Message from the Headteacher
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you, as always, for your continued support this half-term. It’s been another really busy one in school, with lots to share and celebrate.
This week we took part in Safer Internet Day, which is marked by schools across the world. Children spent time talking about how to stay safe online. Please do continue to keep an eye on what children are posting and saying online. We’ve seen a rise in friendship issues and fallouts linked to comments made in group chats outside of school.
We’re really looking forward to welcoming parents and carers into school for Parents’ Evenings on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th March. These are always a valuable chance to talk about your child’s learning and progress, and to have a look through their work together.
Our Eisteddfod for pupils in Years 2–6 will take place on 27th February and will be live-streamed so families can enjoy it from home. It’s always a fantastic celebration of Welsh language, culture and creativity, and the children have been working hard in preparation.
We also have World Book Day on 5th March, when children are welcome to dress up as their favourite book characters. This will also be a very special day for us as we officially open our new library cabin – something the children are very excited about.
Thank you again for your ongoing support and partnership with the school.
Warm wishes,
Mr Mansfield
Headteacher
Return to School After the Half-Term Break
Pupils return to school on Monday 23rd February.
Attendance at School
This graph shows the percentage of children who have excellent attendance and the percentage of those who have poor attendance. In some cases, we are aware of genuine reasons for school absence.
This graph shows our whole school attendance across the first half-term.
School Attendance
Yes, yes, yes… we know we keep banging on about it! But school attendance really does matter – and it continues to be a priority for the school, Newport City Council and the Welsh Government.
Being in school every day and on time makes a huge difference to children’s learning, confidence and wellbeing. When children miss school, even for short periods, they can quickly fall behind. Lessons build day by day, and it’s very difficult to fully “catch up” on learning, friendships and routines once time has been missed.
Good attendance also helps children to:
- Build on their knowledge and skills without having to overcome missing ‘gaps’ in their learning
- Build strong friendships and feel part of the school community
- Develop positive routines, resilience and independence
- Feel confident, settled and ready to learn
- Prepare for the expectations of secondary school, further education and the world of work
Punctuality matters too. Arriving late can be unsettling for children and disrupts learning for everyone in the class. A calm, prompt start to the day helps children feel ready, focused and successful.We understand that children are sometimes unwell, and of course health always comes first. However, we ask families to avoid term-time holidays and to support their child in attending school whenever possible.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support. Working together, we can give every child the best possible chance to thrive – every day counts.
School Development Priorities
As you know, the school has a Development Plan which sets out clear priorities for improvement each year. As a reminder, these are the four main priorities we are focusing on this year to help make learning and wellbeing even better for everyone at St Julian’s Primary School.
We’ve made some great progress this term across a number of our priorities.
In Mathematics, we have been really impressed with the effort and creativity shown in pupils’ Maths Homework Scrapbooks. There is some brilliant thinking, presentation and perseverance on show – well done! To celebrate this, we even have some magical prizes lined up for the pupils who have put the most effort into their scrapbooks.
Staff have also taken part in a wide range of professional learning focused on maths pedagogy, and we are working closely with St Julian’s High School and Glan Usk Primary to ensure a consistent approach to the teaching of maths across our cluster.
Across the school, we have been blown away by the quality of REAL, cross-curricular maths taking place. Examples include:
Year 4 making and selling smoothies, calculating nutritional content and profit from sales, Year 6 calculating class attendance using percentages and comparing our school’s energy usage with last year, Reception using counting and data-handling skills to help plan PTA discos, some groups going shopping to the supermarket with a budget.
When pupils are given opportunities to apply their maths skills in a real context, they clearly see the importance of maths in everyday life – and their understanding deepens as a result.
Alongside this, we have continued to build on pupils’ independence skills, building on last year’s work by exploring lesson structures and learning environments that encourage children to think for themselves, make choices and take responsibility for their learning.
Meal Review App
Children often tell us which meals they enjoy from the dining room and which they enjoy less. A group of children suggested having an app like ‘Trip Advisor’ where they could record their reviews of their meals… so we’ve developed an app to do just that! After half-term, children in the junior building will be able to record their reviews after their meals. We’ll then work with Chartwells and Newport Council to share the children’s feedback and have our say on the new menus.
They Spoke, We Listened…
At St Julian’s, we work hard to make sure children have a voice – and, just as importantly, that their voice is listened to. Through our Pupil Parliament departments and Infant Pupil Voice groups, children regularly share ideas that we’ve been able to turn into reality. These are just some of the ways their ideas have helped shape and improve our school.
Children in the Department of Finance calculated the cost of transport for trips and worked out that buying a minibus would make visits cheaper and more frequent, while also helping pupils whose parents don’t drive get to after-school sports fixtures. We fundraised – and bought the minibus. Junior pupils were frustrated by messy cloakrooms and broken hooks and asked for personal lockers… so we made it happen. When children campaigned to keep the local council library open and it sadly closed, they didn’t give up – they campaigned for a better library on our site, and we purchased a portable cabin and transformed it into our school library.
Pupils asked for music in the corridors at the start of the day and after playtimes, so we installed corridor speakers. They wanted better play equipment, so we added storage sheds full of resources, football goals, basketball hoops, a climbing frame, trim trail and an outdoor table tennis table – and when they asked for more places to sit, we added more benches too. Children told us some of the chairs were uncomfortable or broken, so every classroom was fitted with brand-new chairs. They said baking was one of their favourite activities, so we installed ovens and cookery suites around the dining hall to make it happen more often.
Most recently, many children suggested “Taco Tuesday” on our suggestion iPad app – so Mrs Anstee and Mrs Lee rose to the challenge with a special cookery session, and sure enough, tacos were on the menu!
There are so many more examples like these. It’s incredibly important to us that children feel they have a voice, and that they can see their ideas genuinely making a difference to their school.
Safer Internet Day
We were proud to celebrate Safer Internet Day 2026 alongside schools across the world 🌍. Explain that our Department for Technology hosted a special assembly to talk about the benefits and dangers of the internet, with some useful tips to stay safe.
At St Julian’s, we use the SMART rules to help children remember how to stay safe online: S – Safe (keep personal information private), M – Meeting (never meet someone you only know online), A – Accepting (be kind and respectful; not everything you see or are sent is appropriate), R – Reliable (check information and don’t believe everything you read), T – Tell (tell a trusted adult if something worries you).
Older children had lots of discussions around the development of Artificial Intelligence and its pros and cons.
We are increasingly concerned about the number of WhatsApp group chat arguments happening outside of school, which then spill over and negatively affect friendships during the school day. We strongly urge parents and carers to check your child’s phone regularly, talk to them about how they are using it, and closely monitor group chats and online interactions. Working together is the best way to keep children safe, happy and enjoying positive friendships both online and in school.
We are also really grateful to Theo’s (Y5) mum, who came in to deliver a session on online safety to children in Year 5.
Giggle Wiggle Restaurant
Two of our Literacy and Numeracy groups in the junior building recently hosted a fantastic pop-up restaurant for parents, putting their learning into action in a real and memorable way. Pupils planned and ran the restaurant themselves, designing menus, surveying people about their favourite meals and presenting the results using graphs. They wrote shopping lists, visited Aldi to buy ingredients, weighed and measured food, timed cooking and baking, and prepared a delicious meal – with spaghetti bolognese proving a big hit! After the event, children counted the money raised and even read and reflected on their Tripadvisor-style reviews. It was a brilliant example of how literacy and numeracy skills can be developed in a practical, purposeful and fun way, and the children did an amazing job hosting their families.
Newport Council Holocaust Memorial Service
Our Head Boy and Head Girl were honoured to attend the Holocaust Memorial Service at St Woolos Cathedral, hosted by Newport Council. The service brought together pupils and guests from across the city.
Thanks to SJ Methodist Church, the Warehouse Church & Hot Bread Shop
We would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful members of St Julian’s Methodist Church, who continue to support our school and families so generously. Each week, Steven and Pauline visit us with a large delivery of food that helps us support families who may need a little extra help.
We are also incredibly grateful to Warehouse Church for their regular food donations to our families and for helping us keep our Big Bocs Bwyd well stocked. Locally, Hot Bread Shop also kindly donates bread and pastries on a regular basis.
We are so thankful to all of these organisations within our community for the care, kindness and ongoing support they show to our families—it truly makes a difference.
Parents’ Evenings
We will be holding Parent–Pupil Learning Reviews on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th March after school for children in Reception to Year 6. Nursery parents will be invited to attend appointments throughout the day on those dates. An online booking system link will be shared with parents after half-term to allow you to book a convenient appointment.
PTA Discos
We are so grateful to the PTA and staff for organising the discos after school this week 🎶. The children had a brilliant time dancing, singing, playing games and enjoying their snacks. A special thank you goes to “DJ Hazza” (Harrison), one of our Year 6 pupils, who did an amazing job DJ’ing for the junior discos – what a star!
General Reminders
- The council does not permit dogs on school sites, even if they are being carried, and e-scooters are also not allowed on site.
- Necklaces should not be worn to school. If earrings are worn, they must be small stud earrings only, not hoops or dangling earrings, to reduce the risk of them getting caught during playtimes.
- During lessons, children are only permitted to drink water, not squash or juice. Research shows that water has a positive impact on the brain and concentration, whereas sugary or flavoured drinks do not have the same effect. Squash or juice in their lunchbox for lunch is fine 🙂
- Children must wear their PE kits on their allocated PE days. Please ensure your child has the correct kit in school on the appropriate days.
Parent Literacy and Numeracy Workshops
We’ve already posted this on Class Dojo, but if you missed it, please do sign up for our Parent Workshops here.
Sharing our Practice
We were delighted recently to be invited to speak at two conferences for schools across the city and region, sharing our practice on developing pupil independence and also involving families in the life of our school. We also support other schools in using digital technology to aid teaching and learning.
Mrs Shatford 43 Years of Service
Mrs Shatford, one of our much-valued Midday Supervisors in the infant school, was recently invited to a special awards ceremony at Newport City Council in recognition of her outstanding long service to the school. Mrs Shatford has supported our pupils as a Midday Supervisor for over 40 years and continues to help in a variety of ways across the school community. At the ceremony, Mrs Shatford was presented with a certificate and commemorative pin badge and was invited to enjoy cake and refreshments in the Mayor’s Parlour at the Civic Centre — a well-deserved celebration of her dedication and commitment.
Girls’ Football Team
The girls’ football team performed brilliantly at the Girls Finals Day at Pillgwenlly Primary School, finishing an impressive 2nd out of 14 schools from across Newport.
Thanks Mr Keyse
A big thank you to Mr Keyse, one of our parents, who recently gave up one of his evenings to come in and help Mr Mansfield and our caretaker with some building maintenance jobs. Mr Keyse is a carpenter and has also kindly built our nursery children a great blackboard for them to practise their mark-making and early letter formation!
Additional Learning Needs
Additional Learning Needs (ALN) can affect how a child learns and may mean they need extra support or different teaching approaches to help them reach their potential. To help parents and carers understand how the new ALN system in Wales works — including how to access support, what rights children and families have, and where you can go for help — the Welsh Government has published a toolkit for parents and carers. You can view and download this practical resource here: https://www.gov.wales/additional-learning-needs-aln-parent-and-carers-toolkit
Governors & Headteachers Tour of the School
The school often has visitors from other schools who come to see how we do things. This half-term, our Governors enjoyed visiting every classroom, chatting with children and looking through their workbooks. They had a particular focus on children’s attitudes towards maths and also lesson structures – both of which are priorities on our school development plan.
We also had a visit from two other Newport headteachers – the head of St Andrews Primary and Head of Pentrepoeth Primary – who enjoyed visiting the classrooms and seeing the learning taking place in our school. They particularly enjoyed having a coffee from our trailer.
Welsh Fortnight
The week before and the week after half-term will be our Welsh Fortnight, celebrating Welsh language, culture and traditions in the lead-up to our St David’s Day Eisteddfod. Children across the school will take part in a wide range of competitions, including poetry recitation, story writing, dancing, singing and playing musical instruments. Some competitions will be judged in advance, while others will be judged live on the day of the Eisteddfod.
On 27th February, we will hold our Junior Eisteddfod for pupils in Years 2–6, which will be live-streamed for parents to watch, as well as an Infant Mini Eisteddfod during the afternoon for Nursery to Year 2 children. One competition we would especially love families to support over half-term is the Design and Technology competition: Year 3 – make a Welsh dragon; Year 4 – make a castle; Year 5 – to make a working coal mine shaft, Year 6 – to make a WW2 Anderson Shelter
Everyday greetings & manners
• Good morning – Bore da
(bor-eh dah)
• Good afternoon – Prynhawn da
(prin-hown dah)
• How are you? – Sut wyt ti?
(sit wit tee)
• I’m fine, thank you – Rwy’n iawn, diolch
(roo-in yown, dee-olkh)
• Please – Os gwelwch yn dda
(oss gwell-ookh un thah)
• Thank you – Diolch
(dee-olkh)
St David’s Day words & phrases 🌼
• Happy St David’s Day – Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus
(deeth goo-eel deh-wee hap-iss)
• Leek – Cenhinen
(ken-hin-en)
• Daffodil – Cennin Pedr
(ken-in ped-er)
Upcoming Dates
27.02.26 – Eisteddfod – live-streamed for Parents to watch – children can dress in Welsh clothing/rugby shirts/the colour of their house
04.03.26 – Cook with Wales workshops (Y5) – Further information to follow.
05.03.26 – World Book Day – Children can come to school dressed as their favourite book characters.
06.03.26 – Upbeat music workshops (Nursery and Y1)
09.03.26 – Parent Consultations
10.03.26 – Parent Consultations
12.03.26 – Climbing wall (Y4) – Children in Year 4 will climb the portable climbing wall that we’ll bring to the school site.
18.03.26 – Steam train Evacuation experience (Y6) – see ParentPay for consent and information
20.03.26 – Nursery stay and play sessions – Parents of nursery children invited to ‘Stay and Play’ – Further information to follow.
20.03.26 – Comic Relief day – Non-Uniform Day – Donate £1
23.03.26 – PTA Easter egg hunt – Further information to follow – Easter Egg Hunt on site after school (Weather permitting)
25.03.26 – Boys / Girls football tournament – Further information to follow
27.03.26 – Easter assembly (bonnet parade – FP / egg competition – KS2) – children in nursery/infants to create an Easter Bonnet/hat and bring it in for a competition. Children in juniors to decorate a hard boiled egg and bring it in for competition.
PTA School Equipment for Sale
The PTA are selling school-branded equipment. You can purchase them on ParentPay or from the school office.
Online Suggestion Box
Thanks to those of you who submitted suggestions to improve our school in the last couple of newsletters! The suggestions we received so far are:
- Host a family BBQ ✅
- Open up the school field in the summer break to let children meet up with each other to play. (We’re looking into this one. Obviously, we would need staff available and willing but will keep you posted if we can make something work!)
- Let younger children join in the colour run on the last day ✅
- Get more play equipment on junior yard for older children – (we’re working on increasing the equipment – we’ve purchased sheds and lots of equipment, but a fair bit has been damaged since it was bought at Easter)
- Hold a 3d printing workshop for kids and parents – (look out for this, it will be coming soon)
If you have any ideas on what we need to work on or improve as a school, please do let us know! If we adopt your idea, we’ll buy you a box of chocolates! You can use this link.
School Essentials Grant Information
If you’re in receipt of certain benefits, you may be eligible for the School Essentials grant. More information can be found here.
Online Office
Don’t forget that you can access our online office whenever you need, with searchable information, absence reporting forms and lots of other information too!
Half-Term Events and Ideas for Children and Families
🎨 Free & Organised Half-Term Activities
Newport Libraries – Half-Term Crafts, Stories & Activities (ages 4–10)
Source: https://whatsoncityofnewport.co.uk/february-half-term/
Story, Rhyme & Craft Session – Newport Central Library (ages 18 months–4 years)
Source: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/story-rhyme-and-craft-ages-18m-4yrs-stori-rhigwm-a-chrefft-oed-18m-4yrs-tickets-1982172301713
Family Science-Themed Arts & Crafts – Alway Centre
Source: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-event-science-themed-activities-celf-a-chrefft-ar-thema-tickets-1982021038280
Newport City Council Holiday Playschemes (ages 5–12)
Source: https://live.newport.gov.uk/our-city/see-and-do/school-holiday-fun
🏃 Active & Indoor Fun (Great for Cold or Wet Days)
Innoflate Newport – Inflatable Adventure Park
Source: https://innoflate.co.uk
Jump Adventure Trampoline Park – Newport
Source: https://jumpadventure.co.uk
Funky Monkeys Soft Play – Newport (Spytty Road)
Source: https://www.funkymonkeys.co.uk/soft-play/newport
Little Kingdom Indoor Play Centre – Newport
Source: https://www.littlekingdomplaycentre.co.uk
Wacky Warehouse – New Inn
Source: https://www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/gwent/new-inn/wacky-warehouse
Discobowl Newport – Family Bowling
Source: https://www.discobowlnewport.co.uk
🌳 Outdoor & Nature Activities
RSPB Newport Wetlands – Family Nature Trails & Wildlife Spotting
Source: https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves/newport-wetlands
Belle Vue Park – Playground & Open Space
Source: https://www.newport.gov.uk/en/Leisure-and-Culture/Parks-and-Open-Spaces/Parks/Belle-Vue-Park.aspx
🏛️ Educational & Cultural Days Out
Caerleon Roman Sites – Family-Friendly History Exploration
Source: https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/caerleon-roman-baths
Tredegar House – Family Trails & Half-Term Activities (check dates)
Source: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/tredegar-house
Helping Hands
Visit our Help at Home page for general ideas and tips for helping children with their learning at home.
Your child can access the online lessons we’ve created with key information linked to the learning themes in our school curriculum.
Contact our Family Support Worker for support with a range of things.
Browse our online parenting leaflets or visit the Welsh Government’s Parenting-Give-It-Time resources.
🍽️ Kids Eat Free / Kids Meal Deals Over Half Term
Beefeater – The Coldra
Daytime value mains (often under £8, Mon–Fri, 12–5pm)
Source: https://www.beefeater.co.uk/en-gb/locations/newport/the-coldra
Hungry Horse – New Inn
Kids Eat for £1 (or £1.50 for larger meal) with an adult main
Source: https://www.hungryhorse.co.uk/pubs/gwent/new-inn-motel/deals/kids-eat-for-1
Zizzi – Newport
Kids Eat Free during school holidays (with adult main & app sign-up)
Source: https://www.zizzi.co.uk/kids-eat-free
ASDA Café
Kids meals for around £1 (often available year-round, no adult purchase needed)
Source: https://www.asda.com/cafe
First Table
Up to 50% off food at selected Newport restaurants for early bookings
Source: https://www.firsttable.co.uk/newport
Class Dojo – Main Communication Platform
We want to remind all parents and carers that Class Dojo is our main communication tool for sharing important school updates and class news. Through the app, you can receive whole school announcements, as well as specific updates from your child’s class teacher. Make sure that you can see both the Whole School Story Feed as well as your child’s classroom feeds. It’s a great way to stay informed about events, learning activities, and key reminders. We also use the online calendar which notifies parents of upcoming events. You can control the notification settings in the app to increase the number of reminders or reduce them. Please note that we don’t use the private messaging feature of the App, so don’t message us using that as we won’t see it.
If you haven’t already, please make sure you have the app and are connected to your child’s class.
Updates from Each Year Group
Year 2 Spring A
Year 2 Blog Post – Soaring High and Diving Deep This term in Year 2, our learning has taken flight with our exciting topic, “Soaring High and Diving Deep.” We…
Year 1 Spring A
What an exciting and busy half term Year 1 have had! This half term, we began by developing our scientific skills when learning about Magnetism. Although Year 1 did find…
Reception Spring A Update
What a wonderful start to the year we have had in Reception! Our Spring A topic, “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” has sparked curiosity, creativity, and plenty of “wow” moments…
🎖️ Year 6 Spring A – WW2 Adventures
Over the past few weeks, Year 6 has embarked on an incredible journey through the 1940s. By diving into the history of World War 2 through immersive activities and hands-on…
Year 5 – Spring A Update
What a whirlwind of a term we’ve had in Year 5! From the stars above to the depths of the ocean, our pupils have embarked on a thrilling journey through…
Year 4 Spring Term A Update
What a wonderful term we have had settling into 2026! Kicking off with our exciting new theme, ‘Adventurers and Explorers’, we have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about famous explorers and…
Year 3 Spring A Update
What a fantastic half term it has been in Year 3! We’ve been busy learning, creating, and having so much fun together. Here’s a little look at everything we’ve been…
Nursery Spring A update
We have had such a wonderful Spring A term, filled with learning, exploration and lots of exciting experiences. It has been especially lovely to welcome our new rising 3 pupils…
