Parents

Weekly Parent Bulletin - Friday 4th September 2026

Dear Parents,

Welcome back!

After a summer of blockbuster hot weather, I hope everyone managed to make some brilliant family memories. As a Dad of two young children myself, it was a reminder of how lucky I am to be able to spend 6 weeks with my young family. At the same time, I’m sure we all feel ready for the routine of school to return!

This year promises to be another cracker at Avonwood. It’s often easy to take for granted much of what makes Avonwood the unique school that it is. 48 hours in, the new EYFS children have enjoyed their first morning session, Year 5 have conquered their ‘Survivor Day’ and Year 4 are all set for the ‘Rio Carnival’ Day next week. Our tag line at Avonwood is “Inspiring Wonder and Intellectual Curiosity” and I have no doubt we will be bringing this ambition to life once again over the course of the 2026/27 academic year.

Over the summer we were able to reflect on another superb set of academic results, with Avonwood continuing to sit substantially above national averages in all areas. Highlights include:

Year Group	Test / Area	Avonwood Result	National Average	Difference
EYFS	GLD	80%	68% (2025)	+12%
Year 1	Phonics	88%	80% (2025)	+8%
Year 4	Times Tables	54%	37% (2025)	+17%
Year 6	Reading	86%	75%	+11%
Year 6	Writing	88%	73%	+15%
Year 6	Maths	88%	75%	+13%
Year 6	RWM Combined	79%	63%	+16%

In addition, for Year 6 children reaching greater depth:

Year Group	Test / Area	Avonwood Result	National Average	Difference
Year 6	Reading	43%	33%	+10%
Year 6	Writing	24%	13%	+11%
Year 6	Maths	45%	26%	+19%

Where most schools are striving to hit national average or to be just above, to be consistently and significantly above in all areas is cause for celebration! A huge thank you and well done to our brilliant pupils, dedicated staff and fabulous parents for helping make this happen! #TeamAvonwood

The biggest challenge facing the school this year is budget, a boring but vital aspect of life here. Whilst I continue to be very proud of our offer, everything from putting the best staff in our classrooms through to offering free 1:1 Chromebook devices to every child in Years 2 to 6, sustaining our ambitious offer is frustratingly harder than ever. We are also conscious families are being financially squeezed like never before too. We will do our best to get the balance right, but it’s worth being aware that finance is probably the biggest challenge facing Avonwood, and schools nationally, this year.

Whilst finance is tricky, I’m pleased to report we are on the cusp of installing a fantastic new library! I’ll share the designs on our social media feed over the weekend. The install is costing almost £30,000, made possible by a generous £10,000 investment by our PTA and topped up by school funds ring-fenced in the previous 25/26 academic year. The library is due to be installed later this month and will be a special new place for every Avonwood child to enjoy, helping foster a shared love of reading for pleasure.

This year we have changed how we run our 'meet the teacher' events, aiming to give every parent the chance to pop into classrooms to meet staff and get a feel for the space. We would like to invite parents in Years 1 to 6 to stay back after drop off on Monday 14^th September 15:15-16:00. Just head into the classroom and staff will be ready to fill you in on exciting plans and updates for the year ahead. If you have siblings, we recommend attending the session for your eldest child. We will share the slides on our website afterwards. Babies and toddlers are welcome too.

As always, if you ever have any concerns or queries about life at Avonwood please don’t hesitate to reach out. You’ll find me out and about at drop off and pick up daily, rain or shine, always keen to chat and make sure Avonwood continues to be the wonderful community we are so proud to be part of.

Thank you for the great start this week. Seeing so many happy children, proud of their smart new uniforms and excited for the start of school was a joy!

Wishing everyone a brilliant weekend!

Mr Jackson

Whole School Reminders

PTA Updates

PTA updates

Thank you to everyone that bought Legoland tickets for the INSET day, we hope you all had a great day!

Our first PTA meeting of the school year is on Tuesday 15^th September at the Way Outback bar in Southbourne. We will be discussing upcoming events, bid requests and new fund raising ideas which will benefit the school and all of our children. Come along and find out how we can all help support our school community. Meeting starts at 7:30 pm. Looking forward to seeing some new faces there!

Early bird tickets for our firework display are now on sale! This event often sells out so make sure you don't miss out on this incredible display.

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/avonwoodprimarypta

If you don't already, please follow us on social media to keep up-to-date on all PTA news.

SEND Soccer FC - Upton Rec Saturday Mornings 10-11

Weekly Year Group Updates

EYFS

It's been a great start for our Hedgehogs and Badgers. We look forward to seeing you all next week.
PE will be on a Thursday - please come to school in your PE kit on this day.

Year 1

The children look very smart in their uniform and have all been so happy and polite these past few days. Please be patient with us while we sort reading levels and reading books, hopefully all children should have a book by the end of next week. Have a lovely weekend.

Year 2

We would like to say a huge well done to all of Otters and Deer for coming back to school so positively - it has been lovely seeing you all!
Our PE days are on Tuesday and Thursday. Please can all children come into school wearing the correct PE kit on these days.

Year 3

Well done to all the Year 3 children for a fantastic start to the new school year.
P.E days are Monday and Tuesday, starting next week.
Have a great weekend from the Year 3 staff.

Year 4

We have had such a lovely start to the year with the children looking so smart in their uniforms and being so positive about starting Year 4.
Our PE days are Monday and Wednesday this term.
Rio day is next Thursday (10th). Please come in either carnival inspired costumes or bright coloured clothes suitable for school.
The children have been told that the elections for School Council and Eco Council will take place next Friday (11th). They can choose how they want to present with speech or present alongside a poster or PowerPoint. If your child creates a PowerPoint, please email it to the school office and ask for it to be forwarded onto their class teacher. (Miss Keates - Hawks or Mrs Gwyther/Miss Short - Eagles)

Year 5

None this week.

Year 6

Well done to Year 6 for a truly fantastic first couple of days back! You've come in ready and raring to learn and made a brilliant first impression.
Forest School Fridays this half term – for children who are participating, please send them into school in appropriate non-uniform which doesn’t matter if it gets a bit messy! They will also need to ensure they have a coat each week.
On Monday 14^th September 3:15-4:00, we will be holding our 'Meet the Teacher' presentations across the school. These will be in your child's classroom and we will be delivering a presentation to talk through an overview of Year 6 (we will hold a separate SATs workshop after Christmas which will contain more detailed information about the tests).