The importance of regular, punctual attendance at school is well known. Children only get one chance at school; making the most of it enables them to succeed and flourish later in life.

Children who attend school regularly

-          make and keep friendships and enjoy the social side of school life

-          keep up with school work and achieve well

-          increase their chance of finding and keeping a job in the future.

Children who miss school regularly

-          find it difficult to form and maintain friendships

-          struggle to keep up with school work

-          struggle to find and keep jobs later in life.

Arriving at school on time is also vital.  Arriving late to school disrupts the child, their peers and teacher.  Punctuality is also essential at the end of the school day and the late collection of children is taken seriously.

In line with updated government guidance materials and legislation, we have updated our Attendance and Punctuality policy:

Attendance & Punctuality click HERE

Please make the time to familiarise yourself with the policy as we are eager to provide support for families who are finding it difficult to get their children to school on time every day. 

We are keen to avoid situations where the local authority could choose to take legal action to secure regular, punctual attendance for your children.

Please be aware that regular attendance at Dunalley is achieved when there have been no unauthorised absences from school within the last 12 months.

Our School Day starts at:

Rec, Yr1 & Yr2 = 8.40am

Yrs3, 4, 5 & 6 = 8.45am

Our School Day ends at:

Rec, Yr1 & Yr2 = 3.10am

Yrs3, 4, 5 & 6 = 3.15am

Dear Families,

You can view all curriculum information for Autumn Term 2025 on our website, organised by year group, including Nursery & Pre-school by clicking the link below:

If you would like further information or advice, please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher or email [email protected] —we’re always happy to help.

On Monday afternoon, our Year 2 children had a wonderful time making Tudor houses with their families.

The classroom was filled with creativity, teamwork and lots of smiles as pupils and parents worked together on their designs. We are so grateful to all the families who were able to join us and help make the afternoon such a special experience for the children. 

Our school will be taking part in Hello Yellow on Friday 10th October (World Mental Health Day) to raise awareness and funds for YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity for young people’s mental health.

No young person should feel alone with their mental health and that’s why Hello Yellow matters. We’re taking this opportunity as a school community to come together and show our students that we’re with them and they’re never alone with their mental health.

We’ll be taking part by encouraging children (and staff) to wear YELLOW for the day, we will have collections around for drop off and pick up, raising much needed funds for this fabulous charity.

Most importantly, we want to share the resources which YoungMinds offer to support parents and carers if you ever need help and advice to support your children. This includes:

• online resources (www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/)
• a phone line, open 9.30am-4pm (0808 802 5544)
• an online chat for parents and carers to speak to trained professionals if you’re concerned about your children’s

We’re looking for doll-strollers/pushchairs to enhance learning in our Pre-school. If you have one to donate, we’d be incredibly grateful.

We’re also still hoping to create a calming space for children with special educational needs and are in need of:

• Two children’s tents
• Cushions
• Simple wooden jigsaw puzzles (up to 20 pieces)
• LEGO or construction kits

If you’re able to help, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

Your support means the world to us – thank you!

We absolutely love receiving donations for our OPAL Play initiative — they help make lunchtime play even more exciting and imaginative for our children!

If you’d like to donate, you can drop items off with Mrs Byrne at the school office, or pop them into the black OPAL donation box just outside the main reception.

The autumn term is a great time for a clear-out (especially with Christmas around the corner!), and with the lovely sunshine making a comeback, our sandpit is busier than ever — we’d be thrilled to receive some beach toys to keep the fun going!

We’re also hoping for a few other treasures to boost our playtime adventures:

• Suitcases - theses are played with all of the time

• Old tennis or badminton rackets

• Construction toys

• Planks of wood — these are especially needed for building assault courses!

• Balls - we need more please

Thank you so much for your kindness and support — it truly means the world to us and makes a huge difference to the children’s play experience!

We would like to remind our families about the Dunalley Pantry, which supports families 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 has now been moved to the main entrance area. You are very welcome to pop in and collect whatever you need. There are some bags available on the side of the pantry unit for your use.

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

Thank you for helping us to support our community!

In partnership with Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum (GPCF) and the Integrated Care Board (ICB), co-produce a monthly newsletter for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.

The Families in Partnership newsletter includes information and articles from teams within Education, Health, Care and the voluntary sector as well as responses to parent-carer feedback about the Local Area Partnership.

To subscribe to every new Families In Partnership newsletter on publication, please sign-up here.

This monthly newsletter for families with SEND shares the latest updates, news and developments in Gloucestershire, covering topics you say are important. In this issue the focus is on response to your feedback to the team; 'You Said, We Did report'.

It looks at the new EHCP Annual Review process and are introduced to the new Community Connector at the National Deaf Children's Society. It also notes that Gloucestershire County Council’s Children’s Services have been judged as Good with Outstanding elements in its most recent inspection.

With the October school break just around the corner, Atlas Camps will be back with our award-winning multi-activity camps – as well as our super popular Football Camps - running throughout the school break! 

Rated Outstanding by Ofsted, Atlas Camps specialises in multi-activity clubs for children aged 4-14, with two early years settings for 3+ also available. With a focus on fun, activities on offer span everything from arts and crafts to sports and active play, all in a safe, enjoyable environment designed to cater for all. Joining them will be our ever-popular Atlas Camps Football Academies, allowing footie-mad All-Stars aged 7-14 to hone their sporting skills with drills, games and plenty of FUN. 

• Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’
• Tax-Free Childcare and Childcare Vouchers Accepted
• Early drop-off/ late pick-up options
• Sibling discount and 5^th day savings available
• Multi-activity and Football camps

For further information, please watch this video or check out the attached poster. Head to the Atlas Camps website at www.atlascamps.co.uk to book our multi-activity camps, and www.atlascamps.co.uk/sports-camps to book our sports camps.

Free Adult Education Course: Connect to Catering

Adult Education in Gloucestershire, part of Gloucestershire County Council, is running a free course called Connect to Catering. This course is ideal for anyone looking for a job that fits around school times and holidays, or for those wanting to start a career in catering.

Course Highlights:

• Industry-approved training
• Guaranteed interview with Caterlink
• Learn food safety, nutrition, manual handling, safeguarding, first aid basics, and more
• Improve your English, maths, and ICT skills
• CV and interview skills support

Dates & Times:
Monday 29th & Tuesday 30th September, Wednesday 1st October, Monday 6th, Tuesday 7th & Thursday 9th October 2025
9:30am – 12:30pm
Hesters Way Children and Family Centre, Dill Avenue, Cheltenham, GL51 0ES

Eligibility:

• Aged 19 or over
• Qualified below Level 2 (less than 5 GCSEs)
• Or earning below £25,000 per year

To book a place or for more information:
Call Nasrin on 07771 674411
Email: [email protected]