2025 Autumn #7

Thank You for a Successful Parents’ Evening

A huge thank you to all our parents and carers who attended Parents’ Evening this week. It was a great success and a wonderful opportunity for teachers to share how well the children have settled into their new classes, celebrate the progress they have already made, and discuss their learning focus for the term ahead.

We greatly value the continued support of our parents in helping children with their learning at home – it truly makes a difference.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the Family Hubs team for attending and providing valuable information to families about the Telford and Wrekin offer. Mrs Ricks, our pastoral support leader in school, links closely with these services and families.  A thank you also to Reverend Okeke for his support during the evening and for sharing information about the church and the services available to our community.

Thank you all for being such an important part of our school community.

Celebrating Diversity and Inspiration

As part of Black History Month, our focus this week in collective worship was on Jamaica. Children learned about inspirational figures such as Usain Bolt, Mary Seacole, and Bob Marley, whose achievements continue to influence and inspire people around the world today.

During our Tuesday Collective Worship, children also learnt about Ellie Goldstein, the first woman with Down’s syndrome to take part in Strictly Come Dancing. Her story sparked a wonderful discussion about inclusion and achievement. One Year 6 pupil commented that “She has been an inspiration to all girls, especially those with Down’s syndrome, who can see that they can achieve something like this.” A truly powerful reminder that everyone can shine and make a difference.

Breakfast Club Creativity

Our Breakfast Club has been full of creativity and fun this week! After enjoying a healthy breakfast to start the day, children have been busy making beautiful dreamcatchers, showing great focus and imagination. There’s also been some fantastic Lego building going on – it’s been wonderful to see such creativity and teamwork in the mornings.

Stay and Play Sessions for Prospective Families

We’re excited to be holding a series of Stay and Play sessions for families with children who will be starting school in September 2026. These sessions are a lovely opportunity for children to explore our Early Years environment and for parents to meet our team and see what makes our school such a special place to learn.

If you or someone you know has a child who will be looking for a Reception place in 2026, please contact the school office to book a place. We’d also really appreciate it if you could share our flyer with any families who might be interested – word of mouth from our wonderful school community makes such a difference!

Friends News

Friends of Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge School are happy to share some exciting upcoming events!

Quiz Night – Friday 21November 2025.

Adults Only Quiz Night! Join us for an evening of fun and friendly competition on Friday 21 November 2025 in the school hall.

Doors open at 6:30pm, with the quiz kicking off at 7pm sharp! Enjoy great company, food, and drinks — all available to pre-order online along with your tickets. Every penny raised will help fund the refurbishment of our school library, so come along, test your knowledge, and support a fantastic cause! Keep an eye out on our signs on the playground for further information!

Christmas Fair – Friday 12 December 2025

🎄 School Christmas Fair! Get into the festive spirit at our Christmas Fair on Friday 12 December, starting at 3:30pm! Enjoy an afternoon full of seasonal cheer with stalls, a hamper raffle, children’s raffle, and plenty more festive fun for the whole family. Come along, join in the celebrations, and help make this a magical start to the Christmas season! Keep an eye out on our signs on the playground for further information 🎄

Important Safeguarding Notice: Children’s “Spy Dog / Spy Pup / Spy Cat” Books

We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children’s books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series.

Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author’s website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content.

The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher.

What this means for you:

• If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site.
• It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves — the concern is only with the outdated link.
• We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first.

Important Safeguarding Notice: Online safety guides for users of Minecraft

Minecraft Child Safety Settings

Minecraft itself doesn’t have a big built-in “parental control” menu but depending on how your child plays (Java Edition, Bedrock/Windows, or console), you can manage what they can do through a mix of Microsoft account family settings, platform parental controls, and server/world settings.

Bedrock Edition (Windows, iOS, Android, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch)

• Microsoft Family Safety
• Log into your child’s Microsoft account via family.microsoft.com.
• You can set:
  • Screen time limits.
  • Spending limits (requires adult approval for purchases).
  • Restrictions on joining multiplayer/Realms.
  • Restrictions on adding friends.

Xbox/Console Parental Controls

• Each console (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch) has its own parental settings that allow you to:
• Restrict online play.
• Control voice/text chat.
• Block joining servers or Realms.
• Limit age-rated content.

Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Java doesn’t have built-in parental settings, so you’ll need to manage through:

• Server settings: If your child plays on your own hosted server, you can whitelist who’s allowed to join, disable chat, or use plugins/mods to filter messages.
• Launcher account: Java Edition is tied to a Microsoft account now, so you can still apply Microsoft Family Safety rules (e.g. screen time, purchase approval).
• Chat reporting: Mojang added reporting and chat filters—strong language and personal info can be filtered automatically if enabled in account settings.

General Safety Options

• Mute Chat / Toggle Chat (both editions): You can turn chat off in settings to stop interaction with strangers.
• Realms vs Servers: Realms are invite-only (safer). Public servers often have less control over content and players.
• Resource Packs / Add-ons: Keep an eye on downloads; use only trusted sources (Marketplace or well-known modding sites).
• Play Together Locally: On consoles or LAN, kids can play with just friends/family without internet strangers.

Important Safeguarding Notice: Online safety guides for users of Roblox

ROBLOX Child Safety Settings

To set up parental controls on Roblox and ensure your child has a safe and age-appropriate experience, follow these steps:

Step 1: Link Your Parent Account

1. Log into your child’s Roblox account (Has to be a child’s D.O.B).
2. Navigate to Settings (gear icon).
3. Select Parental Controls.
4. Click Add Parent Account.
5. Follow the prompts to create or link your parent account.

Step 2: Set Up Parental Controls

Once your parent account is linked, you can manage various settings:

1. Communication Settings

• Go to Parental Controls > Communication.
• Adjust who can chat with your child in experiences and via direct messages. Options include:
  • Everyone
  • Friends
  • No one
• For users under 13, default settings are more restrictive.

2. Content Restrictions

• Navigate to Parental Controls > Content Restrictions.
• Set the Content Maturity level appropriate for your child: o Minimal
  • Mild
  • Moderate
  • Restricted
• You can also block specific experiences by adding them to the Blocked Experiences

3. Friends Management

• In Parental Controls, scroll to Friends and select Manage.
• View your child’s friends list, and block or report users as necessary.

4. Spending Controls

• Under Parental Controls, go to Spending Restrictions.
• Set a monthly spending limit for Robux and subscriptions.
• Choose to receive notifications for every transaction or only for high spending thresholds.

5. Screen Time Management

• Access Parental Controls > Screen Time.
• Set daily time limits for your child’s Roblox usage.
• View the top 20 experiences your child has played in the past week

News from the parish: family service at St Luke’s this Sunday

Children and families are warmly invited to a family service at St Luke’s in Ironbridge, this Sunday 12th October. The service will start at 11am and finish at noon, with refreshments.

It is Prisons Sunday, when we will be thinking and praying about people who are in prison, the people who work with them and the families and friends who miss them.

The main reading that is the focus for our children’s activity is from Paul’s letter to Timothy, in which he says:

“But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.”

The children will be decorating cut outs of locks, at the red tables in church.

These represent the constant love of children who cannot see their loved ones at the moment, for whatever reason, and who carry their love for them in locks or lockets.

Children will then be able to tie these with ribbon to make a necklace.

The locks or lockets also represent the love of God, because God has unlocked the chains around us, whether physical or metaphorical, with his love.

Hymns

573 Praise to the Lord

29 Amazing Grace how sweet the sound

19 All my hope on God is founded

413 Lord of all hopefulness

Children are welcome to either sit at the red tables, or sit with their families in pews.

We hope to see children and their families there, and to share our refreshments after the service has finished.

Moments Matter – Attendance Counts

Highest class attendance for week ending 3 October:  Year 4

Most improved class attendance from the previous week:  Year 1

Community News – Coalbrookdale Halloween Trail

Community News – Chetwynd Deer Park 5km Fun Run & Autumn Walk