Parkfield Newsletters

Issue 6 - Friday 2nd October 2026

Headteacher's Welcome

Dear Parkfield Families,

Exploding experiments, minibeast hunting, important life skills and sporting opportunities have all been part of another action-packed week at Parkfield! It has been wonderful to see our Parkfielders enjoying such a variety of experiences and making the most of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.

Yesterday, the whole school enjoyed a fantastic Mad Science experience, with children watching and taking part in a range of exciting experiments. There was plenty of excitement and curiosity throughout the day, and it was a great way to promote Science across the school and inspire our Parkfielders to ask questions and find out more about the world around them.

Our Year 4 children also enjoyed a special habitat workshop this week. They made excellent use of our wonderful Forest School area, exploring the environment and hunting for minibeasts as part of their learning about habitats. It was great to see them taking their learning outside the classroom and making the most of our school grounds.

Year 6 travelled to Crucial Crew, where they took part in a range of activities designed to help them understand how to keep themselves and others safe. These are important life skills and another example of the wider experiences we want all our Parkfielders to enjoy during their time with us.

Finally, a big well done and thank you to all the pupils who have represented Parkfield in various sporting events this week. We are always proud to see our children putting on their Parkfield kit, representing the school and demonstrating our values.

Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful weekend!

Mr Kemp

UPCOMING EVENTS

MONDAY 5TH OCTOBER - HARVEST - Donations to be sent into school please. (more information below)

TUESDAY 6TH OCTOBER @ 9.00AM - YEAR 4 FAMILY LEARNING - Family members are welcome to join their children in the hall for a session focussed on reading.

WEDNESDAY 7TH OCTOBER - YEAR 6 TRIP TO ST. ANNE'S ACADEMY - Y6 are going to enjoy a 'creative arts' day at St. Anne's Academy.

THURSDAY 8TH OCTOBER - OPEN MORNING (PROSPECTIVE PARENTS) @ 9.15am Parents of children that are due to start school in September 2027 are welcome to come and speak to the headteacher and have a tour of the school from our School Councillors.

TUESDAY 13TH OCTOBER - SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPH DAY - Photos of individual children and siblings will be taken during the morning.

THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER - M6 THEATRE VISIT - We have a theatre coming to perform to the whole school! The title of the show is 'All the Small Things' - a magical new spin on fairy tales.

LATEST NEWS

HARVEST DONATIONS

Please note that school will have it's annual Harvest assembly for the children on Monday 5th October in the morning. This year we are again collecting for The Lighthouse Project in Middleton. They help families across the borough. They have asked this year for the following items:Tinned meat/fish, Tinned potatoes, Tinned tomatoes, Tea/coffee/sugar, Soup/noodles/pasta, Rice pudding/custard, Cereal, Fruit juice (long life), Milk (long life), Biscuits/snacks. Any support is appreciated. Thanks in advance for your support.

POETRY COMPETITION

The children in Years 1-6 may have come home with a booklet with details of a poetry competition on the theme of 'This is Me' for Year 1 and 2 children and 'Wonder' for Years 3-6. The booklets will look like this:

This is an optional poetry competition for the children to take part in and it is not homework. We encourage your child to take part if they would like to. Please return the booklets to Mrs Clawson by Thursday 22nd October. Mrs Clawson will be sending the entries to Young Writers on Friday 23rd October. Happy poetry writing!

HOW WE TEACH SPELLING AT PARKFIELD

We follow the Emile spelling scheme. Your child has a login to Emile stuck in their home school diary. Pupils receive regular spelling input and teaching and have frequent opportunities to practise, retrieve and apply taught spelling patterns and words. Teachers use short, purposeful assessments to check understanding and identify misconceptions. These assessments do not take the form of a formal weekly spelling test.

You will still see the focus spellings of the week in your child's home school diary - on a sticker or written in by the child. Teachers may use the 'spelling test' space in the home school diary to test a small number of spellings as part of a wider lesson but this will not be a formal weekly test. Your child's class teacher will assess their spelling ability through data produced by Emile, dictation exercises and daily written work.

We do of course encourage you to look at the spellings with your child and support them in learning them using the Read, Cover, Write, Check approach (Read the word looking closely at the spelling, Cover the word, Write the word from memory, Check if it is the correct spelling).

If you have any questions about the way we teach or assess spelling, please contact Mrs Clawson.

IS YOUR CHILD DUE TO START PRIMARY SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER 2027?
You can now apply for a primary school place through the Rochdale Admissions team here: https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/school-admissions-appeals/apply-primary-school-place

PARKING

Please be mindful of our neighbours when parking before and after school. We have a had a few complaints from residents that our Parkfield families are parking outside driveways. We always suggest parking either at Aldi or Parkfield flats and walking.

PARENT GOVERNOR

Thanks to those parents that put their name forward for the role of parent governor - we have now filled the role and will be able to announce in the coming weeks when they officially start.

PREVIOUS NEWS AND REMINDERS

Please note that you can use the links on the left (if viewing on a computer) or the top of this page (if viewing on a phone/tablet) to look back at previous news and messages that have been shared in previous newsletters.

DINNER MENU NEXT WEEK - WEEK 1

If you'd like to know what is on next weeks menu, please click here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/families/dinner-menus

LUNCH TIME AND AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS ⚽🎾🏃

If your child has gained a place you will have received an email to confirm this.

Please always check the newsletter to make sure your child's club is on the following week as they are sometimes cancelled due to Middleton Schools Sports fixtures.

Monday - Year 3 & 4 Multi Sports

Tuesday - Year 5 & 5 Football CANCELLED DUE TO BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Tuesday 22nd September - Cookery Club

Wednesday - Year 5 & 6 Multi Sports

Wednesday - Karaoke Club

Thursday - Year 4, 5 & 6 Cross Country Club (Lunchtime)

Thursday - Year 4, 5 & 6 Netball Club

MEET OUR PARKFIELD STAFF & GOVERNORS

Mrs Acil (Y5 Teacher)

Mrs Acil joined Parkfield Primary School over twenty years ago, beginning her journey as a trainee teacher before becoming a valued permanent member of staff. Throughout her teaching career, she has taught across all year groups, with Key Stage 2 being her particular favourite.

Outside of school, Mrs Acil fosters trainee guide dogs for the blind while they complete their training. At home, she has a fluffy cat called Tigger, who is well known for his habit of bringing home unexpected 'gifts' in the form of mice! Before entering the teaching profession, Mrs Acil worked in a variety of roles, including a bakery, a bank, a department store and even for BWFC.

Mrs Acil is married and lives in Bolton with her husband and their ten-year-old son. She enjoys spending time with her family and loves being creative. She enjoys attending church at the weekend and helps out at times being the Eucharist assistant. She is a big fan of horses, especially the larger breeds like Shires and Clydesdales and before having children used to go riding three times a week. These days she's too busy taking her son to his clubs and activities.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY⏰

Current Whole School Attendance: (96% Target)

Attendance (This week)

Reception: 97%

Year 1: 95.7%

Year 2: 95.3%

Year 3: 94.6%

Year 4: 94.6%

Year 5: 93.7%

Year 6: 95.3%

Whole School: 95.4%

Number of lates this week: 28

A reminder that classes that achieve at least 96% attendance (no more than 6 days of absence across a class) get a reward on their attendance ladder!

Attendance Recognition

This year children can be awarded with either a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze certificate of attendance in recognition of meeting our school target of 96%. We will regularly update you on how well your child is doing.

Platinum: 100% attendance (0 days absent)
Gold: 98% attendance or above (3 days absent)
Silver: 97% attendance or above (5 days absent)
Bronze: 96% attendance or above (6 days absent)

Holidays in term time

Please note that, in line with the school policy, fines will be issued to families that go on a term time holiday where children miss 5 consecutive full days. Currently the fine is £160 per child per parent which equates to a £640 fine for a two parent family with two children. This is reduced to £320 if paid within 21days. If you are going on holiday due to exceptional circumstances, please speak to the headteacher as a fine may not have to be issued. More information an be found on our attendance policy found here.

Persistent Absence

Persistent absence is defined by the Government as attendance below 90%. This equates to 19 days or more of absence a year or 100+ lessons missed. If a child’s attendance drops below 90% this could lead to them becoming a safeguarding concern and will certainly lead to them doing less well than their peers.

The link between attendance and achievement cannot be over stated. Your child will achieve better if they are in school every day. Only in very exceptional circumstances should a child be absent from school. Please ring the school office no later than 8.30am to report an absence.

Punctuality

Please get your child to school on time. Poor punctuality can lead to your child…

Feeling embarrassed in front of their friends
Missing the beginning of vital lessons making them fall behind
Missing important instructions for the rest of the school day

At Parkfield children are to line up before school and doors open at 8.45am. They close at 8.50am.

Arrivals after 8.50am are to sign in at the main office and anyone arriving after 9.15am are marked as an unauthorised absence for the morning session.

Medicines

Our overall school attendance is steadily increasing and one reason is due to many of our families taking up the school offer of bringing a bottle of Calpol in for their child if they are feeling slightly under the weather. The medicine can then be administered by school staff if your child needs it throughout the day. We do find that many of our Parkfielders show that true resilience when they arrive in school and get through their day with very little support. However, if your child is too poorly to stay in school, we will contact home so that they can be collected.

Newsletter Slides

SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION

Mrs Smith is our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) supported by Mr Kemp, Mrs Clawson and Mrs Edyvean. If you have any concerns about the needs or welfare of a pupil, please don't hesitate to contact the school. We all share a responsibility to our pupils safety and wellbeing.

As a school our promise is: We will listen, we will support and we will take action.

More information can be found on the school website here: https://www.parkfieldprimary.com/website/safeguarding-and-child-protection.html

HEALTH and SAFETY

STAY SAFE REMINDERS

If your child is attending Early Birds, please walk down the path and through the KS1 yard - it may take a few more seconds but it's much safer than walking through the busy car park. If the hall door is ever closed, simply ring the bell for assistance.

Dogs are not permitted in the school playground.
If driving, park further away from the school and walk to reduce congestion and the possibility of any serious accidents.
Unfortunately, Parents and Carers are not allowed to drop off and pick up from the school car park between 8.30am and 4.00pm.
Children are not allowed on the play equipment before and after school. Please keep them off.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING

5 WAYS TO WELLBEING

At Parkfield we promote the 5 ways to Wellbeing which can help children and adults to achieve a more positive lifestyle.

#THRIVE offer a local service for children and young people aged up to 19 years who are experiencing health and wellbeing issues such as feeling stressed, worried or not enjoying things. #Thrive can also provide advice and support to parents, carers and anyone that works with a child or young person. You can find out more information about the service by clicking here: https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/thrive

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