Newsletter 15/03/24

World Book Day

On Thursday, March 7th Shawley transformed into a literary wonderland to celebrate World Book Day! Our classrooms were filled with a love of reading as children donned their favourite pyjamas or came dressed as a book character and embraced the joy of getting lost in a good book.

The day was filled with exciting activities that encouraged everyone to delve deeper into the world of books. Teachers organised paired reading sessions across the school as well as hosting lively book character discussions.

We also welcomed authors Karen Lord and Shanee Buxton to Shawley. They led a captivating assembly for the whole school and hosted engaging workshops with select classes. After school, they sold and signing copies of their books in the library.

World Book Day was a roaring success! It was a day that reminded us all of the magic that books hold, the power of imagination, and the importance of fostering a love of reading.

Drop in and Read

We are excited to invite you to a special reading session in our classrooms on Friday 22nd March  at 2:45 PM. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to see your child's reading progress and share a book of their choice with you and some of their classmates. We will have a variety of reading materials available, and your child will have the chance to choose something they enjoy. We look forward to seeing you there!

Red Nose Day

A huge thank you goes out to all our children, parents, and staff who made Red Nose Day such an enjoyable event. Everyone looked so bright and cheerful in their red clothes and accessories. Your generosity towards this incredibly worthwhile charity event is much appreciated!

KS1 Panathlon

On Thursday 7th March a group of children from KS1 took part in a Panathlon.

Our fantastic KS1 children showcased incredible teamwork and sportsmanship! The children participated in a variety of fun and challenging activities designed to test their agility, coordination, and cooperation.

From beanbag relays to obstacle courses, the young athletes demonstrated their determination and perseverance. 

All the KS1 competitors deserve a round of applause for their effort and dedication. However, a special shout-out goes to the entire team for securing first place – a remarkable achievement! This victory is a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of our KS1 students, as well as the dedication of the adults who supported them to achieve this.

Edurio Survey

Thank you to all the parents that have already completed the Edurio Survey. The survey ends on Friday 22nd March. We encourage you to take a few minutes to complete the survey at your earliest convenience. Your voice is an invaluable part in this process. You can access the survey by clicking on the following link:

 Survey Link

Fundraisers Spring Raffle

Holiday Club at Shawley

Sports News

In School We Have Been Learning...

Year R                   Please click here to find out what Polar Bears have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Year 1   Please click here to find out what Year 1 have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Year 2        Please click here to find out what Year 2  have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Year 3  Please click here to find out what Year 3 have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Year 4/5              Please click here to find out what Year 4/5 have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Year 6          Please click here to find out what Year 6  have been learning over the past couple of weeks

Shawley's Superstars

On Friday every week we award 2 children per class a 'Star of The Week' certificate. This is given to children who have impressed their teachers throughout the course of the week with their work, behaviour and attitude in school.  Winners for the past 2 weeks are...

Weekly Attendance Award

During our Monday assembly each week we award an Attendance Certificate and trophy to the class with the highest attendance. These are displayed in the classroom. Children are always incredibly proud when their class receives this award!

Winners for the last 2 weeks are...

w/c 04.03.24 - Rhinos 98.4% and Eagles 96.7%

w/c 11.03.24 - Falcons 100% and Lions 98.5%

 Achievements Outside School

Congratulations to Lola who recently received a medal for completing her Social One dance test in Disco Freestyle. She was awarded Honours with a score of 93/100. Well done!

School Lottery

Shawley's school lottery has been set up specifically to raise money and make a difference for our children! It's a fantastic way to bring parents, carers, staff and the wider community together, in partnership with our school, and at the same time give something back. We hope to raise funds that can support and enrich the education of our children - we aim to provide extra resources for the children, improve the school environment as well as run extracurricular activities such as music, art and sport.

Join today!  Click here to access the Your School Lottery website to learn more about how it works and how to join.

Your support is greatly appreciated and we wish you good luck!

LEO Catering

School Meals

Our school catering provision is offered to all children across the Trust by LEO Catering, our in house catering supplier.  The menus are created and refreshed three times a year, catering for children with allergies and are available to view below.  Our menus follow government food standard guidelines and offer excellent value at £2.70 a day for a main meal, dessert, choice of salad bar, fresh bread daily and vegetarian and Halal options. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive a free meal funded by the government's Universal Infant Free School Meal grant and we encourage anyone in any year group who thinks they may be eligible to apply for free school meal funding to apply. 

Menus are available here: www.leoacademytrust.co.uk/647/school-meals.

Children in Years 3-6 will need to pay for their meals via Arbor.  Cost of a school meal is £2.70 per day, £13.50 per week.  Please ensure there are sufficient funds in your child's account in advance, otherwise no school dinner can be ordered and you will need to provide your child with a packed lunch.

For those children who do still bring in a packed lunch, you may have noticed that your child brings home some of their lunch as we encourage the children to take home uneaten food.  This enables you to see exactly what your child is eating at lunchtimes and adapt their lunch accordingly.  We ask that packed lunches include healthy options in line with our Healthy School status.  Children should not bring fizzy drinks or chocolate bars to school.

We have a number of children with nut allergies in school which means that all staff and parents must be vigilant about ingredients we use in school and items put into lunch boxes.  No nuts should be put into packed lunches. 

Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium

Pupil premium is additional funding allocated to all schools in England to support disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers.  This budget includes pupils who are currently entitled to free school meals, have been free schools meals in the past six years (FSM ‘Ever 6’), children that are cared for or adopted from care and children whose parents are in the armed forces.

We would like to remind all parents who are eligible, to apply for the Pupil Premium Grant.  This grant enables the school to provide additional support to our children where needed.  Examples of this are, access to extra-curricular clubs and additional support with specific areas of the curriculum.

For more information and how to apply, please see below:

Applying for this grant is very simple, it can be done online 

gov.uk - Find out more about Pupil Premium

Pupil Premium Eligibility Checker

Pupil Premium Strategy Statement

 If you feel you would like support in applying for this grant please contact the school office who will be happy to go through this process with you.  All applications are confidential within the school. 

Community News, Events & Information

Dogs on the School Site

Whilst we understand that many of you adore your furry companions, please can we remind parents and carers that dogs are not permitted on school grounds at any time, except for certified service animals. This policy is in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all children, staff, and visitors. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in adhering to this policy.

Parking Around School

Unfortunately we continue to have incidences of dangerous and inconsiderate parking and careless driving outside our school, especially at school pick-up time. We know pick up and drop off times are difficult and very busy, however a small minority of parents from the school are still driving and parking without any thought for our local residents, children or other parents.

We have received several complaints from residents who are very unhappy about cars being parked across their drives. This parking can pose a safety risk to pupils and parents that do walk/cycle/scooter to school, as well as to other road users.

Please could you think of the safety of ALL our children and refrain from parking on the pavement or across residents' driveways as this is an offence.

Thank you in advance for you support with this important issue and let’s hope together we can ensure the safety of all the children and be more considerate to our local residents too.

Penalty Notices

Just to remind parents/carers that if they take their children out of school without authority for 5 or more days (which do not have to be consecutive), they will be liable to receive a penalty notice.

Currently the amount payable under a penalty notice is £60.00 per parent/carer per child if paid within 21 days. Thereafter the amount increases to £120.00 if paid between 21 and 28 days. If the penalty notice remains unpaid after 28 days, the Local Authority will consider a prosecution in the Magistrates Court. 

Please note that penalty notices are issued per parent/carer per child so a family of two parents and two children will receive 4 penalty notices.

If your child is off school for 3 days or longer we may ask for medical evidence to support this absence.

School Fund

We pride ourselves on offering our children varied and exciting experiences and activities that help to support their learning across the curriculum.

The School Fund will allow us to provide additional activities across all year groups. 

We have a voluntary school fund donation of £15 per child or a maximum of £30 for a family if there are siblings at the school.  

Payments can be made online via Arbor. Many thanks for your support.

Follow us on.......

Please help to promote our school by following us on X and liking and resharing our posts. This really does help promote the school and share all the positive things that are happening at Shawley.

Follow us on X for updates @shawleyprimary

Please..........help your child:

Please..........help us:

Please..........help raise funds:

We're Hiring

West Ashtead is looking for a caring and enthusiastic individual to work as part of our wrap around care team at West Ashtead Primary School. The role involves working with our children in the breakfast club and/or after school club. Full details can be found on the school website.