Weekly Newsletter

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Last week some of our Year 2 children took part in a gymnastics competition. They represented the school brilliantly and made everyone incredibly proud.

Our school attendance is currently at its lowest for the last 2 years. Whilst we recognise that your child(ren) may sometimes be unwell it is important that they attend as regularly as possible. If your child has a cold or cough but no temperature then they should be able to come to school. If you are worried about them going out in the cold at break or lunchtimes, or if they have PE that day speak to us so we can make alternative arrangements. Research shows that regular attendance and attainment are linked. 

In the term before Christmas the day of the week with the lowest attendance rate across the school was a Friday. This term let's see if we can raise the school attendance rate by thinking twice before keeping your child off school. Only by working together can we make the difference.

We shared last week that we would be sending out information on how well your child is getting on at school. This will be a snapshot of where your child is with their learning and will include your child's attendance. You will see that if your child's attendance is below 95% they are below expected and below 90% is persistent absenteeism. If you child's attendance is below 95% please be aware that we are monitoring this and if it declines further we will be reaching out to see if there is anything we can do to support you. If your child is in year 6 any attendance information will be shared with the secondary schools towards the end of the year. 

Class attendances so far this year (highest to lowest):

Year 2 - 96.4%

Reception - 94.8%

Year 4 - 94.5%

Year 3 - 94.0%

Year 1 and Year 5 - 93.6%

Year 6 - 92.4%

There will be open classes during the week of 23rd-27th February for parents/carers to come into school to see their child's learning. We appreciate that this may be short notice for some parents but there will be further opportunities later in the year. 

Safer Internet Day is Tuesday 10th February. The theme for this year is “Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI”. This day serves as a reminder to promote a safer internet for everyone, especially for younger users. The children will have a heightened focus on online safety during next week, which is taught throughout the year. With increasing numbers of children having phones and gaming online at home, the importance of staying safe online is essential. We will be running a parent workshop over the coming months to ensure parents have the tools to support their child. 

Top Tips for parents and carers - UK Safer Internet Centre 

Useful Resources for Children and Young People’s Mental Health:

CYPMHS HertsHub is now live – a one-stop hub for mental health advice, self-help tools, and services for children and young people in Hertfordshire. Co-produced with young people, families, and professionals, the platform makes it easier to find the right support, from building healthy habits to accessing early help or specialist services. With signposting to free resources and crisis contacts, HertsHub brings everything together in one place. 

The Sandbox team for 10-25-year-olds have also created some new resources to help with social anxiety: what it is, common thinking and behaviour traps and how to face it one step at time, with useful calming tips. You can find everything on the Resource Zone.