School has reopened and the children are once again settling back in to school life after an exciting summer holiday. Mrs Webster, Headteacher at Pilgrims School, explains how parents can help children adapt to school life once again and make for a happy and exciting approach to learning.
The return to school is an exciting time for both pupils and staff – and something we always look forward to here at Pilgrims. Our first week back has been full of fun and engaging lessons and it has been great to see so many happy faces once again.
But starting school can also be a time of uncertainty for the children, and so it is good practice to work on a routine to adapt to school life after the summer holiday to ensure they arrive happy and ready to learn.
- Talk to your children about their concerns
School is a fun and inclusive place for children to learn and play – but it is perfectly natural if your child has any worries. Talking to them about school life and the enjoyment they can share with classmates can help ease their concerns and make them excited for the time ahead.
- Discuss your child’s day with them
It is important you understand the experiences of your child during their education. Talking to them about their day can be an exciting opportunity for the children and a chance for them to further comprehend what they have learned.
- Get your child’s uniform ready together
Help your child to get their uniform out so they recognise it is a school day. Your child will enjoy the responsibility of picking out their clothes with you and this will encourage them to start learning to put it on all by themselves. If you have time, you can even prepare their uniform the night before for a smooth and stress-free morning.
- Pack appropriately
In a similar way to your child’s uniform, working alongside your children to pack their bags for the following day at school both helps to ease early morning rushes and help instil new routines. Inviting children to help pack their bag is also a great way of teaching responsibility.
- Make sure to rest
Especially during the early days of the autumn term! The return to school can be a tiring time for children. Prioritising free time and the importance of a good night’s sleep is important and can help both children and parents adjust to their new routine.
Children and parents who have any concerns about school life can speak to our staff at any time for support. The Pilgrims family is an inclusive and supportive one, and we look out for each other.
We look forward to another successful term and cannot wait to see the things our children can achieve.
Make sure to regularly check back on our news page for the latest updates and to see all the fantastic activities the children get up to throughout this school year!
It has been a busy end to the summer term here at Pilgrims, with our children enjoying another bumper year packed full of fun and engaging activities. Here, Pilgrims’ Headteacher Mrs Webster looks back at a brilliant 2021/22.
It was great to have all our children back in the classroom this year, with all year groups diving head-first into the term-time fun.
From superhero days to canal boat tours, the children enjoyed a fantastic year and embraced every minute of their learning.
An awesome autumn
The packed-out calendar kicked off with a bang for our Year 2 children, who learnt about the super powers held by animals and even had a chance to dress up as their favourite superheroes during a visit from five-time skipping world record holder Peter Thompson.
Year 1 learnt about the oceans and the amazing creatures that live in them. They had a visit from a scuba-diver and took a trip to The Sea Life Centre to enhance their learning experiences in the autumn term.
Our reception children also learnt about the world around them and discussed their dream jobs – from Formula 1 racing engineers to firefighters and vets.
The school received a festive freshen-up for Christmas, with the children enjoying a visit from Father Christmas alongside a lunch with all the trimmings and a round of carol singing.
A summer to remember!
As the world ‘opened up’, our children were able to go on their much-awaited school trips: a trip to Woburn Safari Park for the reception children as part of their “Animal Tales” topic, the Year 1 children enjoyed a canal boat ride in Stoke Bruerne as part of their visit to the canal museum and Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed their three-day residential trip to Hindleap Warren, jumping into muddy pools and taking part in teambuilding tasks like den building.
We have all enjoyed a lovely year, topped off with sunshine to round off a super summer term. We can’t wait to see you back in school in September and wish you a very happy summer holiday.
When we’re busy looking out for our pupils’ wellbeing it can be easy to forget to look after ourselves. As the nation marks Mental Health Awareness Week, Mrs Morales, our Pastoral and SEND Coordinator, discusses how teachers can look after their mental health, and how the Pilgrims’ community can help support each other.
As teachers, we are often so focussed on the wellbeing of our pupils we can forget to think about ourselves and our fellow staff members. That’s why this week, I would like to highlight the importance of thinking about our own mental health too.
We are role models for our pupils, so it is vital we demonstrate that looking after our mental health is an important task. It goes without saying that if we look after ourselves, we are more able to support others.
Loneliness
Mental Health Awareness Week 2022 is from May 9th until May 15th and this year’s theme is loneliness. Research shows that feeling lonely has a negative impact on both our mental and physical health.
Despite being surrounded by children all day, teachers can often suffer from loneliness due to a lack of meaningful conversation with another adult.
Lockdowns and online teaching made this problem worse, but even as we get used to being back in the classroom, feelings of loneliness can persist. With the hectic school day, it can be hard to find time to talk to other adults which in turn can leave us feeling isolated.
Avoiding loneliness
We can make progress on loneliness by working together.
At Pilgrims, we aim to develop a strong sense of community, for both our pupils and staff. Building a supportive network within school is vital for tackling loneliness and supporting the mental health and wellbeing of everyone within our community. We have our own Mental Health First Aider in school who, as part of our HR Department, works closely with staff who find they need extra support.
As teachers, we might find ourselves so busy throughout the school day that we forget to take a moment for ourselves. Here are some ways to avoid loneliness and protect your mental health:
- Don’t stay in your classroom all day, go to the staff room to chat to your colleagues.
- Talk to senior staff or management if you think something can be done to better support yours or your colleagues’ mental health.
- Share how you are feeling with those you trust, whether this is another member of staff at Pilgrims or a friend or family member.
- Make sure you plan time to see friends and family outside of work.
- Look out for others and offer them support when they need it.
If you feel you need additional support, Education Support provides resources and help for teachers. You can call free on 08000 562 561 to speak to a qualified counsellor for immediate support.
It’s the start of the summer term here at Pilgrims and there is an exciting selection of new topics and activities taking place among all year groups. Pilgrims’ Headteacher, Mrs Webster, explains more about what each year group are going to be up to.
Coming back from the Easter holidays, we have lots of interesting things planned for this term – from learning about “Animal Tales”, to exploring different modes of transport, and lots of exciting trips planned for every year group!
Reception
The children’s summer term topic is “Animal Tales”. This topic involves the children learning about different animals from around the world.
They will be visiting Woburn Safari Park as part of their learning journey, which is home to many endangered and exotic animals. There they will be able to learn first-hand how the animals, such as lions, tigers, rhinos and giraffes, live.
Year 1
The topic for Year 1 this term is “On the Move”. There are lots of different modes of transport to learn about!
Children will explore the Pilgrims’ race for flight, discover how trains have transformed through time and explore different types of cars and bikes. They will learn about the book “Mrs Armitage on Wheels” by Quentin Blake, which is set to come to life with a Pilgrims’ cycle safety session, where the children will build their knowledge of road safety.
The children will also enjoy a trip to Stoke Bruerne where they will go on a canal boat ride! They will be learning about Stoke Bruerne and canal art in lessons this term, so the trip will give them first-hand experience of exploring a new mode of transport.
They will also visit the canal museum, where they will use their research skills to investigate artefacts in the museum.
By the end of this term, some questions we hope to answer are how have bikes changed through history? What do we use transport for? Who used/uses canals? And why are trains important?
Year 2
Year 2 are also set for an exciting start to the summer term, with a three-day residential trip to Hindleap Warren. On the trip they’ll experience lots of thrilling outdoor adventure activities and take part in teambuilding tasks like den building – as well as jumping into muddy pools!
These fun and engaging activities will help Year 2 build their communication, physical skills and mental agility while learning about different team dynamics and leadership styles.
Welcome everyone to the summer term at Pilgrims – we have a host of fun activities taking place and lots of new things to learn! We can’t wait.
At Pilgrims we know how important it is to serve up a healthy lunch to keep the children energised for the whole school day. This International School Meals Day our catering manager, Mrs Bhogal, shares how she ensures the children eat healthily while they are in school.
As well as offering activities and exercise to ensure the children at Pilgrims live a healthy balanced lifestyle, we also provide healthy meals and snacks. My catering team are always looking for fun ways to make sure that the children have a nutritious, balanced diet, while making meals as delicious as possible.
All of the food we serve at Pilgrims is prepared fresh and from scratch each day so we can closely monitor what is going into the children’s food. This means that when we bake cakes and tray bakes, we can reduce the amount of sugar that recipes recommend, while making sure they still taste great.
We also add gojo berries into our flapjacks and chia seeds into our biscuits to give the children that extra health boost!
Instead of adding extra salt to the meals, I always add herbs instead. They add more flavour and are much healthier than added salt. We also oven-bake all of our sausages, cod fillet fish fingers and chicken fillet nuggets rather than fry them and we freshly steam our vegetables to ensure they retain their goodness and nutrition.
We encourage the children to ensure they eat their five-a-day every day by offering fresh fruit all day long so children can choose it for breakfast, snack time, lunch time, after school clubs or at Owls.
It is lovely to see the children learn and grow and it is great to watch their eating habits change as they move through the school. I thoroughly enjoy seeing how keen the children are to try new flavours and they get very excited when they see their favourite dishes on the menu. While our menus are changed termly, on a two-weekly cycle, you can download some sample menus and some of my favourite recipes to try at home on our What’s for Lunch page.
In an ever-changing world, supporting children’s mental health has never been so important. To mark Children’s Mental Health Week, Mrs Morales, our Pastoral and SEND Coordinator, discusses this year’s theme – Growing Together.
One in six children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem and many more face other mental health challenges. This is why at Pilgrims, the mental health and wellbeing of our pupils is just as important as their education.
The theme for this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week, Growing Together, is about growing both physically and emotionally as well as finding ways to help each other grow. In school this week we will be encouraging the children and staff to consider how they have grown and how they can help others to grow.
At Pilgrims we work closely with Making Me, a charity which provides our school with invaluable help and support throughout the year. The charity is passionate about children’s mental health and at Pilgrims we follow their emotional resilience programme.
The initiatives we work on with ‘Making Me’ encourage the children to talk about their feelings. We also work alongside all of the teachers and staff within school to ensure we are providing the correct support to those who need it and we perform regular assemblies and workshops to keep parents up to date.
Recently, our Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Quince, gave two assemblies on Growth Mindset using the school’s ‘Learning Superheroes’ – Captain Resilience and the Reciprocity Ranger. These characters form part of the children’s wellbeing programme in school. Mrs Quince talked to the children about being resilient, staying positive and co-operating with others. In class, these superhero characters are a visual support for the children as they try out and learn new skills.
This week, I will also be delivering an assembly to discuss what growing physically and emotionally means and how we all need support to help us keep growing, especially when things get tough.
On Friday 11 February, the children and staff are invited to come in to school dressed in Kipsy’s colourful garden colours and donate £1, raising funds for the ‘Making Me’ charity.
If you’d like to find out more about the work the ‘Making Me’ charity do to support children’s mental health, please use the link above. Alternatively, if you have any other questions about Pilgrims School, please call us on 01234 369555.
The power of a story goes far beyond the classroom in which it’s told. To mark National Storytelling Week, Mrs Webster, Headteacher at Pilgrims School, explores the importance of reading and role playing for children.
Storytelling has been around forever! Historically, it was a way to record people’s triumphs as well as to pass time. However, now it’s an excellent resource to entertain, expand our imagination and teach.
As teachers, we love helping our pupils grow their minds and use their imagination. That’s why we are keen to encourage children to take part in National Storytelling Week. Reading does not have to be enjoyed quietly; it can be made much more enjoyable by incorporating role play. By acting out the story they are telling, children can build their imagination and use it to tell their own stories.
Not only that, but interactive storytelling will also help them build confidence and even inspire their peers. Evidence shows there are extensive benefits to storytelling for children, including learning about their own cultural roots and the roots of other’s. Additionally, it offers insights into different life experiences, it encourages cooperation between students and enhances listening skills. Importantly, it also increases children’s willingness to communicate their thoughts and feelings.
All of the benefits mentioned contribute greatly to the growth of young people. The things they learn through storytelling do not stay in the classroom, they can be incredibly useful in personal and adult life.
Stories offer magical experiences full of wonder. While we inspire our pupils to take part in National Storytelling Week, storytelling is something that we encourage all year round.
At Pilgrims School, our dedicated and highly qualified staff strive to engage and inspire children to unearth their individual interests and talents. To find out more, visit our welcome page.
At Pilgrims, we are feeling festive! Santa has been to visit, we have indulged in Christmas lunch and we have been singing lots of carols. Here, Mrs Webster, Headteacher at Pilgrims School, shares some fun and festive activities that will keep the Christmas spirit going at home throughout the holidays.
We all love Christmas and there are so many themed activities for the children to do during the Christmas break that will keep them learning. Help them to stay in the festive spirit with these home activities and days out this holiday.
Home activities
If you haven’t already put your tree up, why not decorate it together as a family? When it’s up, you can help your children to make their own tree decorations, such as lollipop stick snowflakes, twig reindeer ornaments or cinnamon stick trees.
While there’s always the traditional paper chain decorations to put up around the house, children can also create their own artwork. For example, they could make a thumbprint Christmas tree using paint or ink, cut out and put together a handprint wreath or paint their feet to create a mistletoes keepsake.
Paper plates create endless opportunities for kids crafts. The children could make a paper plate Santa Claus, a paper plate ornament or even paper plate Christmas masks!
Christmas is also the perfect time to do some cooking and baking at home. In addition to the traditional Christmas cake and Yule logs, why not try Mrs Bhogal’s Christmas shortbread recipe?
Days out in and around Bedford
When you are finishing off your Christmas shopping at the Harpur Centre, make sure you visit Santa in his Grotto, where you will receive a special gift and can even buy a photo with the big man himself! Prices start from £4.
If your child is an animal fanatic, Woburn Safari Park residents will be enjoying some festive treats! Younger children can enjoy creating their very own Christmas crafts, while the older children will be making special Christmas-themed enrichment for some of the animals at the park.
We all love a Pantomime at Christmas, (oh yes we do!) and Bedford Corn Exchange are putting on Beauty and the Beast this year! Book your tickets for a fun, festive treat.
We would love to see what you get up to over Christmas, so why not share your ideas and pictures with our closed Facebook group? Or, if you are happy to have your photos shared, send them to our public Facebook and Twitter pages.
So, from all of us at Pilgrims, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
It’s World Kindness Day – a global day that promotes the importance of being kind to each other. Here, Mrs Webster explains why kindness is one of our core values at Pilgrims and how compassion for others is what connects us all together.
Here at Pilgrims, we treat everybody in a kind, compassionate, caring and supportive way so that everybody feels happy and safe.
Evidence shows that helping others and showing kindness not only improves someone else’s day, but can also benefit our own mental health and wellbeing. For example, carrying out a simple act of kindness can reduce stress levels and improve mood, self-esteem and happiness.
World Kindness Day aims to highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power of kindness. Kindness allows us to connect with other people and build meaningful relationships.
As adults and role models in the children’s lives we can nurture kindness. When we show Pilgrims pupils what it looks and feels like to be kind, they will copy our behaviour. Then when the children show kindness, we should praise and encourage this behaviour to show the children that we notice and appreciate them being kind to others.
This World Kindness Day, we are encouraging all our families to go out of their way to be kind to others. Celebrate by pledging to do at least one intentional act of kindness today that benefits someone else.
If you are looking for ways that you and your children can share kindness, here are some ideas I have come up with:
- Check in with a friend, family member or neighbour – you could even make some cakes to take for them!
- Post a card or picture to someone who lives far away
- Help at home with the household chores
- Smile and say hello to people you walk past – it doesn’t happen often enough!
- Hold the door open for the next person – it may not sound a little thing but it has a big impact
- Offer a helping hand to a friend
Kindness is contagious. So, when you carry out an act of kindness, remember that thoughtful gesture is likely to be passed on to another!