Newsletter 05 10/10/25

It has been lovely to see all of the brightness around today as we recognise Mental Health Awareness Day. I talked a little in assembly about the struggles that we all endure with the stresses and anxieties of life and of how we need to support and care for ourselves and each other. As with any concerns and worries that children (or adults) have, we reiterated the message around opening up and talking to someone, although sometimes easier said than done. In school, children should always be encouraged and reminded to talk to any adult - and find someone that they are comfortable talking to - and be sure to talk to parents and others outside of school.

The mind is a powerful and complex thing, capable of great things as well as moments of real darkness. I think that we, as adults, know that everyone has worries and, as individuals, we are unique and deal with these in different ways. The best that we can do is encourage the sharing of worries and, importantly, be there to give time to listen to others. 

I mentioned Catholic Social Teaching in today's assembly, something that teachers heard about and discussed at out Assisi Trust training day a week ago. I liked best the definition of CST as Love In Action, meaning 'where love is needed, we act'. It is about how Catholics - and, hopefully, all at Sacred Heart - live out their faith in the world; what they do in practice to show love. In the context of Mental Health, this relates to teaching the children and adults in our community to recognise the dignity and worth of every individual and to do our bit to help those in their times of worry, anxiety and even crisis.

Thank you for supporting today's fundraising - which was getting towards £400 the last I heard - and encouraging your children to have a love of others, our world and of learning, whatever your religious beliefs and practices.

Wishing you happiness and the support that you might need in your own, personal times of need.

Mr Beazeley

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.

• 13/10 – Year 3 & 6 Class Mass

• 16/10 – Netball for selected team at Greenways from 3.30pm to 5.00pm

• 17/10 – Road Safety Pedestrian Training for Year 5 – 9.00am to 12.00pm

• 22/10 – Year 2 Trip to Sealife Centre – 9.00am to 3.00pm

• 22/10 – Year 3 trip to beach from 1.00pm to 3.00pm

• 23/10 – Class Assembly – St Joseph at 2.30pm

• 23/10 – Year 1 trip to beach from 1.00pm to 3.00pm

• 27/10 – 31/10 Half term holidays – no children in school 

• 03/11 – Children return to school

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

Please note that Lunches MUST be pre-booked. Children who have not had lunches booked will have to wait until the end of service to get their food. This is to ensure that those children that have booked, get the lunch of their choice. The remaining children will be served with whatever food options are leftover.

This will be our next menu, starting after the half-term on 3rd November.

As part of their Art topic, Year 2 went to the park and beach to be explorers and collectors. They did leaf rubbing and then made a piece of artwork with the items they collected.

Art Club have been adding some wonderful pieces to our school environment.

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

We are pleased to advise you that your school is participating in the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme.  PINS stands for ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools’.

It is a project which aims to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all neurodiverse children within mainstream schools. PINS is a national initiative led by the Department for Education and NHS England.

You can read more about the PINS project including some FAQs on our website here: https://www.southendsendindependentforum.co.uk/PINSPROJECT

To support the PINS project, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) would like to gather parent and carer views on the school as a whole. We would encourage all parents and carers to complete the survey as this will inform the project team how best to support your child’s school. You can provide your views by clicking the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QMQ8WYR

The closing date for the survey is Monday 20th October 2025.

As part of the PINS project, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) will be visiting school to speak to parents and carers and will forward more details in due course.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF)

Parent Carer Forum

  https://www.southendsendindependentforum.co.uk

   southendsendindependentforum@gmail.com

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