Dear Families
It has been another busy and productive fortnight at school and it has been wonderful to see the children enjoying the many improvements and opportunities that continue to develop across our school. A key part of our school improvement journey is listening carefully to the views of our pupils and families. Through surveys, conversations, meetings and everyday feedback, parents and pupils have told us what matters most to them and we have worked hard to turn those ideas into reality.
Many of the developments you now see around school have come directly from this feedback. Children told us they wanted more opportunities to play creatively and actively at breaktimes, so we have invested in a much wider range of playground equipment and play resources. Families asked for greater access to enrichment opportunities, so we have introduced free enrichment clubs for every child. We have ensured there is breakfast available at Before School Club, changed our lunch provider to ensure better quality food at lunchtimes, upgraded facilities across the school and expanded our Forest School provision so that more children can benefit from outdoor learning experiences to name just a few.
Parents also told us they wanted to know more about what their children are learning and to have more opportunities to be involved in school life. In response, we have introduced curriculum newsletters that were sent out at the meet the teacher meetings, planned workshops for parents and created opportunities for families to come into school and work alongside their children during curriculum sessions. We are also committed to ensuring that every child has the chance to perform, showcase their talents and celebrate their achievements throughout the year.
This week, we were particularly proud to announce our new pupil leadership teams. Our Librarians, House Captains, Prefects, Digital Leaders, Playground Leaders and School Forum representatives have all taken on important responsibilities and are already making a positive contribution to school life. These roles help children develop confidence, leadership skills and a sense of service to others.
We are proud of the progress we have made together, but most importantly, we are proud of the happy, engaged and enthusiastic children who benefit from these improvements every day. Thank you for your continued support as we work in partnership to make our school the very best it can be for every child.
Kind regards,
Kerry Exon
Headteacher
Congratulations to all those who received an Inspiration Leaf
25.9.26
Dormouse Jenson
Otter Jack
Hedgehog Phoebe
Puffin Rori
Squirrel Ravi
Dragonfly Nathan
Kingfisher Rudy
Digital Leaders
Year 1 - Isaac
Year 2 - Beau
Year 3 - Dylan J
Year 4 - Cayson
Year 5 - Edson
Year 6 - Ruby
House Captains
Mendip - Ruby and Oscar
Blackdown - Rosa and Ollie
Brendon - Evelyn and Darcy
Quantock - Max and Skye
Playground Leaders
Year 4 - Hafren, Aloshin, Ebony, Hadriel and Archie.
Librarians
Annie, Jameson, Kyle, Parker, Annabel, Noah, Elodie, Grace, Oliver and Charlotte.
Prefects
Noah, Boedi, Aisha, Ivey, Maia, Aminah, Amayah and Kalli.
School Council
Year 1 - Seren
Year 2 - Orla
Year 3 - Harper
Year 4 - Lydia
Year 5 - Annie
Year 6 - Noah
Year 3 Invasion Games Festival
Puffin Class had a great time taking part in the invasion games festival organised by SASP this week. They learnt skills linked to basketball, tag rugby, football and netball. Students from The Castle School were fantastic at leading the activities and Year 3 had lots of fun working in groups with children from other local primary schools.
Book Fair Coming Soon!
We are delighted to be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair at school between Tuesday 6th - Monday 12th October. This is a fantastic opportunity for children to discover exciting new books, develop a love of reading and choose from a wide range of titles suitable for all ages and interests.
Every book purchased helps to earn free books and resources for our school, making a positive impact on all our pupils. This week, your child has been invited to take part in our book fair competition where they have a chance to win a £5 voucher to spend at the fair. We look forward to welcoming you and hope you can support this exciting event.
Healthy School Reminder
A gentle reminder that we are proud to be a healthy school and we ask for your support in helping children make healthy choices throughout the school day. For morning playtime, children should bring either a piece of fruit or a cereal bar as their snack. Children should also bring a water bottle containing only water, which they can access throughout the day to stay hydrated and ready to learn.
Healthy snacks and water help children to maintain their energy levels, support concentration in lessons and encourage positive lifelong habits. To ensure consistency for all children, snacks such as crisps, chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks should not be brought into school for playtime. If children do bring other items, we will kindly ask them to save these for after school and they will not be able to eat them during the school day.
Thank you for your continued support in helping us create a healthy learning environment where every child can thrive.
Attendance and Punctuality Reminder
Please remember that every day in school matters. Good attendance and arriving on time give children the very best chance to succeed, both academically and socially.
Regular attendance plays an important role in children's wellbeing and happiness. Children who attend school consistently are more likely to build strong friendships, feel a sense of belonging and fully participate in the experiences and opportunities that make school enjoyable.
Research consistently shows a strong link between attendance and attainment. Children who attend school regularly are far more likely to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics than those who miss school more frequently. Even what may seem like a small amount of absence can have a significant impact over time. For example:
95% attendance means around 10 days of learning missed across the school year.
90% attendance means around 19 days missed, which is almost four weeks of learning.
85% attendance means around 29 days missed, which is nearly six weeks of learning.
Every lesson builds on previous learning and missing school can make it harder for children to keep up, develop confidence and achieve their full potential.
Being on time is just as important. A calm, positive start to the day helps children settle quickly, connect with friends and begin learning straight away. Arriving late can mean missing important instructions, phonics sessions, reading activities and valuable learning time.
Our aim is for every child to achieve at least 96% attendance, giving them the best possible opportunity to learn, thrive and reach their potential. Thank you for your continued support in ensuring your child attends school every day unless they are genuinely unwell and arrives on time ready to learn. By working together, we can help every child to be successful, confident and happy in school.
Taunton Food Bank
As part of our Harvest Festival, we are supporting Taunton Food Bank, providing support for people experiencing homelessness in our community.
Every donation, no matter how small, will help support those in need. Due to limited space in the school office, please hand all donations to your class teacher. Thank you for your generosity and support.
Back to School, Back to the Pool
With children now back in school, our aim is to get children learning this life skill as soon as possible. Our lessons and flexibility means we can find you a stage to work around your current routine. Our Stage 1 and 2 lessons are perfect for those little ones just starting school or those yet to start swimming.
We have worked hard to publish key dates for the entire school year to help you plan ahead and manage annual leave, appointments and other commitments more easily.
While occasional changes may be necessary, we hope having these dates available in advance will be helpful for families when planning throughout the year.
Dates 2026
September
30th KS2 Harvest Service, 2.00 pm.
Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 9.30 - 10.30 am & 5.00 -
6.00 pm.
October
5th Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 10.00 - 11.00 am.
6th Parents’ Evening, 3.50 - 6.30 pm (please note times for Year 1 and Year 5
differ slightly).
6th - 12th Book Fair
8th Parents’ Evening, 3.50 pm - 6.30 pm.
9th Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 11.00 am - 12.00 pm.
22nd Children to bring in chocolate for Christmas Fair Chocolate Tombola.
23rd INSET Day.
26th - 30th Half Term.
November
3rd PTA Meeting, 7.00 pm.
13th Children in Need (non school uniform day).
17th Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 9.30 - 10.30 am.
December
1st Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 2.00 - 3.00 pm.
4th PTA Christmas Fair, 3.30 - 5.30 pm.
8th KS2 Christmas Carol Concert, 6.00 pm.
10th EYFS Christmas Nativity, 2.15 pm.
11th EYFS Christmas Nativity, 9.30 am.
15th KS1 Nativity, 2.00 pm.
16th KS1 Nativity, 5.30 pm.
18th School Christmas Service in Church, 9.30 am/2.00 pm.
21st - 31st Dec Christmas Holidays.
Dates 2027
January
1st Bank Holiday.
4th INSET Day.
11th Reception New Starters 2027 School Tour, 10.00 - 11.00 am.
14th PTA Meeting, 7.00 pm.
February
12th Children to bring in chocolate for Easter Chocolate Tombola.
15th - 19th Half Term.
March
4th World Book Day (dress up day).
17th - 19th Year 4 Kilve Residential.
19th Red Nose Day (non school uniform day).
24th The Castle School Community Concert.
25th Year 5 Easter Service, 2.00 pm.
26th Mar - 9th Apr Easter Holidays.
April
30th Children to bring a bottle for the May Fayre.
May
3rd Bank Holiday.
6th Year 5 Bikeability.
7th Year 5 Bikeability.
10th - 14th Year 6 SATs week.
18th - 21st Year 6 Red Rock Year 6 Residential.
22nd PTA May Fayre.
25th Sports Day -
KS2: 9.30 am (picnic lunch at 12.00 pm).
KS1: 1.30 pm.
27th Reserve Sports Day (as above).
31st Bank Holiday.
June
1st - 4th Half Term.
7th INSET day.
8th Year 4 Multiplication Table Check Week.
10th Year 5 Bikeability.
PTA Meeting, 7.00 pm.
11th Year 5 Bikeability.
14th Year 1 Phonics Screening Check Week.
15th Tempest Class and Year 6 leavers photographs.
28th Year 6 production to parents, 2.00 pm.
30th Year 6 Production to parents, 6.00 pm.
July
2nd INSET Day.
5th Careers Week.
23rd Year 6 Leavers’ Assembly at 2.00 pm.
Last day of term.
September
24th Tempest individual/sibling photographs
Bishop’s Hull Primary School is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all pupils in our school. If you have a concern about the welfare of a child, please contact safeguarding team. The designated safeguarding lead for our school is Mrs Exon.