News - 30th January 2025
Dear Parents/Carers,
It’s been another busy two weeks here at St Mary’s! Firstly, I am delighted to announce that we have successfully maintained our Inclusion Quality Mark Centre of Excellence status. This accomplishment follows our recent annual review, carried out by assessor Pat Wood on the 16th of January, which involved a comprehensive evaluation of our progress and impact. Through learning walks, meetings with pupils, staff, local committee members, and parents, we were able to showcase our commitment to inclusivity and established our targets for the upcoming year. This achievement reflects the collective efforts and dedication of everyone involved in our work to ensure that every child at St Mary’s feels valued, supported, and included in all aspects of school life. The overview of our report has been sent as a separate attachment.
Speaking of inclusion, our SENDCo, Mrs. Ryder, continues to play a pivotal role in coordinating essential support and training for our school community. So far this year, our staff have benefitted from expert-led sessions focusing on ADHD, PDA, and resilience, with an upcoming focus on Emotionally Based School Non-Attendance. Additionally, we have seen positive engagement from parents through a series of neurodiversity workshops, and some of our pupils have had the opportunity to participate in ADHD positivity sessions with Barnardo’s, and others are working with representatives from the EIKON charity. Looking ahead, we are particularly excited to take part in ‘Neurodiversity Celebration Week’ in March, further strengthening our commitment to raising awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of neurodiversity. More information about our plans for this week will follow.
In line with our ongoing efforts to re-establish routines and expectations this term, we are currently refining our approach to behaviour management, working towards striking the delicate balance between our restorative approach and the need for clear, consistent consequences. We recognise that behaviour is often a form of communication, and we are developing a consequence framework that ensures our responses are fair and proportional, whilst also providing the required support to children and their families. Please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance if you have any concerns about your child.
The past fortnight has also been filled with enriching experiences for our pupils. Year 3 recently embarked on a fascinating trip to the Southampton Sea City Museum, where their study of the Titanic came to life through engaging workshops. Year 5 had the exciting opportunity to perform at the O2 in London, joining thousands of other Young Voices for a spectacular musical showcase. Their talents were further highlighted in a captivating class assembly about the Shang Dynasty this week, complete with vibrant costumes and infectious enthusiasm, even in the face of technical difficulties this morning!
Tuesday also brought a special event to St Mary’s, as we welcomed wheelchair rugby Paralympian Kylie Grimes and multi-talented athlete Nerys Pearce for the Great Athletes event. Children from Reception, all the way through to Year 6 participated in energetic circuits, filling our hall with an electric atmosphere of joy, excitement, and determination. I had only intended to pop in and out throughout the afternoon but was having such a lovely time that I stayed for the whole session - St Mary’s children are wonderful! Kylie’s inspiring assembly, in which she shared her journey from a seven-year-old dreamer to a Paralympic athlete, left a lasting impression on our pupils.
I can’t end this week’s bulletin without mentioning the PTA’s pantomime performance, which was nothing short of spectacular! As a first-time attendee, I was truly mesmerised by the professionalism and talent on display. It was a wonderful reminder of the incredible community we have here at St Mary’s, and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to everyone involved in making this production such a resounding success.
Over the coming weeks, we are looking forward to class assemblies from Year 4 and Year 3 and are excited to celebrate NSPCC Number Day on Friday 7th February. Further information about this day can be found below.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Alison Evans
Acting Headteacher
CLOTHES BANK
Reminder: we have a clothes bank onsite, by the school office. If you have any unwanted clothing/shoes/belts/bedlinen/soft toys/handbags, please bring into school and place in the recycling bin.
NSPCC NUMBER DAY
Number Day is taking place on Friday 7th February.
Number Day is an inclusive maths-inspired fundraising day for children in nursery right through to secondary school. The children will take part in a number of different activities throughout the day. Children can wear Mufti on this day.
Donations to NSPCC can be made on Scopay.
Funds raised from Number Day will help to support vital NSPCC services like Speak out Stay Safe, which visits primary schools across the UK to teach children about the dangers of abuse and what they can do if they need help.
GREAT ATHLETES
On Tuesday 28th January, the children took part in the 'Great Athletes' event to promote the importance of physical activity. Paralympian, Kylie Grimes (GB Wheelchair Rugby), visited our school and all children took part in a fun fitness circuit with the athlete.
This was followed by an assembly, where the children had the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about Great Athletes.
The children were also invited to get sponsorship for taking part in this event. This was optional.
If you would still like to sponsor your child, this has now been extended to Sunday 2nd February.
We are not able to take cash donations at school, therefore please visit: https://sportal.greatathletes.org/events/landing
SCOPAY
Please ensure that lunches are updated on Scopay by midday on Wednesday’s.
Please review Scopay for any outstanding balances for trips, breakfast club or school lunches.
If you are having any issues with making payments, please do get in touch.
UNIFORM
Please ensure that your child is wearing the correct uniform when attending school.
Children should be wearing:
- Royal Blue Sweatshirt (logo), Royal Blue Cardigan (logo), grey trousers, shorts or skirt, white shirt, school tie (KS2), grey socks or grey tights, black or dark blue shoes.
- Long hair must be tied back for practical and hygiene reasons. Blue, black or white or hair coloured hair bands, slides and ribbons of a modest size are acceptable.
- Children should not be wearing jewellery, large earrings, or colourful hair ties/bands. Trainers should not be worn on non-PE days.
Please label all items of clothing to avoid it not being returned if lost
PARKING
Parents should not be using School Lane for drop off and/or pick up, inclusive of breakfast club.
There continues to be issues with parking on School Lane and access for residents. Staff at school are also having issues parking on arrival.
Please park either at the Catholic Church or the back of the school and walk to the school gates.
Please do not, under any circumstances, park across the gates which access the school or on the corner of School Lane as this causes traffic on the Petworth Road and obstruction.
Thank you for your cooperation.
SCHOOL FUND
On a termly basis, we ask for a small contribution per family in order to support some of the extended opportunities that we provide. This may be used for additional resources for specific resources i.e. Art or a piece of equipment to be used by pupils on the school site.
In today’s economic climate, I am aware that parents are concerned about requests for financial support from schools. However, the reality of the situation is that, like all schools, in our latest budget we have had to make significant savings, which reflect reduction in our funding allocation from central government. It is only through continued careful management of resources that we have been able to afford to do this and protect the core curriculum resources.
With this in mind, your on-going support for the school fund would help us to continue to support these additional resources. For the academic year 2024 – 2025, we would like to ask each family to contribute £25 per term; however, anything you can contribute would be gratefully received.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING UPDATE
St Mary’s has a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Board which is situated opposite the Mullard Building. Here you will find a wealth of useful information on Mental Health and Wellbeing. Please take a moment to have a look at the services available in our area and online.
ATTENDANCE
We want to remind you that there are new Department for Education regulations in place regarding children’s absences. These took effect from 19th August 2024 which affect penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence from school.
More details can be found:
Working together to improve school attendance (Gov.uk)
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools/at-school/attendance-and-absence/legal-processes-used-to-enforce-school-attendance-guidance-for-parents
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance
https://www.stmaryschidd.org/key-information/parent-information/school-attendance/
Week Commencing 20th January 2025
Reception – 98.2%
Year 1 – 96%
Year 2 – 95.3%
Year 3 – 91.3%
Year 4 – 91.2%
Year 5 – 93%
Year 6 – 97.2%
ST. MARY’S SCHOOL VISION
Wisdom
Wisdom is a core Christian value in our school because we believe through wisdom good choices are made, that it encourages us to learn from our mistakes and encourages us to live our lives wisely for the benefit of all. "And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’’ John 8:32
Hope
Hope is a core Christian value in our school because hope gives us energy and supports us through difficult times. "Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time.’’ Romans 12:12 To act with hope is to aspire to greater things, to promote positivity and courageous advocacy. Respect Respect is a core Christian value in our school because we believe that all life is precious within the image of God and deserves to be valued. "Do to others as you would have them do unto you." Luke 6:31 Our Christian value of respect means living up to the image of God with our school, our community and ourselves.
Community
Community is a core Christian value in our school because we know that together we are stronger and can achieve more. "Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.’’ Romans 12:16
Everyone in our school, local and global community are needed and valued.
