School Newsletter : 02 October 2026

Our Harvest Service will take place on Wednesday 7th October at 10:00 in St. Stephens Church.

Parents & carers, if you’re attending, please be seated by 09:55. A kind remember to please switch your phones off during the service.

Thank you to those families who have already generously donated items towards our Harvest Collection.

We are still collecting donations of non-perishable food items, sanitary and toiletry products and infant care products for our Harvest Collection this year, from Monday 14th September 2026.

Please bring any contributions to school by 09:00 on Tuesday 06th October and place it on our Harvest table which is located in the annex area by the Ground Floor Hall.

Thank you in advance.

We are delighted to invite all our Nursery and Reception parents and carers to a special EYFS workshop on Wednesday 21st October at 9am.

This session will explore our Early Years curriculum, focusing on practical ways to support early reading, writing, and mark-making skills at home. We will demonstrate how we use Google Classroom as a digital floorbook – giving you a wonderful, live window into the learning taking place at school!

This is a fantastic opportunity to gather easy, actionable strategies to foster a love of reading at home and see exactly what learning looks like in our classrooms.

We look forward to seeing you there and partnering together to support your child’s learning and development!

Our Autumn term Parent Teacher Meetings will take place on Thursday 22nd October 2026 for all classes. Year 1 will also offer some appointments on Wednesday 21st October.

We look forward to welcoming you and sharing your child’s progress.

Bookings open at 09:30 on Monday 5th October via the Arbor App.

Each appointment lasts 15 minutes, with the first five minutes set aside for you to look through, discuss and comment on your child’s work before meeting with their class teacher.

Please complete the feedback slip provided before your discussion with the teacher.

If you need any help booking through the Arbor App, please contact the school office team, who will be happy to help.

KS2 STEM Club:

This week, our budding scientists became Roman engineers as they designed, built and tested an aqueduct together! Inspired by Year 4’s classroom learning, the children explored an exciting challenge: could they build one giant aqueduct stretching the length of the art table?

They soon discovered that keeping the structure stable and getting the slope just right was trickier than expected. Through testing, observing and problem-solving, they strengthened the supports and adjusted the gradient to help the water flow.

Despite plenty of clever modifications, the water stopped just short of the end, but they came incredibly close! Every adjustment brought new learning, making this a fantastic afternoon of teamwork, perseverance and scientific thinking.

Here’s this week’s class attendance figures:

Please do not include:

• Crisps, sweets or chocolate bars
• Fizzy or sugary drinks, including juice drinks such as Capri-Sun or Fruit Shoot
• Probiotic drinks such as Actimel, Yakult or kefir drinks
• Desserts in excess of the guidance above
• Any nut products, including chocolate spreads containing nuts

School Trips and Packed Lunches

Packed lunches for school trips should also be healthy and balanced, following the guidance above. However, one small packet of crisps may be included on a school trip, whether the lunch is provided from home or by school.

All other items listed above as unsuitable should not be included in trip packed lunches. A balanced lunch will help pupils stay focused and energised throughout the day.

Thank you for your support in helping us encourage healthy habits and keep our whole school community safe.

We’re delighted to share our pupils’ results from the end of the summer term, alongside national comparisons.*

A special well done to our hardworking pupils and staff, particularly those in Reception, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6, for these fabulous achievements. Everyone did incredibly well, and we’re so proud of you all!

*Please note that these figures are currently unvalidated. Validated data will be published in December.

October 2026

• Tuesday 6th: Y1 Trip to The Tower of London, 10:00 – 14:30
• Tuesday 6th: Annual Blessing of the Animals Service at St Stephen’s Church, 18:30–19:15. Everyone is warmly welcome, including their pets!
• Wednesday 7th: Y2 Trip to The Tower of London, 10:00 – 14:30
• Wednesday 7th: Whole School Harvest Service. More information to follow.
• Wednesday 7th: Flu vaccinations for all year groups. Please complete the form sent home last week, indicating ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and return it to the school office by Friday 2 October.
• Thursday 8th: Nursery and Reception trip to Rhymes LIVE! at Smith Square Hall, 10:00–12:00.
• Friday 9th: Pupil Christmas Cards and order forms sent home.
• Monday 12th and Tuesday 13th: Individual and sibling school photographs. More information to follow.
• Tuesday 13th: Year 6 trip to Benjamin Franklin House, 11:00–15:00.
• Thursday 15th:  Pupil Christmas Card Orders and Envelopes with artwork to be returned to school.
• Thursday 15th: Year 4 trip to the Science Museum, 09:00–15:15.
• Monday 19th October: All class projects are due and need to be brought into school. These will be on display in the first floor hall for parents and pupils to view during Parents Evening on Thursday 22nd October
• Friday 23rd: INSET day. School closed to pupils.
• Monday 26th–Friday 30th: October half term.

Pupils are welcome to continue to wear their school summer uniform until the end of September. However, as the weather changes to more cooler and wetter patterns, all pupils will need to be wearing the Autumn/Winter School Uniform from the beginning of October, or sooner if they wish.

Please ensure that all pieces of school uniform are named.

Please ensure that your children are wearing the correct school uniform to school each day. It is important that all pupils are also wearing the correct school shoes – which are black shoes, and not trainers.

The  Autumn/Winter term uniform options for pupils in Nursery to Year 6 are:

Please find here the agreed term dates set by our school’s Governing Body for the upcoming academic year, starting September 2026.

Please remember that holidays will not be authorised during the school term, and that all children should be in school, and on time, every day.

Preschool have been exploring Handa’s Surprise, sharing in the excitement as the animals sneak fruit from Handa’s basket! Building on their previous book, the children discussed the colours of different fruits and their favourites, baked banana muffins and made paper-plate giraffe faces. They have become enthusiastic storytellers, eagerly spotting each animal’s antics. Why not invite your child to retell the story at home? Try asking, ‘Who stole the banana?’ or ‘What fruit does Handa have at the end?’ Please remember to send in a family photo for our family wall. The children love seeing familiar faces in the classroom and sharing them with their friends. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed.

Nursery have enjoyed a busy week, growing in confidence as they explored Mr Gumpy’s Outing, created storyboards and retold the tale in their own words. During circle time, the children welcomed two new classroom friends, Jerrie Cat and Jigsaw Jenie. They showed them around, took turns playing with them and carefully returned them to their special spaces. A colour hunt also sparked plenty of excitement as the children spotted different colours in the classroom and outdoors. A special milestone was attending their first music assembly and church service. The children listened attentively and rose to the occasion. We are very proud of them!

Reception have been growing in confidence as they practise writing their names, identifying the initial sound and recognising the letters in the correct order. They have also been working carefully on their letter formation. With help from their Story Friend, the Opening Owl, the children explored the beginning of their class story. Focusing on the questions ‘who?’ and ‘where?’, they identified the characters and setting, sharing their ideas through discussion and writing as they began to make sense of the story.

Year 1 are growing in confidence as independent writers! This week, they continued their work on Old Bear, moving from planning to writing the part of the story where the problem unfolds. The children practised saying sentences aloud and organising their ideas before writing, remembering capital letters, finger spaces and full stops. They also explored interesting vocabulary and exclamation marks to add excitement to their stories. It has been lovely to see their progress over the past few weeks, as they build the stamina and independence to put their ideas onto the page.

This week, Year 6 have continued their writing journey with One Day by Michael Rosen. By analysing a model diary entry, known as a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like), pupils explored adverbials, informal language and the use of synonyms and antonyms, considering how vocabulary can convey a character’s experiences and create contrast. To prepare for writing from Eugène’s perspective, they took part in a conscience alley activity, using drama to explore his possible thoughts, feelings and fears. This helped them gather ideas and vocabulary to bring depth and empathy to their own diary entries.