With half-term approaching you may be considering taking your child/children on a farm visit.

All animals naturally carry a range of bugs, some of which can be transmitted to humans, where they can cause ill health. Some of these, such as E. coli O157 or Cryptosporidium (Crypto), have the potential to cause serious illness which may be particularly severe in young children.  We see many cases of Crypto each year in the Health Protection Hub, particularly among children, and it’s a miserable experience for them and their parents.

Follow these practical steps to help keep your child safe and healthy:

• avoid touching faces or putting fingers in mouths while in farm environments
• don’t kiss farm animals or allow children to put their faces close to animals
• wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching animals, fences or other surfaces in animal areas
• don’t eat or drink while touching animals or walking round the farm and only eat and drink in picnic areas or cafes
• wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating or drinking
• remove and clean boots or shoes that might have become soiled and clean pushchair wheels, then wash hands thoroughly with soap and water
• don’t use gels or wipes instead of washing hands with soap and water – gels and wipes don’t remove E. coli O157 or Crypto
• supervise children closely to make sure they wash their hands thoroughly

• if someone in the family has diarrhoea or vomiting after visiting a farm or animal visitor attraction, wash all dirty clothes, bedding and towels in the washing machine on the hottest wash cycle possible. Encourage good hand hygiene after using the toilet, washing hands thoroughly with soap and running water. Clean toilet seats, toilet bowls, flush handles, taps, hand basins and any other areas that might have been soiled with detergent and hot water, rinsing with household disinfectant.  Visit the doctor and explain that they have had recent contact with animals.  Please also contact the attraction you visited and inform them of the illness

 Health Protection Hub, February 2026

Safer Internet Day 2026 will take place next Tuesday (10 February), with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI’. Everyone’s talking about AI, and with many children and young people hearing about and using AI online, it’s important they have the skills and confidence to make safe choices when they are using smart technology.

This Safer Internet Day we are exploring the impact of AI on all of our lives, looking at how AI can be used for good, and giving advice and guidance that empowers people to use AI safely and responsibly

Next Friday (13 February) we are celebrating NSPCC’s Number Day, we are asking children to take up the challenge and ‘Dress up for Digits’ to raise money for the NSPCC.

Children simply wear an item of clothing with a number on it and donate (£1.00 suggested donation). This could be a favourite sports top or cap, or why not get more creative and design a unique t-shirt, hat or even become a human-sized calculator or dice!

Children will then be taking part in a full day of fun maths activities and games in class. If the children have a game that involves numbers (snakes and ladders, monopoly, etc) they are welcome to bring them in to play in the afternoon.

We hope to have lots of fun and raise money for the charity too.

We are looking to enrich our playground loose parts area to better support gross motor and imaginative play during playtimes. We would greatly appreciate donations of safe, durable items such as crates, small tyres, planks, pipes, or similar open-ended materials that children can move, build, and create with.

If you have any suitable resources you are willing to donate, please send them in or speak with a staff member. Thank you for supporting our play-based learning environment.

Join us for the Friends’ School Disco! 🎶🕺💃

Thursday 12th February

• Key Stage 1: 3:00–4:00pm
• Key Stage 2: 4:00–5:00pm

Entry: £2 per child

We’ll also have a fully stocked tuck shop where children can buy drinks and snacks.