Children celebrated the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, by wearing celebration clothes and taking part in some special crafting and making activites. They started the day by hearing the story of Rama & Sita, and learning why the diva lamp is an important symbol. If you are celebrating Diwali at home this Sunday, we hope you have a wonderful day. Diwali ki shubhkamnayein!

Check out the latest video and song from Andy and the Odd Socks, to launch year's Anti-Bullying Week from the Anti-Bullying Alliance. This year's theme is "Make a Noise" and the video features children from Victoria Park Primary School! Remember to wear ODD SOCKS on Monday next week (13th November) for Odd Socks Day which is the start of National Anti-Bullying Week.

SEND Funding

The way the Local Authority distribute funding for pupils with SEND is under review. You can help by contributing to the public consultation. Make your views about SEND funding known by clicking the links below:

Effective and Sustainable Use of High Needs Block top-up funding in Bristol: Bristol City Council is currently reviewing the top-up funding process for children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as part of Bristol’s recent participation in the Department for Education’s (DfE) Delivering Better Value in SEND programme (DBV in SEND).   

Bristol is seeking feedback from families, schools and wider stakeholders, to understand the impact of potential changes to make decisions accordingly. Similar to other local authorities, Bristol is accruing a significant deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant budget (DSG). In Bristol, the overspend on the DSG High Needs Block budget (i.e., the funding that supports provision for pupils and students with SEND) has been increasing year-on-year to the point at which it has become unsustainable.   

We have commissioned Social Finance to review the High Needs Block top-up funding process. Social Finance have conducted extensive stakeholder engagement and desk-based research to inform recommendations around possible changes to top-up funding. This work is now at a phase where we would like to seek feedback on recommended changes as part of a formal consultation. The formal consultation will run from 2 November for six weeks. You can find out more and respond to this consultation through a survey here. 

During the consultation period, a series of Information and Engagement sessions will run alongside the survey and we are keen to hear your views.  Please select the link to find out more information about these events and to register for a session. We encourage you to engage with the consultation and hope to see many of you in the sessions.

Parents' Evenings

This term, parents' evenings for children in KS1 and KS2 will take place on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th November. This is an opportunity to come into school to see your child(ren)'s books and talk to their teacher about their learning. Each pupil will bring home a letter today detailing how to book your ten-minute appointment with your child's teacher. For children in Reception classes (Willow and Cherry), your parents' evenings took place last term and you will not be expected to come again in November.)

Christmas Dates

It's a busy time of year, so here is a reminder of Christmas dates for celebrations and performances coming up:

• Friday 8th December at 9:00am Reception Christmas singing performance for parents and carers
• Friday 8th December at 4:30pm Carols in the Park
• Saturday 9th December PTFA Winter Fayre
• Monday 11th December at 9:00am Year 1 Christmas singing performance for parents and carers
• Tuesday 12th December at 2:00pm Year 2 Nativity Performance
• Wednesday 13th December at 9:30am Year 2 Nativity Performance
• Wednesday 13th December at 1:30pm KS2 Carol Singing in St Michael and All Angels Church
• Thursday 14th December Christmas Lunch in school (for pupils)
• Friday 15th December Christmas Jumper Day (and last day of term)

Please remember to send children into school with a warm and waterproof coat, which has their name written clearly on the label. The weather is unpredictable and wet at the moment. We hope you have a lovely weekend!