Latest News | Bishops Waltham Infant School

Weekly Update-Friday 22nd May

Fri 22 May 2026

☀️What a joy it has been to finally welcome some sunshine as we head into the half term break! The brighter mornings and warmer afternoons have lifted everyone’s spirits, and the children have loved being able to spend more time outdoors. Long may this lovely weather continue—it certainly makes playtimes, outdoor learning, and journeys to and from school that little bit brighter for everyone.

☀️Year R Learning

This week, our Reception (Year R) children enjoyed a super games afternoon with their parents and carers. It was truly heartwarming to see so many happy faces as children proudly shared their learning through play. There was excellent turn-taking, teamwork, and encouragement—such a lovely example of our school values in action. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it so special.

🎬Year 2 Learning

Year 2 have been incredibly busy filming their scripts, and we simply cannot wait to see the finished results! Their confidence and creativity are shining through.

Their knowledge of animals has become truly impressive, and it has been fantastic to see how their scientific understanding has developed. The children’s ability to sort and classify has become much more refined as they gather new information and apply their learning thoughtfully.

🔤 Year 1 Phonics

Year 1 have been working very hard on their phonics, and teachers have been amazed at the progress being made. The children are becoming more confident with their sounds and are applying these skills brilliantly to their reading.

It has been especially lovely to see the growing independence—many children are now tackling books with enthusiasm and pride, which is such an important step in their learning journey.

🚸Safety Notice

A gentle reminder to all families: please do not ride bikes or scooters past the blue gate during drop-off and pick-up times to help avoid accidents and collisions.

We have also had a report of a parent nearly being knocked off their feet by a child cycling into the turning circle. These are very busy times of day, so we kindly ask everyone to take extra care and be mindful of those around them. Thank you for helping us keep our community safe.

📊Govenor Body Meeting

At our Governing Body Meeting last night, we ratified the budget for the coming year. Governors praised the team for our determination to ensure every penny counts and for the careful planning behind our expenditure.

They asked thoughtful and robust questions, which is an important part of ensuring strong financial management. We will revisit and review spending at the mid-year point in October.

Parenting Tips and Help

Have you ever repeated yourself over and over, without your child listening? We have started a new page for parenting tip videos, which you can dip into and watch. We will update the page regularly, and hopefully it will be a great help. Please click here to watch:

https://www.bwis.org.uk/helpful-tips-for-parenting/

🧠Staff Training-Sensory Development

This morning, all teaching staff took part in inspiring sensory training led by the fantastic Marie Mullins from the Hampshire SEND Support Team.

Marie praised the staff for their enthusiasm and engagement. We have updated our knowledge of schemas, identical play, and sensory activities, and have already begun preparing resources ready for the final half term. We are really looking forward to putting this into practice when we return in June.

🗓️ INSET Days 2026–2027

We have agreed the INSET days for next academic year. Mr Campbell and I worked closely together to ensure dates align:

Tuesday 1st September 2026
Friday 23rd October 2026
Monday 4th January 2027
Monday 22nd February 2027
Monday 7th June 2027

🌼After such a busy and productive half term, we wish you all a restful and happy Whitsun break. We hope you are able to enjoy some time together as a family—hopefully with plenty more sunshine!

We look forward to welcoming everyone back, refreshed and ready for the final part of the school year.

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Weekly Update Friday 15th May

Mon 18 May 2026

Today, after many weeks of planning and preparation by our amazing PTA Team, we held our Summer Fayre. The weather had threatened to rain/hailstone all afternoon and although a bit chilly, the bad weather seemed to miss us!

Year 2 did a Ceilidih demonstration finishing with a dance that everyone could join in with. We had lots of excited children and happy faces throughout the afternoon.

Thank you to Claire, Cath, Baz and Emily for the weeks of planning and organising. You were absolutely brilliant and it ran like a well oiled machine! Thank you to the staff and governors who all helped run the stalls, and to the stall holders who came and took a pitch. We are also grateful to Clever Chefs for running our BBQ this year. We were very grateful to everyone who helped.

We have raised £2044 towards our new sensory area, and hope to be able to continue to fundraise until the end of term for this to be able to go ahead soon.

Our PTA will all be stepping down this term after a fantastic three years of supporting the school. We will need some active volunteers to continue a PTA at BWIS from September forwards, so if organisation is a strength of yours, please come and see one of our current members to find out what the role is about.

Once again thank you to everyone who helped make the event a success. We will be having a cake and sweet sale after school on Monday, so please bring a donation and take a cake at home time!

Best wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher

Weekly Update-Friday 1st May

Fri 01 May 2026

🌟 What a fantastic week of learning we have had at school this week! 😊

🔬 Year 2 Super Scientists
Year 2 have been busy being super scientists, learning how to sort and classify animals. They have shown excellent organisational skills in their thinking, using a range of diagrams to help them explain and organise their ideas.

Year 2 are also making great strides in their reading and comprehension, which is helping them to develop greater independence and confidence in their learning – we are very proud of them!

🍎 Year 1 Fruit Fiesta Fun
Year 1 children were very excited to work independently to create delicious treats for our Year R children at the end of their Fruit Fiesta. After researching which fruits children enjoy eating, they designed and made fruit pizzas, kebabs and smoothies.

The children had a fantastic time welcoming guests to the Year 1 Café to enjoy their healthy treats – a wonderful experience for everyone involved!

🎟️ Bottle Tombola – Thank You!
A big thank you to everyone who donated a bottle for this week’s bottle tombola. If you forgot or have any extra bottles at home that you’d like to donate, please do bring them into the office – they are very much appreciated.

🍫 Summer Fayre Donations & Help Needed
📅 Next Friday (8th) – Chocolate donations
📅 Friday 15th – Summer Fayre Day & Cake donations

We hope to see as many of you as possible at the Summer Fayre! We would also love a few more parents to sign up to help with the half‑hour slots Claire has organised.

🎨🍔 We are particularly short of helpers for face painting and the BBQ, both of which need several volunteers. Please do consider stepping forward if you can – without enough helpers, these much‑loved stalls sadly won’t be able to run.

🌱 Courtyard Development Project
All proceeds from the Fayre will go towards our exciting courtyard development area, where we are creating a space to help children regulate through sensory and active activities.

If you or your company would like to make a single charitable donation towards this project, please let the office know. Our PTA is a registered charity and can receive donations directly.

🌼 Gentle Morning Reminder
Just a gentle and friendly reminder to please help children stay close to you in the mornings, avoiding climbing on walls or going into the flowerbeds. Your support with this really helps us keep everyone safe and our grounds looking lovely – thank you so much.

⚽ Wembley
I didn’t spot any of our children at Wembley, but it was lovely to bump into a few past parents! While it wasn’t the score we hoped for, it was still a fantastic day with a brilliant atmosphere – here’s to the play‑offs next! 🙌

🌞 At lunchtime this week, I enjoyed some lovely chats with our children while we soaked up the glorious sunshine. They were gently reminded to make use of the plenty of shady areas we are very lucky to have in our grounds, and were having a wonderful time together. Fingers crossed the sunshine continues into our Bank Holiday weekend!

💛 Thank you, as always, for your continued support and positivity. Have a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend! 💛

With warm wishes

Mrs Riches

Headteacher