Headteacher Message
Welcome to our first newsletter of this academic year. Also, welcome to all of our new families. We have lots to share with you all, so please take the time to read through the following information.
Harvest Festival – Wednesday 9th October - 10.00am at the Church (all welcome)
On Wednesday 9th October we will be holding our Harvest Festival service at the church. This year we will be collecting for two causes, the local food bank and Felsted Aid Direct. The food bank have produced a shopping list (click here) and often run out of UHT milk, tinned meat meals, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit and long life fruit juice. If you would like to donate to Felsted Aid Direct, please follow Felsted Aid Direct which links you to a page on their website explaining what supplies they always need (these include washing powder, toothbrushes, soap and toilet rolls).
Last week, the children took part in a Harvest workshop and sang brilliantly. The children, alongside the school choir, will perform these songs during our Harvest service.
School Grounds Morning - Saturday 12th October
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
After the success of our first ever grounds day in June, we are looking for volunteers to lend a helping hand with tidying up and gardening our lovely school grounds again. This time we will be giving the EYFS/KS1 area and the front of the school some T.L.C.
Parents, carers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and of course children are invited to come and help on the day. You will receive a letter detailing how you can help on the day so please look out for this.
Attendance and MCAS
After the nationwide technical glitches, we hope that everyone is now receiving notifications through the MACS app. You are now able to view your child’s attendance through the app, you can also use the messages section to report absences. As we start a new school year, this will help you to track your child’s attendance, rather than having to wait for the end of year report or a letter from school notifying you of our concerns. You may find the attendance mountain here a helpful guide. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind you about the changes linked to issuing penalty notices which can be found here.
I have been very impressed with everyone’s attendance and punctuality this term. Please remember to park safety in the designated areas. There are a number of parking spaces in Blossom Way allocated for school parking. From there, you have a quick and safe walk to school. We have been in contact with the council to request that the double yellow lines and zig zig markings are given a fresh lick of paint.
Safeguarding Review
Last week, as part of our work with the River Chelmer Partnership Schools we requested a safeguarding review. During the review our visitor observed playtimes, talked to groups of children and scrutinised our safeguarding policies and procedures. We were very pleased with the report and I have included the summary paragraph for your reference below.
‘Great Waltham Primary School is a very friendly, caring and highly inclusive village school. Children are extremely welcoming of visitors, friendly, well-behaved and polite across the school. As a result, the school environment is supportive, calm, well-focused and purposeful. Due to its robust safeguarding systems, which are diligently maintained and reviewed, there is a strongly established safeguarding culture across the school where every child matters. The school benefits from having a highly experienced senior leadership team. As a result, staff take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously and act with diligence and professionalism when they are made aware of any concerns raised. The school has a clear set of values which supports building strong relationships between staff, children and its parents.’
The 3 Parking Rules: Care, Consideration and Caution
3PR will be starting again this week so if you walk, bike or scoot to school or park outside our 3PR zone then your child will receive a 3PR token to add to their class collection. I will talking to the children about this during collective worship and have included a link here to a short slide show explaining the 3PR zone.
Safeguarding tips and advice
NSPCC Learning, with the PSHE Association, has updated its PANTS resources and the children will be learning more about this during their PSHE lessons in school. You can also help at home by following the link below:
NSPCC support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule
Home or out alone guidance
The NSPCC also has guidance to help parents and carers decide what is best for their child when it comes to staying home alone or going out alone. It covers some of the risks parents and carers should consider before making a decision, such as how their child feels about the idea and who they should contact in an emergency. The guidance includes practical tips, advice, and a checklist for parents and carers and children to work through together to help them prepare for different types of scenarios. E.g. there are questions about what to do if there is an accident at home or if they are approached by a stranger outside.
I can’t believe that we are now in our third full week of this term, time is flying by! This week the office will be sending out some information regarding bookings for parents evenings. I will also be sending out a letter clarifying how and when you can communicate concerns with school and guidance on class WhatsApp groups so please look out for this.
Best wishes,
Mrs Justine Brooks
