Sports Day is going ahead this Friday! For a change this year, we’re not facing rain — instead, the forecast is for a very warm and sunny day, so please make sure your child comes prepared with a hat, water bottle, and has sunscreen applied before arriving.
We’re getting ready for the warm weather by setting up gazebos on the field to provide shade, and we’ll have extra water available to refill bottles throughout the day. All essential medication, such as asthma pumps currently held at school, will be taken to the field for easy access.
If your child would like to borrow a spare T-shirt for the day, we have some available at school. Please let us know as soon as possible so we can check the sizes we have in stock.
Huge thanks to our amazing PTA, who will be opening the tea hut down on the field during both the morning and afternoon sessions. They’ll be serving hot and cold drinks, cake, and sweets. Please note that it will be cash only.
Sports Day Schedule:
Nursery Sports Day: Starts at 10:00 AM on the rugby field. Morning nursery children should arrive at the usual time and will walk together to the field. Afternoon nursery children should arrive at 8:50 AM this day to join in the activities, as there will be no afternoon nursery session.
All other pupils: Will start walking down to the rugby field at 1:00 PM.
At the end of the event, please can one parent or carer come down to the children’s area to collect their child / children.
Thank you for your support — we’re looking forward to a fantastic day!
Spread across the year we have 3 transition days for pupils, and 2 transition evenings for parents. 2 transition days and 1 parents’ evening have already taken place. The next will be:
Year 6 Transition Day – Tuesday 8th July
Year 6 Parents’/Carers’ Evening – Tuesday 8th July
There might also be some additional transition opportunities, and if this is the case then further information will be shared with you.
How are the form classes arranged in Llangatwg, and will my child be with their friends?
There are 5 form classes in each year group – 7C, 7Y, 7D, 7R, and 7A. Each of the form classes is mixed ability. Mr. Barnes will contact all primary schools to collate friendship groups, and these friendship groups (of between 2 and 5 pupils) are kept together in a form classes. There may be occasions when larger friendship groups cannot all be kept together, as we feel that it is important for pupils to get to know others from different schools, but there will not be occasions where you child is not with a friend from their primary school.
Pupils will find out which form class they will be in from their primary school before the transition day on 8th July, and they will spend time in their forms and with their form tutor on this day. There is also an opportunity for parents/carers to meet their child’s form tutor in our Y6 parents/carer evening.
We also have an additional teaching class known as Dosbarth Tyfu, and this class is in place to support learners with their basic skills. This has been hugely successful for the past 2 years, and we are delighted to be able to offer this again. Learners in Dosbarth Tyfu will be in a form class with their friends, but will be in a different teaching group so that support can be put in place for them.
How do the school buses work?
School transport is organized by the Local Authority transport team. Parents/carers will receive a letter in the Summer Holidays confirming that the transport is in place, where the bus will collect their child and what time this will be. The bus will then bring learners directly down to the school. At the end of the day the pupils will return to the same bus which will bring them home. All buses are labelled with the bus route number, which is the same number that will be on the letter that parents/carers receive, as well as on the child’s bus pass. Pupils will not have their bus passes for the first day of term, and so the requirement to carry their bus pass is relaxed, however once these have been issued then bus passes will be required each day. The current timetable can be found at the back of this document, however this can change, and so parents/carers should check the school transport website.
What is the uniform for Llangatwg School, and where do I purchase this?
All of the Llangatwg School unform can be purchased from Sportec, and can be bought in person or online (https://www.sportec.co.uk/)
A range of uniform items can be purchased from Sportec, however the basic uniform will include a polo shirt, jumper, PE top black school trousers and plain black shoes.
Who can help if there is a problem in school?
All staff at Llangatwg School are committed to providing help and support to the learners at the school. The most common member of staff that you would contact if there was an issue at school would be your child’s form tutor and your child’s year leader. You are able to contact us via email or telephone, and the contact details can be found at the bottom of this page. Your child’s year leader will be Mrs. Collins.
How will pupils find their way around school?
Finding their way around a new school can be something that learners new to the school can find worrying. On the first day of term all new Year 7 learners will meet in the school hall, and this is something that will be showed to them in the run-through that takes place in the transition day on 8th July. Learners will follow the signage to their form classes, and their form tutors will meet them there. Pupils will be shown around the school and escorted to breaktime and lunchtime for the first few days until they get used to the layout of the school. We run a 2 week timetable at the school, however once pupils have done 1 week with us then they will have been to all areas and had all of the lessons, and so will quickly feel more comfortable with finding their way around.
How are school lunches paid for?
All parents/carers will have an information pack and forms to fill in and return to the school in readiness for their child starting in September. These will be circulated from primary schools. These forms are then returned to Llangatwg, who will set parents/carers up with a Parentpay account. All payments for school go through Parentpay, including paying for lunches. Included in the same information pack is the application form for free school meals. Pupils will have a unique pin code which they use for paying for school dinners, and using this pin number will mean that either funds will be taken from the Parentpay account, or the free school meal will be issued.
What do pupils need to bring to school?
Pupils will need to bring all of your equipment with them every day (pens, pencils, rubber, ruler, sharpener, protractor). They will also need to bring the books that they require for that day, as will as their PE kit.
How will I know if my child has homework?
Homework is an essential part of continued progress for learners. At Llangatwg School we use a system called ClassCharts, and this has a parent/carer and a pupil app. On this app parents/carer and pupil are able to access timetables, homework that has been set, attendance at school, any positive or negative points, etc. When homework is set then this will show on the ClassCharts app for parents/carer and pupils, along with the length of time that a pupil has to complete this set piece.
How does the school address Additional Learning Needs concerns?
Llangatwg School works hard to meet the needs of all learners, including those learners with ALN. The great majority of parents/carers of learners with ALN would have already met with Mr. Barnes in their child’s primary school. Mr. Barnes meets with all primary schools to ensure that we have all of the information that we require to put help and support in place for your child.
All learners are screened with their arrive at the school for Literacy, Numeracy and Speech and Language difficulties, and learners that require this additional support are offered intervention in these areas to help develop their skills. Parents/carer are kept updated with the progress that their child is making throughout the year.
Some learners require support over and above intervention, and these needs are discussed in Pupil-centred Review meetings, where we focus on what is working well, what is not working so well, and what additional provision is required to support your child. Parents/carers of learners with Additional Learning Needs are contacted by telephone to make an appointment (face-to-face or virtual), and the support package is then discussed. This is reviewed regularly in line with the ALNET Code of Practice.
What happens if my child is not able to come to school due to illness or appointment?
If your child is not able to come into school then we ask that you contact us by telephone or report this through the ClassCharts app. When the automated options are given to you then there is an option to report a child’s absence, and this will take you through to an answerphone to leave a message with us to report the absence.
What should I do if I have medical concerns about my child?
The great majority of medical concerns can be handled with reasonable adjustments and a good understanding of the learner’s health condition. In other cases a learner might needs a healthcare plan. It is important to made Llangatwg School aware of the health concern early on, and this can be done in one of two ways:
Liaise with your child’s primary school to ensure that they are going to discuss with Mr. Barnes at information exchange
Is vaping an issue, and what are the school doing to tackle this?
As you are aware, vaping amongst young people has become a national issue, inside and outside of schools. To combat this, we have regular assemblies raising the health issues, along with bespoke lessons in health and wellbeing lessons which address a range of issues.
We have invested in vape alarms in our toilets which have been highly successful in deters and reducing issues. We have also separated our toilets to older and younger pupils to combat any issues in the toilets. A high staff presence at break and lunchtimes on our duty rotas also adds to our presence around the school.
How are bullying concerns addressed at Llangatwg School?
Bullying will not be tolerated. Our fundamental school rules are Ready, Respectful, Safe and these are taught through the school. Any issues will be dealt with in an open manner, with nothing brushed under the carpet.
Our form tutors will take their pupils through the 5 years, building a strong, trusting relationship, one in which will be the first port of call for pupils and parents if any issues. Likewise with the Year leaders. senior staff are always on duty, along with the buddy system of senior prefects.
Are the toilets locked throughout the school day?
Some of the toilets are locked throughout the school day, however there are always toilets that are open. The toilets in the New Block (this is by the canteen) are always open, and so it is always possible for learners to use the toilet throughout the school day. We always encourage learners to use the toilets during breaktime and lunchtime, however we understand that there are occasions where this is not always possible, and so there are always open toilets.
Sports Day ☀️ We’re excited that the sun looks set to shine next week, and Sports Day is likely to go ahead as planned! Nursery Sports Day will start at 10:00 AM on the rugby field. The rest of the school will begin walking down to the rugby field at 1:00 PM. Please bring morning nursery children to school at the usual time; they will walk to the field together. For children attending the afternoon nursery session, please note that they should come to school at 8:50 AM on this day for them to join in Sports Day, as there will be no afternoon nursery. We are currently waiting for confirmation from the PTA about whether the refreshment hut will be open. Thank you to everyone who has already requested Sports Day T-Shirts. The order form will close tomorrow to ensure we have enough T-Shirts in the correct sizes for all pupils.
Please can pupils come to school wearing their PE kit on Tuesday to get some extra Sports Day practice in.
School Trips I’m delighted to announce that Classes 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be visiting Ninja Warrior on July 10th for a fun end-of-year trip! The outing will include two hours of playtime at Ninja Warrior plus lunch at the venue, at a cost of just £9.50 per pupil. We are very grateful to Cymru Coaches for providing a free bus and to the PTA for their generous £500 contribution. Payment details will soon be available on ParentPay, and a consent form will be sent via Schoop.
Events for Parents
Monday 16th June, 1:30 PM – Staff from Llangatwg will be visiting to meet Year 6 parents. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the transition to Comprehensive School and ask any questions you may have.
Thursday 3rd July, 9:30 AM – Nursery Graduation. We look forward to welcoming morning Nursery parents to celebrate this special occasion. Following the graduation, there will be a transition meeting to explain the changes involved in starting full-time education and to answer any questions.
Updates on the Post Inspection Action Plan
Thursday 19th June – Our Governors and members of the Local Authority will be visiting us to look at Higher Order Reading skills and to talk to pupils about their reading.
Monday 30th June, 3:30 PM – Post Inspection Plan update and Read, Write, Inc information session. Join us to meet the school governors and hear about our next steps following the inspection. Helen Harris will also share how Read, Write, Inc supports our literacy targets within the Post Inspection Action Plan.
Staff Updates We are very grateful to Mrs. Rachel Bevan for kindly covering Class 2 this week while Mrs. Williams is unwell. We wish Mrs. Williams a swift and smooth recovery and look forward to welcoming her back soon.
PTA Summer Fete A huge thank you to our amazing PTA for all their hard work planning our Summer Fete! The event will kick off at 1:30 PM on Friday, 11th July. The list of stalls and activities is extensive, featuring a bouncy castle , hook-a-duck , and even splat-the-teacher! The Bee Hive will be transformed into a “Cozy Café” for those looking for a quieter moment. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for good weather.
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend. For those attending the Neath Steam and Vintage Show, we hope the sun shines for you at this fantastic local event!
Take a look to see who achieved a certificate this week!
We would also like to share the amazing achievements of Olivia who has a true passion and talent for motorbike racing. What a brilliant achievement at such a young age!
A huge thank you to Gemma Addis-Fuller, Governor Allen Kingdon and our wonderful group of parents their amazing support to develop our gardening area. Special thanks to Mr. Evan Davies for sharing his skills and time to rebuild our planters.
We have been continuing to learn our Read Write Inc. sounds in Nursery and we have been doing activities around the new sounds. We have dressed up as pirates (p), went on an orange hunt (o), travelled around when we saw the go sign (g), make a c out of a caterpillar toy (c), kicked a ball (k) ⚽ and went out in the rain with umbrellas (u). ☔
We have been reading stories about journeys including ‘The Great Balloon Hullaballoo’, ‘Bun on the Run’, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!’, ‘Pip and Posy – The Super Scooter’
Class 1 News
We hope you had a lovely week off, it’s been wonderful to welcome the children back and hear all about thejourneys they’ve been on during their break. This has beautifully tied into our current learning theme and sparked some fantastic classroom discussions.
Literacy
We are continuing with our Read Write Inc. (RWInc) phonics program, The children are working hard on their sounds and blends, showing great enthusiasm and determination. We also enjoy daily story time.
Numeracy
In Year 1, we’ve been exploring pre-multiplication concepts by counting in 2s, 5s, and 10s. The children have also been learning to make even groups and arrays, laying the groundwork for multiplication. In Reception, the focus has been on adding more to numbers up to 20. Through hands-on activities, the children are developing a strong understanding of number value and formation.
Concept: Journeys
Our current theme is ‘Journeys’. We’ve been discussing the different types of journeys we take—whether it’s to school, to the park, or even imaginative adventures! The children have been thinking about how we travel, what we might bring, and reflecting on their own learning journeys this year.
We’ve also been exploring the daily journeys of insects, observing their movements and habitats. The children have enjoyed building insect homes, learning what these creatures need to survive and thrive. These activities have sparked curiosity and a deeper appreciation for the natural world.
Our Rights
As part of our learning about personal development and wellbeing, the children have been exploring their rights. We’ve been focusing on their right to be safe, to learn, and to play. Through stories, discussions, and role play, the children are beginning to understand how these rights help them grow and thrive, and how they can respect the rights of others too.
Reading and Library Books
A gentle reminder to please return any library and reading books your child has borrowed. This helps us keep our collection fresh and exciting for all children to enjoy.
Thank you for your continued support. We are so proud of all the children and the progress they are making!
Warm regards, Miss Glennon & Mrs. Morgan
Class 2 News
Dear Parents/Carers,
We hope that you all had a lovely half term.
Literacy
This week we have continued with our set two and three Read Write Inc sounds, additionally reading the red and green words within the stories to go with the scheme. We have enjoyed listening to our daily stories.
Numeracy
In numeracy we have been counting in two’s, five’s and ten’s. We have used our counting to recite and write our time’s tables.
Concept Journey
We have continued learning about jellyfish. We drew and labelled the body parts and their life cycle. To complete our jellyfish we decorated our topic sea creature using different materials such as tissue paper and bubble wrap.
Music
On Wednesday we thoroughly enjoyed exploring and experimenting using different instruments. The instruments were a range of metal, wood and plastic, which we discovered gave off different sounds. Finally, we created musical pieces using varied speeds, volumes and patterns.
Have a great weekend.
Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Jones
Class 3 News
The children are enjoying learning about their new topic, “migration”. The children have done some brilliant research about a bird of their choice that migrates on a chrome book and made a PowerPoint all about the bird they have chosen.
In numeracy, they have been learning about “statistics” in the form of different graphs and charts. The children have applied what they have learnt in a real- life context by collecting data on what insects we have in our school yard by going on a “bug hunt”. They have now learnt how to implement the data collected into Jit5 or Microsoft excel to make a chart to represent the data.
In literacy, the children have been practising their RWI sounds on a daily basis to improve their reading and spelling competency. In addition, the children have created a fact file about the bird they have chosen to research. Using this information, the children have written a fact file which they will use to help write their own non- chronological report about a bird that migrates in the near future.
Thanks as always for your continued support and we’re looking forward to an enjoyable term.
Kind regards,
Mr Evans
Class 4 News
Welcome back to the final half term!
This is a special time for Year 6, as it is their last 7 weeks in primary school and we have lots to look forward to, including exciting sporting events and trips.
In literacy, we will be focusing on non-fiction texts, which will help enhance pupils’ reading and writing skills. In Numeracy, we will dive into decimals, percentages, and ratio, building on their understanding of these important concepts.
We will continue our studies on the concept of journeys, linking this to our exploration of rivers. This connection will deepen their understanding of geographical features and how rivers shape our landscape.
We also had a brilliant time at Sony Bridgend, where pupils experienced making a real film. They engaged in various roles, including acting, handling props, filming, and working with light and sound equipment. It was an invaluable experience that sparked their creativity and teamwork skills.
Additionally, we welcomed a nurse who spoke to the class about healthy diets and the Eatwell Plate, reinforcing the importance of nutrition in their daily lives.
Thank you for your continued support as we embark on this exciting half term. We look forward to more adventures and learning opportunities in the weeks ahead!
