I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable half-term break. I am pleased to report that our camping was a great success. We were lucky with the weather – no rain – and our sleeping bags kept my daughter and I cosy and warm each night.

It was truly wonderful to welcome so many of you to our Harvest Festival this week. I am incredibly proud of all the children, from the beautiful artwork to the heartfelt prayers they wrote. It was a special occasion to come together as a community and give thanks to God in such a meaningful way.

I would like to start by extending a heartfelt thank you for the incredible response we received regarding donations for our playtime equipment. We have already had some wonderful contributions, including dinosaurs, sandpit toys, giant Jenga, and Giant Connect Four. I have also been collecting generous donations from my local community, near my home, which means we now have additional items such as a role-play kitchen for the outdoor Wendy House and toy cars. The generosity of everyone involved is truly heart-warming and will undoubtedly help make playtimes at Bentley a fun and enriching experience for all the children.

It’s been a busy and exciting week here at Bentley, with lots of classes enjoying their apple-picking trips. A huge thank you to Sarah from our PTFA for organizing this wonderful experience, and to all the adults who volunteered their time to help make it happen. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to tasting the famous Bentley apple juice, I certainly am!

Welcome back to a brand new school year! I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable summer break. It’s been a joy to see the children return with such enthusiasm and positivity. They’ve settled back into school life beautifully, and their attitudes towards learning have been truly impressive. We are looking forward to another exciting and successful year ahead!

As we end the penultimate full week at school, I cannot help but notice a real buzz around the school (not just about the football!)