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Newsletter 8 – 19th October 2026
Knowledge begins with respect for God (Proverbs 1:7)
This half-term’s value is ‘Generosity’ (2 Corinthians 9:6-11)
Harvest Assembly – Thank you!
A big thank you to everyone who sent in donations of food for our Harvest Festival service last week. Blackburn Foodbank were delighted to receive so many tins of fruit – this, along with the food collected by other local schools, will all go to help families in need in Blackburn.
Thanks also go to the Kestrels’ class for their amazing Harvest Festival assembly and to the parents and carers who came along to support the children.
Walking to School
Walking to school is great exercise and reduces congestion and pollution. It helps children to have a healthy start and end to their school day.
We are working with Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Living Streets to try to make walking to school safer and more enjoyable for everyone. They would like to find out your ideas about improvements that could be made, for example, traffic calming measures such as speed bumps, dropped kerbs for buggies and wheelchairs, crossing points, signs, lower speed limits etc.
They would like parents and carers to answer some questions in a short online survey, which should take less than five minutes to complete. The survey is available in English and Urdu and can be found here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StMatthewsCE
We have a better chance of accessing funding from the council to make some valuable improvements if a lot of parents and carers complete the survey. If you would like a paper copy, please let the office know.
Half Term Break
School closes at 3.00pm this Friday, 23rd October for the half term break and re-opens at 8.20am on Monday 2nd November (with Breakfast Club from 7.45am). I hope you have a lovely week with your children.
Swimming
The children have thoroughly enjoyed their swimming lessons in our outdoor portable swimming pool! The pool will be with us for the rest of the week and will be dismantled during the half term holiday next week.
Swimming is an inexpensive but fun way to keep fit and healthy as well as an important life skill which could save your child’s life. Now that they have had a taste of swimming, many of the children would like to go swimming on a regular basis.
Free Tennis Coaching
Looking for a fun activity this half term? Join us for a free junior tennis session packed with games, activities and plenty of smiles!
Ages: 5–10 years' Time: 10:00–11:00am Date: Monday 26th October Location: Corporation Park
No experience is needed, and all equipment is provided—just bring comfortable clothes, trainers and lots of energy!
Places are be limited, so book your child’s free place today: https://clubspark.lta.org.uk/CorporationPark/EventsV2/Book/5e855793-fb13-4e27-ab6d-4cad1d798dd7
Robins’ Class Stay and Play
Parents and carers of children in our Robins’ class are invited to the next stay and play session which will be taking place this Wednesday, 21st October, from 2.00 – 3.00pm.
Summer Reading Challenge
Congratulations to the following children for completing Blackburn Library’s Summer Reading Challenge:
Ayra Kayani, Hira Kayani, Yusuf Kayani, Zaheera Satia, Zoya Satia (x3), Zeynah Satia (x3), Abu-Bakr Siddiq, Aamirah Karolia, Sima Khaled & Yusuf Mangera
Attached to this newsletter:
- Information from East Lancashire Young People’s Mental Health team
Information about activities taking place in the Family Hubs and Children’s Centres during the half term break
Best wishes
Julian Rogers
Headteacher