School Newsletter : 28 April 2023

We are excited to confirm that we will be offering 2-year old provision from September 2023.

If you would like to reserve a space for September 2023, please collect an application pack from the school office as soon as possible and return this, along with your deposit, to secure your place.

Please note that places are limited and we’ve already had a strong response from in-school families. School families have a week to sign up before the offer for places is advertised more widely across the borough.

If you know of friends or family currently on a waiting list for a 2-year old place but who are not attending our school, please ask them to make contact with the school.

Change can be challenging and as we look ahead to the final weeks at Burdett-Coutts for our Year 6 pupils, it’s understandable that there are mixed feelings of excitement as well as nervousness.

To help, we are hosting a parent coffee morning workshop for all Year 6 parents and carers to discuss everything related to ensuring a smooth transition to secondary school. This coffee morning will be in addition to a whole-class workshop and four smaller group sessions for the pupils.

The coffee morning will be on Thursday 15 June @ 9:00-10:00 in school. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, raise any concerns about managing your child’s worries and the best tips for a smooth secondary school transition.

To celebrate the upcoming coronation of King Charles III, we will be having a special Coronation Lunch on Thursday 4 May.

This will be followed by traditional playground games and high tea in the afternoon.

Pupils are invited to come to school dressed in their most regal and royal fancy dress costumes on this day, or possibly dressed as a knight,  squire or jester.

Let your imaginations go – we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

School Meals

If you would like your child to move from bringing a packed lunch to having a school meal, you must inform the office at least a week in advance of this change being made. Kindly note pupils are not allowed to alternate between having packed lunches and/or school meals on a daily or weekly basis. If you have any questions, please contact Ms Baker in the school office.

Teacher Strike

The National Education Union (NEU) is taking further industrial action on Tuesday 2nd May. As a result of this action, Year 5 will be closed on this day. On this day, Year 5 pupils will find work in their Google Classroom to complete from home.

Brigade Uniform: 10% off online orders

For 2 days only, Brigade Uniform are pleased to be able to offer all Burdett-Coutts parents at 10% discount on all online orders. However, this discount code is valid for only 2 days (Saturday 29th to Sunday 20th April), so don’t delay in making your order. Simply enter the code SPRING23 at the checkout to receive your 10% discount.

A reminder to all Year 6 parents that your child’s Year 6 SATs tests will be from Tuesday 9th May until Friday 12th May. The timetable is set out below:

• Tuesday 9th May: Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar (SPAG)
• Wednesday 10th May: Reading
• Thursday 11th May: Arithmetic and Mathematics Paper 1
• Friday 12th May: Mathematics Paper 2

Please ensure that your child is in school between 08:00 and 08:15 on these days, was breakfast will be provided for all pupils. If you have children in other year groups, they can also be dropped off at this early time.

A huge thank you to all of our families who are in school everyday and arrive on time! It is important that your child attends school every day and on time. Arriving late to school is unsettling for children and disrupts the start to their day.

Our school day starts at 09:00, and all pupils need to be in school by 08:55, to ensure that they are ready for learning at 09:00. Teachers are waiting in classes with learning ready to start at this time.

The main pupil entrance (gates) will open at 08:45 and will close at 08:55. After this time parents will need to bring their child/ren via school office. Please ensure your child is in school before 08:55.

From the February Half Term you will need to sign your children in if entering through the office. The time of entry and reason for lateness will be noted.

We are carefully monitoring attendance and punctuality as we have noticed an increasing trend of both becoming a pattern for some families.

Routines are the easiest way to ensure your child attends school on time every day, so try to create good routines for the start of your day, particularly if mornings are hectic in your household.

Try and prepare as much as possible the night before, and ensure that older children are taking much more responsibility for their readiness for school.

Collective Worship

The whole school attends acts of Collective Worship every day.

• Mondays and Tuesdays: key stage singing assemblies led by Mr Carden.
• Wednesdays: Church service led by Graham or Helena, the clergy at St Stephens with St John on Rochester Row. These services are very child-friendly, and Year 6 take a leading role by processing, singing in the choir and reading the Bible readings and prayers.
• Thursdays: We focus on celebrating achievements, led by a member of SLT, School Council or a class teacher with their class. When a class teacher leads the assembly, their class also recite a piece of poetry they have been learning. We would be very grateful if parents could support their children in learning these poems when it is their turn.
• Friday: Opportunities for classes to share what they have been learning with their families and the rest of the school.