Newsletters

Big Walk & Wheel

Thank you to everyone that has donated today, we have raised an amazing £411 for the World Wildlife Fund.

We are pleased to announce that we are able to accommodate all requested bookings.  Individual confirmations will be made next week. 

We are delighted to share the wonderful news that Miss Underwood will be getting married during the Easter holidays. We’re sure our whole school community will join us in wishing her a beautiful wedding day and offering heartfelt congratulations to her and her fiancé.

After the Easter break, she will return as Mrs Buckley, and we look forward to celebrating this happy new chapter with her.

At the end of last week to round off the cross-country year, our girls' and boys' teams took part in a race on a challenging and hilly course. The children supported each other well throughout the event and showed steady determination on a tough route.

Special congratulations go to Hana, who finished 3rd overall and received a shield for her very strong performance.

Well done to all who represented the school in such a committed and positive way.

With spring in our midst, we are ramping up the OPAL experience for our pupils.  Our OPAL Play Partners have been hard at work updating areas across the school site, and it’s wonderful to see their ideas beginning to come to life.

OPAL encourages children to explore, create and take ownership of their play. With a wider variety of resources and zones, pupils can build, invent, collaborate and use their imaginations far more freely than in a traditional playground setup.

To help us continue enhancing this fantastic provision, we are once again asking for support from our families. We are currently seeking donations of the items listed below which can be left in our OPAL donation box outside the school entrance or dropped off in the office for Mrs Byrne's attention.

Thank you for your support. OPAL invites everyone—children, staff, and families to contribute. Donations, ideas, and community involvement help build pride and ownership across the whole school.

• Plastic or wooden kitchen tools
• Old computer keyboards
• Suitcases
• Baskets
• Funnels
• Buckets and spades
• Bedsheets
• DIY sized paint brushes and rollers
• Blankets
• Cushions
• Trikes and scooters (child size)
• Large leather belts

Well done to all KS2 children who have taken part in the league football fixtures this term. Have a look at where our KS2 football team and girls football team are in their league tables.

We would like to remind our families about the Dunalley Pantry, which is available to support anyone who may be experiencing financial challenges. The pantry offers a variety of products, all free of charge, to help families in need.

For your convenience, the pantry is located in the main entrance area. You are very welcome to pop in and collect whatever you need. Bags are also available on the side of the pantry unit for you to use.

If you would like to donate items, you are welcome to place them directly on the shelves or hand them in at the school office.

Thank you for helping us support our school community!

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.

As part of Science Week, Year 4 had an amazing time visiting Pittville School to learn about solids, liquids and gases with some Year 10 students. They got to set up a science experiment using a Bunsen Burner and record results using a thermometer and a timer. It was a great experience!

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

On Monday 9th March, 16 Year 5 pupils were invited by the charity Racing to School to visit Cheltenham Racecourse ahead of festival week.

The children enjoyed a carousel of activities around the racecourse, including a visit to the Weighing Room where they learned about the weights jockeys carry and met retired jockey Mick Fitzgerald. In the Winners’ Enclosure, they petted a racehorse called Saffy and a miniature pony named Toffee, and even had the chance to ‘race’ on an Equiciser and a VR headset.

The pupils were also given a special opportunity to see the famous Cheltenham Gold Cup in the Royal Box before the day finished with a live interview with jockey Danny Mullins, hosted by Ed Chamberlin from ITV.