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Pinboard Notices and News updates for parents and teachers
Join in the fun on the Colour Run!
First Days Children’s Charity are very excited to be hosting their first Colour Run on Sunday 24th April, with a 2pm start at Prospect Park, Reading. First Days is a Wokingham-based charity working and campaigning to end child poverty. Sadly, there are 5390 children in Wokingham living in poverty. At First Days they give choice, restore dignity, and empower families who are living with a low income or are experiencing financial hardship. The Colour Run is set to be a fun afternoon for the whole family! It is not a race – you can walk, run, or dance your way around the 2.5km course – once or twice! There will be four colour stations around the course where you will emerge a different colour to the one you started with the help of their “colour ninjas”! Phantom Brewery will be onsite with a coloured beer as well as coloured Unholy Donuts! W: www.firstdays.net
Time to move away from the hustle and bustle of urban living?
We’d be willing to bet that when anyone casts their mind back over the last few years, it wouldn’t be the positive things that initially spring to mind. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any changes for the better! Gone are the days of having to spend eight hours, five days a week in the office – not to mention the early morning commutes! Being close to the office is no longer the number one priority when looking for a new home and that opens up so many doors for a great rural escape. If you’ve been dreaming of a less urban life, now is the time to make the leap! Starting at just £350,000 and set in serene locations across Thames Valley, Bovis Homes’ new developments are ideal for balancing modern family life away from the hustle and bustle and this is where you will find them:
Emmbrook Place, Wokingham
3-bedroom homes from £480,000
Shinfield Meadows, Shinfield
3 & 4-bedroom homes from £462,000
Hounsome Fields, Basingstoke
2 & 3-bedroom homes from £350,000
Mindenhurst, Deepcut
3 & 4-bedroom homes from £440,000 Bucklers Park, Crowthorne – coming soon! To find out more, please visit their website. W: www.bovishomes.co.uk
Steppin Out Stars of Tomorrow helps children regain social skills and confidence post lockdown
Steppin Out Stars of Tomorrow continues to be one of Berkshire’s leading and most established Theatre Schools for children. They have recently set up WIFI in all of their studios so if your child is isolating, they can still access their awardwinning classes in Drama, Dance and Singing at home! Lockdowns have affected children’s wellbeing, social skills, fitness levels and friendships.
Currently there is a big focus in their classes in social interaction, motor skills and group work as well as confidence building. Steppin Out covers all aspects of Musical Theatre, Tap, Group singing, private lessons and Commercial and Street styles. To book in for a FREE class this term, call Shelley on T: 07970 034488 or Email: shelley@steppinoutstars.co.uk Alternatively, visit their website and complete an enrolment form. W: www.steppinoutstars.co.uk
Easter Party – Thursday 14th April
Egg-citing news! The Easter holidays are nearly here, and IKEA Reading is busy spreading Easter joy this spring. Let the seasonal magic begin when you visit the store for their special Easter Party on Thursday 14th April and have dinner with the Easter Bunny. He will be hopping around and meeting all the children to make sure they are all having an egg-cellent Easter. The event is free, but you will need to reserve your table online prior to the party. For more information and to book your slot please visit their ‘What’s on in store?’ page at www.ikea.co.uk/Reading
Bedwetting Solutions – changing lives, one dry night at a time
Spring is the perfect time to address bedwetting forever. Parents and children alike can feel hopeless and alone dealing with this issue. It doesn’t need to be this way; bedwetting can be easily solved. Mainly a hereditary problem, it can be frustrating to wait up to a year for a hospital referral to be told “Try an Alarm”. Bedwetting Solutions hire out medical grade bedwetting alarms typically having a child dry within 6-8 weeks of use. With the hire they provide a seven day a week support package to guide parents through the process and they have an NHS enuresis nurse on hand in an advisory capacity. This month we are highlighting the effect bedwetting has on children’s confidence, an example of this is Oliver (name changed) who at 11 has never had a dry night so finds it particularly hard that his two younger siblings have been dry since they were 2/3. This really impacts Oliver’s self-esteem so hopefully this won’t be a problem for long as he has been on our programme for little over a couple of weeks and is experiencing dry nights already. Keep up the good work Oliver. Please contact us if you have an Oliver we can help. T: 0118 891 3521 M: 07540 258583 E: support@bedwet.co.uk W: www.bedwet.co.uk
Help prepare your child to do their very best with Susan Daughtrey Education
The Berkshire grammar schools are extremely well regarded. Places are offered to pupils who score highly in their 11+ entrance exams. These tests comprise of a selection of topics which vary from school to school and Susan Daughtrey lessons are planned with these topics in mind. Susan Daughtrey Education has operated extremely successfully in Earley for 6 years. The next 11+ Foundation Course for students in Year 4 starts in April and runs until the Year 5 Preparation Course begins. Creative writing courses are also offered. The courses comprise of weekly tuition during term time and follow a technique-focused approach. For more information, email Fiona at their Earley Centre, Reading. E: fwyeth@sde11plus.com
Could you provide a loving home to help shape a child’s future?
The Family Placement Team are looking for new foster carers to provide a loving and nurturing home for children of all ages, including teenagers and those seeking asylum. Your warmth, patience and resilience could help them reach their full potential during a crucial period of their development and write the next chapter in their lives. They would like to hear from you, whether you can offer short – or longterm care or even some emergency or respite support within their part of the Local Authority. Their dedicated recruitment social worker is waiting for your call! West Berkshire Children & Family Services have been recognised as Good by OFSTED. They offer a competitive fostering allowance, dedicated support, and a comprehensive training programme. They would love to hear from potential carers so please get in touch today! T: 01635 503429 E: fostering@westberks.gov.uk W: www.westberks.gov.uk/fosternow
Reading School: Extending Opportunities through Future Stories
Now in its 7th year Reading School’s Future Stories programme continues to work with local primary schools and partner organisations to create a range of educational opportunities for local children. The backbone of the programme is the weekly maths mentoring sessions, run online by Year 12 students for children in Years 4 and 5 during the school day, to increase confidence, ICT literacy and maths skills. Other activities such as Summer Activity camps and weekly sporting sessions extend additional opportunities to students and in 2022 Reading School is working with Johnson Matthey to deliver exciting STEM activities available to hundreds of primary school students. Local primary schools and parents are encouraged to get in touch for more information about our programmes, particularly those who are in receipt of Pupil Premium, are Looked After, or Previously Looked After Children. E: futurestories@reading-school.co.uk
Kendrick School – Widening Horizons
Kendrick School’s Widening Horizons Project aims to work with local primary schools to raise aspirations of local children and raise awareness of Kendrick School. The project includes providing a familiarisation programme for Year 5 pupil premium, service premium and children in care who live in the school’s designated area and who are interested in taking the admission test. The programme includes access to online familiarisation material, face to face and/or online sessions, and workbooks. Feedback from last year includes ‘It wasn’t boring and I had fun!’ and ‘It gave my daughter confidence that she could sit the exam because the familiarisation sessions built on her confidence’. Please come along to one of the Open Day Sessions on 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th or 10th May for more information on Widening Horizons and how to register your child for the familiarisation programme. Booking is essential. Please visit our website for more information. As part of the Widening Horizons initiative, Kendrick School runs a virtual Homework Club on a Tuesday after school for girls in Years 4 and 5 who meet the Widening Horizons criteria. For more information please email
admissions@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
LEAD, INSPIRE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE
London Road, Reading RG1 5BN 0118 901 5859 www.kendrick.reading.sch.uk @KendrickSchool
An outstanding selective state academy for boys aged 11 to 18 (Day and Boarding)
Erleigh Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5LW 0118 901 5600 www.reading-school.co.uk @ReadingSch Reading School
Open Days for Entry into Year 7 in September 2023
Wednesday 4th, Thursday 5th, Friday 6th, Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th May
Kendrick School is a selective girls’ school for girls aged 11-18 and is acknowledged as one of the best state schools in the country. If your daughter is in Year 5 and showing academic potential at her primary school and has an enquiring mind and a love of learning, we invite you to attend one of our Open Day sessions. Please see our website for more information and to a link to book a ticket. The sessions will take place in either the morning or afternoon and will last approximately 1½ hours. There will be a tour of the school with our students, and a talk by the Headteacher, Ms Kattirtzi and our Student Leader Team. You will also be able to find out more about the admission process. BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL. Car parking is not available on the school site. Please see our website for further details or email
admissions@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Wednesday 27th & Thursday 28th April 2022
Reading School is ‘Times Parent Power South East Secondary School of the Year’ and a selective state school for academically able boys. We believe in excellence through intellectual curiosity and creativity. We believe in developing young men of principle, integrity and character who support each other in their quest for excellence. If your son is currently showing potential academically and has a desire to join our community, then please come along to the open evening to find out more. The Headmaster and Admissions department will give talks throughout the days when further information explaining the entrance test procedure will be given. Booking is required and details can be found on the school website: Open Day. Car parking is not available on the school site. Please see our website for more details or contact admissions@reading-school.co.uk for further information.
Admission into Year 7 in September 2023
Admission to Year 7 in September 2023 is by entrance examination. Details of the tests for each school can be found on the individual websites. A familiarisation booklet will be available on both schools’ websites from mid-March 2022. Testing will take place on Saturday 17th September 2022 for Kendrick School and on Friday 9th September 2022 for Reading School, and parents will be able to register their child online for the test from 1st May 2022 and no later than midnight on 30th June 2022 for Reading School and 1st July 2022 for Kendrick School. Parents will receive notification of the test outcome prior to the deadline for completion of the Common Application Form. In both schools, students who are eligible for the pupil premium or service premium or is a child in care, and living within the schools’ catchment area, will be prioritised for admission and the qualifying score will be lowered by 5 marks for these students. Both Kendrick School and Reading School operate a catchment area as part of their respective oversubscription criteria. The address which will be used for consideration for this purpose will be the applicant’s permanent address at 31st August 2022. For further information on all of the above, please visit the schools’ websites or contact: Kendrick School – Mrs Amanda Emberson-Powney
admissions@kendrick.reading.sch.uk
Reading School – Miss Caroline Mole
admissions@reading-school.co.uk
West Berkshire’s Family Placement Team are seeking new foster carers for children of all ages, but specifically teenagers currently. If you are warm, patient and resilient, and have a spare room, you could care for a teenager needing love and support during their vital years. Get in touch today to see if you could #WriteTheNextChapter Phone: 01635 503429 Email@ fostering@westberks.gov.uk Website: westberks.gov.uk/fosternow
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