Newsletters

World Book Day 

We had a fantastic day celebrating World Book Day yesterday!
The day included a fabulous costume parade, creative activities and lots and lots of reading! 

Even our OPAL Team joined in the fun.

Many thanks to the PTFA for organising 'Emerald Books' as part of our reading celebrations. It was lovely to see so many children walking out clutching their parcels.

Sadly, there has been an accident outside school where a member of our community was struck by a car. Thankfully, they appear to be okay, though understandably very shaken by the experience.

After speaking with the family, we now understand that the incident was highly likely caused by cars parking where they shouldn’t — on double yellow lines — forcing other vehicles to reverse in an unsafe area.

We are increasingly concerned about drivers parking in inappropriate places outside our school. We often recommend that families take advantage of our beautiful setting and enjoy a short walk via the park to and from school, where there is ample parking available.

We will also be contacting the local police in the hope that they can support our safety initiative, before anyone in our school community is more seriously hurt.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe.

On Tuesday 3^rd March, Mrs Garraghan, Mrs Perrett and Mr Adams took the dance club to the Town Hall to take part in Feet First Festival. The dance was performed to the song 'One of Us' from Paddington the musical. We talked a lot about differences in family situations and discussed how we embrace our differences. This song and routine were about inclusion and belonging. Some audience members commended on the emotions they felt while watching the dance, proving that our dancers did a phenomenal job of telling the story!

The participants range from year 3–6 and have worked exceptionally hard during club time. Mrs Garraghan would like to say a HUGE well done to all involved.
She is very proud of you all.

Gardner’s Lane Children and Family Centre, along with the other Aspire Foundation centres across Cheltenham, run a variety of friendly groups for families with babies and young children. There’s something for everyone, including breastfeeding support, baby groups, Stay and Play sessions, Baby Hub: Stay and Weigh, and the Community Café where you can have a chat and meet other parents.

All families in Cheltenham are welcome to attend. If you’d like to  go along to a session, you just need to let the centre know you’re planning to join.

If you’re feeling a little nervous about going for the first time, please don’t be!
The staff are very welcoming, and the sessions are run by trained professionals who are there to support you and your child. 

This is a message for parents and families from Gloucestershire County Council. 
Free School Meal vouchers provided during school holidays which have been funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) through the Household Support Fund are coming to an end. This is because the Household Support Fund is ending, and Free School Meal Vouchers for the spring school holidays will be the last vouchers available under this scheme. A different fund, the Crisis and Resilience Fund is starting from Wednesday 1 April 2026. 

We know food vouchers during school holidays have been important for many families and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure those who need support the most can still access it through the new Crisis and Resilience Fund and other support that we are putting in place across Gloucestershire. 

To find out more, please:

• Visit Gloucestershire’s Family Hubs website to learn about the support available for families, including the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which provides great activities and nutritious food for children and young people during the school holidays.
• Look out for information about the incoming Crisis and Resilience Grant Funding, which will offer support for children and young people who are eligible for Free School Meals. Details on what you can expect and how to apply will be shared soon on the Family Hubs website.

Spring holiday 2026
This Spring holiday, Gloucestershire County Council will provide families in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM), who sign up to this offer, with vouchers to assist with food costs during the school holidays. The vouchers are funded through grant funding we have received, and they are separate to that of term time free school meals.

Applications for holiday FSM vouchers for the spring holiday 2026 will be open from Tuesday 3 March until Friday 13 March. Voucher emails will be sent from week commencing Monday 23 March. We hope that you will be able to pass these messages on to families within your schools.

Please encourage families to check their junk/spam folders during this period as sometimes the vouchers end up there. 

If parents have not received their vouchers by Monday 30 March, please encourage them to submit a query by contacting childrensfund@gloucestershire.gov.uk           

The scheme is for children in reception to year 11 who receive Pupil Premium (benefits-related) free school meals and attend a school in Gloucestershire. We are unable to consider college and sixth form students, nor children who receive infant free school meals (available to all children from reception to year 2) - they are not eligible for this scheme.

Families who have signed up to the scheme or who are already registered will receive a total of £15 per child for one week.

To find out more about the scheme, eligibility and to apply, please visit our holiday free school meal voucher webpage here: Holiday free school meal vouchers | Gloucestershire County Council

Families who have signed up previously do not need to re-register for the spring holiday vouchers - they will already have been included. Families that have previously signed up will need to contact us with any changes to their circumstances (e.g. if the number of children eligible increases or decreases). To ensure we reach all those who are eligible, we are encouraging parents and carers who have not previously signed up, to sign up as soon as they can.

Please note we check eligibility for the scheme by cross-referencing with the term-time free school meal register, so please make sure parents and carers are registered beforehand. They can register by visiting the apply for free school meals page. If your school does not currently use this method, we will require confirmation from the relevant school for the child’s eligibility for Free School Meals. You can find more information on what schools these are on the link above.

Using vouchers – vouchers will only be awarded once the parent/carer has registered for the scheme and cannot be backdated. Vouchers should be used in the holiday period in which they are awarded. If vouchers are not claimed and have expired, they cannot be re-issued. Vouchers that were expected but were not received should be queried by contacting childrensfund@gloucestershire.gov.uk

For any parents/carers wishing to update details of an existing application, please ask them to submit an update existing details request by contacting childrensfund@gloucestershire.gov.uk so we can update their account, as details are not automatically updated.

Our newly appointed team of Positive Play Partners (PPPs) enjoyed their first official meeting with Mrs Byrne today. The children were thanked for their thoughtful applications and took part in a reflective discussion about how they will support OPAL Play during lunchtimes.

Together, they explored the qualities that make an excellent role model at Dunalley, choosing words that reflect kindness, responsibility, and teamwork. Each PPP member received a green bib, an OPAL badge, and a PPP notebook to help them carry out their duties with pride and purpose.

As part of their role, the children will be gathering feedback from their peers and sharing ideas on how to further enhance the OPAL Play experience for everyone.

We are excited to see our new PPP team in action and look forward to the positive impact they will make on the playground!

Families in Partnership is the monthly newsletter for families with SEND in Gloucestershire. Here you can find out about the latest updates, news and developments in the county.  Please follow this link:

Newsletter HERE

Dunalley’s football team faced a challenging away fixture against Rowanfield Primary this week. With four regular starters away at a hockey tournament, the match provided a fantastic opportunity for new players to step into the side and make their mark. Freddie M delivered another outstanding performance in defence, showing great composure under pressure. Despite a spirited start, Dunalley fell 1-0 behind in the first half following a clinical long-range strike. The team showed immense character, working tirelessly until the final whistle. Felix kept the side in the game with a series of standout saves, and Dunalley nearly snatched a draw in the dying seconds with a brilliantly worked opportunity, though it wasn't meant to be. Well done again to Seth who had a spirited performance in defence, earning player of the match. We would like to extend a special thanks to the parents for their continued support. While our second-place league finish isn't quite enough to progress to the next stage of the competition, the team can be incredibly proud of their efforts. We are now looking forward to arranging further friendly fixtures soon. 

Once again, we would like to thank you for your patience, support, and understanding as we transition to our new management information system. You may have noticed that some messages have arrived all at once rather than being spaced out over the last few days. We’re aware of this and expect these early teething problems to be resolved shortly. Thank you again for bearing with us during this period of adjustment.