Reception Grassy Area - May 2022

As you may have seen, the area that backs onto the Reception playground has now been turfed and the willow reading den is also ready for the children to use when they can access this part of the playground. We are hoping this will be after May half term when the turf has started to grow. With the KS1 adventure play area complete and just waiting for the turf to grow and the MUGAs nearing completion which will also enable Nursery to make full use of their extended playground. We will very soon have much-enhanced school grounds which will be fantastic for the children and really add to their experience of school life at Olton. 

KS1 Adventure Play Area - May 2022

You can see below that the trim trail area on the KS1 playground has now been turfed and we are in the process of fencing off the tree areas. We will need a few weeks for the turf to begin to grow and so we are hopeful that after half term this area will be available for the children to use. At lunchtime, as Reception children and KS1 children are not on the playground together, this will provide an opportunity for the Reception children to use it too. 

   06.05.2022

Multi-Use Games Areas  - April 2022

     Update - You can see that one of the MUGAs is very nearly complete and is looking fantastic. Staff and children are very much looking forward to being able to use these areas for PE lessons as well as at lunchtimes.

29.4.22

As you will see from the photographs below, the two MUGAs (Multi Use Games Areas) are coming along really well and will be ready for use soon after we return after Easter. The first photo shows what will be the 3G pitch – it’s just missing the grass at the moment(!) and the second picture is showing the area on the far side which will have asphalt laid to give us two different areas with different surfaces to use for a range of activities in school.

As the MUGAs are close to the KS2 playground, the children have been watching the development for the last few months and are very excited to be able to use them soon. The MUGAs will also be excellent facilities which in future can be hired out, outside of the school day, to also benefit our wider community. 

MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) Update - January 2022

As you will be aware, the final stage of our new build project is the MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) which will be situated on the top field near to the KS2 playground. This will be a fabulous area which can be used for PE lessons, after-school clubs and at lunchtime. Completion is due at Easter and so we will update you with the progress of the MUGA in the coming months. 

Wednesday 3rd November 2021

Good evening everyone, first of all, it has been absolutely wonderful to welcome all of our children and families onto one site and so lovely to see the joy and excitement of our children when they saw our new school- we are all very proud of the new building. As with any move, there are so many things to get used to- particularly moving around and navigating your way to particular areas and new classes and I very much appreciate your understanding and patience over the next few days.

After school, we have been evaluating drop-off and collection from the new site today and have made a few changes for tomorrow which we hope will make things a little easier based upon our experience today. In the morning, we shall continue using our new main entrance but to ease congestion we shall also open up the narrow pedestrian gate ( alongside St Margaret's Nursery) so KS2 children can get into their part of the building quickly and not have to use the main entrance. Of course families with KS1 and KS2 can still use the main entrance if they wish to. We will have an additional member of staff on the KS2 pedestrian gate by St Margaret's Nursery in the morning.

For our children in 3B (Mrs Bell) and 3L (Mrs Lewis) at home time (3.00pm) these classes will now be collected from their classroom doors instead of the junior playground. This will ease some congestion from the junior playground at home time. 3BW will continue to be collected from the main junior playground.

Thank you for your understanding as we refine routines around school and for your overwhelmingly positive feedback today. We shall have plenty of our team wearing hi-vis jackets tomorrow to help guide you around the site and to hopefully make drop-off and collection times even smoother.

Best wishes, Mr Chamberlain and Mrs Gray.

New School Drop Off - Wednesday 3rd November 2021

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I hope that you have had a lovely half term. Things have been very exciting in school and I would like to thank all of the team for their hard work, sorting, unpacking and getting our new school ready for our children tomorrow. All children will arrive at school using the new main entrance - this is for Reception, Year 1 to Year 6 children - see first picture where I will be standing in the morning to meet and greet all of our children.  Please note for children in Year 3 to 6, this is a new entrance, a little bit further along the road. Children in Year 3 to 6 will be directed up the main path where they will go into the Junior block and will be greeted by a member of the team. For children in Year 1, Year 2, and Reception, Mrs Gray will be visible to direct you to your new classrooms. Parents in the new block can walk their child up to their cloakroom door, where a member of staff will be available to welcome your child into school.

To ease congestion around the new block whilst we are getting used to the new systems and routines, we have a one way system for families on the Infant playground - staff will be highly visible to guide and help us all to be familiar and understand the routes.

At the end of the day, families who are collecting from Year 3 to 6 at 3.00pm can use the familiar KS2 pedestrian path and will be directed to the Junior playground. For collection of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children at 3.10pm, please use the new main entrance pathway and you will be directed around the site. If you have both a child in Year 2 and either Year 1 or Reception, please drop off or collect your Year 2 child first of all.

For those of us with children attending the Nursery, there is a new entrance which has a double wooden gate slightly further along Lyndon Road for you to access Nursery at the start and end of the day. (See photo)

We understand that there is a lot of new changes for some of our children and our families but we aim to be as helpful as possible and hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow, we will feel much more confident with our new routines. As with any new routine, we will keep it under review to ensure it works for all of us and keeps everyone safe.

A gentle reminder that for Year 3 to 6, our soft start is between 8.30am and 8.40am. For Reception to Year 2, our soft start is between 8.40am and 8.50am. Nursery starting time is from 8.30am or 12.30pm. Pupils who are late after this time will need to be brought into the new main reception area with their parent to sign in.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow morning!

Best Wishes

Mr L Chamberlain          Mrs E Gray

Head Teacher                 Deputy Head Teacher

Olton Primary School

Friday 15th October 2021

This is the last new-build weekly update as we will soon be calling it our new home after months of seeing it progress brick by brick. After so much planning and then seeing it built in front of our eyes, it is amazing to think we will soon be moving in. It is a really exciting time for the staff and we know the children will love it too when they step inside. Despite that, we are aware of the sense of sadness of leaving behind the infant site that holds so many special memories for many of our staff and families.

We have sent home a letter this week which had lots of information to help you and your child prepare for the move to the new site and to make you aware of minor changes to school day timings for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. Once the building is handed over to us, we are planning to map out routes and possibly send some videos so you can see your child’s classroom and how you access the site to drop off and pick up, which we hope you will find useful.

Friday 17th September 2021

Dear Parents, Carers and Children, If you are passing by the junior site, you will see that the final weeks of the build project are now upon us and photos of the different spaces in the new block are being shared with the staff regularly. It is true to say we are all excited to be so close now to all being on one site and having an amazing, purpose-built space for our younger children which will enable them to continue to thrive in their new environment.

New Building Plans

Olton Primary School Feasibility Study – February 2019

As you are aware, the school is now operating as a split site, with the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 children on the Daylesford campus and the Key Stage 2 children on the Chapel Fields site. Whilst the school leadership have set about delivery of the new primary ethos and are working across a split site offer presently, at the time of establishing the primary school, in 2018, the intention was to consider the possibilities around consolidating as one school, on one site.

Here are preliminary drawings of the proposal to expand the Chapel Fields campus. Essentially, the focus is the construction of a new early years block, complimented by internal works to the existing junior building, to accommodate an increased pupil cohort.