Newsletter: 18th July 2025

A Message from Mrs Murphy

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have reached the end of the academic year, and we are very proud of what the children have achieved. As you will have seen on our internal communications, the St James children have performed incredibly well at all statutory assessment points. Across the school, the children always wow us with their passion for learning and their enthusiasm and we cannot wait to see what they can achieve next year.

Over the past two weeks, we have continued to have some fantastic school events and it was so lovely to see so many attend:

Our Summer Fair was a great success and was lovely to see so many families enjoying our school grounds.
Year 6 stunned audiences with their performance of Super Stan! This was an outstanding performance where every child 'let their light shine.'

Year 6 Leavers Assembly and Church Service

This week the Year 6 children hosted a church service at St James Church for their parents and carers. They wrote the content themselves and it was so lovely to hear all their favourite memories and what they will miss about St James. What came through clearly was how proud they are of their achievements and of the school. It was a reflective testament to how they have matured into sixty-one fantastic young people, ready to take on their next challenge at Secondary School.

Green Flag

This week the Eco Committee raised their Green Flag to mark achieving this award! The flag looks great and all the children were excited to see this going up. A really proud moment for everyone at St James.

Year 6 Leavers Party

Last night Year 6 were treated to a fantastic party, hosted by our Year 6 parents. It was so much fun with inflatables, flower leis, Disco, BBQ and temporary tattoos. A huge thank you to all the parents who helped with this very special event. All the children (and the staff) had a great time!

Friends of St James

I would like to thank Becky and Sam for their commitment to the Friends of St James this year. It has been a pleasure to work together to raise funds for the school and I know there are lots of fun plans for next year.

End of Year reflection

St James is very lucky to have such an incredible staff team. Over the last three years we have re-vamped the whole curriculum and nearly all our school processes to ensure we are offering the very best for your children. This has required a huge amount of commitment from all the staff at St James, whether in the site team, the office team or those involved in the teaching of the children. I know you will all join me in wishing the whole team a lovely restful summer holiday.

I would like to give extra special thanks to Mrs Atkins, Mrs Wales and Mrs Cowden who work tirelessly, often behind the scenes, supporting the St James pupils and staff and helping me drive the school forward and achieve the great things we do at St James. I wish them a well-deserved break.

My final thanks goes to all the parents, carers and Governors who have offered us support over the last year. We really do appreciate the time and support you give us at St James. It really does make a difference!

Wishing a lovely summer holiday and we will see you all back at school on the 4th September.

Mrs Murphy

Celebration Awards

Y1 Wrens - Whole class / Tapiwa

Robins - Micah / Whole class

Y2 Woodpeckers - Hope

Kingfishers - Charlie M/ Luca

Y3 Barn Owls - Arthur / Freddie

Snowy Owls - Finley / Emily

Y4 Kestrels - Hudson / Darcie / Harry

Merlins - Lorena

Falcons - Yegor / Thomas / Eva / Kaoih / Maicie / Mason / Daisy / Emily / Annabel

Kites - Whole class

Y6 Eagles - Henry T / Charlie R. / Callie

Hawks - Kasper / Ellison / Toby

Values Certificates and Counter Collection

This week we awarded:

LOVE: Wylder / Emina / Richard O. / Serafyma

RESPECT: Edwin/ Florence/Lily Mae/Anaya//Harry W /Lucy S/Emina/Blake R/Alexis H/Jessica S.

UNITY: Tommy R-E / Felicity L / Mia K / Amika/ Phoebe M.

COURAGE: Alex S./Lily-Mae/Madison R./Lily G / Beau/Harry W /Alexis H/Emina/Anaya N. / Samuel A.

Attendance Award

The attendance trophy is being given out every Friday to the class who has the highest attendance each week.

The award has been presented to the following classes:

Friday 18th July: Kites

House Points

Well done to all of the children who have received house points this week.

Summer ChallengeEarn an exclusive pin badge and certificate by joining the Summer Challenge, an exciting event designed to encourage daily learning!

Doodle Summer Challenge

There is still time to join the Doodle Summer Challenge

From the 1st of July, Doodle are running two exciting Summer Challenges — the Doodle Maths Challenge and the Doodle English Challenge!

Both Challenges are designed to encourage a few minutes of daily Doodling, promoting healthy learning habits and boosting your child’s maths and English skills.

Most excitingly, they can earn FREE rewards by taking part!

Last week, Tasha from Weybridge library held an exciting assembly to tell us all about the brilliant things they do at the library. We were introduced to the summer reading challenge which the children are keen to get involved with. We look forward to celebrating those children who achieve it in an assembly in September. Tasha also shared some exciting craft projects they hold on a Saturday morning, free of charge. You can find out about all these opportunities at…

Facebook - Weybridge Library

X - @WeybridgeLib

Instagram - @weybridgelibrary

Safeguarding

Water Safety

As temperatures continue to be high and children spend more time outdoors, water safety becomes even more important. Children are naturally curious and are often drawn to water, whether it is a pool, beach, river, lake, or even a garden pond. That is why it is vital for parents and carers to learn about water safety and pass that knowledge on.

You can make a difference. Start the water safety conversation with your children and help spread the word.

Healthy Surrey helps you find services and support for your health
Mindworks Surrey has tips to support your child’s mental health and wellbeing
Hope Service - Parent and carer support is a safe space where you can share your experiences and get support
Family Information Service a directory of your local services
Learners' Single Point of Access - Surrey County Council offers help and support if you have a query relating to a child in Surrey with additional need
Elmbridge Family Centre - Spurgeons Family Centres in Elmbridge offer a wide range of activities and services to support family life, for parents and carers of children

School Menu

Please find below the current lunch menu from our school caterers, Twelve15. This is a three week rolling menu. All children choose from one of the three meal options at the start of each school day. There is also a fully stocked salad bar and fresh bread served daily.

If your child is in KS2 and has a school meal, please remember to pay for and book their meals in advance using SCOPAY.

Attendance and Penalty Notices

Weekly reminder - for 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), then you will be liable for a penalty notice fine

1. If you have not incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children in a rolling 3 year period since 19 August 2024, then the penalty notice will be charged at the rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. This will be reduced to £80.00 if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

2. If you have incurred a penalty notice relating to this child/children since 19 August 2024, the rolling 3 year period will be activated from the date of the first penalty notice and the second penalty notice will be charged at the flat rate of £160.00, per parent/carer per child, if paid within 28 days. There will be no reduction for payment within 21 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in Surrey County Council considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

3. If you have incurred 2 penalty notices relating to this child/children in the rolling 3 year period since the first penalty notice was issued, then you will NOT receive a third penalty notice – Surrey County Council will have no option but to consider a prosecution, per parent/carer per child, in the Magistrates Court under s 444 Education Act 1996.

Surrey County Council is not responsible for authorising pupil absence and therefore cannot withdraw any Penalty Notice requests without the written permission of the Headteacher.

The St James Attendance Policy can be found here..

Leave of Absence form can be found here.

Attendance

The Government released two longitudinal studies on the impact of low attendance on future attainment and on future earning this week. Please see their poster which demonstrates their findings.

Thank you to all the parents who support us in aiming for positive school attendance. Our current school attendance figure is 95.4% which is above National and Surrey level.