Healthy Minds transition sessions – for children of all ages!

29th June 2026R King

The Healthy Minds Team have two dates available for their brilliant workshops regarding transition for children and their grown up. This could be children going in to a new year group, new key stage, new school or moving up to Secondary school.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions, receive support and practical strategies to help children with worries towards transitioning. It will include advice, guidance, and activities for you to practise together.

The dates are:

11th August 10am-12pm
and
25th August 10am-12pm.

Sir David Attenborough Day

29th June 2026s begum

To celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, Year 4 created a fact file about sharks and some wonderful artwork of sea creatures using pastels. In the afternoon, they had a special visit from ‘Pawz For Thought’. They showed the children two baby seagulls and talked about the amazing animals that live and visit our coastline.

Year 4 – Sir David Attenborough Day

26th June 2026M Reilly

Today we have been learning all about Sir David Attenborough to celebrate his 100th birthday. We’ve learned about his early life and his extensive career. As part of the day, we’ve learned about wildlife that live in the oceans and seas around Asia. We produced some beautiful art work inspired by the creatures we’ve been learning about. We finished the day with a special visit from ‘Paws for Thoughts’ who shared some of the amazing conservation work they do. They even brought two baby seaguls.

OPAL – Plan for Play

26th June 2026R Cave
To parents and carers, 
 
As you know, your child is fortunate enough to attend an OPAL school; a school who take play seriously. 
 

Outdoor play is essential for children’s health, development and wellbeing, but has almost disappeared from their lives.

Schools are well placed to address this. But even though playtime makes up 20% of every primary school child’s day, very few schools have a plan for play. Without a strategic plan, this time is wasted and often leads to problems.

Evidence from more than 2,000 OPAL schools shows that having a plan for play transforms behaviour, equality, wellbeing and learning.

OPAL believe that every primary school needs a plan for play.

We are reaching out to you, parents of children who thrive by accessing high-quality play daily, to support OPAL’s (Outdoor Play and Learning) Plan for Play campaign. 
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“We call on the Government to require every primary school in England to publish a plan for outdoor free play at breaktimes and lunchtime, and for the Department for Education to produce statutory guidance defining what quality provision looks like, with Ofsted required to inspect against it.”

 

As a fellow organisation who recognise and value the need for play within our local communities, please support this campaign by asking colleagues and visitors to sign the petition to ensure all primary schools are required to demonstrate how they provide quality outdoor free play for every child.

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Please show your support by:

– clicking this link to complete a quick online petition.

– sharing @opalnortheast social media campaign posts to raise awareness

Huge thanks for any support you are able to offer this campaign.

Jarrow Hall Trip

25th June 2026s begum

We had a fantastic time visiting Jarrow Hall, where we learned all about Anglo-Saxon life. In the morning, we explored crime and punishment and visited the museum to learn about the monks. In the afternoon, we visited the farm and learned about how the Anglo-Saxons looked after their land and animals.

 

Science Buddies Workshop – Renewable Energy

23rd June 2026s begum

This week on Wednesday, we took part in a renewable energy workshop which was delivered by Science Buddies. We learned about the importance of windfarms and how they worked. Then, we had the opportunity to design and create our own wind turbines.