Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
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Introduction Letter
Thu 25 Apr 20248th April 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am delighted to be able to write my first letter as the new Headteacher of Cropthorne with Charlton CofE First School. I feel extremely honoured and privileged to have been chosen to continue to build upon the success the school has already achieved under the leadership of Mr Bothma.
Prior to this post I was a Deputy Headteacher and Senco of a large first school as well as working for the NCETM GLOW maths hub supporting schools across Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Being a mother of two girls, I am very much aware of the responsibility that my staff and I have in ensuring that the highest standard of teaching and learning is achieved. I have a hugely committed team and wonderful children, which of course, is a great place for any new head to start!
The needs of the children are always paramount in the life and decision making within a school. I strongly believe in providing the children with exciting, creative and meaningful learning experiences, which build their enthusiasm for learning and help them to grow and develop positively in a variety of ways. I think it is crucial to involve the children and their families as partners in their education. I am also keen on building a whole school community which thrives on mutual respect and values positive relationships. I know how vital working in partnership with parents really is, in order for children to find school a positive and rewarding experience. As key educators in your children’s lives, I feel that it is important that you have a voice and that as a school we are approachable and allocate time to listen to your concerns, worries or thoughts about the school. In the near future I will be inviting parents in for an informal coffee morning. This will be an opportunity to meet other parents, chat to me and other members of staff over a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Watch this space!
You can be assured that as Headteacher, I will strive to create the best education for your child/children whilst they are members of our school family. Please do come up and introduce yourselves outside school – I will attempt to be on the playground before school each day and at the front gate at the end of each day. I look forward to meeting more of you in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours faithfully,
Denise Smith
Headteacher
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Whole School Letter 30th November 2023
Thu 30 Nov 2023Thursday 30th November 2023
Dear Parents,
Our “Christmas time” here at school begins next week, when from Tuesday 5th December, there will be a post box in the office reception for your child to send their Christmas Cards and our magical Christmas tree will arrive in the hall. Please ensure the name of the child and their class is clearly detailed on the front of the card.
The children will be performing in the Nativity at Fladbury Church on Wednesday 13th December at 2.00 p.m. & 5.00 p.m. Cats Class as ever will be taking centre stage with the rest of the school joining in throughout the performance. We expect the performances to be very popular so we do need to limit the number of people in the Church and will be issuing tickets for both events. The 2.00pm performance is what we like to call our ‘babies and toddler performance’ for all those with younger siblings. Please collect all children from Fladbury Church at 3pm after the afternoon show and 6pm after the evening show.
Tickets will initially be restricted to a total of two per family (for each performance) which can be obtained by completing this online form. Extra tickets may be reserved by completing the appropriate option on the form. (These extra tickets will only become available if families do not take up their allocation).
Tickets for the times you require will be issued on a first come, first served basis and tickets will correspond to each row, so please make sure you order your tickets as soon as possible.
If you or members of your family are unable to use any of your tickets, would you please return them to school as soon as possible, rather than passing them on to friends and neighbours. It will be necessary to bring your tickets with you to performances as they will be checked at the door. Fire regulations prevent us from allowing extra people to stand at the back of the Church. In order to allow maximum attendance, please avoid bringing pushchairs as these will need to be left outside.
Nativity Rehearsal – the whole school will be going to Fladbury Church to practise for the Nativity on Tuesday 12th December. As a result, there will be no hot dinners that day. If you have already ordered a hot dinner Pershore High will supply a packed lunch for your child on this day. Should you wish to cancel your packed lunch and send your child with their own, please let Mrs Evans know via email – office@cropthorne.worcs.sch.uk.
FATHER CHRISTMAS VISIT & CHRISTMAS LUNCH – Wednesday 20th December
As in previous years we are lucky that even though he is very busy, Father Christmas finds the time to visit our school! This year it is on Wednesday 20th December.
We ask each parent to provide something suitable for their own child/ren so that everyone can have a present from Father Christmas.
Children are also invited to wear their Christmas Jumpers on this day, instead of their school jumper/cardigan.
Please would you gift wrap & label a little gift with a value not exceeding £6.00 and bring it to Father Christmas Grotto (the school office) in a plastic bag, with their name on, by Thursday 14th December, where Santa's helper will store it safely!
We shall also be serving Christmas Lunch on this date, we would like as many children as possible to have one, so don’t forget to visit ‘Parentpay’ and order your child’s. The menu does say that it is Pork & Apple Burger or Cheese and Tomato Baguette with a Crumble Tray Bake but it will be Roast Turkey or Quorn Sausage with a Christmas Cookie for pudding, Pershore High School were just not able to make the changes to the menu online. Please note there will be no sandwiches or Jacket Potatoes available to order on that day so please do not select these from the menu choices.
We are also looking for parent helpers to help serve lunch so that the teachers can eat with the children on this day. Please let Mrs Evans know via this form if you are able to help.
Christmas Carol Service – Thursday 21st December
At 11.15am on Thursday 21st December the whole school will perform a Christmas Carol Service, led by Rev’d Sarah which will take place at Cropthorne Church. All parents are invited to join us for what is always a magical event.
Emergency Closures
As the winter is now drawing in I thought I would let you know about what happens in the event of the school closing due to bad weather. We want children in school every day, so this is always a last resort and we will always try everything, including monitoring local conditions to ensure school remains safe to attend, and as a result closures can occasionally be at short notice.
In the first instance, please check our website or the Worcestershire County Council website below.
We, as ever, will aim to use our text message service to inform you of an enforced closure, so please make sure we have your most up to date mobile numbers!
- Check the School website at www.cropthorneschool.org
- Or check the County Council website at www.worcestershire.gov.uk
- BBC Hereford & Worcester 104fm 94.7fm or Free Radio 96.7 97.6 102.8
- Or call the Worcestershire Hub on 01905 765765
I know we all hope we can navigate this winter without such measures being required, but we do appreciate your support when forced to implement them.
The school closes for the Christmas Holidays after the Carol Service on Thursday 21st December at 12.00 and reopens on Monday 8th January 2023.
Yours sincerely
Rob Bothma
Head Teacher
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Whole School Letter 4th September 2023
Fri 08 Sep 2023Monday 4th September 2023
Dear Parents,
We hope that all of our families have enjoyed a positive summer. Staff have done a brilliant job over recent weeks making the classrooms welcoming and happy places for our children to learn at their best. We are very much looking forward to welcoming all of the children and families back tomorrow with the wonderful excitement the start of a new school year brings. Thankfully, we have not been notified of any measures we would be required to take in relation to the issues with school buildings you may have seen in the media, so school will open as normal.
We just wanted to share with you some updates about the new school year which we hope will be of use.
Term starts tomorrow, Tuesday 5th September – the school gates open at 8.40am and close at 8.50am for the start of the school day.
The end of the day is at 3pm. Wraparound care can be booked here and commences from Wednesday 6th September. Information on after school Activity Clubs will be distributed in due course.
Each class has been allocated a PE Day, where children should come into school in their full school PE Kit. These are arranged as follows: Year 5 – Monday, Year 2, 3&4 on Thursday, and Cats Class (Reception and Year 1) on Friday. Please note, PE will start from Monday 11th September so children do not need to wear their PE Kit at all this week.
Information on classes who are going swimming this term will be distributed to those classes in due course.
Forest School will start this week and take place each Friday for Year 2 and each Wednesday for Reception & Year 1. You will of course be notified if any of these days change in our class letters and the school newsletter which are normally distributed together each Friday afternoon and contain all the information families should need to know about upcoming events.
We can’t wait to welcome the children back tomorrow and look forward to hearing about how everyone has got on over the summer break and are looking forward to a great term ahead!
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
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Whole School Newsletter 21st July 2023
Fri 21 Jul 2023Friday 21st July 2023
Dear Parents,
It has been another extremely successful year for everyone linked with the school, very much typified by the achievements of our Year 5 Leavers who depart Cropthorne-with-Charlton CE First School today. They are extremely ready for the next step in their education and we are all very proud of them. We celebrated their achievements with a special assembly followed by a barbeque yesterday. Thank you to all the staff and parents who helped out to make it a success. Thank you also to the parents of our Leavers who donated a stunning clock accompanied by a beautiful plaque. We will very much miss our families who are moving on for good, good luck to you all and thank you for your support over the years.
Following this I would like to express how hugely grateful we are for all of the parental support we receive at Cropthorne, the kind words, smiles each morning, and being a part of blockbuster attendances at sports days, performances and other events! Thank you for all that reading at home, helping with projects or homework, ensuring children have the correct uniform or equipment or costume needed on any particular day and all of the contributions which go towards helping create amazing experiences and treasured memories.
As they have yet to be confirmed for each class, we will outline PE and Forest School days in September, when the children return to school. Please send children in their uniform for their first day back as there will be no PE on this day as we settle the children in for the new year.
Finally, I would like to thank the staff team for their hard work this academic year and for everyone's contribution to making our little village school such a brilliant place to be.
School will reopen for all children on Tuesday 5th September. Until then, on behalf of everyone here at Cropthorne with Charlton CE First School, I would like to wish you a wonderful summer holiday.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
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Whole School Letter 07.07.23
Thu 20 Jul 2023Friday 7th July 2023 Dear Parents, Later today you will receive your child’s report for the 2022 - 2023 academic year. In addition to your child’s report some parents may receive the following: • For children in Reception parents will also receive information on their child’s Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) • For children in Year 1 parents will also receive information on the outcome of their child’s Phonics Screening Check • For children in Year 2 parents will also receive information on the outcome of their child’s Key Stage One Statutory Assessments and (where applicable) the outcome Phonics Screening Check • For children in Year 4 parents will also receive information on the outcome of their child’s Multiplication Table Check (MTC) • For children who are registered on the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Register parents will also receive their Individual Provision Map (IPM) Many of you will be aware that we normally send your child’s attendance information alongside their report, however this year we have migrated to a new attendance management system and as a result the attendance information will be issued at slightly later date. We hope you find your child’s report informative and enjoyable. Yours sincerely, Rob Bothma Head teache
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Whole School Letter 29.06.23
Thu 20 Jul 2023Thursday 29th June 2023
Dear Parents,
As you may be aware members of the National Education Union will take part in strike action on Wednesday 5 July and Friday 7 July.
At present, we anticipate that Cropthorne with Charlton CE First School will be open as normal on the above dates. However, please note that teaching staff are not required to inform schools of their intention to strike and therefore some schools may need to enact full or partial closures at short notice on the above dates as a result of strike action.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher
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Whole School Letter
Thu 08 Jun 2023Thursday 8th June 2023
Dear Parents,
The children have started the final half term of the academic year incredibly positively, enjoying being with one another again following the half term break and throwing themselves into their learning.
We have also now finalised our class and staffing structure. We always aim to share these with our families as soon as we possibly can each year and are pleased to now be in a position to be able to do so. Please see our classroom arrangements detailed below:
Classroom Arrangements for 2023/24
Cats Class: Mrs Raybould will be remaining in her current classroom for next year with Reception & Year 1. Mrs Raybould will be supported by Mrs Annis, Mrs Freeman & Mr Ramus.
Year 2: Miss James will be teaching Year 2, with support from Mrs Harrington. Year 2 will move into the classroom currently occupied by Mrs Oates and her Year 5 class.
Years 3&4: Mrs Hunt will be remaining in her current classroom for next year with Years 3 & 4; with support from Mrs Denney & Mrs Brown.
Year 5: Mrs Oates will again be teaching Year 5 and will be supported throughout the week by Mrs Castle. Year 5 will be moving into the room currently occupied by Miss James & Year 2.
Class teachers will of course be in touch with you directly in due course, with specific information for each class which may be helpful for you to know before the end of term. The children will take part in a ‘Moving Up Day’ where they spend the day with the adults and children they will be working with next year in their new classrooms. This takes place on Wednesday 28th June, which is the same day as our soon to be Year 6 children will spend at their Middle Schools. We will also be welcoming our new Reception cohort on this day as part of their transition up to First School. If your child is moving to a new teacher next year, please do come and say hello!
In the meantime, we all look forward to a fantastic term ahead.
Yours Sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
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Whole School Letter 17.04.23
Mon 17 Apr 2023Monday 17th April 2023
Dear Parents,
It has been great to see the children immediately throw themselves back into their learning following what we hope was a restful and memorable Easter Break. The summer term is always an exciting and busy one so we just wanted to highlight a few important dates for our families for this half term.
PE Day & Forest School
PE Days remain unchanged:
Monday - Miss James’ Class
Tuesday – Mrs Oates’ Class
Thursday – Mrs Hunt’s Class
Friday – Mrs Raybould’s Class
Children should always wear their school PE Kit on their class’s PE Day but may continue to bring general sportswear to get changed into for after school clubs if it is not their PE Day.
Forest School for Mrs Raybould’s and Miss James’ classes will continue to take place each Thursday during this term. Children should attend school in their Forest School clothing on this day, you will continue to be notified if this changes in any given week.
Mrs Hunt’s Class will be continuing their Swimming Lessons for the first two Tuesdays (18th & 25th April) this term, making up for the missed session at the end of last term. Cats class will start swimming on Tuesday 2nd May with more detailed information and permission forms to follow soon.
A Non - Uniform Day will take place this week on Wednesday 19th April – in exchange for tombola prizes suitable for either adults or children.
Clarinet and Musical Instrument Assembly
Year 5 will be treating us to a Clarinet Performance next week on Tuesday 25th April. They will be accompanied by any pupils who learn a musical instrument. If your child learns an instrument outside of school and would like to perform, please let Mrs Evans know at the office. Parents of performing children are warmly invited to attend.
Extra-curricular activity clubs
These will begin from Tuesday 9th May, and again, more details will follow separately in due course. Maypole Club continues on Tuesdays after school for Years 1&2 this week and next.
Bank Holidays
School will be closed on Monday 1st & Monday 8th May for the National Bank Holidays, but the school building will be open for the Walkabout on Monday 1st May, with activities at school and of course the Year 1&2 Traditional Maypole Dance at 1pm.
Sports Day
Sports Day will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 25th May, weather permitting. We hope to invite parents for a picnic lunch which will be followed by the sports events.
Punctuality
Thank you so much to the vast majority of our parents who ensure that children arrive in school by 8.50am every day. We understand that everyone can run late occasionally but please be aware that regularly arriving at school after this time can be disruptive to other children who are already organised for the day ahead and are ready to learn. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.
Weekly Class Letters
The Summer Term is always an extremely busy one with lots of events taking place throughout the school. Class specific events are detailed on our weekly class letters which are available on the school website on our class pages: https://www.cropthorneschool.org/class-pages/
You will also find regular updates of activities children have recently taken part in here too.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours Sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Headteacher
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'Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies' Production Dates and Times
Thu 16 Mar 2023Tuesday 14th March 2023
Dear Parents,
‘ROBIN AND THE SHERWOOD HOODIES’ PRODUCTION DATES & TIMES
Rehearsals for ‘Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies’ are now in full swing as we rapidly approach the dates of our performances. Thank you to all of you who have worked with the children to help them learn their lines and prepare for the production, including arranging costumes. We are sure you are aware the shows will take place on Thursday 23rd March at 1pm & Friday 24th March at 6pm at Number 8. The children are extremely excited and over the last few weeks they have danced, sang and rehearsed with superb enthusiasm and huge smiles on their faces. The children have been working extremely hard on their parts and I know as always here at Cropthorne they will enjoy amazing support from all of our families.
Please make a note of the important information outlined below;
On Tuesday 21st March all of Years 3,4 & 5 will travel to No 8 during the school day for our Technical Rehearsal. Children will return to school to eat lunch as normal.
On Wednesday the 22nd March all the children will be rehearsing in the morning at No 8. We have arranged a coach to transport them to and from No 8. Children will return to school to eat lunch as normal.
On Thursday 23rd March all the children will be transported to No 8 after lunch, by coach, in time for the afternoon performance. All children will need to bring a packed lunch from home unless a hot dinner has been ordered from Pershore High and if this is the case they will supply a packed lunch. All children will need to be collected at 3.00pm from the rear exit of No 8, as we are not permitted to dismiss from the stage area inside the auditorium for safety reasons. In order to avoid the area from becoming overcrowded we request that families please send only one adult to collect children if possible, thank you in advance for your co-operation. There will be no Afterschool Care on this day.
On Friday 24th March all children will need to be brought to the rear of No 8 at 5.45pm and collected at 8.00pm. Again, all children will need to be collected from the rear exit of No 8, where we again ask that only one adult is sent to collect where possible.
We will as ever be recording the performance and further information regarding this will follow. The children have really enjoyed preparing their performance for you and we hope you will enjoy it as much as they have!
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head Teacher
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Whole School Welcome Back Letter 03.01.23
Tue 03 Jan 2023Tuesday 3rd January 2023
Dear Parents,
Welcome back & Happy New Year! It has been fantastic to see everyone back in school today and it already feels like the spring term is very much up and running! We hope that everyone enjoyed the festive period and had the valuable opportunity to spend some family time together. Please see the information outlined below regarding timetabling this term.
Forest School for Mrs Raybould’s and Miss James’ classes will take place each Thursday during this term. Children should attend school in their Forest School clothing on this day.
PE Days – children should attend school in their school PE Kit on the following days:
Monday - Miss James’ Class
Tuesday – Mrs Oates’ Class
Thursday – Mrs Hunt’s Class (starting 12th January)
Friday – Mrs Raybould’s Class
Mrs Hunt’s Class will be having their Swimming Lessons on Tuesdays this term, starting on 17th January with more detailed information to follow soon.
Extra-curricular activity clubs will begin on Monday 23rd January, and again, more details will follow separately in due course.
Please note that clubs will not run during the week commencing 27th February due to our Parent Consultations taking place that week, on Tuesday 28th February and Thursday 1st March. Further information on booking a slot and timings will be issued nearer the time.
We all look forward to an excellent term ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Bothma
Head teacher