25th September 2026

A Message from Mrs Murphy

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to this week's newsletter. It has been another busy and inspiring week across St James CofE Primary School, packed with exciting learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

Here are our key updates for the week:

Thank You: 'Meet the Teacher' & Video Links

A big thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us for our 'Meet the Teacher' sessions on Friday. It was wonderful to see so many of you in school. If you were unable to attend or wish to recap the information, the recorded video sessions have now been updated and direct links are available on your class bulletins. We have linked to these sites further down this newsletter, as well on the bulletin.

Welcoming New Families: Prospective Parent Tours

Our prospective parent tours begin next week as we prepare to welcome families looking for Reception places for the next academic year. Please do share the booking link with your friends and family so that we can show off what our school has to offer. https://forms.gle/pdTSPkUqSuiLejA98

A huge congratulations and thank you to our new pupil tour guides who have been recruited and trained. They cannot wait to be the 'sales people' of our school on their first tour on Wednesday.

Recommended Book Lists for Year Groups

On our Virtual Suggestion Box we have received a request for recommended reads for each year group. We do not hold these as a school but always refer to this website when we make suggestions to parents and look for class books. There are a range of books suggested for each year group so it is definitely worth a look.

Year Group Recommended Reads – Top Children's Books by AgeExplore top children’s books by year group. Find age-appropriate, expert-reviewed reads for every stage of primary school.

Important Notices & Looking Ahead

Parent & Carer Consultations: Booking for these opens on Sunday and a letter has been attached to the daily communication email with key details and booking information.
Open Afternoon: We will be hosting our October open afternoon on Friday 9th October at 3pm. This is a valuable opportunity for parents and carers to look at their child's work ahead of their parent consultation appointments.
Parent Taster Session: Our caterers, P&H will be hosting a parent taster session on Thursday 1st October from 2.30-3.30pm in the hall. Pupils can join the taster session from 3.15pm.
Harvest Collection: As part of our celebration of Harvest, we will be requesting donations for the Runnymede foodbank. Please see the list below of what the foodbank has requested this year.
Annual Key Dates Sheet: Attached to today's newsletter is our key dates overview for the 2026-27 academic year. This outlines key school events and celebrations to help you plan ahead. We will update this as the year goes on.

Wishing you all a peaceful and enjoyable weekend ahead.

Kind regards,

Mrs Murphy

Yearly Overview 2026-27.pdf

Harvest Festival

Harvest Collections

This week in assembly we spoke about Compassion. As part our discussions we shared that St James will be collecting for the Foodbank as part of our Harvest celebrations. We will welcome donations from Thursday 1st October until Tuesday 13th.

Please see the poster for requested items this year.

Safeguarding

Who We Are & How to Get in Touch

Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs Cowden
Our Deputy Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs): Mrs Murphy, Mrs Wales and Miss Chadburn

Reporting a Concern: If you have a safeguarding concern, you can contact the team directly by emailing dsl@stjames-weybridge.surrey.sch.uk or speaking to us in person through the main office.

Safeguarding Policy: Our Child Protection & Safeguarding Policy is updated annually in line with statutory guidance and is always available to view in the policies section of our website.

Mobile Phones

At St James, we are committed to maintaining a mobile phone-free environment for all pupils, parents and visitors. To support safeguarding, privacy and positive interactions within our school community, mobile phones should not be used anywhere on the school site. This is in line with updated national guidance.

We kindly ask all parents and visitors to ensure that phones remain out of sight and are not used whilst on school grounds.

Allergy Awareness

Following our recent sharing of the updated national allergy guidance, here is a quick reminder of these changes and where to find our complete safety details.

The updated policy places a strong emphasis on proactive risk prevention, clear communication, rapid emergency response, and whole-community awareness across our entire site.

Our full Allergy Safety Policy outlines all of our procedures, staff training, and daily risk-prevention measures in detail. You can view or download the complete document at any time by visiting the Policies section on our website.

If your child's medical details, medication, or allergy needs have changed recently, please contact the main office as soon as possible so we can ensure their Individual Healthcare Plan is completely up to date. Thank you for your continued partnership in keeping our school safe and inclusive for everyone.

Virtual Suggestion Box

We are incredibly proud of our community and want to make it even easier for you to share your thoughts. We are launching a Virtual Suggestion Box: a digital space for proactive ideas, "big picture" thoughts, or creative solutions. This is for constructive suggestions (e.g., "Could we explore a uniform swap shop?") and the Senior Leadership Team will review submissions once a month.

The link is here: https://forms.gle/KmPeMQ7gebij59Qw8

For urgent or individual concerns regarding your child, please continue to contact the office or teacher directly.

St James Church Events

School Lunches - New Caterer

From September, Palmer & Howells (P&H) became our new school catering provider. Please see below the new three-week rolling menu from September.

Palmer & Howells pride themselves on preparing meals using fresh ingredients wherever possible and offer a varied menu that complies with school food standards. They also have considerable experience in catering for pupils with allergies and special dietary requirements, ensuring that all children can enjoy a safe and nutritious lunchtime experience.

P&H will be hosting a parent taster session in the hall on Thursday 1st October from 2.30-3.30pm. Pupils are welcome to join the taster session at the end of the school day.

Meals should be ordered in advance through the Arbor app.

If your child has recently moved up to Year 3 in September, they will no longer receive a Universal Free School Meal. Unless your family qualify for Free School Meals, you will need to book and pay from school lunches on Arbor from September. An Arbor parent tutorial for ordering meals can be found here.

Year Group Pages

Year 1Welcome to Year 1

Year 2Welcome to Year 2

Year 3Welcome to Year 3

Year 4Welcome to Year 4

Year 5Welcome to Year 5

Year 6Welcome to Year 6

Autumn Term Clubs

2026 Club dates and times Autumn Term.pdf

Attendance and Penalty Notices

Weekly reminder - for parents/carers, if children are taken 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.