Nancealverne School Parent Portal - Newsletter 16/10/2026

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Dear parents, carers and families,

A Wonderful Autumn at Nancealverne!

As the weather turns cooler and the days grow shorter, autumn has well and truly arrived at Nancealverne! Our classrooms and corridors have been filled with the sights, sounds and delicious smells of the season. Pupils have been getting creative with some fantastic autumn-inspired art projects using crunchy leaves and natural materials, while the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and freshly made apple crumble has been drifting through the school. What a lovely way to celebrate the season!

We are also delighted that our hydro pool is fully back in use! Pupils have been enjoying the warmth of the pool for swimming lessons and therapeutic activities, providing valuable opportunities to develop confidence, movement and wellbeing.

There has been plenty of exciting learning happening across the school, too. Our Key Stage 2 pupils have been exploring emotions and feelings, developing their understanding of themselves and others. Key Stage 3 have been busy getting entrepreneurial with some fantastic pizza and coffee enterprise projects, building practical skills, teamwork and independence.

Meanwhile, our Upper School pupils have been embracing a range of exciting activities as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award preparations. From team-building challenges and litter picking to engaging sensory activities, pupils have been developing their resilience, collaboration and independence while making a positive contribution to their community.

And, of course, what better way to round off such a busy few weeks than with our end of term discos! There has been plenty of dancing, fun and celebration to bring the half-term to a spooktacular close!

It has been a wonderfully busy and enriching few weeks, full of creativity, achievement, new experiences and opportunities for our pupils to shine.

We hope all our pupils, families and staff enjoy a relaxing and well-deserved two-week half-term break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back for the exciting countdown to Christmas!

Jodie Phillips

Deputy Headteacher

Cherries Class:

We have been exploring the changing season in Cherries class; painting with leaves and autumnal colours, baking apple crumble and exploring the autumn sensory tray!

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Olives Class:

What a brilliant start to the year we have had in Olives! We have been celebrating some wonderful moments, including squeals of excitement and energetic splashing in the swimming pool to huge smiles and anticipation as the trampoline sprung into action during rebound therapy! Our adventures have inspired some fabulous autumnal and spooky artwork, with little hands exploring crunchy leaves, squelchy paint and new textures. However, our proudest moments have been seeing the children grow in confidence, express their preferences and discover just how much they can do. Every smile, choice and new achievement is worth celebrating and we couldn’t be prouder of our amazing Olives!

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Chestnuts Class:

This week, we’ve been reading A Bag Full of Worries and creating our very own worry monsters! We’ve also been practising our part-part-whole skills in maths and continuing to learn and practise our new phonics sound: X. Well done, everyone!

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Elm Class:

This week, Elm Class have been busy completing an exciting Design and Technology (DT) project!

The children began by planning a meal, carefully considering the different food groups, nutritional value and dietary requirements. They then put their budgeting skills to the test by working out the cost of their shopping and creating shopping lists.

Next, we headed to Tesco to purchase our ingredients before returning to school to put our plans into action and make our very own delicious pizzas!

Elm Class worked incredibly hard throughout the project, demonstrating fantastic independence, teamwork and practical life skills. We are so proud of their efforts and all they have achieved! Well done, Elm Class!

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Aspen Class:

In Aspen this half-term we have been studying Superheroes, Number in maths and 'ourselves' and our emotions in PHSE. We are enjoying the warm weather and doing as much outdoor learning as we can – from litter picking for D of E, to planting, team building exercises and collaborative sensory activities.

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Monday 19th October: Half term (two weeks)

Monday 2nd of November: Students return to school.

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If your child is absent from school without authorisation, you will be committing an offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid after this but within 28 days.

If your child is further absent from school without authorisation within any 3-year period, you will be committing a further offence under the Education Act 1996. We may submit a request to Cornwall Council for a Penalty Notice to be issued, in accordance with Sections 444A and 444B of the said Act. Penalty Notices for a second offence are issued per liable parent, per child and each carry a fine of £160, payable within 28 days.

Importantly, fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action such as a parenting order or prosecution will be considered.

Failure to pay the Penalty Notice may also result in legal action. If you are prosecuted and attend court because your child has not been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500. Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs.

Absence not authorised by the school may also result in a prosecution in the Magistrates’ Court under Section 444(1) or Section 444(1A) of the Education Act 1996, leading to a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a custodial sentence. Again, Cornwall Council may also apply for the costs incurred in taking the matter to Court, including legal costs.

Money raised from fines is only used by the local authority to cover the costs of administering the system, and to fund attendance support. Any extra money is returned to the government.

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