Personal Development

Road Safety Week is the biggest annual road safety campaign. This year, the theme was Road Safety Heroes. This helped our children learn about the people who help us after a crash, and how to be a hero when on the road.

To reinforce our learning, we took part in a road safety walk through the village. 

We looked for things that keep us safe, e.g double yellow lines on the road to stop people from parking in dangerous places, traffic lights, safe areas to cross. 

We thought about how to stay safe when walking near roads.

Pupil voice

"Look both ways before crossing" Lexi

"Hold your Mummy's hand and listen to what she is saying" John

"Walk sensibly and slowly so you don't trip and fall" Archie

Together with queen Emma's Primary school, We raised £119.50!

Children in Need supports children in the community across the UK. They fund amazing people in family centres, community spaces, youth clubs and refuges, homeless shelters, hospices and helplines.

This year, we fundraised for Children in Need by asking children to wear something spotty in exchange for a suggested donation.

Throughout the day we took part in Children in Need maths challenges, and the Bluey Dance Mode challenge! Every time someone yelled ‘dance mode!’ everyone had to get up and dance for 10 seconds!

Cedar Class discussed who we are raising money for and why. They wrote their understanding of children in need on Pudsy Bears to decorate:

Pupil voice

 

Anti-Bullying Week: Standing Together with Respect!

Hello, Finstock families! We’re thrilled to kick off Anti-Bullying Week here at school, a time to celebrate the power of respect, kindness, and unity! Today all our pupils made a simple but powerful pledge: to choose respect, no matter what. Respect isn’t just for close friends; it’s for everyone!

Here’s what we were up to:

Pledge of Respect – In each classroom, our children pledged to choose respect, even when it’s tough. We discussed how showing respect helps everyone feel safe and valued at school.

 I choose, you choose, we choose respect!

Respect in Action – Throughout the week, we’ll encourage the children to suggest ways we can all show respect. Ideas might include sharing a kind word, helping someone in need, or agreeing to disagree respectfully. Together, we’re making sure our school is a place where everyone feels welcome and appreciated.

Odd Socks Day – Today we wore odd socks to celebrate how unique we all are! This is one of the fun highlights of the week and a great way to remind ourselves to respect everyone’s differences.

School-Wide Expectations – Our commitment to respect is year-round! We’re reminding everyone—children, teachers, parents, and visitors—that respect is the foundation of our school. When we choose kindness and respect, we’re helping to build a happier, safer school for all.

Special Video Screening and Discussion – We’ll be watching a film clip together to dive deeper into the meaning of respect. Afterward, we’ll chat about the key messages: What does respect look like? Who deserves respect? And what difference can we make by choosing kindness over bullying? You can watch the video below.

https://youtu.be/UmI5hbQTIUw

At Finstock CE Primary School, we believe everyone can help create a school where respect is at the heart of everything we do. 

Thank you to everyone for joining in this week so far, and let’s continue to live out this pledge every day—because respect is for life, not just for Anti-Bullying Week!

Let’s make a difference together!

Our Year 6 children visited Oxford Fire Station to take part in the Junior Citizen Workshop. They learnt important life skills which could save their lives or the lives of others.

Pupil Voice

‘I like how it taught safety in a fun way, it was interactive and we got to know about everything.’

‘I really enjoyed all of the activities, my favourite being the train safety because I felt like I already knew alot but still learnt much more.’

‘I liked the river activity because I got really involved and it felt real which made me learn more.’

‘It was fun. We got to learn about emergencies and we got to try out what we need to do.’

On Thursday 10th October, we celebrated World Mental Health Day by taking part in 'Hello Yellow Day', supporting YoungMinds. YoungMinds is the UK's leading charity championing the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. Driven by their experience, YoungMinds creates change so that children and young people can cope with life's adversities, find help when needed and succeed in life.

We took part in a range of activities to support and promote wellbeing and good mental health including:

• A sensory outdoor scavenger hunt to spend time in nature.
• A grounding activity '5,4,3,2,1' noting 5 things we can see, 4 things we can hear, 3 things we can touch, 2 things we can smell, and 1 deep breath. 
• Mindfulness activities thinking about what makes us special, and why we are proud of ourselves.
• Breathing exercises.
• Calming yoga.

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Breathing exercises

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Sensory Scavenger Hunt

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Mindful yoga

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As a school, we raised £20.01 for YoungMinds! 

For Safer Internet Day on Tuesday 6th February, we kicked off with a whole school assembly discussing how technology has changed through time. The children found it hilarious learning how mobile phones used to look and what dial up internet was!

We discussed how the online world can be a positive influence for learning and connection with others. We also thought about how being online can influence us negatively. The children were about to recount times they had been online and pop-up adverts had appeared and how this can make them feel scared and be unsure what to do.

We then discussed what to do and who to speak to if something happens online we are unsure of or worried about.

Oak Class

We read through Mo and Jaz’s story.

In the story, Mo and Jaz felt uncomfortable when their video changed. They went to their Dad and told him what had happened. We discussed if this had ever happened to us and what we would do if it did. 

Cedar

Cedar investigated influencers and discussed whether the messages they were sharing were positive or negative. This prompted a lot of discussion around product placement and advertising with influencers recommending unhealthy energy drinks and also negative body image and the problems this can cause.

We also discussed internet safety and the importance of not sharing any information with people you haven't already met in real life. 

Finally we went discussed safety and what to do if unsure. Cedar were very good at identifying situations where they may need the support of a trusted adult.

"We should ask an adult  for help if someone we don't know asks where we live or what school we go to."

"Energy drinks can be dangerous for young people. He (the influencer) has young viewers. He shouldn't be promoting it."

Oak and Cherry Class

We began the week with a focus on 'Time to Talk'. We began to understand what is meant by mental health. To aid our understanding, we read the story 'The Colour Monster' and thought about if we had ever felt these big feelings and what happens when we feel them. We created our own feelings jars and had these resources available in provision.

Throughout the week, we have read the story 'The Boy, The Fox, The Mole, and The Horse'. We thought about what we can do when we feel sad. We thought about how we can ask our friends for help. On stars, we drew a picture of what makes us special and what we can do to feel calm and relaxed.

  

What helps when you feel low?

"I can read a book"

"Talk to Mum, Dad, or a teacher"

"Tell your friends"

"Crying helps calm us" 

"We need to look after ourselves"

Throughout the week we have been practising mindfulness and grounding techniques, including "5,4,3,2,1". This involves finding 5 things we can see, 4 things we can touch, 3 things we can hear, 2 things we can smell, and taking 1 deep breath. Grounding techniques help us feel more connected to ourselves and our bodies and help to reduce stress and anxiety. 

  

Cedar

We began our learning by looking at the importance of recognising our feelings. We roleplayed various emotions and discovered that different people display emotion in different ways. This helped us to come to the conclusion that it is important to talk about the way we are feeling. 

"A problem shared is a problem halved"

We used Charlie Mackey's book "The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse" to further explore the idea of talking about emotions and sharing problems. The children identified groups and individuals they cold approach if they were struggling with their emotions.

We then came up with our own image, in the style of the illustrator, to show emotion before then looking at ways in which we can calm ourselves should an adult not be present.

"The breathing will be really useful for anger management"
 

Cedar Class

Cedar Class took part in a session with 'Mind Marvels'. The group specialises in mindfulness and mental health for children. We went through a number of activities ranging from identifying different areas of the brain, identifying how we are feeling and then on to some mindfulness exercises that the children could use themselves. Cedar class practised breathing,  mindful exercises and finished with a bit of mindful massage! Needless to say, when the group left, the class was VERY calm, relaxed and ready to learn.

   

Pupil voice

'It was really nice, I felt so calm afterwards'

'This will be really useful outside of school too!'

Oak Class

For our first Mind Marvels session we introduced the wellbeing charter. We discussed what emotions are and how we can tell what people are feeling. We played a game looking at expressions to discuss how a person feels and then discussed body language and how this can impact our feelings.

We stood like superhero’s to help us feel more confident and brave. We found our feeling buttons in our tummy’s and pictures it as being different colours for how we are feeling. We practiced breathing exercises and learnt mindful massages to help keep us calm.

Pupil Voice

'I liked the balloon and breathing with it. I felt calm.'

'I liked relaxing with the music on. I felt happy and could think.' 

 

Cherry Class

To celebrate, Cherry Class discussed our favourite nursery rhymes. Our favourite at the moment is '5 little ducks'. We practised singing as a group and then added some percussion instruments to the song!

We spent lots of time in our outdoor music stations, creating music and songs. 

Pupil Voice:

My favourite song is Old Macdonald! I love to sing! - Jaxon

I like Old Macdonald! My favourite is the drumkit. - Fin

Oak Class

To celebrate world music day, Oak Class discussed their favourite songs. We had a variety: 'How Far I'll Go' from Moana, 'Final Countdown' by Europe, 'Another One Bites the Dust' by Queen, and 'Gold Dust' by SHY FX. We thought about the differences between the genres of the songs and practised counting and playing instruments to the beat.

We then learnt to play Another One Bites the Dust on the glockenspiels! It was tricky and we learnt the names of some of the notes playing 'AAA AAA CAD' to the beat. We performed this to Cherry class who thought we were amazing! 

Pupil Voice:

It is important to do World Music Day because we get to learn about lots of different songs and listen to them all. My favourite is the final countdown! The glockenspiel made a dinging noise and I was really good at it. - John

I love to sing Moana. I liked using the wood sticks to bang in time to the beat. The music we listened to was exciting and fast. - Tiago

Cedar Class

To celebrate music day we discussed our favourite types of music and listened to music while we worked. We listened to the score for the movie 'The Piano' by Michael Nyeman and, at Luthers' request, Rackmaninov's piano concertos. We also listened to Alp horn music and the Koto from Japan. We examined the importance of music. In discussion the children described it as a universal language and recognised how it can play with our emotions. The children also said it was useful fro emotional regulation. At the end of the day we had a go at singing in rounds. Cedar managed to sustain four different groups!

At the end of the day Luther performed for us playing a complicated piece on his cornet. What a treat!

Pupil Voice:

'Music can be an important part of peoples culture.'

Theo Giddings

'People can express themselves through music and it can also be used to tell a story'

Luther F-A

Music can define a culture or country. It can represent thier history or background. It can be someone's calling or purpose.'

Jack N

'Music can affect your emotions. It can help you get more or less relaxed or excited.'

Charlie F