School News
Friday 17th April 2026
DT Week
In Design and Technology this term, our pupils have been exploring the exciting world of textiles, developing practical skills and creativity through hands-on projects tailored to each year group.
Year 1 children have enjoyed designing and making simple puppets, learning how to join fabrics and bring their ideas to life through imaginative play. In Year 2, pupils have created their own pouches, practising basic sewing techniques and understanding how textiles can be both functional and decorative.
Building on these skills, Year 3 have designed and made cushions, focusing on measuring, cutting and joining fabric accurately. Year 4 pupils have applied their creativity to producing book covers, combining aesthetics with purpose to protect and personalise their reading materials.
In upper Key Stage 2, Year 5 have designed and sewn stuffed toys, developing more advanced stitching and construction techniques, while Year 6 have taken on the challenge of creating waistcoats, demonstrating careful planning, precision and a growing confidence in textile design.
Across the school, pupils have shown fantastic creativity, resilience and pride in their work as they develop valuable life skills through these engaging projects.
Electric Umbrella
We had a visit from Electric Umbrella on Thursday for worship, it was an amazing experience for the children. We were treated to all the classic Electric Umbrella songs and more! The joy of celebrating ourselves and our differences made for a fantastic event. Everyone left the hall with a huge smile on their face. Year 4 are looking forward to joining Electric Umbrella for a concert in St Albans in June!
St George's Day
As next week is St. George's Day, it is always good for us to celebrate local uniformed organisations who support our children outside of school. St George is the patron saint of scouting and guiding and, therefore if your child would like to come to school wearing their beaver, cub, rainbow or brownie uniform on Thursday, they are more than welcome to do so!
Nursery
Harrison
For taking part in the whole duration of Electric Umbrella with fantastic engagement and enthusiasm.
Reception
Theo
For being a fantastic team player, for always being inclusive and kind to everyone, and for your amazing cheeky grin that we all love!
Year 1
Bobbi
For her fantastic learning in all areas and for being so confident when learning new things. Well done!
Year 2
Clay
For returning after half term with a positive attitude and putting great effort into your work. You have worked hard and tried your best — keep it up!
Year 3
Poppy
For her resilience, patience and positive attitude! Poppy has truly believed in herself this week! Keep this up!
Year 4
Aria
For her resilience and perseverance with sewing and for the way she quickly and quietly gets alongside others to help them.
Year 5
Ali
For his enthusiasm in everything he does at school - a fantastic role model for others
Year 6
James
For being a co-operative and thoughtful learner, always taking care to complete tasks to the best of his ability.
This week's TTRS leader board is for improvement in accuracy over the last week. We have 3 leaders who have clearly worked very hard to improve their accuracy so well done to all 3!
Our Numbots leader board is for the number of coins earned over the last week, our top 3 had a total of 4,104 coins! Well done to all of our leaders!
Mr Shane
Leader board this week
1st - Eren (Y1)
2nd - Mia L (Y2)
3rd - Leo (Y1)
Leader board this week
1st - Sam (Y4)
2nd - Isla (Y5)
3rd - Ruby (Y3)
Staff Learning
It is not only the children learning at school...on Monday, the teachers spent the day looking at making some changes to our curriculum to improve it even further for the pupils.
And that is not all; a huge congratulations to Miss Bentley who, after months of learning, revision and hard work, has passed her D1 driving test, which enables her to drive minibuses for our children on trips and visits. This will further help us to manage the cost of trips and visits for our families. Well done Miss Bentley!
Car Parking
A gentle reminder to please park respectfully around the school site, in particular regarding the three Tuns Pub and not blocking local driveways. Thank you.
We are delighted to welcome everyone back for the Summer term with a brilliant first week of attendance, setting a really positive tone for the weeks ahead. A huge congratulations to Year 5, who achieved a fantastic 100% attendance—an excellent start!
Attendance was also very strong across the rest of the school, with Year 1 at 97.3%, Nursery at 97.2%, Reception at 97%, and Year 6 close behind at 96.7%. Years 4, 3, and 2 all maintained solid figures as well. Thank you to all our families for making such a strong start to the term—let’s keep this momentum going and make every day count!
Nursery Admissions - September 2026
Please share with friends and family that applications to come and join our wonderful Nursery for the next academic year are about to close! Our Nursery pupils love coming into school each day to enjoy all of our fantastic facilities and benefit from the care of our dedicated Nursery staff who create a friendly, safe and stimulating learning environment.
In September 2026, we shall be admitting children born between 1st September 2022 and 31st August 2023 and are pleased to share that we offer either:
15-hour morning provision from 8.50am-11.50am
or
For working families in receipt of 30-hours government funding, daily provision from 8.50am-2.50pm, with the option to extend the day to 3.15pm for an additional cost of £12.50 per week.
Please do encourage family and friends with Nursery-aged pupils to come and see us.
As you know, reading regularly at home with your children is incredibly important. A good bedtime story is not only helpful in maintaining a strong routine in the evening, it also helps children to develop their imagination and vocabulary.
Each week, we will ask our staff what their current recommendations are for the best bedtime reads. We hope that it provides you with some ideas!
I was really pleased to see that Charlotte’s Web had been chosen as part of our class Chapter Challenge, as it is a book I had not read since I was younger and it made me want to read it again. I have really enjoyed revisiting such a lovely story. As I have been reading, I have already been able to make links to our value of selflessness this half term, particularly through Charlotte’s kind and caring character. It is a beautiful story of friendship, kindness and putting others first, and one that I would highly recommend sharing at home.
Date for your diary - 6th May
We probably all recognise that the use of online tools is both fantastic and a minefield in terms of how we protect those around us. For our children, who will be using various devices, it is important that we all have a good understanding of how we can keep safe when online.
On 6th May, we have booked a talk from the Herts Police Cyber Security team. They will be coming into school to speak to our Year 5 and 6 pupils about staying safe online. They have also offered a parent session, from 2pm-3pm on the same topic. If you would like to attend, please come to the school office for 2pm.
20th April - Clubs start
20th April - Y4 Parent Coffee Morning
20th April - Reception visit Berkhamsted Castle
21st April - Reception Parent Coffee Morning
21st April - School Class Photos
22nd April - Y5 Parent Coffee Morning
23rd April - Y6 Parent Coffee Morning
23rd April - Y4 Maths Challenge (some pupils)
23rd April - St. George's Day
30th April - Nursery Parent Coffee Morning
4th May - Bank Holiday
6th May - Cyber Security Sessions - Y5&6 and a parent session 2pm-3pm
11th May - Y6 SATS Week
18th May - Reception Coffee Morning
19th May - Y6 Residential Parent Meeting 2.45pm
20th May - Y4 trip to Hampton Court Palace
25th-29th May - Half term
Good Shepherd Club—to book spaces at Breakfast or After School Club, please visit
http://www.goodshepherdclubs.co.uk/
Thank you to those who have now managed to log child absences on Arbor. It has really helped the office, meaning that we know where all of the children are more quickly in the morning. If The instructions on how to do this are set out below.
If your child is unwell, Hertfordshire Attendance team require that the nature of the illness is recorded, so please include this in your message (cough, cold, temperature, vomiting etc.). Please note that any absence requests for future dates will still need to made through the school office. In line with our attendance and safeguarding policies, a reminder to report your child's absence every morning, by 8.30am, until your child is well enough to return to school.
Step 1 -Click on Quick Actions button and then click Attendance followed by the green Log Absence button (top right).
Step 2 - Enter the absence details. If your child will be absent all day, there is no need to edit the start and end times that will automatically appear. If your child is ill, please ensure that you enter the nature of the illness and then press the green Log Absence button.
Step 3 - Once you have logged the absence, the school office will 'accept' it. Approved absences then appear in the Attendance tab of the Arbor App. It is not possible to edit an absence once it has been approved, so if you have any queries, please email the school office who will be able to help.
Did you know that your child may be able to receive additional support in school in addition to free school meals, if you qualify for certain benefits?
If you receive any of the following, your child may well be eligible for the Pupil Premium. This provides them with free school meals throughout their time at school, but also a range of additional things in school to help with their learning and engagement. If your child might be eligible, please visit the following site (https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/ufs/HCWH.eb?ebd=0&ebz=1_1717745705707) or speak to the school office who will be happy to help.
Income Support
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit (as long as you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and you don't get more than £16,190 a year)
Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
Universal Credit (with annual earned income of no more than £7,400 after tax and not including any benefits you get).
The application process only takes a few minutes and we are more than happy to provide support if it is needed.
Thank you for your donations towards our clothing bank. If you have any old clothes following clear-outs, please drop things in. The clothing bank is emptied regularly so should be ready for more donations.
The school carpark is open between 7am and 6pm on weekdays. Members of the local community are more than welcome to use it too so please spread the word!
As we begin the summer term we have also begun a school‑wide focus on selflessness, tying in with our Ubuntu values. This week we have been encouraging the children to think beyond themselves—considering how small acts of kindness and service can make a big difference to others. Just as the lighter mornings and warmer days invite us to look outward, we hope this focus will help our pupils grow, reminding us all of the importance of caring for one another.
Avalon Television
As a school that runs Taskmaster Club, we have been asked to share the following information from Avalon Entertainment.
We are looking for children and their families to take part in an exciting new entertainment show. The chosen households will take part together in an array of creative, fun and head-scratching games from the comfort of their own homes – in the hope of beating the other households to win a cash prize, as well as having a lot of fun as a family! The tasks will be set by Alex Horne of Taskmaster fame.
More information, T&Cs and the application form can be found at www.avalontvcasting.com