Newsletter

As we reach the end of a wonderfully busy and fulfilling term, I would like to wish all our children and families a very happy and restful Easter break. It has been a joy to share so many special moments together- from our Mother’s Day afternoon teas and Comic Relief fundraising, to our beautiful Easter church service. 

Thank you for your continued support throughout this term. Your encouragement and partnership make an enormous difference, and I am incredibly proud of the kindness, resilience and enthusiasm our pupils show each day.

I hope the Easter holiday brings you time to relax, enjoy the spring sunshine and make happy memories together. We look forward to welcoming the children back refreshed and ready for an exciting summer term.

Happy Easter!

Recently, we hosted our Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea, a truly special event that brought families together to celebrate the amazing women in our children’s lives. The hall was filled with smiles, conversation, and plenty of delicious treats, all prepared and served with great enthusiasm by our pupils and staff. It was a wonderful opportunity for the children to show their appreciation and to share a relaxed, joyful afternoon with those who care for them. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the occasion so memorable.

 

We had a brilliant day celebrating Comic Relief, with pupils and staff throwing themselves into the fun while supporting an important cause. The highlight for many was taking part in our very own Taskmaster Challenge, which brought plenty of laughter, teamwork, and creative problem‑solving across the school.

Thanks to the enthusiasm and generosity of our whole community, we are delighted to announce that we raised £175 for the charity. A huge thank‑you to all our families for your support - every contribution helps to make a real difference to those in need.

 

Our Easter church services this week were an absolute joy, and we couldn’t be prouder of our wonderful children. They sang their hearts out from start to finish - especially during their lively rendition of 'Spring Chicken', which filled the church with smiles. A huge well‑done to KS2, who showed incredible confidence and teamwork by carrying on beautifully even when the backing track failed - who needs Bruno Mars when we have voices like theirs! We would also like to give a special mention to our talented readers, whose clear and thoughtful retelling of the Easter story helped make the service truly meaningful for everyone present.

 

 

Reception had an unforgettable, fun‑filled adventure at White Post Farm! The children were excited to explore the Reptile House and discover fascinating creatures in the Nocturnal Den. One of the day’s highlights was meeting LeBron James, a baby lamb who was just 10 days old. It was a truly adorable moment that everyone loved (including the adults)!

The children also enjoyed feeding a variety of farm animals, learning about their lifecycles and getting hands‑on experience. The day ended perfectly with plenty of laughter at the park.

A fantastic time was had by all.

 

Reception also had a wonderful time at Vibrant Venue, taking part in an exciting interactive performance all about Spoonbills and how their environment affects them. When the children saw that the shoreline was covered in litter, they immediately worked together to help clean it up.

Next, they explored which foods Spoonbills need to survive and enjoyed finding the correct items to feed them. The session continued with a creative activity where the children made their own fish, crabs and shrimp using recyclable materials.

It was a fantastic day full of new learning, teamwork and imagination. Well done, Reception!

A group of children were rewarded recently with a special trip to the cinema to watch The Smurfs movie after placing in the top five for behaviour points within their class. Their excellent conduct, positive attitudes and consistent commitment to making good choices earned them this well‑deserved opportunity, and they represented their classes superbly throughout the visit.

 

We are incredibly proud of our Year 5 classes, who have produced some truly outstanding poetry over the past two weeks. Drawing on their learning from our geography topic, pupils have thoughtfully planned, drafted and performed imaginative poems from the perspective of the Amazon rainforest.  It has been especially wonderful to see how much they have all enjoyed the process, discovering along the way that each and every one of them is a talented poet. We hope you enjoy the wonderful examples included below as much as we have enjoyed hearing and celebrating them in school.

 

We are delighted to celebrate the children who received a Work Hard or Be Kind certificate in assembly recently. Each of these pupils has shown a fantastic commitment to our school values -whether through their determination in learning, their kindness towards others, or the positive choices they make each day. We are incredibly proud of their efforts and the wonderful example they set for our school community. Well done to you all!

Over the past few weeks, our classes have been giving it their all - showing fantastic commitment, enthusiasm, and a real eagerness to be in school every day. We’re delighted to celebrate our top attendance superstars!

Puffin Class has reigned supreme recently; Kingfisher Class has swooped in to secure the top spot for the last two weeks, demonstrating brilliant dedication.

A huge well done to both classes - keep up the amazing effort! Let’s see who rises to the challenge next half-term!

 

All of our children have been busy earning points recently by working hard, showing kindness and demonstrating positive attitudes around school. Their efforts are truly making a difference -well done, everyone!

 

 

 

Ralph had an unforgettable experience recently as the Stags’ mascot, celebrating his 10th birthday by walking out onto the pitch alongside the captain.

We are delighted to share that Sammy has recently been awarded his purple belt in kickboxing! This is a fantastic achievement that reflects his dedication, discipline and hard work.

Reaching the purple belt level is no small milestone — it shows real perseverance and growing mastery of both technique and mindset. We are incredibly proud of Sammy’s progress and can’t wait to see where his kickboxing journey takes him next.

 

 

This week we say a very fond farewell to Mr Cox, who is retiring after more than 10 years of dedicated service as our Site Manager at Birklands. He has been an invaluable part of our school family - keeping our site safe, welcoming and running smoothly every single day. His hard work, reliability, and good humour have made a lasting impact on staff, pupils and families alike.

We will miss him greatly, both for everything he has done behind the scenes and for the kindness and care he has shown to our whole community. On behalf of everyone at Birklands, we thank Mr Cox for his years of commitment and wish him a very happy and well‑deserved retirement filled with rest, laughter and new adventures.

We had a fantastic time celebrating Neurodiversity Week! The children especially enjoyed performing the signed version of Firework with Mrs. Clark.

As part of our “Wear What Shoes Feel Comfortable” day, we raised an amazing £153.50. Carrie-Ann Autin from Wired Differently kindly used these funds to purchase a wonderful selection of sensory toys, which will be used across the whole school.

It was also brilliant to see so many of you taking part in the poster competition. A huge well done to our winners—Harper, Phoebe, Rose, Eddie, Jack, Harley - Quinn, Taya, and Indie! Your fantastic posters will be proudly displayed around school

 

Please see letter below for a letter penned by our Chair of Governors to Councillor Barton in relation  to road safety around our schools in Warsop.

 

Here is the subsequent reply:

Dear Andrew Street,

I have received a response from Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC). Please find their response below:

“Thank you for forwarding the letter from the Chair of Governors at Birklands Primary School regarding road condition and road safety concerns in Warsop.  
 
I appreciate why these concerns have been raised.  Ensuring that roads remain safe and serviceable is a responsibility the County Council takes seriously, and we fulfil our statutory duties through a structured inspection regime and a risk-based maintenance approach.  This ensures that available resources are directed to the locations where they are most needed and where they will deliver the greatest safety benefit.
 
Following receipt of this correspondence, I have arranged for our local team to review the routes around Birklands Primary School and the wider Warsop area within our established inspection framework.  Any defects identified that meet our intervention criteria will be scheduled for repair in line with our Inspection policy.  Where issues do not yet meet those criteria, we will continue to monitor them through routine inspections.
 
More broadly, I recognise the level of concern about road condition across the network.  From the start of the new financial year, we will be increasing the use of First Time Patch repairs to help strengthen our response to defects and reduce repeat visits.  This forms part of our wider planned maintenance programme and will include activity in the Mansfield area, including Warsop.
 
Regarding references in the school’s letter to “near misses”, these have not been formally reported to us.  Should any incident be submitted through the appropriate channels, we will record and review it to help inform future assessments.
 
I hope this provides reassurance about the processes we follow and the steps we will take in line with established policy.”

If there is anything else I can do for you, do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention.

Best wishes on behalf of, 

Steve Yemm MP

Member of Parliament for Mansfield