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Head’s Update

12.09.2025

It was lovely to see so many parents attending the meetings for the Year 1 and Year 3 classes this week. Obviously the teachers are always available at the beginning and end of the day, but the meetings are a great opportunity to find out about the class routines and expectations and also to ask questions about things you might be unsure of. It is very important to us at Trinity that we work in partnership with parents, and keeping our lines of communication open at all times is part of that. We know that when school and home work together, the children have the very best chance of making the most of their time here. If you were unable to make the meeting for your child, information is being shared on class dojo, but do ask the class teacher if there is anything that isn’t clear.

Next month we will be holding our first set of individual parent meetings for all children. We will share the details of booking for those meetings in due course, but do please make sure you save the dates and book your appointment when you are able to. We offer two individual parent meetings per year for each child, and find them to be another useful way of making sure information is shared between home and school. In addition to those meetings, we also hold Share my Work sessions twice a year (in January and April/May) for all classes from Year 1 to Year 4. These sessions are a chance for parents to come in and look through their child’s work, together with the child, so that you can have a chat about the learning they have achieved.

For parents of the children in Reception, we will soon be holding an information session for you to explain about our phonics and early reading scheme, Read, Write, Inc. In addition to this, we offer several opportunities across the year for you to come in and take part in activities alongside your child.

Please keep looking out for the dates of the various meetings and events we offer to parents to come into school on the newsletter so that we can continue to work closely together.

05.09.2025

It is September again and that means a very warm welcome to all our new children and families, and a very warm welcome back to all our returning children and families! It has been so lovely to see everyone again this week, and to see how well and quickly the children are settling back in. The children have all been very smiley and excited whenever I have popped in to see them during the week and those who are in new classes are quickly getting used to the new routines. I am sure there will be plenty of tired children today after a week of being in school…and possibly one or two tired grown-ups too!

I am sure our Year 4 children will be especially tired, as they have had the delights of the residential visit to Hooke Court this week. The visit is three days and two nights and usually the overwhelmingly favourite memory when the children look back on their time at Trinity. During the visit the children take part in a range of different activities, which are pretty much all outside, weather permitting, and include things like den building and a night walk. The children love sharing a room with their friends and have lots of extra downtime with them too. The trip gives the children plenty of opportunities to demonstrate our school values, whether that is resilience at spending the night away from home for the first time, teamwork in the various tasks they take part in, kindness towards others who might be finding it more difficult, respect for each other and the adults around them, both school staff and the centre staff running the various activities or using their curiosity to ensure they make the most of their new surroundings and experiences. I am always grateful to the staff for being willing to give up their time (and the majority of two nights’ sleep!) to take the children and ensure they have the very best time.

Please remember I am always available to talk through any concerns you may have. Do feel free to catch me on the gate at the beginning or end of the day or get in touch with the office to arrange an appointment of a phone call.

18.07.2025

We have had such a lovely week to end the school year, with so many exciting events for the children across the school. There have been lots of visits to the amazing playground at Critchill, as well as two glorious plays, visits to the Forest School and a few picnics and parties. The children have had a lovely week, if a busy one, and it was beautiful to have the time to come together this morning as a whole school to celebrate our wonderful Year 4 children on their last day with us. Our Year 4 children have been a fantastic year group throughout their time at Trinity and we will definitely miss them as they move on. However, we know they will be amazing wherever they are going!

In addition to the children moving on, we are also saying farewell to some of our staff. Mrs Thompson, Mrs O’Connor, Mrs Paulsson, Mrs Robertson and Mrs Weaver are all moving on from Trinity as we come to the end of this term and we are very sorry to see them go. They have all made a fantastic contribution to the life of our school and will be much missed. We thank them for everything they have done for our children and families and wish them all the very best for their next adventures.

To all of the parents and grandparents who are leaving us today, thank you for the part you have played at Trinity. We are lucky to have such a brilliant and supportive community around us and you make an invaluable contribution to that. It has been a pleasure getting to know you all, as well as your children.

I hope you are all able to enjoy the next few weeks, hopefully with the chance to spend some quality time with your children. For those of you returning to us in September, I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday, September 2nd.

04.07.2025

It is that time in the school year when we are doing lots of things that traditionally mark the end of the school year, as well as preparing for the new year ahead. This afternoon your child will be bringing their end of year report home for you to read, so do please make sure you check for that in your child’s school bag. I really hope you will enjoy reading the report. I certainly enjoyed reading them all before I added my comments to them. If you have any questions or anything you wish to discuss with your child’s class teacher or with me, please come and have a chat. The children in Year 2 and Year 4 are very busy rehearsing for their end of year plays, and I am sure they will be very excited about performing to the school and also to parents. Thank you for all the support you give in sourcing and creating the amazing costumes. I can hear lots of singing as I sit in my office and I am really looking forward to seeing the performances.

On Wednesday we had our transition day, when all of the children changing classes or schools had the chance to spend some time in their new setting. Our new reception children came in beautifully and were looking extremely settled when I popped in to see them. I also went to visit our new Year 1 and Year 3 classes to see how they were getting on. It was lovely to see how excited the children were to be in their new classes, and how keen they were to make sure they made a positive impression. The children moving on to middle school have reported back that they had a great day at their new schools too. Changing schools or classes can be a big thing to do, and while some children are very excited about something new, others may feel a little nervous about it – and plenty of children may feel both nervous and excited at the same time. We make sure the children have plenty of opportunities to talk about anything they are concerned about. It is important that the children know we recognise their feelings as a valid response, but also that we remain positive and confident that they will manage the change as that helps them feel confident about it too. I know it is also a change for parents, especially when you have built up a good relationship with a teacher over two years. Do try and find the time to have a chat with your child’s new teacher. If you can’t make the informal drop in during the last week of term, do catch them at the beginning or end of the day as soon as you can in the new term.

27.06.2025

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond to the parent survey over the last week or so. It is good to have your feedback, both positive and negative. Obviously, I am pleased to see that the overwhelming majority of responses and comments are positive as we work very hard at Trinity to ensure the children have the very best level of education and care that we can provide. However, we know that we are not perfect and will do what we can to act upon the aspects of school life that some parents feel are not currently as good as they could be. Unfortunately, there will be some things that are beyond our control (where I can I will pass on your feedback on those matters), and we are also aware that we could introduce a change that some parents will feel is a definite improvement while other parents will feel it is very much a backwards step. On that basis, I cannot promise to change everything, but I can assure you that I have read every comment and will spend time considering what might be changed, and discussing this with senior staff and governors where appropriate. I would also like to assure you that I am always very happy to have a conversation with any parent who has a concern about any aspect of school life. I fully appreciate that the survey did not offer an option for responses to be anything other than anonymous, so I would like to make sure that you know as parents, that you are always welcome to make an appointment to come and have a chat or a phone call.

Three questions that caused more widespread concern relate to our status as a church school. These are questions that we are expected to ask as a church school, but I would like to reassure you that we know that many parents and staff have not chosen Trinity because of our church school status. Trinity is a church school, but not a faith school. As such we follow the same RE curriculum as community schools do, and our focus is very much on teaching children about different religions and what the people who follow those religions think and believe. During their time at Trinity, the children learn about Judaism, Hinduism and Humanism as well as Christianity and many of the children really enjoy finding out about different faiths in the same way as they enjoy learning about Greeks and Romans in history or Australia or Brazil in geography. Likewise, we are very clear that our vision and values are relevant to everyone, regardless of religion, and are designed to help guide the children to be the best that they can be, making a positive contribution to the world around them.

20.06.2025

It has been a very active week this week, with all of our sports days taking place, as well as a Year 4 dance festival and Year 3 Frome Olympics! We are very fortunate in Frome to have IG Sports to plan and organise lots of events like the dance festival and the Olympics, which involve children from lots of Frome schools and which give our children the chance to participate with others and at times to compete against others. I was lucky enough to catch the end of the dance festival this morning and it was so lovely to see the children performing on the stage in front of others. Throughout the year, there are lots of different sports and activities covered by the various festivals, along with opportunities to experience specialist coaching and venues, such as Liberty gym, so hopefully everyone gets the chance to find something they enjoy.

Mr Sing has been an absolute star this week, running a sports day every afternoon. Over the last few weeks, he has been teaching the children the skills they need to take part in the different races and events, and every day this week he has been on site early to make sure everything is set up and ready in time for the children, including putting up the gazebos to keep the children in the shade as they wait to take part in a race. Throughout the week, Mr Sing has led the events with his usual kindness, enthusiasm and humour, and every day has been a huge success. We know that not everyone loves to race, and sometimes racing in front of so many spectators can feel daunting, but equally sports day can be for some children the day of the year when they get to shine, and it is so important that they get their chance. Mr Sing has supported everyone this week, from the most energetic to the most reluctant, and always with a smile. he is a very special member of our team (even though he technically works for someone else!) and we are truly grateful to have him at Trinity.

Where the children’s views of the races may have been divided, I think they were all agreed that their ice lolly at the end of the afternoon was a real highlight; I have certainly seen lots of happy children going home at the end of their sports day thoroughly enjoying their lolly. These have kindly been provided for the children by Matt Snelgrove, of MP Snelgrove, so our thanks to him for that generous gesture. Our thanks also to Dan and Hayley Sandquest who have been clearing the supermarket freezers of their rocket lollies each day this week to make sure we always have enough.

12.06.2025

The children in Sunshine and Rainbow classes had the best day yesterday on their trip to Weymouth! Rainbow class travelled down to Weymouth on the train, while Sunshine travelled there by coach. We met on the beach, where the children were able to play games, build sandcastles and have a paddle in the sea – although we had to wait a little while for that to happen. We had no sooner arrived at the beach than we noticed one of the lifeguards making his way towards the sea with a red flag in his hands. There was a thick fret coming in quickly from out to sea, and pretty soon we could barely see the water! Happily, it cleared almost as quickly as it arrived and the children were soon able to go and dip their toes in the water. Mr Reid declared it wasn’t quite as cold as he was expecting it to be. Nearly all of the children chose to have a paddle, with some getting wetter than others. Happily they all had spare clothes to change into and a towel to dry themselves off.

Meanwhile, I deployed my recently acquired skill for hanging around an ice cream queue by assisting with the purchase of 55 children’s cones, and a few adult ones too. Although our plan was for the children to have their ice creams after they had played on the beach, we decided to swap while we waited for the fog to clear. The children stayed on the beach to eat their lunch, and the lifeguards came to talk to them about staying safe on the beach. While this was happening the adults worked hard to make sure the children’s food was as safe as  possible from seagull attacks. As anyone who has been to the beach recently may well know, this required constant supervision. Happily we only had to replace one ice cream due to seagull theft.

For the return journey, the children swapped, with Sunshine class travelling back by train. The children thoroughly enjoyed both journeys and were really excited about the whole trip. They were an absolute pleasure to take out for the day. Obviously, trips only happen because the teachers put in the time to plan and arrange them, so my grateful thanks go to the EYFS team who planned this trip meticulously. Once planned, trips only happen with lots of additional adult support, and we are really thankful for our brilliant support staff and the parents who all worked hard on the day to make sure the children had such a brilliant time. I hope this will be a day the children remember for a long time to come.

06.06.2025

This half term is always one of the busiest in the year, and we have certainly started as we mean to go on.

On Monday, the children in Sunshine and Rainbow had seaside themed workshops led by the Somerset Heritage Service. Today, the children have had safety workshops run by Platform Rail, ahead of their trip to Weymouth next week. The trip will be a celebration of the learning the children have been doing, not just about seaside holidays over time but also about travelling safely.

The Platform Rail staff are also visiting our Year 3 children today. Unfortunately, the children in Pine and Sycamore don’t have an exciting school trip on the train to look forward to (although I imagine they are all very excited about the residential in September!) so their workshops have a different focus – career options within the rail network.

On Tuesday, Willow class had an exciting trip to Frome College, where they had the opportunity to engage in a number of different science activities. The children thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to spend time in a real science lab. Year 4 children also had their first rehearsal for a singing festival they will be taking part in later this term.

All classes are very busy practising for their sports days with Mr Sing. Sports day is a highlight of the year for many children, and with Mr Sing as ‘Master of Ceremonies’ we know that all of the children will have a good time. We are looking forward to welcoming lots of parents and grandparents along to cheer the children on.

23.05.2025

First of all this week, a huge thank you to the FOTFS committee and all the volunteers who made the Colour Run so successful last Saturday. It is such a lovely event, and I always feel there is a real sense of our wider community as we have former pupils returning as well as family members taking part. I think the course gets better and better each year, and it is always fun to see which participants are covered in colour by the end of lap one, and who has managed to avoid it all. Wherever you are on that particular scale, I hope you enjoyed taking part.

In school this week, our children in years 1 and 2 spent the day on Wednesday creating some beautiful artwork that will feature in the ‘Discover the Future’ display in the Showerings Pavilion at the Bath and West Show next week. The teachers used the book, The Bluest of Blues by Fiona Robinson as their inspiration. This beautiful book is about the life and work of Anna Atkins, the first person to publish a book of photographs, in 1843. Anna was a dedicated botanist and photographer who also used cyanotypes to document her extensive collection of different seaweed types. The image created in a cyanotype is white, against a pure blue background and so the children’s work for the display is all created using blue and white. The children were able to experiment with lots of different styles of artwork, including printing, clay tiles and and their own versions of cyanotypes. They had an amazing day and their work looks stunning. Special thanks go to Miss Morris who organised the day, and who will be giving up her time during the half term holiday to put the work up on display and to take it down again. If you are going to the Show, do make the time to find their work on display!

 

16.05.2025

Hazel class had a really exciting trip out to Frome College this week, where they were able to take part in a variety of science activities. The children really enjoyed being able to use the specialist equipment in the science lab and having the chance to work with the College science teachers. Willow class will be making their visit after the half term break. Both visits are part of a special outreach programme designed to inspire and enthuse younger children about science.

Oak and Maple classes have been taken over today by a host of famous people! The children look amazing in their costumes and it is clear to see that lots of thought and effort has gone into creating them. This dressing up day is to celebrate the work the children have been doing this term, learning about a variety of famous people. It is lovely to see how that learning has inspired so many of the children’s costumes today.

In addition to those bits of news from the classrooms, I would really like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to you as parents and carers of Trinity children. Two members of staff are currently facing really challenging situations outside of school, which have led to them needing to take significant amounts of time away from school. The response from parents has been so brilliantly understanding and positive, and in both cases the parents immediately concerned have gone above and beyond to show their concern and empathy. The staff have been really touched by the kind, thoughtful and generous response from parents and it has completely reinforced my long-held belief that we have a very special community around us. I know very well from conversations with colleagues at other schools and from things I read about and hear in the press and on social media that not all school communities are as kind and caring as ours. Thank you for everything you do, however big or small, to make us feel valued and nurtured.

08.05.2025

It feels like we have packed a lot into our four day week! This week we have had Share my Work sessions for Hazel, Willow and Oak classes. All of the sessions over the last two weeks have been really well attended and we have been delighted to see so many parents, and some grandparents, coming in to see the children’s work. It is so important for the children to have the opportunity to talk about their work, and brilliant that they have such an appreciative audience!

On Tuesday morning our children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 had the treat of an author visit. Hunting Raven kindly arranged for Rachel Bright to come and read her new book to the children, which they absolutely loved. They have read and enjoyed previous books Rachel has written and were very excited to have a session with her. Rachel is also a brilliant illustrator and she showed the children how to draw a camel. The children had their sketchbooks in the hall with them and listened really carefully to Rachel and were able to produce some fantastic pictures.

Also on Tuesday morning, our children in Year 3 welcomed a visitor. Their visitor was from the Somerset Heritage Service and she led workshops on Ancient Egypt. This is the current history topic for the children in Pine and Sycamore. During the morning, the children had the chance to make Egyptian bread, to paint a scarab beetle and to take part in a mini excavation. They thoroughly enjoyed the session, although the bread was apparently a little dry and tasteless!

Wednesday morning saw Mr Reid and me taking the School Council to visit Frome Town Hall. A few weeks ago, Melody Hunter Evans came to visit the school council to talk to them about our school and the town and to find out what the children like about them, and what they would like to change. This is part of a town-wide engagement project the council is running to enable them to hear the views of children and young people. There is currently an exhibition at the Town Hall of the children’s responses, and the children were very excited to see their contribution. We also had a tour of the Town Hall and met a few of the staff who told the children about their roles.

Finally, we were really pleased to see so many parents and grandparents coming to join us on the playground yesterday to hear the children sing. The children have learned the song over the last week or so, and they sang beautifully. It was especially lovely to see the pride the children felt being able to perform to their audience, so thank you for making the time to come and join us.

01.05.2025

On Wednesday this week, several Year 4 children took part in a Frome schools football tournament at Selwood Academy. There was so much enthusiasm to take part that we were able to field three teams. The children all had a fantastic time and returned to school at the end of the morning very hot, but also extremely happy. All of the children were fantastic and behaved brilliantly throughout, making Mr Reid and Mrs Sandquest very proud. All three teams performed really well and I am delighted to say that one of our teams was the overall winner of the tournament, so no wonder the children were excited on their return! It is fair to say that the children have been training hard with Mr Sing in preparation for the tournament, and also that we have some very talented players. However, I am most proud of the way the children listened to, and acted upon, Mr Sing’s advice that they would need to work together and play as a whole team if they wanted to do well. Well done everyone, a great team effort!

Over the last few weeks, our Reception children have all had the chance to visit Greenhill Grange. The visits happen on Thursday mornings and we are very grateful to the Greenhill Grange staff who come to help us walk the children there and back. While they are there, the children engage in a variety of activities with the residents. This morning, the children took some musical instruments with them, and the visits often involve crafts and stories, as well as lots of chatting I am sure. The children absolutely love the visits, and they are always warmly welcomed. We know the residents at Greenhill Grange also value the children’s visits, and really enjoy their carefree enthusiasm. We have been told of one resident who was very reluctant to come out of their room, but who does come out when the children are there. I am sure that both our Trinity children and the Greenhill Grange residents benefit from this opportunity to feel part of a wider community, so we are really pleased to be able to make the visits happen.

25.04.2025

Every time I have been into Oak class this week, the children have asked me about a special delivery they have been expecting. They have managed to hide their disappointment at me arriving empty-handed fairly well, but it is fair to say they were thrilled that today when I was finally able to take them a parcel.

This has prompted me to tell you all about a different approach to help the children develop their reading skills that we have been working on over the last year. This sits alongside the excellent work the staff do with Read, Write, Inc and guided reading, and the great work parents do at home to support us too. It is based on the  ‘Just Reading’ trial led by the University of Sussex, initially for secondary students, which showed the children involved in the trial made rapid progress with their reading, with the results being most striking amongst the children whose reading levels were lower than average at the start of the trial.

Every day, time is set aside and the class teacher reads aloud to the children from a book that is ideally at a level above the ability of the best reader in the class. The children have a copy of the book between two and follow along as the story is read aloud. Each session begins with the teacher introducing 3-5 key pieces of vocabulary that the children will need to understand that part of the story, and one or two children giving a brief recap of the story so far. During the reading, the focus across the whole class on the story unfolding is magical.

Oak and Maple classes were our first participants, and remain very firm cheerleaders for the project. From this week, all classes from Year 1 to Year 4 are now taking part. In Years 1 and 2, ‘Just Reading’ is a daily activity, and for the children in Years 3 and 4 the classes alternate ‘Just Reading’ with their guided reading sessions each half term. Finding the right books can sometimes be a challenge (especially as we want to find a book the children haven’t come across before) and we are really grateful to Hunting Raven for their support in sourcing great stories with us. I think it is fair to say that the approach is thoroughly enriching the children’s reading experiences in school and the adults love it every bit as much as the children!