The Thurston and Ixworth Flyer October 2023 edition
Welcome to the October 2023 edition of The Thurston and Ixworth Flyer. In this October edition of the Thurston and Ixworth Flyer we have news and updates from local schools, clubs and community news.
Bardwell School news October Thurston and Ixworth
If you’ve got a young child, you’ve probably heard the phrase ‘is your child school ready?’ Well, here at Bardwell we are ‘your family ready’! We have loved welcoming all our new pupils to the school and those in the Reception have settled in so well enjoying activities that are developmentally appropriate for them. Bardwell’s Early Years provision has moved to our wonderful wooden classroom on the ‘Daisy Meadow’. This means our youngest pupils have all day access to the most magnificent outdoor space with a newly mown grass path to some fairy play areas. The absence of tables and chairs here means that children move freely in their play, it is a joy to watch them in their learning development.
There’s good evidence to support the positive impact that being outdoors has on mental health as well as learning. A 2022 study[1] states,
“We have known for some time the value of natural environments for students’ socio-emotional and intellectual development. This international systematic review represents a landmark milestone in outdoor learning research, and suggests that nature-specific outdoor learning has measurable socio-emotional, academic and wellbeing benefits.”
Over the summer break, I took time to reflect on what it is that we do so differently at Bardwell – and I watched a little bit of CBeebies! My own children have outgrown children’s TV so I thought it would be good to catch up on what our new pupils might have been watching. I realised that we’ve taken the same approach as seen in Bluey – her dad Bandit knows that it’s easier to learn important stuff when you are playing. We apply this throughout the school – play is integral to our curriculum. It’s based on robust research too; as our playground posters say, ‘Play is the highest form of research!’ (Albert Einstein).
Active Uniform
Our active uniform is geared up to allow children to play freely – our pupils wear leggings or joggers with comfortable trainer-style shoes or wellies – there’s no need to waste valuable time getting changed for PE. Even better? Our children can wear any of six colours that match our school’s ‘Cogs’ – the behaviours and values that underpin our ethos. This allows our pupils to express their individuality from their very first day at Bardwell, whilst wearing the school’s windmill logo with pride shows they are part of ‘Team Bardwell’.
During my CBeebies ‘research’, I enjoyed Hey Duggee too. Like Duggee and his friends, we encourage children to have fun, be curious and to try new things whilst keeping a positive mindset to help build their resilience when things don’t go to plan. Whilst we don’t have Squirrel badges to hand out, we celebrate our pupils’ achievements with Cog Awards at a special weekly assembly instead!
Taster Sessions
We will be running taster sessions for potential September 2024 Reception starters this term. If you have a 3 or 4 year old due to start school in 2024, come along to meet us and find out more:
- Friday 20th October, 1.30-2.30pm
- Thursday 2nd November, 1.30-2.30pm
Mich Boyd, Headteacher