Newsletter 01 05/09/25

Welcome back to the new school year! 

I hope that you have all enjoyed a lovely Summer break and had the chance to share some special times with your children. Having the children at home has probably not meant that 'rest' is the best description of your holiday experience - but now we have the chance to share the responsibility for their development with you again...

The children and adults have been readjusting to the school routine again and, so far, all seems to have been achieved without too many problems. Hopefully, from your end, all is going well but please let us know of anything that may be negatively affecting your child this term.

With a new term, we remember fondly our former Year 6 pupils who will have started their new schools this week, along with our colleagues who have moved off in different directions. We trust that God will be looking over them, with Sacred Heart as our shared community where they are always welcome. Indeed, it has been lovely to see some former pupils around our school, already proudly wearing a smile, as well as their new uniform, this week.

We have welcomed new pupils and their families in Nursery, Reception and other classes this week and hope that they are settling in well. We still have many places available in our Reception classes if you know of families with a need. In Early Years, we have also welcomed Mrs Brett (Nursery), Mrs Day and Mrs Crombie (Reception) as new teachers, along with Mrs Pugh on the site team.

As with every year, every term and every week, we move on and things change. As a school, we are continually looking to improve and get better, in an attempt to be more effective in helping children to get better. Break and lunchtimes have changed so that our older and younger children aren't gathered on the playground together for so long. You may also have seen the emergence of a new room in the adventure playground area; although not quite finished, the 'Oasis' will add to our range of provision, mainly for pupils who need some time out of their main class base. There will be more information about changes and development plans in the coming weeks.

Our lunch provider has also changed this term, as you may have heard, and we - along with Nourish, the provider - will be asking pupils for their feedback. Please do let us know if you have anything to relay to us about this or any other aspect of our provision. Please also be aware that there will be a tougher line taken on fines for holiday absence this year, in line with Assisi Trust and national guidance.

We look forward to a positive and productive year as your children continue to grow and thrive in so many ways. We pray for the support of God and for our community as we live and grow as the family of Sacred Heart.

Mr Beazeley

We are currently reviewing our snack provision at break time and would love to hear your thoughts. Please spend a couple of minutes answering our survey on this as we look to refresh our break time snack provision - Snack Survey Our current provision can be seen below. 

It has been noted that pupils are bringing snacks that are not healthy choices and are large in portion size. Please ensure your child is bringing in a healthy snack each day.   They should NOT have chocolate, cakes or crisps, although baked savoury snacks are acceptable. 

We are a Healthy School and must ensure all children are following the guidelines.  Snacks must also NOT contain nuts or any type of nutty spread like Nutella or praline etc. as we are a nut free school.

Please follow the link to the Ten Ten collective Worship Newsletter this month www.tentenresources.co.uk/prayers-for-home/parent-newsletter/  

Here are our stars of the week who have represented our core values well through their actions of responsibility, achievement, compassion, equality, faith and respect.

• 08/09/25 – Swimming Lessons Start Year 6 Catch Up

• 08/09/25 – After School Activity Clubs Start

• 09/09/25 – Parent Information Meeting - Year 5 at 9:00am

• 09/09/25 – Parent Information Meeting - Year 2 at 2:30pm

• 10/09/25 – Parent Information Meeting - Year 6 at 9:00am

• 10/09/25 – Parent Information Meeting - Year 3 at 2:30pm

• 10/09/25 – Governing Body Meeting

• 11/09/25 – Start of Year Mass at 9:30am

• 15/09/25 – Planetarium Visit (Year 3 and Year 5)

• 16/09/25 – Year 6 Prefect Assembly at 9am

• 16/09/25 – KS2 Reading Workshop at 2:30pm

• 18/09/25 – Parent Information Meeting - Year 1 at 9am

• 18/09/25 – EYFS Phonics Meeting

• 19/09/25 – Bring a Bottle Day for Summer Fayre

• 20/09/25 – 11+ Selection Test (Optional)

• 21/09/25 – Summer Fayre

Here is our new Autumn Term dinner menu, which is now in effect.

Dear Parents and Carers,

We wanted to send a reminder to all our families of the uniform requirements from September 2025. We would like to draw special attention to:

• Hair styles - must not be extreme

• Earrings - no earrings of any kind. If you wish to get your child's ears pierced, the must be done at the beginning of the holidays to allow sufficient time to heal before returning to school. 

• Shoes - must be sensible and sturdy - no trainers

• Boots - only to be worn to and from school - need to change to shoes in school

 Please read the attached document for full information on all uniform requirements. 

 There will be a PRE-LOVED UNIFORM EVENT at the beginning of September, so please look out for this. 

 We would also like to remind everyone that all items in school must be clearly labelled, and the school will not accept responsibility for lost items. 

 Please help us to be 'The smartest school in town' and support us in ensuring the children are wearing the correct uniform, are fully prepared and ready to learn.

Kind regards,

School Office.

In line with other schools we will be introducing a new policy where by any children not collected from school by 3.30pm will be placed in our after school tea club and a £6 fee will be applied to your School Money account.

We have seen an increase in the number of children not collected on time and we hope the new charges will ensure children are collected promptly.

Our Amazon Wishlist is live!! The idea is that friends and family of the school can donate directly to the school library. We’ll still accept preloved copies from home that you may also wish to donate. The selection of books are chosen by the staff as texts that may benefit the pupil's reading comprehension, engagement with the curriculum and foster an interest in reading. The current list is reflective of this and will update as and when donations come through.  The link to our Wishlist is here.

A big thank you to those that have bought books for the school, we truly appreciate it.

LOST PROPERTY

Please can all parents check their child’s clothes -  All items should be clearly labelled and your child needs to ensure they can identify their own property.  Lost Property with no name is regualry sorted and either given to the pre-loved sale or taken to a local charity shop.

Thank you for your co-operation.

We would like to remind all our families using breakfast club of the importance of booking in advance.  We have noticed an increase of children not booking in advance and this effects our staffing ratio.

All bookings must be made at the beginning of each week so we can ensure we have enough staff available.  Priority will be given to children who have booked in advance and those who have not booked may not be able to stay.

If you need assistance making a booking please email annemariedriscoll@sacredheart.southend.sch.uk

Sleep workshop (virtual sessions)

These sessions are for children under the care of the Lighthouse Child Development Centre or who have a diagnosed neurodivergent condition. To book a place please email to book a place: epunft.Lighthouse.asd@nhs.net. Sessions run from 10am to 12pm.

2025 Dates: 3 July, 18 September and 16 October.

Click on the image below to read a workshop for parents of children who are anxious or worried about coming to school