Wraparound Care is coming to St Barnabas!
🎉 Exciting News! On-Site Wraparound Care is Coming to St Barnabas! 🎉 We are delighted to announce that starting in September 2026, we will be offering our own on-site wraparound care service, exclusively for our children! We have partnered with Progressive (formerly Progressive Sports) to deliver high-quality, activity-focused care right here on school grounds. Progressive is the perfect fit because: They provide a strong sports element, creative, wellness, and discovery activities—all popular choices from our parent survey! We will be working closely with them to ensure their provision meets the same high expectations for behaviour and support that we maintain during school hours. Affordable & Flexible Options: We’ve negotiated affordable rates and flexible sessions for our families: Breakfast Club (7:30 am–8:55 am, including breakfast): £5.00 per session. After School Club (3:20/3:30 pm–6:00 pm, including a snack): £8.00 per session. Reduced Session Price: Only £6.00 if attending after a school enrichment club! A 10% sibling discount is available, and Tax-free/Universal Credit childcare vouchers are accepted. Progressive will also offer holiday clubs during some school breaks. We are confident this new service will offer affordable, convenient and high-quality care. Please read the attached letter for further information.
Reception PSHE - Why sleep is important for our bodies.
This week we talked about why we need sleep and how important it is for our bodies. The children talked about how it helps us grow and get stronger, it repairs our bodies and stops us being grumpy. We then read 3,2,1 Bedtime and shared our own bedtime routines and favourite bedtime stories. We role played getting washed, cleaning our teeth and going to sleep.
Reception - RE-Hinduism
This week our class looked at special places for people of different faiths, specifically Hinduism. We compared pictures of Mandirs and Churches and practised some mindful meditation and yoga. Then we did some bhangra dancing in celebration. The children really enjoyed the colour and joy of the Hindu faith.
Online Safety: Minecraft
Minecraft continues to be a highly popular platform for children, combining creativity, problem-solving and social interaction. While the game can offer positive opportunities for learning and play, features such as public servers, multiplayer modes and in-game communication can create safeguarding challenges. Our latest guide supports educators and parents in understanding these risks and helping children play more safely. The guide explores: • Public server communication and contact with unknown players • Griefing, disruptive behaviour and online conflict • In-game spending and subscription costs • Addictive gameplay loops and balanced screen time • Safer settings, private servers and suitable game modes With clear, practical advice, the guide helps adults set boundaries, encourage safer choices and support responsible Minecraft use. Access the guide: https://vist.ly/54tfx #Safeguarding #OnlineSafety #Minecraft
Celebration Worship
We made it to the end of half term! It had been a very busy and action-packed few weeks with trips, SATs and lots of exciting events across school. Thank you to the WOW Group for sharing their new mission of collecting old toys so children can swap them for a different one. We were also excited to hear that Kids with Bricks Club would be returning after half term for Summer 2 and that a new list of clubs had been released. Today, we also enjoyed our inter-house sports competition led by our Sports Leaders. For our Values Awards this week, Reception’s awards went to Alana and Theo. Year 1 and Year 2 were both awarded the values award as a whole class. In Year 3, the award went to Annabel, in Year 4 to Finley, in Year 5 to Layla and in Year 6 to Theo. A TT Rockstars certificate was awarded to Harry in Year 4. Pen licences were awarded to Martha, Alfie and Brodie in Year 4. In the Team Values standings, Whitehall Park finished in 4th place, Darwen Tower finished in 3rd place, River Darwen finished in 2nd place and India Mill finished in 1st place. We also celebrated lots of fantastic achievements outside of school. Hendrix was awarded a medal for finishing Stage 3 by completing a backwards roll. Will was awarded Beaver of the Week for bug hunting after finding a spider. Thea, Annie, Luna, Evie, Phoebe and Olivia were all awarded the Helper Badge, Skills Builder Badge and Silver Award. Luna was also awarded the Olivia Doll for being kind and helpful, while Olivia achieved the Gold Award for earning lots of badges. James received a badge for being at Cubs for two years. Sofia was awarded a medal and a hoodie for participating in a dance competition. Eliza received a medal for completing a duathlon involving running, biking and then running again. Bo was awarded a trophy and certificate for dancing. Max achieved Player of the Week for his tackling and dribbling skills in football. Lydia achieved her Stage 4 swimming certificate as well as a Skills Builder badge and Eleanor also achieved her Skills Builder certificate and badge alongside her Stage 4 swimming award. Annabel received a trophy for Best in Cast for performing her solo loudly and confidently, as well as dance certificates. Maggie achieved two gymnastics medals for Levels 1 and 4. Lyla and Arrabelle both received medals for participation in their dancing competition, with Lyla finishing in 6th place and Annabelle finishing in 3rd place. Ava achieved two trophies for street dancing, earning both 2nd place and 1st place awards. A huge well done also went to the netball team, who won their first game 12–0 and their second game 6–5. They all played brilliantly and represented the school exceptionally well. Congratulations to Year 1 and Year 4 for achieving the best attendance this week. Finally, we shared some important reminders for after half term. Year 1 would be completing their phonics screening check, Year 4 would be taking part in their multiplication check, Year 6 would be going on their London trip, Reception would be holding their Father’s Day Stay and Play, Sports Day would be taking place and the school disco would be held on Tuesday 30th June. The worship ended with a prayer from Mrs Ham and a lively rendition of the School Rule Song. Wishing everyone a wonderful half term holiday!
DPSSA Netball League
This evening Team B took part in their second evening of netball fixtures. First we played against Sudell and came away with an 11-0 win and then we played St Joseph’s which was a super tight game but we managed to secure a 6-5 win in the end. A great evening of superb play and sportsmanship by every member of the team- well done!
Year 5 - History
In History, we concluded our study of Ancient Greece by learning about some of the great philosophers including Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. We then looked in greater depth at the trial of Socrates and how his anti-democratic stance and questioning of authority created powerful enemies. The children were then asked to decide if they thought Socrates was deserving of his punishment.
Year 6 - Numeracy Day
As part of National Numeracy Day, our Year 6 children took part in an exciting oracy-based maths activity using a concept cartoon linked to real-world numeracy challenges. Working collaboratively, the children discussed and solved a variety of problems linked to important global themes including tree planting, clean energy, water conservation, recycling and reducing carbon footprints. The tasks encouraged pupils to apply their knowledge of percentages, ratio, area, multiplication and reasoning in meaningful contexts. Throughout the activity, the children explained their ideas, justified their methods and listened respectfully to the opinions of others, developing both their mathematical understanding and their speaking and listening skills. The concept cartoon showed the children that there can be more than one way to solve a problem and encouraged deeper mathematical thinking. It was fantastic to see the children demonstrating resilience, teamwork and confidence while recognising how maths can help make a positive difference in the wider world.
Year 1 RE: How Do Jews Welcome Babies?
In this RE lesson, the children explored how some Jewish families and communities welcome babies. We learnt about Jewish naming ceremonies and discussed how these can differ for boys and girls. The children discovered that, in many Jewish traditions, boys may take part in a Brit Milah ceremony, while girls may be welcomed through a naming ceremony, Brit Bat, often held at the synagogue or at home. We discussed that practices can vary between different Jewish families and communities, and not all Jewish people celebrate in the same way. The children compared similarities and differences between the ceremonies, identifying that both are often joyful celebrations where the baby is welcomed into the community and given their Hebrew name. They also recognised differences in some of the traditions and rituals involved. Throughout the lesson, the children showed respect and curiosity when learning about Jewish beliefs and practices and were able to make thoughtful comparisons with other welcoming ceremonies they have studied.
The Vikings in Year 4
Today Year 4 looked at the impact of events using cause and consequences. We discussed important events in Anglo-Saxon and Viking struggle for Britain, explaining the meaning of cause and consequence and suggested the impact of these events. The children really got involved in these discussions and worked really hard to identify the correct answers.
Whole School Worship with Rev Ben
Today our Whole School Worship was led by Rev Ben and focused on The Ascension. We started by signing The Trinity together and then we began a quick history quiz where we had to guess who was in the picture. We had Queen Victoria, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Boudicca, King Henry the Eighth and Nelson Mandela. These people were all leaders and the Bible story told us all about Jesus being in control and in charge. In our Bible story, instead of being sad, the disciples were filled with joy! The Ascension teaches us three big lessons:Jesus is with us everywhere: Even though he isn't walking on Earth anymore, Christians believe he is always with us. A wonderful promise: Jesus promised to come back one day. We are his helpers: Jesus left his followers in charge to be kind, share love, and be good helpers to others. In our time to think this week we discussed why Christians believe that it is good news that Jesus returned to heaven. The children thought of some lovely responses such as ; People believe that Jesus can help and support anyone from anywhere in the world, we look up to Jesus in heaven and treat his name with respect.
Kids with Bricks Lego Club
The theme for this week's Kids with Bricks Lego club was 'Loud or Quiet'. We watched our weekly video, which gave us facts about the loudest and quietest things on earth. We then had to create our own loud or quiet builds. The children had some really amazing ideas, including volcanoes, bombs and silent electric engine cars! A special well done to our Builder of the Week: Rosie!