Sibling Photographs 📸

🌟 Dolphin Class in action! 🌟

🎨🐌 Bear Class Get Creative with Matisse! 🖌️✨

A Polite Reminder – Scooters and Bikes on the Way to School

We’ve had a few parents share their concerns about younger children riding scooters or small bikes at speed on the way to school, particularly along Ferry Road. In some cases, children are well ahead of their adults, and there’s a real worry that one could accidentally veer into the road before a parent is close enough to intervene.

Please can we kindly ask all families to ensure that children stay close and ride at a safe pace when travelling to and from school. This helps to keep everyone safe – especially near busy roads.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support in keeping our school community safe.

Crossing Patrol Advert

Updated Parent Information Leaflets – Assessments 2025–2026

The Department for Education has published updated parent information leaflets for all national curriculum assessments taking place this school year (2025–2026). These explain what each assessment involves, how results are shared, and how they are used.

National curriculum assessments
Primary school pupils in England take part in the following:

Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA): within the first 6 weeks of entering Reception
Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP): between April and June of Reception year
Phonics Screening Check: in June of Year 1
Key Stage 1 Tests: optional, at the school’s discretion, at the end of Year 2
Multiplication Tables Check (MTC): in June of Year 4
Key Stage 2 Tests (SATs): in May of Year 6

Pupils working below the national curriculum
Children working below the standards of the national curriculum in one or more subjects may be assessed under alternative teacher assessment routes:

Pre-key stage standards – for pupils engaged in subject-specific study
Engagement model – for pupils not yet engaged in subject-specific study
Your child’s teacher will let you know if this applies.

Progress measures
Results from national curriculum assessments are also used to calculate primary school progress measures. These provide parents with information about how schools are performing.

The full set of updated parent leaflets is available to read by following the links below. We ask all parents and carers of children taking part in assessments this year to read the updated information:

Emotional Based School Avoidance Support

SNAP charity has compiled a short guide explaining Emotional Based School Avoidance (ESBA). The guide includes advice and resources to help parents and carers.

To find out more and access the resources, visit SNAP’s website.

Online Safety Guides

Before children have even learnt to read, most can navigate through devices to play games and watch cartoons.

Internet Matters primary school guide helps you to:

Get up to speed on popular apps and platforms like YouTube and Roblox
Learn more about risks and challenges they might face, from inappropriate content and too much screentime.
Find tips and resources to protect them from online harms

Prospective Families

Is your child starting school in September 2026?

The primary school (Reception) admission round opens on Monday 10 November 2025 for parents of children to apply for a Reception school place for the academic year that starts in September 2026. The statutory national closing date for applications is 15 January 2026.

From 10 November 2025, applications can be made online via www.essex.gov.uk/admissions. 99% of parents in Essex applied online last year.

The website also has a copy of the Primary Education in Essex 2025-26 booklet and the Schools Admissions Policies Directories contain details of all admission policies.

We will be hosting an Open Evening on Thursday 20th November with tours starting at 5:30pm and 6:30pm lasting approximately one hour. Please come and view the school, meet our staff and sample our fantastic school dinners. Teachers will be on hand to give tours and provide you with any information you may need.

Should you wish to attend a tour, our open evening or both, please complete a form above.

OPAL

We are excited to share that we have begun the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) project to enhance the lunchtime experience even furtherfor your children. The aim is to provide more opportunities for creative and active play.

Please keep an eye out for a parent survey that will be sent to you soon. This section of the newsletter will keep you updated on our OPAL journey, including upcoming developments and ways you can get involved.

Also, if you are having a clear-out, please look out for our donation requests for resources to enhance the playground. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated!

As part of our exciting OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) journey, we are continuing to develop a rich and varied outdoor play experience for all our children—whatever the weather!

To help us make the most of our wonderful outdoor spaces even as the weather turns wetter and muddier, we are asking that every child brings a pair of wellies to school from September. These will be kept in school so that children can continue to enjoy outdoor play at lunchtimes and still return to lessons feeling clean, dry, and comfortable.

Thank you for your continued support as we build a happier, healthier, and more active playtime for all our children.

The OPAL Team

OPAL Play Project – Donations Wanted!

As you know, we are developing our playtimes through the OPAL (Outdoor Play and Learning) project. This exciting approach helps children develop creativity, teamwork and resilience by giving them access to a wide range of play opportunities.

To keep building on this, we’re looking for donations of the following items:

Medical toys (doctor/nurse kits)
Wallpaper (for crafts)
Toy tools (plastic hammers, spanners, screwdrivers, builders’ kits etc.)
Larger sized wellies (sizes 5, 6, 7)
Pop-its

If you have any of these at home and no longer need them, please drop them off at the school office. Every little contribution helps us make playtimes even more exciting!

Football Tournament

Attendance W/E: 10/10/25

Class	%
Otter	98.20
Lion	97.50
Koala	97.20
Bear	97.10
Giraffe	97.10
Zebra	96.30
Turtle	96.30
Meerkat	95.90
Panda	95.20
Leopard	95.00
Kangaroo	93.30
Seal	92.70
Tiger	92.50
Rhino	90.80
Dolphin	90.00

Team Points

Dinner Menu

We are operating a two week rolling menu. The menus, ingredients and allergen lists can be viewed on our website by clicking here.

Secondary School Admissions for September 2026

As you may be aware, the new secondary school admission round opened on Friday, 12 September 2026, for parents of current Year 6 children to apply for a secondary school (Year 7) place for September 2026.

The statutory national closing date for applications is 31 October 2025.

Applications can be made online via www.essex.gov.uk/admissions. 99% of parents in Essex applied online last year.

All of the application information is available on the website above.

The website also has a copy of the Secondary Education in Essex 2026-27 booklet which contains details of all secondary school admission policies.

Makaton: Sign of the Week

We’re excited to share our ‘Sign of the Week’— Lion

Safeguarding

The Megacentre Community Space

Please see a list of activities that run throughout the week at the Megacentre at their new venue (78a Eastwood Road, SS7 7JP).

Please not you do not need a formal diagnosis to access any of our support.

Unless otherwise stated, sessions take place at our Community Space: 78a Eastwood Road, SS6 7JP.

Here’s a quick guide to what’s on:

Monday Mix
Exclusive soft play for SEND families – plus crafts, football, gaming room, inflatables, laser tag, and more.
Held at The Megacentre, Brook Road
No booking required.

Monday – Youth Group

Open youth group for secondary aged children, Games, Crafts & Snacks. Term time only. No booking required.

Tuesday – Punching for Purpose
Boxing-based sessions to build confidence and resilience.
5:00–5:45pm (ages 6–15)
5:45–6:30pm (ages 16+)
Suggested donation: £7
Booking required: families@megacentrerayleigh.co.uk

Wednesday – T21 Heroes (for families & children with Down Syndrome)
First Wednesday of the month: 1:00–2:30pm (under 5s)
Fortnightly sessions: 3:30–5:00pm (ages 5+) – contact us for dates

Wednesday – Midi Mix (SEND club for school-age children)
4:00–6:00pm
Activities include arts & crafts, sensory play, table football, table tennis, and outdoor games (weather permitting).

Thursday – Your Space – Youth Wellbeing Group

4:00–5:30pm

Secondary age. Referral only, please contact us if this sounds like something your child would benefit from

2nd Thursday of the Month – SEND Coffee Morning
10:00am–12:00pm
Meet other SEND parents, ask questions, and hear from guest speakers on a range of SEND topics.

4th Thursday of the Month – DLA Workshop
Support and guidance for completing Disability Living Allowance forms.

Friday – Mini Mix (Under 5s SEND Group)
A safe, welcoming non-judgemental group for families with younger children who have SEND needs – free play time, no structured activities and no music. Facilitated by experienced SEND professional.