St. Brendan’s Catholic
Primary School
September 2017 Newsletter
‘Always treat others as you would like them to treat you’
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back!
I hope that you all had an enjoyable summer break – as always it seems to have gone very quickly! It is lovely to welcome all of the children back today. Thank you for the gifts and cards I received at the end of last year. Your kindness and generosity were very much appreciated. There will be important information being sent home over the next few weeks, so please make sure you check bags regularly for any letters or make sure you have signed up to Parentmail!
New Staff
I would like to start the year by welcoming a number of new members of staff to St Brendan’s this year. Miss G. Hearne, who will be teaching in Year 3, Miss J.Crozier, who will be teaching in Year 4, Miss G. Ludlow, who will be working in EYFS as a teaching assistant, Mrs Gilsenan and Mrs Sharkey who will be supervising Key Stage 1 and 2 children at lunchtime. We wish them all the best for their first term with us and hope they feel welcomed by the St. Brendan’s family, hopefully it will not take long for them to see what a special place St Brendan’s School is!
Attendance
Improving our attendance remains a priority again this year and is a concern as it was 95.1% overall for the last academic year. The national average is 96.1% and this is the minimum expected by Ofsted. This is an area that parents can really support us with as it is vital that children attend school promptly and regularly to ensure they receive the very best opportunities to learn. We will continue to communicate attendance with parents in our newsletters and inform you of your child’s attendance regularly throughout the year. Last year 429days were missed from school due to holidays, 241 days were missed from unauthorised absences and 182 days were no reason was provided for a child’s absence from school. I have attached an attendance leaflet to share the impact of absence and lateness over an academic year.
This year for the children who achieve 100% attendance at the end of each half term, their names will be put into a raffle to win a prize such as Wicksteed tickets, retail vouchers, Planet Bounce vouchers or cinema tickets! There will be two draws, one for Key Stage 1 and one for Key Stage 2.For those children who achieve 100% attendance for the whole academic year, their name will be put into a raffle for the opportunity to win a kindle, kindly donated by Magnificent View! I hope that both opportunities will encourage children to attend school and work together to improve our whole school attendance.
Breakfast and Tea Time club
Last year we were able to offer our parents wrap around care through the services of CSD. Unfortunately during the last week of the academic year they informed us that this year they would no longer be able to provide this service. They will continue to offer afterschool activities in the same way Freestyle and Kevin Costello do. This information will be sent out via Parentmail this week. I would like to thank CSD for supporting the school with the setting up of this provision for our pupils and parents.
We have managed to find another provider for the wrap around care, Kirsti Howard. She is a local childminder who is used already by many of our parents and will continue to be based in the school. If you require information about how to book the breakfast or tea time club please speak with Mrs Downhill in the school office or contact Kristi directly on
Feedback from Parent Questionnaire
In the June newsletter I send out the parent questionnaire to gain your views and ideas on the schools developments and next steps. Please find a detailedfeedback letter attached to this newsletter.
As always, please remember we operate an open door policy so if you have any queries or questions please speak with your child’s class teacher and/or a member of the senior leadership team.
Meet the Teacher Presentations
Starting this evening with Year 1 parents at 6:30pm we have our ‘Meet the Teacher’ presentations. This is a chance for parents to meet their child’s new teacher and find out your child’s topics and intendedlearning for the coming year. This will include information on any trips their teachers have planned and about statutory testing in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 6. I hope that parents will find these meetings useful and look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. The times and dates for the meetings are as follows:
Year 1 – Miss Rose and Mrs Robertson / Tuesday 5th SeptemberYear 2 – Miss Sullivan and Miss Wareing / Wednesday 6th September
Year 3 – Mrs Clowes and Miss Hearne / Thursday 7th September
Year 4 – Miss Crozier and Mrs McLaughlin / Monday 11th September
Year 5 – Miss Bell and Miss MacKay / Tuesday 12th September
Year 6 – Miss MacKay and Mrs Edgley / Wednesday 13th September
Silver Science Award
During her last term with us at St Brendan’s Mrs Bambridge achieved the Silver Quality Mark for Science. This was as a result of our science teaching provisions and the quality of the children’s’ work. This is a wonderful achievement for the school. Thank you to Mrs Bambridge for all her hard work in achieving this award. This is a fantastic achievement!
EYFS and Key Stage 1Free School Meals
All children in EYFS and Key Stage 1 are entitled to have a free school meal.If you wish for your child to receive this then please go online to register. You must order the meal online the week before and the school will be charged accordingly.
We will inform you of the Christmas dinner date as soon as we have been informed.
Free School Meals
It is really important to register for Free School Meals if you qualify.The letter attached explains the benefits of registering for this not only to each family, but also to the school as we received additional funding of £1,300 per child last academic year, which we can use to buy resources for the children to improve their learning opportunities for your child. You will also receive £100 voucher to spend on additional learning opportunities within school this year. The online questionnaire is confidential and the school are only notified by Northamptonshire County Council if you are successful. This information is treated confidentially and the children are never made aware of these circumstances. So please if you think you may be eligible, read the attached letter and, if you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask as we are here to help.
Permission Booklet
At the start of the term there are many forms to sign granting permission for things such as, photographs, walking home, home / school agreement. In order to make this easier for parents to keep on top of, we have developed a booklet with all of the consent forms in and information about each one. This will be sent home tomorrow and should be returned to school as a signed booklet by Friday 15thSeptember. If you have any questions about this, please come into the school office and we will be happy to help.
Volunteers
As always we welcome any parent or grandparents who wish to volunteer in our school. We value very much the contribution of volunteers to help in schooland hope they enjoy the experience of working with the children. If you have any spare time and would like to volunteer, please call into the office and let us know when you are available. If you can spare some time, it would be very much appreciated!
Inhalers
Please can I ask that all parents of children who suffer from asthma and have inhalers in school fill in a Medication Consent Form, which can be obtained from the school office, if you have not already done so. Please provide your child’s class teacher with an inhaler that can be kept in school and ensure that it is clearly marked with your child’s name.
Reminders for the New Term
Please encourage your child to bring the correct equipment to school on the correct day this year, you will be receiving a curriculum newsletter from your child’s class teacher this week which will inform you of PE days. Can I remind you that, with the exception of stud earrings, jewellery should not be worn in school. The children have difficulty in removing earrings, so it is easier not to wear these on the days that they have PE.
Please remember that children who bring in a snack for the morning break should bring in a healthy snack, such as a piece of fruit or vegetable.As a school we aim to comply with the Healthy Eating Standards for schools and I would appreciate your support in encouraging the children to eat healthily.
Social Media
Can I remind all parents that children under 13years of age should not be using social media and throughout the year any photographs taken at school events should not be uploaded onto any social media sites, they are for your own personal use only. If it comes to the attention of the school that this is not being adhered to we will have to review our policy of parents taking photographs at school events. May I also ask that parents do not request to be ‘friends’ with staff on social media as this is not appropriate and is against the schools code of conduct for all members of staff. We do not wish to cause any offence by rejecting or ignoring such requests.
RE Newsletter
You will receive an RE newsletter, outlining the topics that the children will be studying in RE this term. The newsletter also gives you some examples of activities that you might like to share with your children, linked to each topic. The first piece of work that all the children will cover in RE this term will be a reflection on our mission statement, ‘Always treat others as you would like them to treat you.” And what this means to them.
Diary dates
Attached are important dates for the coming year, times are yet to be confirmed for some events and more details will be communicated with you once they have been confirmed. As always we intend to keep to this timetable as closely as possible, but occasionally events may need to be changed. If this happens we will give you as much notice as possible. The planner is intended to give you an overview of the year ahead. I will continue to include monthly diary dates in my newsletters. We will inform you of dates relating to First Holy Communion and Confirmation as soon as they have been confirmed.
I will leave you with a prayer for the year ahead and wish you all well for the coming year. If you have any concerns at all regarding your children, please do not hesitate to come in to see their class teachers or myself.
God of wisdom and might,
we praise you for the wonder of our being,
for mind, body and spirit.
Be with our children as they begin
a new school year.
Bless them and their teachers and staff.
Give them strength and grace as their bodies grow;
wisdom and knowledge to their minds
as they search for understanding;
and peace and love to their hearts.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
With kind regards,
Leanne Brydon
Dates For Your Diary
(Times to be confirmed)
September 6thMeet the Teacher Year 26.30pm
September 6th Swimming starts in Year Five
September 7thMeet the Teacher Year 36.30pm
September 11thMeet the Teacher Year 46.30pm
September 12thMeet the Teacher Year 56.30pm
September 13thMeet the Teacher Year 66.30pm
October 9thParents Evening
October 12thParents Evening
October 20thLast day of term
October23rd – 27thHalf term holidays
October 30thSchool reopens for pupils
W/B December 11thChristmas Carol Service and Plays
December 20thLast day of term
December 21st– Jan 2ndSchool Holidays
January 3rd Training Day
January 4thSchool reopens for pupils
January 25thAfternoon for the Elderly in our parish
February 7thSafer Internet Day
February 9thLast day of term
February 12th – 16thHalf term holiday
February 19th School reopens for pupils
March 1stWorld Book Day
March 20thParents Evening
March 22ndParents Evening
March 23rdSports Relief
March 28thLast day of Term
March 29thTraining Day
March 30thSchool Holidays
April 16thTerm Starts
May 7thMay Day Bank Holiday School Closed
W/B May 14thYear 6 SATS Week
W/B May 21stYear 2 Test Week
May 25thLast Day of Term
May 28thSchool Holiday
June 4thTraining Day
June 5thTerm Starts
W/B June 11thYear 1 Phonics Screening Week
June 14thSports Day
July 20thLast Day of Term
5th September 2017
Parent Questionnaire June 2017 Feedback
Dear Parents and Carers,
Thank you to those parents who completed and returned the question on the effectiveness of different aspects of our school. The overall response to the statements was hugely positive. Thank you for your kind comments, your views and suggestions.I have analysed the responses and shared them with you below.
Number of Responses: 29
Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / Don't know / Nil response1 / My child is happy at school / 76% / 24%
2 / The school keeps my child safe / 76% / 24%
3 / My child makes good progress / 73% / 24% / 3%
4 / My child is well looked after by the school / 59% / 41%
5 / Teaching is good at this school / 62% / 38%
6 / The school encourages my child's spiritual and moral development / 69% / 28% / 3%
7 / The school helps me to support my child’s learning / 62% / 38%
8 / Healthy lifestyles are promoted by the school / 69% / 31%
9 / The school environment is good / 66% / 34%
10 / The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved / 59% / 38% / 3%
11 / The school deals effectively with bullying / 38% / 31% / 31%
12 / The school meets my child’s particular needs / 69% / 31%
13 / I receive information from the school about my child’s progress / 66% / 31% / 3%
14 / The school responds well to any concerns I raise / 53% / 41% / 3% / 3%
15 / The school is welcoming to parents / 69% / 31%
16 / The school is well led and managed / 59% / 38% / 3%
17 / Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at school / 66% / 34%
Elements that several parents were happy with:
- The variety of different learning every day, children are excited about their learning
- Development of social skills and life skills, learning about different emotions and how they develop
- New layout of Learning Journals – supporting parents to complete tasks over a longer time period
- Staff on the school gates to welcome us and keep everyone safe
- Newsletters keeping parents up to date with events and important information
- Our open door policy – staff are very approachable and easily available if you have questions or concerns
- Staff establish positive relationships not only with children but with parents too
- Parent’s evenings keep you informed about your child’s learning and how to support them at home
Actions to put in place to address the issues raised:
There were no issues or suggestions raised by more than one parent.
However, there were many responses regarding not knowing about the school dealing with behaviour effectively, I would just like to say that the behaviour within our school is excellent, the children are well mannered, courteous and take responsibility for their actions. Any incidents of behaviour are dealt with promptly and fairly following our behaviour policy. All of the children are a credit to their families.
The school really values your feedback. It would be impossible to respond to every comment and suggestion made, but please be assured that we will certainly take all your ideas into consideration in future developments within the school.
Thank you for your continued to support of our school.
Yours sincerely
Leanne Brydon
Headteacher