Newsletters

Earlier today, Mrs Godfrey shared her end-of-year letter with families. You can access a copy of the letter using the link below:

Today we say goodbye to a truly wonderful group of Year 6 pupils. They have been outstanding all week, performing their school play for both the whole school and their families. Through exceptional teamwork, they delivered a truly epic performance, showcasing impressive singing, dancing, acting, musical, lighting and technical skills. There were heartfelt memories, fantastic characterisation of their former teachers and a few fun jokes along the way. 

Throughout their time at Dunalley, these Year 6s  have excelled academically and consistently been fantastic role models for the younger children. We are incredibly proud of all they have achieved and will miss them greatly. We wish each of them every success and happiness as they begin the next exciting chapter of their educational journey at secondary school.

Today we said our goodbyes to staff, some of whom have been with us a long time.

Morgan Hamilton 
Ashley Shiers
Simon Underwood
Jack Collins
Becky Perret

And of course, the legend that is Mr A.

Today in assembly, we celebrated the long career of Mr Adams. 39 years in education and 26 wonderful years here at Dunalley.

There were tributes from all staff and most importantly the children. A fantastic standing ovation from year 6 and a specially written song sung by them was a real highlight. A fantastic celebration of everything that makes Dunalley so special. We wish Mr A, a long and happy retirement. We will miss him so much but know that he will still keep in touch. Simply the best!

Health week was a huge success and came in conjunction with our award as a Mental Health Support school from Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning.

The sports days were a success, children enjoyed the smoothie bike with our catering team and we discussed ways to stay healthy, not just physically but through good sleep patterns (with a class log across the school) and positive affirmations to help our mental health.

Some of the messages shared at reception by children were wonderful, including
“I love OPAL and playing with my friends.”
 “My learning and trying hard makes me happy.”
“I am proud of doing my best at sports day.”

Hopefully, parents have continued discussions about health and wellbeing at home and can do so throughout the summer break.

A big thank you to Laura Goodwin (Abe Y6’s mum) who spent 2 days bouncing and singing with the children. The children (and staff) loved the new way to stay healthy! Look out for her classes in Cheltenham!

We hope all of our families have a wonderful and relaxing summer break.
Over the coming weeks, we will be adding key dates and events for the new academic year to our school calendar. Once these are finalised, they will be published on our school website and shared with families through our newsletters.

We look forward to welcoming lots of you back in September along with our new September Reception starters.

Wow, what an incredible year!
We’ve organised cake sales, free "tea and toast" sessions, a wonderful Women's Afternoon Tea, non-uniform days, and a brilliant family pool party at the Cheltenham Lido.

We’ve also sold new and second-hand uniform, personalised Christmas cards, winter raffle tickets, Golden Ticket books for World Book Day, endless ice creams, and collected clothes for recycling. As well as all of this, we’ve organised two epic (even if we do say so ourselves!) Christmas and Summer Fairs.

A Huge “Thank You”!
Thank you so much to the children of Dunalley, our parents and carers, school staff, and friends for your incredible support this year. Whether you planned events, volunteered your time, donated tombola items, or simply attended with your families—it really does make a massive difference!

Your Impact: What We Funded This Year
Thanks to the generosity of the Dunalley community, alongside external donations and sponsorship, we have been able to fund some amazing projects and resources:

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Looking Ahead
Looking ahead to the new academic year, we’re already busy planning more fun events, and we will continue to raise funds for brand-new playground equipment.

How you can support us over the summer:

• Play the lottery: Sign up at YourSchoolLottery.co.uk and search for Dunalley.
• Buy name labels: Purchase via Stikins using our school fundraising number 6236.
• Shop online: Use EasyFundraising to raise free donations while you shop.

Get Involved!
Finally, a quick reminder that the Dunalley PTFA is a registered charity, independent of the school, run by a small team of friendly, working-parent volunteer trustees. We are always in need of extra hands, so please do reach out if you’d like to get involved in any capacity!

Have a wonderful, relaxing summer!

Katie, Hayley, Kayleigh, and Phil

Fruit Kebab making in DT:

Year 1 had a fantastic time last week creating fruit kebabs as part of their DT lesson! The children carefully planned their designs before preparing their colourful and healthy creations. We were incredibly proud of how sensibly they used the tools provided, demonstrating excellent responsibility and care. Best of all, everyone enjoyed eating their refreshing fruit kebabs afterwards - a perfect snack in the warm weather!

Clay sculptures in Art:

Year 1 had lots of fun bringing their sea creatures to life by creating 3D clay sculptures! They thought carefully about the textures they needed to make their sea creatures look as realistic as possible and selected the most suitable tools to achieve different effects. We were so impressed with their creativity and attention to detail. Take a look at some of their masterpieces below!

Sports Day!:

Year 1 had a brilliant Sports Day, and it was wonderful to see so many spectators cheering the children on! The children began by showing off their balancing skills with a bean bag activity before tackling an exciting obstacle course. They finished the event with a short-distance sprint, giving each challenge their very best effort. It was fantastic to see everyone taking part with such enthusiasm, determination, and big smiles. A huge thank you as well to the wonderful Year 6 volunteers that helped the morning run so smoothly. What a wonderful morning we all had! 

Finally, thank you for all your support with your children's learning this year! We hope that you all have a lovely summer and a well-deserved break!

Art Shape have a range of lovely free activities happening during the summer holidays as part of the Holiday Activities and Food programme.

To book activities, you’ll need to create an account and complete a child’s profile on the website:

Gloucestershire SEND HAF Events

SEND friendly sessions at the Art Shape studio, Brockworth, GL3 4QU - 10.30am -2.30pm

• Monday             27.07.26 – Animation station! Stop frame animation
• Tuesday            28.07.26 - Jellyfish painting and leather crafts
• Monday             3.8.26 -  Create Animal Masks with Junk modelling techniques
• Tuesday            4.8.26 - Clay, making mini clay animals and pets

SEND friendly sessions in Cheltenham

Born to Perform!

St Nicholas Church Hall, Swindon Lane , GL50 4PA

11th, 12th, 13th August 10.30am-2.30pm

Inclusive dancing, drama, singing , joke telling, film and prop/set making. Then put on a mini show for friends and family . Whether you are a behind the scenes type or a full blown star this is for you!

SEND friendly sessions in Gloucester

Drama and Performance at Inclusion Glos,

Railway House, Bruton Way, Gloucester GL1 1DG

Friday 14.8.26 and Monday 17.8.26 10.30am-2.30pm

If you have any questions, please feel welcome to get in contact harriet@artshape.co.uk . For any technical issues/support with booking through the website there is support available from the HAF team HAFParentEnquiries@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Bookings for Gloucestershire HAF events are now live! Families can book their places via the Gloucestershire Family Hubs website: Gloucestershire Family Hubs HAF bookings. 

You will also find us on Robinswood Hill on Tuesday the 25th of August, from 11am until 1pm, just look out for our yellow gazebo! (Poster attached). 

https://familyhubs.gloucestershire.gov.uk/events-haf

Calling all readers, adventurers and story explorers! Join the Library Challenge this summer (11th July -12th September) to travel through time, get reading, and earn rewards. The Library Challenge is free to join and designed to make reading fun, with free access to libraries, no charges for children’s late books or replacement cards, and support available so past fees don’t need to be a barrier. Find out more by scanning the QR code on the poster or visiting your local library!

This newsletter covers topics SEND families say are important, and it keeps families aware of updates.

You can access this useful resource here:

Families in Partnership June newsletter HERE

We are looking for friendly, reliable and enthusiastic individuals to join our team as part-time support staff at Dunalley Primary School.

This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone seeking flexible, term-time work in a welcoming and supportive school environment.

Safeguarding

Dunalley Primary School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful applicant will be subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.

How to apply

For further information or to apply, please visit our website link below:

Opportunities to work at Dunalley – HERE