.
Some thoughts for the starting school year
February 2024 Edition
Our February Value is Love
Jessop Priorities
- To ensure our children are happy and we explain things well
- To ensure no child leaves our school unable to read
- To ensure children learn a broad vocabulary to access the world around them
- To enhance the educational experiences of diagnosed and undiagnosed children with SEND
A Message from Mr Baffoe
The Spring term seems to be whizzing by so quickly!
During this term, the children of Jessop have settled back into their learning by delivering some wonderful class assemblies, learning new songs with their music teachers, taking part in workshops, completing surveys and preparing for trips. We've had some amazing donations from the Amazon wish list and are looking forward to the upcoming weeks before the end of the term.
In this month's edition of the newsletter, we are reflecting on some of the enjoyable learning experiences that have taken place thus far.
We want to thank everybody within the community for working hard to establish our routines since the turn of the year!
Keep an eye out for SEND Newsletter out now!
Celebrating our Worthy Entrants!
The Mayor of London Love Your Lunch Challenge
A massive well done to our very own Ashai Murray who was one of the runners up in the competition and received a prize for her achievement. She warded off stiff competition from other candidates in London. We are so proud of you Ashai, keep it up!
Here is the congratulatory email sent to Ms Ackermann who arranged for our children to enter the competition.
Hello,
I am thrilled to share some exciting news regarding the Mayor of London’s Love your Lunch Challenge. We received hundreds of outstanding submissions from across the city, it was truly heartening to see the creativity and enthusiasm displayed by all the children involved.
I am delighted to let you know that Ashai Murray was a runner up and will receive one of our exciting prizes. The achievement is truly commendable, considering the fantastic quality of submissions we received!
We will be in touch in the New Year with further details about sending the prize on.
Once again, a massive congratulations to Ashai Murray for their incredible submission. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to them for sending us through their creation.
As a reminder, all entrants will also receive a badge, bookmark and a certificate signed by the Mayor in January. We will write to you in the New year also to confirm details of this.
Have a wonderful holiday season.
Best wishes,
UFSM team
Our other amazing entrants who received certificates from the school.
Stepping into Stories
We also had joint runners up in our local Stepping into Stories competition. Both of the boys received an admirable second place for their entries submitted in the Stepping into Stories Lit Fest. Children were invited to write their own story about a theme which was called 'Rooted Deep Branching. Why not visit their website and find out more by following this link https://www.steppingintostories.org/
All classes had a fantastic experience during last term when they either visited their setting in Herne Hill and were told lots of stories by visiting authors or the authors came into school to inspire our children with their fantastic storytelling.
Topic this Term....
Get involved with your child's topic this term!
Top Questions to ask your Child
What Art/DT word of the week has your child been learning?
Year 1- primary colours Year 4- scenic
Year 2- strokes Year 5- focal point
Year 3- pneumatic Year 6- asymmetric
Please rienforce the learning by asking your child/ren what it means.
Curriculum Spotlight
This Month we Shine a Light on Phonics
As a school we know the importance of getting all of our children to read well as quickly as possible; giving them the confidence to become independent readers and engaged learners. With this in mind we have chosen the DfE validated scheme 'Essential Letters and Sounds' as our phonics scheme.
The principles of ELS are based upon:
- the delivery of high-quality first teaching with well-structured daily lesson plans
- the use of consistent terminology by teachers, children and parents
- the use of consistent resources that support effective teaching
- repetition and reinforcement of learning
- regular and manageable assessment to ensure that all children ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’
Children are taught phonics lessons daily from their second week in our Reception class (once our Reception baseline assessment has been completed). From then on, they work through the different phases as outlined in the progression documents.
Our belief is that all children can succeed within our phonics sessions. We assess and monitor children throughout lessons and provide in lesson support to ensure no children fall behind. Regular, half - termly assessments provide us with further knowledge of the children's understanding and ensure that should any children fall behind, we can provide timely interventions to catch them back up as quickly as possible.
Embed – The Theory and Pedagogy behind ELS
ELS teaches children to read using a systematic synthetic phonics approach. It is designed to be used as part of an early learning environment that is rich in talk and story, where children experience the joy of books and language whilst rapidly acquiring the skills to become fluent independent readers and writers.
ELS teaches children to:
• decode by identifying each sound within a word and blending them together
to read fluently
• encode by segmenting each sound to write words accurately.
We know that for children at the end of Key Stage 1 to achieve the age-related expectations, they need to read fluently at 90 words per minute. As children move into Key Stage 2, it is vitally important that even those who have made the slowest progress are able to read age-appropriate texts independently and with fluency. For children to engage with the wider curriculum, they need to be able to read well, making inferences and drawing on background knowledge to support their
developing understanding of a text when they read. To do this, they need to be able to draw not only on their phonic knowledge but also on their wider reading and comprehension skills, each of which must be taught. The first step in this complex process is the link between spoken and written sounds.
Every ELS lesson has been designed to ensure that the minimum cognitive load is placed on the learner. The structure of the lessons allows children to predict what is coming next, what they need to do, and how to achieve success
FoJ (Friends of Jessop)
Come and Join in the Fun!
Join Friends of Jessop for the first fundraiser of 2024! A fabulous drink and draw on
Thursday 22nd February. There will be two slots available either 7.30pm – 8.30pm or 9 -10pm at Jessop Primary school.
Unleash your inner artist and unwind, taught by a professional artist. All art supplies provided.
A fun event open to grown ups and please bring along your friends. Bring your own bottle or buy a drink at our bar.
Buy your ticket before half term on scopay and it costs £15 per person, £20 per person after half term. It is not too late to buy your tickets!
All money raised goes towards fundraising for the new football pitch.
Email friendsofjessop@gmail.com for more information.
Wish List
Many thanks from Seal and Penguin class for the classroom critters of our Amazon wishlist. We really appreciate it.https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/2TI248ATPIW60/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_2
Homework
Please help support your child with their spellings by looking at the spelling rules, sounds and patterns in each word. Practising spellings daily (or as much as possible) will help your children to learn and remember each word.
In KS1, children will need to choose five spelling words to put into sentences.
In KS2, children will need to write a sentence for each word, using neat, joined handwriting.
This will give the children the opportunity to understand the meaning of each word, put the word into context and allow them to practise their handwriting.
The children will complete a Spelling and Times Table test during the week.
Current Art / DT Outcomes Across the School
Early Years Foundation Stage
Reception coloured in a picture of London and the Caribbean to compare two different environments. They used pencil to draw the outline and then crayons to colour inside.
Year 1
Linked to their topic 'Taking Flight', Year 1 are creating flight inspired art based on the techniques of Vincent Van Gogh.
Year 2
Improvising through their topic 'London's Burning', the children have been inspired by the print Artist Linda Goldberg.
Year 3
This term in Design and Technology Year 3 designed and made bridges.
Year 4
Linked to their topic 'Paddington', Year 4 are learning about the Artist David Hockney to create artwork of Peruvian landscapes.
Year 5
Linked to their topic 'Microsociety', Year 5 are creating package labels for their microsociety products, inspired by their learning on the street artist Banksy.
Year 6
Linked to their topic 'Route 66', Year 6 are learning about the American Artist Kehinde Wiley using acrylic to explore his work
Important Dates for your Diary February and March 2024 ...
Monday 19th February
First Day Back
Thursday 22nd February
PTA Fundraising Event (19:30 - 20:30 and 21:00 - 22:00)
Friday 23rd February
Reception open Day
Morning - 09.30 (Please visit the school’s website to book)
Tuesday 27th February
Federation Virtual Spanish Parent Workshop - 17:00 - 18:00
MARCH - Value of the Month is FRIENDSHIP
Thursday 7th March
World Book Day/Whole school dress-up day
Parent reading drop-in 08:55 - 09:15
Friday 8th March
International Women’s Day
Ladies Afternoon - 14:30 - 15:30
Friday 8th March
Year 3 - Gorilla Class assembly 10:30
Friday 8th March
Reception open Day
Morning - 09.30 (Please visit the school’s website to book)
Monday 11th March - Wednesday 13th March
Year 4 Residential trip to Ufton Court
Monday 11th March
Science Week
Friday 15th March
Nursery - Panda Class Assembly - Red Nose Day - Comic Relief 10:30
Friday 22nd March
Spring Enterprise Event
Year 3 - Elephant class assembly 10:30
Tuesday 26th March
Parent Consultation in person and Exhibition of work
Wednesday 27th March
Parent Consultation in person and Exhibition of work
Thursday 28th March
Topic Dress Up Day
Last day of term - School Finishes at 13.30
Friday 29th March to Friday 12th April Half Term - School Closed.
Supportive Services
Food Bank Vouchers
In these difficult times any of us can find ourselves in challenging situations. Should you need support, please contact Ms Jenkins or Ms Serbis.who can support with food vouchers discreetly.
Better Start Outreach Support
We are delighted to to have on site our Children Centre where the team works with families at Jessop and our local community. The Children Centre is open every week day and during the holidays. All of the team will be happy to meet parents and carers to give help, advice and support relating to the following issues:
Citizens Advice
Benefits advice
Food bank vouchers
Disability Living Allowance applications
Cost of Living information
Training and employment advice
Activities for children during half-term breaks
Advice on support available within Lambeth
Our Children Centre team have a great deal of knowledge and expertise and are a fantastic asset to have working with us at Jessop. Please feel welcome to pop in and find out more during their opening times.
Attendance
Central to raising standards in all schools and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential, is the need for children to attend school regularly to benefit from their education.
There is a strong link between good learning, high achievement, rapid progress and developing good social skills with excellent attendance.
We want to take this opportunity to outline our expectations for school attendance this academic year.
If your child arrives at school from 9.01am they will be marked as LATE, if they arrive after 9.30am they will be classed as “late after the register is closed” and their attendance is classed as absent for the morning session. As the registers would have already been returned to the Department for Education.
Regular poor punctuality can also have a negative effect on your child’s attendance as well as their academic learning. Being 6 minutes late each day equals 30 minutes of missed learning every week.
If your child’s attendance drops below 90%, we will need to share our concerns with the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer at Lambeth Council.
Is my child too ill for school?
How to seek support with attendance challenges
Pupil Attendance
EYFS and KS1
Kangaroos 93%
Koalas 97% Overall EYFS and KS1 Winners
KS2
Gazelles 93%
Polar Bears 94%
Dolphins 95%
Blue Whales 93%
What's new on the website?
Check out our new learning updates page on the website.
Going forward, we will share the direct links to the new learning updates on the website with you.
You will also be able to access our current term curriculum learning (Knowledge Organiser) from there too.
Key Stage 1
Lower Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2
Raising a Concern
It is important to us that any concerns or questions you may have are dealt with as efficiently as possible. The structure we have in place is designed to do just that.
The structure
1) Your first port of call is -Your child’s class teacher
(email via the admin team to request a meeting)
2) You may contact the leader of your child’s phase
This includes issues regarding communication and organisation
(email via the admin team to request a meeting)
Should you be dissatisfied with the handling or outcome…
3) You may raise your concerns with Mr Baffoe
(email via the admin team to request a meeting outlining the nature for the purpose of the meeting)
Leaders are required to share items (as appropriate) with Mr Baffoe on a weekly basis, even if the matter is being handled by them.
We request that you do not field your concerns to FoJ but instead work directly with the school staff as outlined above.
Quote of the Month
Out of School Clubs at Jessop
School Meals
Do you have the Skill to help?
When we need particular support from our parent community, we post for help on our 'Call to Action' page on the schools website, and send the direct page link in an email to our parent community. So signing up is really easy!
Perhaps you would like to be a secret reader (reading a story to your child’s class), or would like to support us in maximising children’s opportunity to practice their reading skills.
New this week! We are looking for parents to help us prepare, organise and sort resources for our SEND learners. If you would like to support these children by giving some time to the school, please click on the link above.
We need you. Click on the title to find out more.
Our February SEND Newsletter is out now, find out more about Mental Health and Wellbeing, meet our Federation Inclusion Team, and lots more!
School and Community Events - Please see our website for further information
What's on at Jessop Children Centre
Lambeth’s Support Services for Families and Students
The Gaia Centre provides support for Lambeth residents affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse. An out-of-hours on-call service: 07725245779. Normal hours are 8am-6pm Monday – Friday. It also offers services for young people and advice for practitioners. Tel: 020 7733 8724, E: lambethvawg@refuge.org.uk.
Helpline support is available:
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline, 24/7
- Women’s Aid live chat, daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Men’s Advice Line, weekdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Samaritans Helpline, 24/7
- Childline 24/7
- In emergencies, call 999
Additional resources are available on the Lambeth VAWG webpage and through Operation Encompass, a national initiative for children exposed to domestic abuse. For questions, contact: PS Laura Bennetts - laura.bennetts@met.police.uk or PC Rachel - Rachel.Dennison@met.police.uk or PC Nicola Smalldridge - Nicola.Smalldridge2@met.police.uk
Keep up to date
For more information on any of the above and more, press below to visit the schools website and follow us on Twitter!