Latest News
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school and our community at the moment.
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Applications for Secondary School for September 2025
Thu 05 Sep 2024Please click here for Secondary School Admissions
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Nursery Information - Please read
Thu 05 Sep 2024We hope that the children have all had a lovely first week in Nursery, it has been a pleasure getting to know them all.
A few reminders:
- All your child’s belongings/everything that they bring into school, is clearly labelled with their name, including their water bottles and lunch boxes.
- As lunch is at 11.30am, the children will not be required to bring in a snack. Every child is also offered a carton of milk daily in school.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE A NUT FREE SCHOOL and have several children with different allergies within the school, including Nursery..
Could we kindly ask that they have their water bottle in their hands on arrival, so that it can go straight into the relevant basket. This has worked well in previous years and the children like having this independence.
To help your child further as they settle in to their new school routine, please could we also ask you to continue to support and encourage your child with putting their coat on and off, opening their lunch boxes, school bags/back packs and with their toileting needs, all helping their growing independence.
Please could you also provide a change of clothes for your child (it doesn't have to be school uniform) which can be left in school on their peg.
Due to the building works, we have limited yard space and unfortunately Nursery finish timings will cross over with Junior playtimes.
Therefore, when the gates are opened in readiness for pick up at the end of the morning session, they will be closed again and not left open, as they are at the end of the full school day for safeguarding reasons. Again, this is something that has worked well this week and we thank all parents/carers for their cooperation.
Please could we also ask that you follow the marked pathway from and to the pedestrian gate.
Should you have any questions or need to speak to the Nursery staff, please email Mrs John on - beth.john@pontyclunprimary.rctcbc.cymru
Thank you very much
Nursery Staff
Timings for week 2 from Monday 9th September 2024 for all pupils
8.50am - 12.20pm (all staying for lunch)
Timings from week 3 onwards, Monday 16th September 2024 for all pupils
8.50am - 12.50pm (all staying for lunch)
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Important Medical Information - Please read
Thu 05 Sep 2024We have some pupils that have a compromised and weakened immune system within the school. We would like to ask that all parents to be more mindful of their children having infectious diseases and to remind you of the importance of informing the school at the earliest opportunity of these and or your child's absence if they need to be away from school.
Medical records
If there are any changes to your childs medical history, this needs to be kept updated. Please contact the main office for a form to complete or email admin@pontyclunprimary.rctcbc.cymru, thank you.
PLEASE CAN WE REMIND YOU THAT WE ARE A NUT FREE SCHOOL and have several children with allergies.
We also have pupils with severe milk and dairy allergies in school and adhere to strict guidelines in controlling this.
Thank you for your continued cooperation
Kind regards
Mr H Roberts
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Dates for the coming School Year 2024/25
Thu 05 Sep 2024Please see below dates for your dairy:
- Tuesday 10th September 2024 at 3.30pm - Meet the teacher - Parents are welcome to pop in to their child's class to meet their teachers. Parents with pupils in Mrs Maidment & Mrs Bishops Year 1/2 class, will have the opportunity of meeting them on the Wednesday 11th September 2024 at 3.30pm.
- Monday 16th September 2024 - Year 6 Swimming starts
- Friday 27th September 2024 - Nasal Flu Spray - Reception through to Year 6 (The school Nurse has advised that other arrangements are being made for Nursery this year).
The School Nursing team will be in school to administer the nasal flu spray to all those children that have returned their consent form.
- Tuesday 15th October 2024 - Swhmae Day - wear red/white/green Welsh clothing.
- Monday 21st & Tuesday 22nd October 2024 - Parents Evenings
We will be holding face to face parents meetings in the main school halls. Please keep an eye on Parentmail for details of when bookings will go live and instructions on how to book your parent teacher meeting.
- Autumn half term Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November 2024
- Friday 8th November 2024 - Remembrance Day
Poppy merchandise will be available in school following half term. All items are a minimum donation of £1.
Throughout the day pupils will be taking part in linked activities and we will be holding a school wide minutes silence during our whole school assembly.
- Friday 15th November 2024 - Children In Need
We will once again be supporting this charity and accepting donations via an online giving page - details to follow.
- Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th December 2024 - Nursery and Reception Christmas Concerts
There will be one performance on each day during the morning - times and tickets sales to be confirmed - Subject to change.
- Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th December 2024 - Year 1, 2 & 3 Christmas Concerts
There will be one performance on each day during the afternoon - times and tickets sales to be confirmed - Subject to change.
- Monday 16th and Wednesday 18th December 2024 - Year 4,5 & 6 Christmas Concerts
There will be two performances, one Monday afternoon and one on the Tuesday afternoon - times and tickets sales to be confirmed - Subject to change.
- Tuesday 17th December 2024 - Christmas trip - Years 4,5 & 6 to the Pantomime Jack & the Beanstalk at the Swansea Grand Theatre
- Wednesday 18th December 2024 - Christmas trip - Years 2 & 3 to the Pantomime Jack & the Beanstalk at the Swansea Grand Theatre
- Reception and Year 1 Christmas trips to be arranged.
Pupils break up for the Christmas holidays Friday 20th December 2024
2025
- Monday 6th January 2025 - School closed to all pupils for an Inset day for staff training.
- Saturday 11th - Thursday 16th January 2025 - Year 6 Skiing Trip
- Thursday 16th January 2025 - Year 4 Swimming starts
- Friday 17th January 2025 - Year 5 Swimming starts
- Spring half term Monday 24th - Friday 16th February 2025
- Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th February 2025 - Parents Evenings
We will be holding face to face parents meetings in the main school halls. Please keep an eye on Parentmail for details of when bookings will go live and instructions on how to book your parent teacher meeting.
- Thursday 6th March 2025 - World Book Day.
- Friday 7th March 2025 - Eisteddfod - wear red/white/green Welsh clothing.
Thursday 13th, Friday 14th and Monday 17th & Tuesday 18th March 2025 - School closed for packing up and moving into the New School Build. - Subject to change and confirmation in the New Year
- Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th April 2025 - Whole school photos for pupils.
Pupils break up for the Easter holidays Friday 11th April 2025 returning after on Tuesday 29th April 2025.
- Monday 28th April 2025 - School closed to all pupils for an Inset day for staff training - to be confirmed.
- Friday 2nd May 2025 - Year 3 Swimming starts.
- Monday 5th May 2025 - First May bank holiday - School closed.
- Monday 19th May 2025- Sports day for Years 2 to 6 - Subject to change, further details to follow..
- Tuesday 20th May 2025 - Fun Sports day for Nursery to Year 3 - Subject to change, further details to follow.
- Monday 9th & Tuesday 10th June 2025 - Reserve Sports days if needed.
Pupils break up for the Whitsun half term on Friday 23rd May 2025, returning after on Monday 2nd June 2025
- Monday 3rd June 2025 - Reserve Sports day for Years 2 to 6.
Year 5 Residential trips - to be confirmed
- Friday 4th July 2025 - Reports out to Parents
- Monday 14th July 2025 - Report Surgery
- Tuesday 15th July 2025 - Leavers Concert - 6pm start
- Friday 18th July 2025 - School finishes today - end of the Summer term.
- Monday 21st July 2025 - School closed to all pupils for an Inset day for staff training.
All dates are subject to change and further details will follow nearer to the event. Any further dates yet to be confirmed and or arrangement details will be sent out via ParentMail.
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Welcome back - Important Information
Thu 05 Sep 2024Welcome back after the summer break. We hope you have all had a lovely summer and we are looking forward to working with you during the coming school terms.
Please see below for some reminders and information for the coming academic year.
Miss Harwood is still absent from school for compassionate leave and we are very pleased that Mrs Downes has agreed to continue as acting Deputy Head in her absence. We are also very pleased that Mrs Watkin Carter has agreed to lead the ALN department of the school. Both will have management time requiring them to be out of the classroom. Mrs Downes’ class will be covered by Mr R Carter who has worked with us throughout last year. He will liaise regularly with Mrs Downes to ensure continuity and consistency of learning. Mrs Watkin Carter will be covered by Mrs K Harries who again has worked considerably with us over the last couple of years.
Mrs Jenkins will be leaving to start her maternity leave after half term. The school will be conducting lesson observations of prospective candidates on September 25th and 26th and following up with formal interviews on October 3rd.
Time will then be made available for the successful candidate to meet the class, meet the teacher and hand over all information prior to starting work.
Dates for the year will be sent separately. (Please be aware that dates might change due to unforeseen circumstances).
Kind regards,
Mr H Roberts
Head Teacher.
School timings
The school day runs from 9 am to 3.30 pm
The gates open from 8.50 am in the morning to enable a staggered entry and no pupils should be dropped off prior to this time (unless attending Breakfast club). Staff are not in classrooms prior to 8.50 am and will therefore not be supervising pupils. Pupils from Nursery to Year 3 can go straight into class. Pupils in Years 4,5 and 6 will line up on the yard and staff will escort them into the building just before 9am ready for registration.
The current entrance to the school is the gate at the Palalwyf entrance.
The gates will re-open from 3.10 pm in the afternoon to enable a staggered pick up.
End of day pick up times are:
Nursery - 12.50pm
Reception - 3.20 pm
Year 1 - 3.25 pm
Year 2 - 3.25 pm
Year 3 - 3.25 pm
Juniors - 3.30 pm
Parents/carers are not permitted into school buildings unless by appointment, therefore, if you would like to speak to your child’s class teacher, please can you email them directly. The teacher’s emails are attached.
Healthy Snacks & Break times
Please could you provide your child with a healthy snack for break times, (fruit, vegetables or cheese). PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE A NUT FREE SCHOOL.
Please be aware that from Year 3, these snacks will be eaten during break times on the playground. We would encourage parents to provide their children with water rather than squash and we have refilling facilities within school.
PE Days
PE will start the week commencing 16th September, your child’s PE day will be sent out with the year group specific information shortly.
Swimming Information
Swimming lessons will start on Monday 16th September at Llantrisant Leisure Centre. No Bikinis please
Swimming timetable:
Autumn Term - Year 6
Spring Term - Year 4 & 5
Summer Term - Year 3
School equipment:Please ensure your child brings a named refillable water bottle, suitable clothing (i.e. waterproof warm coats for winter, hats and sunscreen for warm weather).
Children will be provided with stationery in school to avoid personal items being lost, but if you would like your child to use their own belongings, we recommend:
A pencil
A sharpener
A rubber
A green ink pen
A blue ink pen
A ruler
Name on belongings reminder
Please can we remind you to ensure that your child’s name is on all belongings i.e. jumpers, bottles, lunchboxes etc. We have a large amount of lost property from last year without names.
Home Reading Records
We will be providing all children with a reading record this year including those that are “free readers”. During September, class teachers will be assessing the children’s reading ages. On the first week of October, children will be given reading books linked to their reading ages. Until this time, children will receive the same colour band as the previous year. These will be given out on Monday 9th September for Years 1 - 6 and 16th September for Reception.
Homework
Thank you for your responses on our homework survey, we have listened to your opinions and will be sending out weekly spellings and Timestables Rockstars and will expect 10 minutes of reading every night (more information on reading will be sent out soon). This will start on Monday 16th September.
Year Group specific information including PE days, topic overviews, book recommendations, and maths strategies will be sent out by Friday 13th September.
Any questions and queries, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.
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Year 6 Swimming Autumn Term
Tue 03 Sep 2024Year 6 will be swimming at Llantrisant Leisure Centre every Monday morning from Monday 16th September 2024 for the whole of the Autumn term, with the last one being Monday 9th December. The bus will leave school at 10am prompt for lessons to begin at 10.15 and will return by lunchtime
must wear their swimming costume under their P.E. Kit to the Leisure Centre. They will also need to bring their towel along with any underwear in their bag for afterwards and goggles if needed.
Your child will be bringing home a consent form tonight please can this be brought back in as soon as possible and handed to either Mrs Downes (rhian.morgan@pontyclunprimary.rctcbc.cymru) or Mrs Vaughan (rachel.vaughan@pontyclunprimary.rctcbc.cymru).
Any concerns please contact your child's teacher
Many thanks
Useful links
- In every RCT Leisure for Life swimming pool there is a free family swimming session for 1 hour every weekend, Saturday or Sunday Swimming Lessons and Activities (rctcbc.gov.uk)
- During every school holidays with the exception of Christmas all Leisure for Life swimming pools will be running crash course swimming lessons, these are now bookable online https://rhondda.courseprogress.co.uk/login
5- 11+ years Learn to Swim – Swim Wales
Attached is a Water Smart leaflet that could be used as part of a water safety lesson linked to the new curriculum, there are also some useful website links below.
Royal Life Saving Society UK's Drowning Prevention Week (rlss.org.uk)
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Free School Meals - Please read
Mon 02 Sep 2024Please can we remind all parents that even if their child now receives a Universal Primary Free School Meal (Eligible Nursery pupils through to Year 6) that they could be eligible to access wider support, such as the School Essentials Grant for items such as uniform, kit and stationery (up to £200) plus extra funding for your school.
All schools across Wales will then be entitled to additional funding to provide education and support these children. If eligible families don’t apply for a free school meal through the council it will affect the amount of funding from Welsh Government that the schools receive, meaning the school has less money than it is entitled to in order to provide education and support to your children.
If you think your child may be entitled to a Free School Meal, even if your child is in receipt of a meal under this new scheme, please complete the online application form on the Council’s website Free School Meals or ask the main school office for a paper copy, which we can then scan for you.
Further links below
Free School Meals - All Primary ENG
https://youtube.com/shorts/JKFGNH2QxRs
Free School Meals - Younger Primary ENG
https://youtube.com/shorts/snMmKiRvMW4
Free School Meals - Older Primary ENG
https://youtube.com/shorts/s4YTKd0LMd8
Thank you very much
Attachments
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School Meals - Please read
Mon 02 Sep 2024Reminder
Please can we remind all parents/carers that school dinners are payable in advance at £2.85 per day unless your child is eligible for a free school meal. These payments are made through the online RCT portal. A link to this can be found on our website www.pontyclunprimary.org.uk.
If their account is not kept up to date, you will be asked to provide sandwiches for your child until the debt is cleared.
Any outstanding debts have an effect on the whole school budget.
If you need your child's unique 10-digit number this can be obtained from the school office. Likewise, should there be any reason why payment is not possible, please contact the school office on 01443 237833 or email admin@pontyclunprimary.rctcbc.cymru in confidence.
Thank you very much for your continued cooperation
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After School Provision from September 2024 - Please read
Fri 19 Jul 2024Further to my ParentMail last week the Governing body have agreed to allow Playworks to facilitate an after school club on our school premises between 4pm and 6pm for those parents choosing to use the club, from September 2024.
There was a great expression of interest from parents and Playworks will now send a registration form to all those parents who replied, so that you can book your child's space in preparation for the Autumn term, dealing directly with them.
The school will provide a light sports/recreation club for all pupils registered with Playworks. This will run from 3.15pm (infants) and 3.30pm (juniors) till 4pm when Playworks will take over the supervision of pupils. Children in Reception through to Year 3 will be escorted to the main hall for the activity club and children in Year 4/5 & 6, will be directed to the main hall. There is no additional cost for this club whilst CIW registration takes place.
At 4pm, they will then be escorted to the Infant hall, where Playworks will provide them with a light buffet style snack and then supervise them in their after school club until 6pm.
If you did not initially express an interest directly with Playworks and now wish to do so, please click on the link below or you can contact them directly on enquiries@playworks-childcare.co.uk.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsmorwxWkqa1oN_eOtA5wJqzuHdDQBgobTgpVPwa96oGgfpQ/viewform
During the Summer holidays Playworks would like to invite parents/carers to a "meet the staff" open day at 'The Meadows Farm Village' in Nantgarw, with which they are associated. The date of this will be Friday 30th August and further details will be sent out from Playworks or via ParentMail.
Thank you very much
Mr H Roberts
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End of Year Newsletter
Fri 19 Jul 2024As we reach the end of the academic year, may I take this opportunity to wish our wonderful year 6 pupils good luck and best wishes for your continued success as you leave us for pastures new. I am sure you will continue to flourish and we look forward to hearing of all your successes in the future.
We are also saying goodbye to three staff members. Mrs B Davies, Mrs A Shenton and Mrs K Bray. May we thank them for their service, their commitment to the pupils of Pontyclun Primary School and for all the wonderful opportunities and experiences you have provided over the years. You leave with the gratitude and respect of so many parents, pupils and staff both past and present. We wish you every success for what the future brings.
A quick update regarding Miss Harwood. Miss Harwood remains absent on compassionate leave, we will see where we are in September.
Can I on behalf of all the staff thank you all for your support and understanding this year, your gifts have been very gratefully received, they’re never expected but always appreciated.
We wish you a wonderful summer break and look forward to welcoming you back in September.
Kind regards
Mr H Roberts