Unicef Rights Respecting Schools
March 2025
“I have the right to keep some things private”
Unicef Rights Respecting Schools Article 16
At Newlands School and in Mountain Ash Class, we are committed to upholding every child’s right to privacy by fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive environment. We ensure that all personal care activities are carried out with dignity and sensitivity, maintaining each child’s comfort and well-being at all times.
We actively teach children about the importance of safeguarding their personal information, helping them understand their right to privacy and how to protect themselves in different situations. This includes lessons on digital safety, personal boundaries, and respectful interactions with others.
Additionally, we recognize the diverse needs of our students and provide designated quiet spaces where children can retreat when they need time to self-regulate or engage in sensory activities. These areas are designed to promote emotional well-being, allowing children to manage their feelings, reduce stress, and regain focus in a calm and supportive setting.
By embedding these practices into our daily routines, we empower children to understand their rights, develop self-awareness, and feel valued within our school community.
Spring 1
February 2025
The children in Mountain Ash have enjoyed our ‘Healthy on the Inside’ topic and worked hard this half term.
We have been thinking about the human body in Science and have found different body parts, explored the skeleton, thought about how to keep our teeth healthy and looked at different food groups and that potions help with growth and strength for example. We have also been cooking healthy dishes including soup, sandwiches and smoothies and have engaged in Happy Healthy Week, during which we had the opportunity to use the climbing wall and had visits from Skylight Circus and Coran Life Education.
During maths we have focussed on number operations and money; we have started streaming for phonics to allow for each child’s individual learning needs to be met and have enjoyed learning about the Ancient Greeks in History and designing our own sports kit in Design Technology.
Unicef Rights Respecting Schools
January 2025
‘I have the right to choose my own religion and thoughts.’
UNICEF Rights of the Child Article 14.
During our RE sessions this half term, the children in Mountain Ash Class are thinking about why people pray. We have spoken about why people who practise different religions pray and have thought about thanks and what we are thankful for.
Today, we have looked at how people who practise Christianity, Hinduism and Islam pray. We have listened to the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (Christian), ‘Gayatri Mantra’ (Hindu) and ‘Call to Prayer’ (Islam), practised different prayer positions and movements and explored a Muslim prayer mat and beads.
Well done Mountain Ash
Autumn 1
The children in Mountain Ash have settled well into class and have already developed friendships and established routines.
Our topic this half term has been 'Roman Rule' and we have learned some facts about Rome, thought about how important water is to the Roman Empire, played some Roman games (including chase and noughts and crosses), explored some real Roman artefacts, made a Roman shield and enjoyed a Roman banquet. We also make fantastic Romans ourselves.
During our English lessons we have worked very hard during our Read Write Inc phonics sessions and are not only learning new sounds but developing our blending, understanding of rhyme. syllables and alliteration and developing our listening skills. In our maths session, we have shown off our knowledge of sequences / patterns and completed some work on 2D and 3D shape. During our Science lessons, we have explored states of matter and during food technology we have looked at using the same ingredients (lemon, bread and carrot) in both a savoury and sweet dish.
We look forward to our 'Celebrations around the World' topic next half term.
English
October 2024
During this half term, the children in Mountain Ash Class worked hard during phonics sessions. We have completed listening activities, including playing rhyming and syllable games, have worked on recognising and forming letters and using our knowledge of the sounds they represent to read and spell words.
We have also fostered our love of reading through afternoon story sessions.
