Weekly Bulletin:Friday 9th January 2026
Headteacher’s message to parents/carers
Dear Parents/Carers,
Happy New Year and welcome back to school for 2026. We’ve certainly had an icy blast to start the year, with conditions on Wednesday in particular being extremely challenging for us all. Thank you for your support in getting children into school each day this week – it’s been such a pleasure to see children settling back in to their normal routines in school after battling through the elements outside!
As usual at the start of each term, we’re sharing our Topic Newsletters today, which will be emailed home and available on our website at Tunbury Primary School - Year groups. Also, we will also be emailing home the data information report for the end of Term 2. This is a simple way of involving you in your child’s education by sharing our current attainment information for each child. We hope that it is useful for you, as part of our regular home/school partnership and Team Tunbury teamwork.
Finally for today, just a reminder for any families with children starting school in September 2026: the deadline for applications for a Reception place is next week, for both Kent and Medway residents. Please complete your online applications if you have not already done so. Further details on how to do this are in the notices section below.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Best wishes
Ruth Austin
Headteacher
Notices
Admissions for children starting school in September 2026: Have you missed our Autumn tours and meetings? Don’t worry, there is still time for a last-minute visit. Please contact us at school to arrange this or if you have any questions. Remember that the deadline for applications is next week, Thursday 15th January.
Tunbury welcomes children from both Kent and Medway addresses. All applications for school places should be made via your ‘home’ local authority.
- Kent residents apply at www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places
- Medway residents apply at www.medway.gov.uk/admissions For Medway residents, you just need to select ‘advanced search’ during the application process to find Tunbury in the list of schools.
Severe weather planning: We always try to remain open in periods of snow or severe weather, if it is safe to do so. As mentioned in our email home on Wednesday afternoon, we review conditions and arrangements each day, adjusting accordingly. After reviewing Wednesday morning’s entry to school, next time we will email you in advance if we have to adjust gate entry arrangements, so that you know this before you arrive at school, along with any other key messages or adjustments.
If we did close due to severe weather, parents/carers would be informed via email, so please ensure that we do have your correct email addresses. As well as this, we use the Kent Closures website (www.kentclosures.co.uk), where you can also register to receive free email alerts.
Emails/alerts are sent as soon as possible after a decision has been made, although exact timings cannot be guaranteed as this depends on site conditions and the completion of an early morning risk assessment by the Headteacher and Site Manager. This information is also published on our website: www.tunbury.kent.sch.uk/Parents/Severe-Weather/
Afterschool clubs: Details of our Term 3 and 4 afterschool clubs were emailed to parents earlier this week. Bookings will open today, Friday 9th January at 3:30pm. Clubs start next week from Monday 12th January.
Online Safety podcasts: Last term, pupils in Years 5 and 6 learned valuable ways to keep themselves safe online during an engaging assembly led by Mark from Kent Police. Following this, some of our Year 6 pupils created podcasts to share what they had learned. Please listen to their podcasts here or from our facebook page:
Podcast 1
Podcast 2
Podcast 3
Podcast 4
Podcast 5
Weekly Class Attendance: This is a weekly feature on our bulletin to highlight and celebrate good levels of attendance. Our KS1 class winners are Owls class, with an amazing 100% attendance. Great work from Owls class! Our KS2 winners are Indigo and Emerald class with another brilliant 100%. Keep up the good work everyone!
|
Class |
Weekly Attendance Percentage |
|
Indigo |
☆100%☆ |
|
Owls |
☆100%☆ |
|
Emerald |
☆100%☆ |
|
Blue |
98.89% |
|
Lavender |
98.41% |
|
Red |
97.78% |
|
Ruby |
97.44% |
|
Pink |
97.22% |
|
Scarlet |
96.83% |
|
Bears |
96.15% |
|
Crimson |
95.83% |
|
Turquoise |
94.44% |
|
Amber |
94.23% |
|
Sapphire |
93.75% |
|
Azure |
93.59% |
|
Yellow |
93.52% |
|
Violet |
93.01% |
|
Magenta |
92.86% |
|
Lilac |
90.28% |
Tunbury Primary School Facebook: This week on Facebook, we’ve posted about our Kent Police workshop. Our Year 5 and 6 pupils took part in an engaging assembly about online safety and even recorded their own podcast clips. Please take a look at Tunbury Primary School | Chatham | Facebookand follow us to keep up to date with all things Team Tunbury.
Team Points: Our first total for the new term will be in next week’s bulletin.
Dates for your Diary
Term dates for 2025/26: www.tunbury.kent.sch.uk/Parents/Term-Dates-25-26/
Term 3
Tuesday 13th January - Swimming lessons start, Year4, Lilac Class
Wednesday 21st January – NHS Vision Screening Year R
Wednesday 21st January - Young Voices @ the O2
Friday 6th February - Number Day
Friday 6th February – Bingo Night (TSA)
Tuesday 10th February - Safer Internet Day
Tuesday 10th February - Spring Parent Consultation (3.30 – 6.30)
Thursday 12th February – Year 2 visit to Dockside
Thursday 12th February - Spring Parent Consultation (3.30 – 6.30)
Friday 13th February – Last Day of Term 2
Thursday 19th February - Strive February Half Term Club
Term 4
Monday 23rd February - INSET Day - School Closed for pupils
Tuesday 24th February – First Day of Term 4
Monday 2nd – Friday 6th March - Book Week
Monday 2nd March - Reception Open Afternoon
Tuesday 3rd March - Y1/2 Open Afternoon
Wednesday 4th March - Y3/4 Open Afternoon
Thursday 5th March - World Book Day
Friday 6th March - Y5/6 Open Afternoon
Tuesday 10th, Wednesday 11th, Thursday 12th March – Gifts for Her Present Room (TSA)
Friday 13th March - Science Day
Thursday 26th March – School Disco (TSA)
Thursday 2nd April - Last Day of Term 4
Term 5
Monday 20th April – First day of Term 5
Tuesday 21st April – NHS Vision Screening Year R
Tuesday 28th April – Swimming lessons start, Year 4, Scarlet Class
Monday 4th May - BANK HOLIDAY, School Closed
Monday 11th – Thursday 14th May - KS2 (Y6) SATs Week
Friday 15th May – Colour Run (TSA)
Thursday 21st May – Tunbury’s Got Talent (TSA)
Friday 22nd May – Last Day of Term 5
Term 6
Monday 1st June - INSET DAY – School Closed for pupils
Tuesday 2nd June – First Day of Term 6
Tuesday 2nd – Friday 5th June - STEAM Week
Tuesday 16th, Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th June – Gifts for Him Present Room (TSA)
Friday 26th June - Sports Day
Friday 3rd July - Reserve Sports Day
Friday 10th July - End of Year Reports sent home
Saturday 11th July - TSA GlasTunbury
Friday 17th July – Dare to be Different Day (TSA)
Friday 17th July – Year 6 Prom
Tuesday 21st July - July end of term/ academic year
Class Assemblies
Class assemblies will be held in the school hall on Friday afternoons. Parents/carers and family members from each class are warmly invited to join us in school for these events, as our children love to share their learning with you. Please come to the front of the school and wait outside the hall entrance doors. You will be invited in at just before 2.50pm. The assembly will begin at 2.50pm and last for about 10 minutes, finishing in time for you to collect your children at the end of the school day, as normal.
Friday 16th January - Lilac Class Assembly
Friday 23rd January - Indigo Class Assembly
Friday 30th January - Pink Class Assembly
Friday 6th February - Emerald Class Assembly
Friday 13th February – Scarlet Class Assembly
Friday 27th February – Violet Class Assembly
Friday 13th March - Lavender Class Assembly
Friday 20th March - Azure Class Assembly
Friday 27th March - Red Class Assembly
Friday 24th April - Ruby Class Assembly
Friday 1st May – Sapphire Class Assembly
Friday 8th May - Blue Class Assembly
Friday 22nd May - Yellow Class Assembly
Friday 12th June – Magenta Class Assembly
Friday 19th June – Bears Class Assembly
Friday 3rd July – Owls Class Assembly
