Monday 12th - Friday 16th January 2026
Cheam Common Infants' Academy: Balmoral Road, Worcester Park, KT4 8SS
Email: ccioffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk https://www.cheamcommoninfants.com/
With the application deadline for admissions being last Thursday, January 15th, we concluded our final school tours this week. It was wonderful to receive such positive feedback from prospective parents about our school and our wonderful pupils. While I am naturally biased, every day I feel privileged to be the Principal of Cheam Common Infants.
One of the key messages I always share during the school tour is the foundational importance of reading. It acts as a magic key, unlocking new knowledge and exciting worlds for our children. Books also serve as a special mirror, helping children understand the interesting and sometimes complicated nature of people. We teach them that by reading, they encounter diverse characters with varying feelings and experiences—some very different from their own! This exposure is crucial for developing empathy and understanding the reasons behind people's actions. By following characters through their happy times, challenges, and quiet moments, our pupils are encouraged to learn more about themselves and how to grow into the best versions of themselves.
It is with this in mind that we are reaching out to ask for your continued support by listening to your children read at home. Their reading books are a vital opportunity to apply their phonics knowledge and improve fluency, use of expression (voice choice), and comprehension. Equally important is reading stories to your children. This dramatically expands their vocabulary, and we can often see the benefit in the rich language they use in their writing.
We appreciate that your time is precious, so you do not need to write lengthy descriptions in the yellow reading records. A simple initial and date shows your child that you value reading, both at home and at school. Rest assured, your children are listened to read daily in phonics, reading to their partners while teachers circulate the room. Additionally, children are heard individually over the course of the week and are read stories to every day.
This year, 2026, is the National Year of Reading. This UK-wide initiative, led by the government and the National Literacy Trust, aims to boost reading enjoyment and culture across all ages. It focuses on making reading relevant through various formats (books, audio, digital) and connecting it to wider culture, such as music, sport, and food, through campaigns, resources, and events. The simple motto is: "If you're into it, read into it," aiming to reinvigorate the nation's relationship with reading for pleasure and better life outcomes.
We will be promoting reading throughout the year at CCI and not just because it is the National Year of Reading.
Mrs Hughes
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🎒 The New School Rucksack is Here!
It is lovely to see so many purchases already! We listened to your feedback: you wanted a school approved rucksack for lunches and water bottles than a standard book bag.
Our new Schoolwear Inc rucksacks are:
Perfectly Sized: Fits your child's reading books inside and hangs neatly on our pegs.
Practical: Features a dedicated side pocket for water bottles.
All-in-One: No need to buy a separate book bag!
https://www.schoolwearinc.co.uk/school/cheam-common-infants/
Just a gentle reminder that universal breakfast club runs from 8.10-8.40 am at Cheam Common Infants. The Office reception area gate opens at 8.10 am and children are welcomed in through this entrance until 8.30am. At 8.30 am the main entrance gates on Kingsmead Road and the Nursery Gate on Balmoral Road open. These close at 8.40am so children can start their phonics lessons at 8.45am. This is different from the gates at the Junior School as their day runs from 8.45am to 3.15pm so their morning gates close at 8.45am.
Mrs Suk will be meeting with the Eco Squad this week to discuss who has taken part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. A Seesaw activity will be assigned to all children for the weekend of the bird watch. This will suggest different ways that your child can take part - Mrs Suk will be checking Seesaw for photos of bird posters and bird baths!
The Year Two team are looking forward to taking the children to Brooklands on Wednesday 4th February (Owls and Kestrels) and Thursday 5th February (Eagles and Falcons) As historians, Y2 are learning about changes to transportation and this trip will allow them to explore the rich collection of bicycles, cars and aircraft that the museum holds. We will also be participating in a ‘Peg racer’ workshop and anticipate that this trip will engage and inspire our children. Please visit arbor to pay for this trip and complete the google form indicating if you would like your child to have a school packed lunch. Google Form - Year 2 trip
Please email cciwac@leoacademytrust.co.uk or phone 07739360621.
If you are emailing in with a message about your child, please include their name and class (ideally in the subject line). Collectively, this will save our office staff a huge amount of time.
It would be appreciated if all children's belongings were labelled clearly with their name, especially jumpers, coats and water bottles. We have a lot of unnamed items in our lost property cupboard already.
If you would like to explore ways that our Family Support Worker could support your family, please complete this Google Form.
The first of our Spring Term themed lunch days was on Thursday - Chinese Day. Our catering team created an amazing spread, enjoyed by the children and staff alike. Our next theme day will be on 12th February when we celebrate Pancake Day. I can't wait to see what they produce then!
Nursery
This week in Nursery, we explored the theme of growing through the stories Once There Were Giants and Jack and the Beanstalk. We compared baby photos with recent family pictures to see how much everyone has grown, sparking lots of excitement and conversation.
The children also painted a tall beanstalk, practiced drawing a castle and drew pictures of their families, celebrating growth in creative ways.
Reception
Reception have continued to read the book When I Grow Up and have been exploring some of the different jobs in the book this week. They looked at what it means to be a King or a Queen and learnt about the Royal Family in the UK. They have enjoyed continuing their learning on map work and have created maps of imaginary magical kingdoms. They then wrote about some of the places on their maps, using their phonics and writing skills.
In Maths, the children have been building towers of cubes and learning about the staircase pattern between consecutive numbers; understanding that each number is one more than the previous number which creates a “staircase pattern” when the towers are arranged in numerical order.
Year One have had a very productive week of learning! In English, the children continued to explore the story of Halibut Jackson. They had a wonderful time acting out how the guests reacted to his "gold and silver suit" and worked hard on writing speech, focusing on using speech marks and exclamation marks.
In Maths, we introduced some new mathematical vocabulary, including addends, expression, sum and equation. The children explored the idea that the "sum" can go at the start of an equation and that the equals sign means "the same as." Although they found it a little tricky to find all the different ways to write an equation (e.g 4+2=6 and 6=4+2), they showed great perseverance.
In Science, the children explored the sense of sound and listened and identified a variety of different sounds. In Computing, the children learned the importance of "pausing and thinking" while online and how to stay safe. Even with all the rain keeping us inside, the children’s spirits have remained high and we are very proud of their hard work.
Mrs MP and the Year One Team
Science: Material Investigators Year 2 have been busy using their enquiry skills to identify the best materials for different purposes. By exploring physical properties, they worked in teams to match materials to objects and developed their oracy skills by presenting their findings to the class.
This week, we dived into our new book, ‘Black Rock’. Our lessons focused on the art of persuasive writing; the children are learning how to construct convincing arguments using evidence and modal verbs to strengthen their points.
Our journey through the 2-times table continues! The children have demonstrated their understanding by working through three stages: practically (using objects), pictorially (drawing models), and finally through abstract word problems.
In History we explored how technological developments have transformed transport. By comparing early cars, such as the 1908 Ford Model T with later models like the 2012 Tesla Model S, the children identified how modern engineering allows us to travel further, faster, and in much greater comfort.
The children’s motivation to overcome challenges has been truly impressive this week. We are incredibly proud of their positive attitudes and the progress they are making. Amazing work, Year 2—well done!
Mrs Harris and the Year Two Team
Polite reminder...
As you know, we are a healthy school and therefore ask if your child would like to celebrate their birthday, they donate a book to a library instead of bringing treats. This also ensures there are no concerns over allergies.
We will share any photos of children and their birthday books here every week!
🐝 Weekly 3 Bees Certificate 🐝
⭐️ Star of the Week ⭐️
This week's Explorer Value is 'Motivated.
🐝 Nursery 🐝
Cygnets - Maisie
Ducklings - Leo
🐝 Reception 🐝
Badgers - Benji
Foxes - Hinar
Hedgehogs - Siyana
Squirrels - Hamza
⭐️ Nursery ⭐️
Cygnets - Reuben
Ducklings - Shamrika
⭐️ Reception ⭐️
Badgers - Kyle
Foxes - Niya
Hedgehogs - Avyaan
Squirrels - Jack
🐝 Year 1 🐝
Finches - Noah
Robins - Jamie
Sparrows - Frankie
Wrens - Trilock
🐝 Year 2 🐝
Eagles - Monty
Falcons - Samuel
Kestrels - Rhylee
Owls - Joshua
⭐️ Year 1 ⭐️
Finches - Samuel
Robins - Daisy
Sparrows - Eeshal
Wrens - Rudvik
⭐️ Year 2 ⭐️
Eagles - Luna
Falcons - Joe
Kestrels - Venya
Owls - Cody
If you would like to share your child's achievements outside of school with us, we'd love to hear them! Please complete this short form to tell us all about it!
Communication
To help us assist you more efficiently when you email the school office, we kindly request that you include your child's class along with their name in your correspondence.
While we know all our students very well, having the class information readily available helps us to quickly identify your child and address your queries without any delay or guesswork.
For example, please consider writing: "Regarding [Child's Full Name], [Class, e.g., Year R - Squirrels]" in the subject line or at the beginning of your email.
Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated and will help us continue to provide the best possible support to you and your children.
Thank you for your understanding.
Moving address
If you have moved address, it is imperative that you inform the school office as soon as you have moved. It is a requirement that the school has up to date details particularly in case of an emergency.
Please email the school office ccioffice@leoacademytrust.co.uk if your details need updating. Alternatively you can update them using the Arbor App.
They are also available to complete on our website using the parent tab.
We do not authorise holidays during term time. If your child is going to be off school due to an exceptional circumstance, then please complete this form:
You can also log same-day absences for your children directly through the Parent Portal or Arbor App. Simply navigate to the Attendance section, click "Log Absence," and fill in the details. You can adjust the start and end times if it is not a full-day absence. Once submitted, school staff will review and either approve or reject the request. You will see approved absences in the Attendance tab.
Please note, this feature is only for same-day absences; for any extended or future absences, please continue to complete and submit the request for exceptional absence. We will also continue to use the same day absence google form. If you need to change an unapproved absence request, you will need to delete it and create a new one, as editing is not possible. Once an absence is approved, it cannot be deleted through the app, so you will need to contact the school for any further modifications
Please find below all the key dates and times for the Autumn Term.
PTA events are shown in this colour. Please see below for more details.
New dates
Spring Term Dates
Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th February: Year 2 Brooklands Trip
Friday 6th February: NSPCC Number Day
Friday 13th February: honouring Lunar New Year children can choose to dress in traditional clothing if they are celebrating this.
Monday 16th - Friday 20th February: Half term
Thursday 26th February: School Discos
Monday 2nd March: Eat them to Defeat Them week
Tuesday 3rd and Thursday 5th March: CCI Parent Consultation Evenings
Friday 13th March: Quiz Night
Thursday 19th March: Rocksteady Concert (timings to be confirmed)
Tuesday 30th June: Reception, Year 2 and Year 2 Sports Day
The Friends of Cheam Common now has Facebook group, where you can follow any updates on upcoming events or how you can get involved.
A gentle reminder, please only donate the items listed below.
Logo jumper
Logo cardigan
Logo fleece
Logo waterproof jacket
Logo PE tshirt
Logo polo shirts
Junior PE black quarter zip top
Ties
Red PE shorts
Please do not donate, shirts, or grey uniform items; we have very limited storage space and we can’t store those items currently. We will let you know when we are able to accept these items again.
Thank you so much for supporting the second hand uniform sale on Friday. We are delighted that good quality school uniform can be reused and help families.
Going forward, we need to reduce the uniform service that we offer unfortunately. We will no longer be taking uniform email requests for the foreseeable future. The uniform service has expanded immensely with donations and requests over the past year. Whilst it has been absolutely wonderful to offer this service to the school community; sadly, we don't have the volunteers to sustain the huge amount of time this service requires.
However, we are very happy to still offer a termly uniform sale, where we'll have plenty of uniform on offer to stock up for the term ahead.
Please leave donations at either the Infants’ or Junior’s office.
We hope you understand the decision we've had to take, and we thank you, as always, for your continued support.
SEND & Inclusion Updates
The next meeting of Sutton Dyslexia Association will be via zoom. It is a 2 Part course for parents, entitled "How to help your child with Dyslexia"
Monday 26th January 2026, 8-9 pm.
The first session deals with the experience of dyslexia for child and parent and how to give support.
The second session is looking at reading, spelling, and writing, and how to help. It also looks at the school structure and the exam process.
The course will be led by Louise Selby, who is a teacher with a level 7 specialist qualification in teaching and assessing learners with specific learning difficulties and dyslexia. She has written a program called Morph Mastery.
If you would like to join the meeting, please send your first name, surname and email address to
admin@suttondyslexia.org
You will be sent access details the morning of the meeting , so that you can join the talk from 7.45 pm.
Keeping Safe Online
LGFL have launched a wonderfully informative and practical website full of resources to help keep children safe online. With videos, informative guides and top tips, there is lots to explore to help keep your child safe whilst online. To visit, click here.
Family Support
Family Support Workers
Please click here to access our Family Support Workers portal with lots of information and resources to support you.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Update
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