Our School Year in Focus

Autumn Term Highlights

This half term at Our Lady of the Rosary, our pupils have enjoyed a rich variety of learning experiences, performances, and opportunities to grow in confidence and creativity. From theatre and poetry to trips and workshops, each event has supported our focus on oracy, reading, and aspiration, helping children to express themselves with enthusiasm and pride.

Whole School Mass
The term began with a wonderful whole school Mass that showcased the children’s musical talent and enthusiasm for singing together. Our liturgy band provided exceptional accompaniment, and every pupil joined in with confidence and joy. The quality of singing and musicianship created a truly uplifting atmosphere, reflecting the dedication of both staff and pupils to developing performance skills and teamwork through music.

Extra-Curricular Clubs Begin
Our wide range of extra-curricular clubs began this term, offering opportunities for every child to discover new talents and interests. From sports and choir to coding and drama, the clubs promote teamwork, self-belief, and communication skills. It has been wonderful to see so many children participating enthusiastically and growing in confidence beyond the classroom.

‘No Room for Racism’ Poetry Workshop
Year 6 took part in an inspiring poetry workshop with Brentford FC, exploring the powerful theme of equality through creative writing and performance. The session encouraged pupils to express their ideas through spoken word and to use their voices to stand up for fairness and respect. Their final performances reflected both confidence and empathy.

National Poetry Day Performances
To celebrate National Poetry Day, every class from Nursery to Year 6 performed poetry for one another. The performances showcased the children’s growing oracy, expression, and love of language. Each class approached their poems with enthusiasm and creativity, developing performance confidence and a sense of pride in sharing their voices.

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‘The Secret Garden’ Performance
Key Stage 2 were treated to a professional theatre production of The Secret Garden. The captivating performance brought classic literature to life and inspired pupils to discuss the story’s themes of friendship, growth, and resilience. The experience supported our ongoing focus on reading for pleasure and broadening aspirations through exposure to live performance.

EYFS Stay, Play and Read Sessions
Our youngest pupils and their families have enjoyed taking part in Stay, Play and Read sessions throughout the term. These sessions have provided valuable opportunities for parents to see early reading in action, share books with their children, and explore playful ways to develop language and communication skills. The sessions have been joyful, interactive, and an important way to strengthen the home-school partnership.

Reception and KS1 Harvest Production - The Little Red Hen
Reception and Key Stage 1 performed The Little Red Hen for their Harvest celebration. The children sang, spoke, and acted with confidence and expression, sharing the story’s message of teamwork and perseverance. Their performance was filled with warmth and enthusiasm, showing how even our youngest pupils are developing strong speaking and performance skills.

Year 6 Trip to Runnymede
Year 6 visited Runnymede to deepen their understanding of democracy and justice through the story of the Magna Carta. The experience brought their history learning to life and encouraged thoughtful discussion about fairness and rights. Pupils showed curiosity and maturity throughout, making clear connections between past and present values.

Black History Month Workshops and Assemblies
Throughout October, pupils across the school celebrated Black History Month through a series of engaging workshops and assemblies. Drama played a key role, helping children bring to life the stories and achievements of inspirational figures from history and today. These sessions encouraged empathy, confidence, and pride in performance while deepening understanding of diversity and inclusion.

Armistice Day

Our school marked Armistice Day with a series of thoughtful activities across the community. Year 5 led a reflective assembly, helping pupils understand the significance of remembrance and the importance of honouring those who served.

At 11 o’clock, the whole school gathered on the playground for a two-minute silence, standing together to remember all who have been affected by war.

Pupil representatives attended the Spelthorne Borough Council service, where they laid crosses in remembrance of local residents who lost their lives in the Great War.

Every child in the school contributed to a special poppy art installation, with pupils painting or sewing their own poppy. The final display brought the whole school’s work together as a shared act of remembrance.

Our Kindness Counts Week was a great success, bringing the whole school together to reflect on how we treat one another and how we can make everyone feel welcome and included. As part of the week, we collected warm socks for The Passage homeless charity. The generosity of our families will help offer comfort and warmth to people who need support during the colder months.

Throughout the week, children enjoyed activities that encouraged them to think about everyday kindness. Classes reflected on how small choices , including the way we speak to one another , can help everyone feel part of our school community. Pupils from Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 also took part in a community litter pick, helping to look after the environment around our school and taking pride in keeping our local area clean and cared for.

We celebrated Odd Socks Day, with pupils and staff arriving in colourful, mismatched socks. It was a fun reminder that our differences are something to value, and that being ourselves is something to celebrate.

Anti-Bullying Workshops 

Each class took part in workshops that explored how our words and actions affect others. Children talked about how to include others, how to support someone who might be feeling worried, and what kindness looks like in real situations.

Junior Parkrun                                                          

Our Lady of the Rosary is proud to be a Junior parkrun school. On Sunday 16th November, several children and their families joined the Laleham Junior Parkrun for our first event as part of the programme. It was a morning full of smiles and enthusiasm, with staff volunteering as marshals and cheering everyone on. This was a wonderful start to our involvement in Junior parkrun, and we are looking forward to many more opportunities for our children and families to enjoy running together throughout the year.

Open Mornings

We opened our doors to families for our Open Mornings, showcasing the heart of our school. Visitors toured our classrooms, experienced the warmth and welcome of our staff, and saw the enthusiasm and confidence of our pupils as they shared their learning. Families also had the chance to meet senior leaders and gain a real sense of the values, community spirit and high expectations that shape everyday life at our school. We were delighted to share what makes Our Lady of the Rosary such a special place to learn and grow.

Pupil Parliament Elections at Our Lady of the Rosary

During UK Parliament Week, children from Years 1 to 6 took part in our annual Pupil Parliament elections. Pupils who wanted to represent their class created a letter or video manifesto, explaining why they would make a strong representative. On voting day, every class visited our school polling station, complete with booths and ballot papers, giving pupils a real experience of the democratic process.

Once the votes were counted, our newly elected Pupil Parliament met for the first time and welcomed local MP Lincoln Jopp. The children asked thoughtful questions about leadership, representation and listening to the views of others, showing real maturity in their new roles.

Our Pupil Parliament has made an excellent start, and we look forward to the positive contributions they will make throughout the year.

Maths Workshop Evening

We hosted an evening maths workshop for parents and carers from Nursery to Year 6. The session explored the approaches used across the school to teach calculations, reasoning and problem solving, giving families an understanding of how mathematics is developed year on year. Staff demonstrated key classroom strategies, including the use of Numicon, part-whole models, tens frames, and other concrete apparatus that help children secure important concepts before moving on to pictorial and written methods. Parents also had the opportunity to see how these resources support the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach used throughout the school. The workshop was very well received and provided families with practical insight into the methods that help pupils become confident, fluent and flexible mathematicians.

NSPCC 'Speak Out, Stay Safe' assemblies and workshop 

Pupils in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 took part in the NSPCC’s Speak Out, Stay Safe programme, which supported their understanding of the right to feel safe and the importance of speaking out if they ever feel worried. Through age-appropriate assemblies and workshops, pupils learned in a calm and reassuring way about recognising unsafe situations, identifying trusted adults and knowing where to go for help, including Childline.

The assemblies used engaging stories and carefully designed NSPCC resources to help children explore these themes with confidence. Workshops for Years 2,5 and 6 provided time for discussion, reflection and questions, allowing pupils to deepen their understanding.

Our involvement in 'Speak Out, Stay Safe' strengthened our whole-school safeguarding culture and helped ensure that every child was reminded that they are valued, heard and supported.

EYFS & Key Stage One Nativity performances

The EYFS and Key Stage One nativity, 'Knock Knock! ', brought together children from Nursery to Year Two. The performance shared the Christmas story in a joyful and accessible way, centring on the theme of welcome and the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

Children of different ages performed alongside one another, reflecting the inclusive nature of our school community. The nativity combined narration, acting and singing, supported by Makaton signing, allowing all children to take part in a meaningful and age-appropriate way.

Headteacher for the Day

Year 5 and 6 pupils were invited to apply for the role of Headteacher for the Day, and the response was incredible. We received a wide range of creative, confident and thoughtful entries. Mr Peachey was selected as the successful candidate.

Mr Peachey did an amazing job, throwing himself into the role by confidently welcoming pupils at the gate, introducing the Nativity performance, observing lessons and leading an assembly. He embraced every part of the day with enthusiasm and showed great confidence and maturity throughout.