Overthorpe C of E Academy

BELIEVE, ENJOY, ACHIEVE

'Overthorpe is more than a school-

We are the heart of the community.

In our family, we nurture the courage,

And skills to fly higher than the flock,

Whilst always providing a nest,

To come home to.'

TRUST, FRIENDSHIP, ENDURANCE, FORGIVENESS, HOPE

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Headteacher - Mr J Mitchell

Senior Leadership Team - Ms L McCarthy (Deputy Head), Ms L Stott (Assistant Head), Mrs S Wood (SENDCo)

Designated Safeguarding lead - Mrs S Wood

Deputy DSLs - Mr J Mitchell, Ms L Stott, Ms L McCarthy, Mrs A Godfrey

Maths in Wrens

I am delighted to share that the children have settled into school exceptionally well this week. Their positive attitude towards learning, excellent behaviour, and smart uniform have truly impressed all the staff. It has been a wonderful start to the year.

Looking ahead to next week, we are excited to resume using the indoor gym equipment, kindly organised again by Miss Atkinson. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the children to enjoy some active playtime indoors.

Wishing everyone a lovely and restful weekend.

Mr Mitchell

A big thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to attend Tuesday’s Meet the Teacher event. We hope you found the session useful for learning more about your child’s new class, key dates, and important information for the year ahead. Your support is greatly appreciated.

This year's Parental Events calendar can be found below as an image and also as a pdf attachment. Please refer to this for the main events for this academic year. Eventually, this will move to the bottom of this newsletter so that you can refer to this on a weekly basis, should you need to.

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Parent Calendar 25-26 - FINAL.pdf

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We would like to remind families that we are a nut-free school. Kirklees Catering ensures that no nuts are used in any of the food they provide, and we kindly ask parents and carers to continue supporting this by avoiding nut-based snacks in packed lunches or breaktime treats. We have children with severe nut allergies, and their safety and wellbeing are of paramount importance. Thank you for your understanding and support.

We are excited to share a new development in our pupil leadership programme this year! We are introducing several prestigious Senior Pupil Representative roles — a wonderful opportunity for our Year 6 pupils to take on a meaningful and inspiring position within the school. These roles are designed to empower pupils to lead, support, and represent their peers while modelling our school’s Christian values.

On Thursday morning next week, pupils interested in the role will present a short presentation explaining why they would make a great Senior Pupil Representative. The whole school will then have the opportunity to vote for their preferred two candidates.

We wish all our Year 6 pupils the very best of luck as they prepare their applications and presentations. We’re incredibly proud of their willingness to step forward, take on responsibility, and be a positive influence in our school community. Whether or not they are chosen, every pupil who puts themselves forward is showing courage, commitment, and leadership — and that is something to be celebrated.

To ensure the continued safety of all our children and security of our site, please take note of the following important changes to our drop off and pick up procedures from September 2025. Further details are shown on the map below:

The top gate, previously used by UKS2 and EYFS families, will no longer be open at drop off or pick up times. Please use the designated entrance as indicated on the map.

The internal gate that links the staff car park to the hall fire doors will be locked at all times. Parents should only park in the staff car park if prior approval has been granted.

At 8:55am, after school has started, the pedestrian gate at the bottom entrance (the alley between the houses) will be locked. If you arrive after this time, you will need to enter via the main car park and buzz into school using the bottom vehicle gate to gain access.

These changes have been implemented to maintain a secure environment for our children. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in helping us keep our school safe.

Unfortunately, due to recent, unavoidable, staffing changes, the before-school Greggs Breakfast Club that runs in the hall from 8:15am, will no longer be running from September.

Over the years, all the staff who have supported this club have done so entirely on a volunteer basis, generously giving their time beyond their usual duties. We would like to sincerely thank each of them for their dedication and commitment to providing this valuable service free of charge to parents.

In light of this change, we believe it will be more beneficial for all pupils if any available staff volunteers focus on providing toast for all children each morning, ensuring everyone continues to have the opportunity for a tasty and filling start to the day.

School will continue to open at 8:40am before the registration at 8:50am. This means that all children will have time to eat their toast breakfast before school starts.

We understand this may be disappointing for the small number of families who regularly used the Greggs Breakfast Club. If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact the school to explore options for paying for Owls, before-school care. We kindly ask for your understanding as we make this transition aimed at supporting the wellbeing of all our pupils.