Year 5 tested out the mummification instructions they wrote during their English lessons to mummify dolls and action figures. They also discussed the importance of tombs and how Ancient Egyptians entered the Afterlife. No actions figures were harmed in the process!

Take a look at the photos to see what they got up to...

I wanted to share this photo of Riley and his sister who were both out this morning before school litter picking the paths around the back entrance to our school. They managed to fill over half of the bin bag with rubbish. As a result, the surrounding paths and bushes look much cleaner and safer for local wildlife. We are proud of you all. Thank you!

Today the whole school has taken part in Safer Internet Day 2020, a nationwide campaign to encourage safe and informed use of the internet. This year the theme was all about our online identity, what is safe to share and what is not.  Throughout the day our children have been doing various activities to develop their understanding of their digital footprint, the permanence of things shared online and what is appropriate to share online. 

Previously a copy of the publication 'Digital Parenting' has been issued to all children in school however in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly this is now accessible online.  Please follow the link to receive all of the same content but in the online format. 

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile/digital-parenting

Furthermore, to support you in encouraging safe use of the internet at home here are some top tips. 

10 tips to stay safe online

Not sure what advice to give your child? These pointers have got you covered.

1. You should only talk to people you know and trust in real life – anyone can pretend to be a child online

2. If you do talk to people you don’t know, don’t give away personal information – like what street you live on or where you go to school, or share your location with them. Say no to any requests they send you for images or videos of yourself, and stop talking to them

3. Set your profiles to private, to limit what others can see

4. Be ‘share aware’ – think carefully about what you share and with who. Once it’s out there, you’ve got no control over what the other person does with it. Remember, it’s illegal to take, share or view sexual images of under-18s, full stop

5. Be mindful of your digital footprint. What you post online now could come back to bite you later, like when applying for jobs, college or university

6. If you see something upsetting, or someone bullies you, tell an adult you trust

7. Be aware that people will try to make their lives look more exciting online. There’s a lot people can do with photo editing to make their photos look better. So don’t assume everything you see is a true to life representation

8. Watch out for hoaxes and scams, like messages you’re meant to forward on or that ask you for payment details or your password

9. Take any content that glamorises gang lifestyles with a very large pinch of salt – it’s not as glamorous as it looks. Be wary of schemes promising easy cash for receiving and transferring money too, they’re almost definitely criminal activity

10. Watch out for loot boxes or other parts of games where you pay money to take a chance on getting a reward – you can get sucked into spending lots of money on them

Don’t feel confident starting a conversation with your child about what they’re up to online? Read this advice from the NSPCC: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/onlinesafety/talking-child-online-safety 

Further information:

This factsheet was produced by Safeguarding Training Centre from The Key: www.thekeysupport.com/safeguarding

‘Ban kids from loot box gambling in games’, BBC News, 12 September 2019 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49661870

‘Rescue and Response county lines project: strategic assessment 2019, Greater London Authority https://www.london.gov.uk/mopac-publications/rescue-and-response-pan-london-county-lines-service 

Home, Money Mules https://moneymules.co.uk/ 

Share Aware resources for schools and teachers, NSPCC Learning (scroll down to the parent’s leaflet in the grey box) https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/schools/share-aware-teaching/  Sexting in schools and colleges, UK Council for Internet Safety https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexting-in-schools-and-colleges

Kind regards

Miss Grove

Yesterday afternoon, Great Binfields had a visit from James Ketchell - serial adventurer. James has climbed Everest, rowed the Atlanctic Ocean and cycled around the world. He has also travelled the world in a Gyrocopter. James regularly speaks in schools and huge events around the world, motivating children and adults to be brave and follow their dreams. He grew up in Basingstoke (and was even taught by our very own Miss Rendall once upon a time) so it was particularly significant him coming in to speak to our children in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5. Here is a link to his website if you want to read more about him http://jamesketchell.net/.

He spoke about his journey climbing Everest, highlighting how this wasn't a straight forward effort and took team work, determination and resilience. He also told us about the many obstacles he faced along the way, including a very severe motor cycling accident beforehand which left him in hospital, with people telling him he would never be able to follow his dreams again. His journey to recovery and further adventure certainly was inspiring and the children's faces throughout the talk showed how absorbed by this they were. 

James emphasised that he wasn't there to inspire children to do the things he has done, but rather to follow their own dream. He bought a friend along with him from The Basingstoke Observer (keep any eye out for us in the paper!) and pointed out how she had honed her skills, worked hard and followed her own dream. Two stand out points for us at Great Binfields were to not let anyone crush your dream and to not underestimate the power of kindness. Everything James spoke about linked so incredibly well to our ethos of hard work, Growth Mindset attitudes and kindness to all and we are proud that the children in our school live out these values every day.

This week we have our Hopes and Goals Love of day - we don't think we could have set this off in any better way!