Online Safety - Making Friends Online
As technology becomes increasingly embedded in young people’s lives, it’s common for them to form friendships entirely online. These connections can provide companionship and community — but they also bring potential dangers that parents and educators need to be aware of. From online grooming and privacy breaches to exposure to upsetting content, meeting people on the internet isn’t without risk. This guide explains the possible hazards of online friendships and gives parents and educators essential advice on helping children build safe, positive relationships online.
Online Safety - Search Engines
Search engines are a routine part of everyday life, giving instant access to billions of web pages; however, this also increases the risk of children encountering harmful, untrustworthy, or illegal content. We’ve created this free guide – also available in podcast format – offering parents and educators quickfire information about the risks of search engines and practical steps that can be taken to safeguard children online.
Year 4 Easter Performance - Roll Back The Stone
Leading up to the Easter Service in church, Year 4 dedicated the last few weeks to rehearsing their dramatic portrayal of the Roll Back The Stone narrative.
Year 4- Purim
We studied the Jewish festival of Purim with Mrs Colyer and enjoyed acting out the story. It was great fun making our own masks as part of the festivities.
Year 4 Circuits
We were lucky enough to spend a bit of time with an athlete who competed for Great Britain in Tumbling, Gymnastics. After an assembly with her, each class got to take part in doing some exercises in a short circuit set with her. It was lots of fun, but we were very tired afterwards!
Year 4 Happy Holi
Year 4 learned all about the Hindu festival of colour; Holi and the story of how good overturns evil. We had a very bright afternoon!
Thank You for Joining Our First Reading Café!
Thank You for Joining Our First Reading Café! A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our very first Reading Café—it was such a lovely event! The children really enjoyed sharing stories and spending time reading with you. There was a wonderful buzz around the room as books were opened, imaginations sparked, and conversations flowed. It was a joy to see such enthusiasm for reading! We’re hoping to make this a regular event, and it would be fantastic to welcome even more of you next time. Keep an eye out for our summer term date—we’d love to see you there!
Sports for Champions Visit – Alisha Evanston (Tumbling)
We had an inspiring visit from professional tumbler Alisha Evanston as part of our Sports for Champions event! Alisha wowed the children with her amazing tumbling skills and even invited some brave volunteers—including a few teachers—for a fun handstand competition. She shared her journey as an athlete, showing videos of her performances, answering thoughtful questions from the children, and proudly showing her medals. The session was full of energy and excitement, and the children left feeling motivated and inspired to follow their own dreams. A huge thank you to Alisha for such a memorable experience!
Easyfundraising
We’ve registered Darwen St James CE Primary Academy with #easyfundraising, which means over 8,000 retailers will now donate to us for FREE every time you use #easyfundraising to shop with them. These donations will help SO MUCH, so please sign up to support us – it’s completely FREE and doesn’t take long. https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/support-a-good-cause/step-1/?char=379393&invite=6po80d&referral-campaign=c2s&utm_campaign=web-referral
Online Safety - Instagram
Instagram remains a go-to app for teens, with its endless stream of photos, videos, and ‘Stories’ keeping young users constantly connected. From influencer content to live broadcasts, the platform is packed with evolving features that can feel fun and engaging – but can also raise some serious concerns around screen time, online pressures and exposure to inappropriate content. We’ve created this free guide – also available in podcast format – offering parents and educators up-to-date knowledge on the risks and safety tips for this latest version of Instagram.
Year 4 - English - Group Reading
Year 4 have been completing some group reading activities in English this week. We have worked together to identify similar features across a variety of texts and to create success criteria in preparation for our own writing of an informative text. We've even managed to find answers to questions from these texts and create questions for each other to answer!
Year 4 - Science - Electricity
Year 4 have been looking at electricity as part of our Science topic these past few weeks. We have become rather skilled at identifying the different components needed to create a circuit and can troubleshoot issues that may make a bulb not work. This week we have looked at insulators and conductors and were able to put our predictions to the test in our practical activity, where we were able to test our ideas out!
.png)


