School Newsletter : 04 October 2024

A reminder that our Harvest Service will be on Wednesday 9th October at 10:00 in St. Stephens Church. Parents & carers, if you’re attending, please be seated by 09:55. Please remember to switch your phones off.

We are still collecting items of non-perishable food items, sanitary and toiletry products and infant care products for our Harvest Collection this year.

Thank you to all those generous donations that have already come into school this week. If you can contribute an item, please bring it into school by 09:00 on Wednesday 9th October and place it on our Harvest table just by the Ground Floor Hall doors (internal doors).

We will be donating all these items to a local charity to assist those requiring additional support at this time.

• School starts promptly at 08:55 each morning. The pupil gates are open from 08:40 – 08:55 – please ensure you are on time!
• Pupils who arrive after the main gates are closed will need to be signed into school via the InVentry system in the main office. Pupils in Years 1 – 6 will then make their way to classes. Pupils in the Preschool, Nursery and Reception classes will be taken to classes by a member of staff.
• Please ensure that you are on time each day, as pupils who arrive after 09:00 have missed handwriting and those arriving after 09:10 have missed handwriting and Fluent in Five. Every minute of our day is utilised and poor punctuality leads to gaps and children arriving midway into learning. Please help us to ensure your child maximises all learning on offer, and to minimise disruption to teaching and learning through pupils arriving late.
• School finishes at 15:30 each day. The pupil gates will open at 15:25.
• Extended School Day runs from 15:30 – 16:30. Please ensure that pupils who have a sports activity BRING their PE kit to school on that day to change into before their club.
• After School Club finishes at 18:00. Please be there by 17:55 to collect your child/ren.
• All School uniform MUST be labelled with your child’s name.
• Children need to bring their book bag to school every day.

Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct PE kit to school each week on their allocated PE day.

Pupils not wearing their full PE kit will not be able to participate in lessons, and a note will be sent home indicating why they were not able to participate.

Please ensure that all items of school uniform are clearly labelled with either a permanent pen or label.

The full PE Kit for the Autumn/Winter Term is as follows:

• Plain navy blue leggings or tracksuit bottoms
• School navy blue PE t-shirt
• School navy blue sweatshirt (all year groups)*
• Plain black trainers (velcro or slip on if they can not do their laces).

* Kindly note: Pupils in KS2 (Years 3-6) must wear a school sweatshirt for PE lessons and not the v-neck jumper from their main school uniform.

Welcome back to the new school year and a warm welcome to all our new families who have joined our school’s community this term.

If you are a parent, carer or a guardian of a child that attends our school, then you are automatically a member of our Parent Staff Association, Friends of Burdett-Coutts.

Being part of our PSA offers an exciting opportunity for you to meet other parents, whilst supporting our school, through organising fundraising events, volunteering and much more.

Even if you can only give a small amount of time, you will be making a difference to the school experience for your child and other pupils in our school.

Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 16th October from 09:00 – 09:45 in the Ground Floor Hall, with refreshments. Everyone is welcome – please come along and join us, your energy & support is very much needed!

Next PTA Event:

• Christmas Fair: Wednesday 18th December @ 15:30 – 17:30

October:

• Monday 7th October: Peter Daniels (Westminster Archives) in to lead Workshop “Black & Blue Project” with Year 6.
• Tuesday 8th October: Year 6 Trip to the Science Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00
• Tuesday 8th October: Blessing of the Animal Service, St. Stephens Church @ 18:30 – 19:30
• Wednesday 9th October: Harvest Service at St. Stephens Church @10:00 – 11:00.  All parents are warmly invited.  Please be seated by 09:55.
• Friday 11th October: Year 6 Trip to Stanford Bridge (part of the Black & Blue Project with Westminster Archives) 09:00 -1 5:00
• Tuesday 15th October: Year 4 Trip to the Science Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00
• Wednesday 16th October: Peter Daniels (Westminster Archives) in to deliver “Moving Away Your Dust” Project with Year 6 @ 09:00 – 15:15
• Tuesday 22nd October:  Year 5 Trip to the Science Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00
• Friday 25th October: INSET Day, school closed for pupils.
• October Half Term: Monday 28th October to Friday 1st of November School Closed

November:

• Wednesday 6th November: Year 1 Trip to the Florence Nightingale Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00
• Friday 8th November:  Remembrance Day Service (in school) 10:30 – 11:30.  Parents are warmly invited and need to be in the school playground (weather permitting) by 10:25.
• Friday 8th November: Year 6 visiting Westminster Abbey as part of the “Moving Away Your Dust” Project @ 13:00 -15:00.
• Monday 11th November: Year 5 Trip to The British Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00.
• Monday 18th November: Year 3 Trip to The British Museum @ 09:00 – 15:00.

Did you know that not all apps are safe for children, with many popular ones having certain age restrictions. For example, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Instagram and Facebook operate a minimum age of 13+ years, and therefore primary school children should not have their own, nor access to, such apps or accounts.

As parents, you can help safeguard your children online by researching these apps and their purposes, as well as their age restrictions, BEFORE agreeing to download them. If you do choose to download them, remember that parental controls such as password protection, can be set up so that in-app downloads or purchases, cannot be completed by the children themselves.

For example, to prevent iTunes, Apple App Store purchases or downloads, all you need to do is:

1. Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & App Privacy Restrictions. If asked, enter your passcode.
3. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
4. Select a setting and set to Don’t Allow.

Tips on how to install parental controls on other apps and devices (Android or Apple) can easily be found online, or even from the app developers themselves.

We have the following availability for places in our Early Years provision from September 2024:

Reception class:

• 2 places

Nursery Class (3-year olds):

• 2 full-time places
• 2 part-time place (afternoon)

 Preschool (2-year olds)

• 1 full-time place from September 2024
• 2 part-time places from September 2024
• 2 full-time places (1 from January 2025)

If you are looking for a Preschool, Nursery or Reception place for your child we’d love to have you join us for a 30-minute bespoke EYFS tour. Here, you’ll have the chance explore our Early Years setting, speak to key staff and ask any questions regarding admissions and your child starting with us at Burdett-Coutts.

Contact us to register for our tours which take place every Thursday, with times available from 10:30 – 14:30 during term time.

Due to changes in the eligibility criteria for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals and qualifying for 30 hours of funding for Nursery provision, many pupils currently enrolled at our school may now be entitled to one of these funding allocations.

We will be issuing letters to families who are currently not in receipt of the above, asking you to complete the registration for the identified funding option your child/ren maybe eligible for. Thank you so much in advance for your help in completing this.

This funding allows us to increase additional staffing hours to run booster groups, and an exciting range of extended day activities, that benefit our school and your child, and your cooperation is greatly appreciated at this difficult time for school budgets.