Dear Parents,
Welcome back!
It has been wonderful to be back in school. Welcome to all the new families who have joined in a number of year groups and to our new Nursery and Reception cohorts. We hope that you will feel welcome and that you will enjoy your Sacred Heart journey, that your children will make happy memories here and achieve the very best outcomes academically, emotionally and spiritually.
The children have been settling well into their new routines and enjoying their new classrooms. This is an important time for them, getting to know their teachers and the support staff working with them this year.
Inset Days
The inset days at the beginning of September were well spent with whole staff training which included - safeguarding, medical, further Quality First Teaching Principles, Thrive Curriculum update training and School Development Planning work.
Meet the Teacher sessions
We have set up our Meet the Teacher sessions so that you can come in and hear about the year ahead, see how things might be different from last year, plus ask any questions. Reception have had their meeting prior to the summer so this is offered to Year 1 to Year 6 parents. If you have work commitments or are unable to attend, these presentations will be circulated so that everyone has the information. The teachers will commence their weekly update emails so hopefully we will all be kept informed.
We will share the Year Group Curriculum Overviews in the next couple of weeks, for the term ahead as well as the School Development plan.
8 Reasons to choose a small school: a closer look at Sacred Heart
I often get asked by prospective parents what the benefits of attending a small school are so I have summarised these in an article which I thought you might also be interested in reading. Please see the attached article.
Uniform and mobiles
A few reminders about the expectations for school uniform.
- Children should not be wearing jewellery. Small studs/sleeper are fine but these need to be removed/covered for PE.
- Hair tied back for school at all times. Simple, school colour or plain hairbands.
- Ties are expected to be worn with winter uniform.
- Winter uniform after half-term until after the Easter holiday.
- Mobile telephones are not permitted in school but if your child walks home and requires a brick telephone, tracker or smart watch these can be left in the school office on arrival and collected at the end of the day.
Start and end of the day
Apologies, I typed 8.35 am on one of my emails instead of 8.45 am as the gate opening time. Gate closes now at 8.55 am. Well done making this adjustment in spite of my error. The 3.15 pm collection for EYFS and KS1 is working well and KS2 remains at 3.20pm.
There is new attendance guidance in place from the government this year so the school are expected to share their data on those pupils arriving just after the register but also very late. Please ensure you drop and collect your child(ren) on time so this can be celebrated.
A reminder to not let your child cycle or scooter in the school playground at the start of end of the day. This to keep everyone safe. Thank you.
Clubs
There are a number of clubs which still have some spaces available for this term so now everyone is back in routine, please take a look to see if there are any that you would like your child to attend.
Breakfast Club bookings
Please can we ask that you book your child into breakfast club in advance as this helps us ensure we have the correct ratio of staff and food for the children.
KS2 equipment
School purchase equipment for pupils each term but we know as children get older they like to have some of their own equipment. KS2 pupils have permission to bring a small pencil case with a couple of good quality pencils, a small set of colouring pencils secured with an elastic band and a handwriting pen if they have moved onto pen. Please name all equipment. A glue stick and whiteboard pen for personal use would also be excellent, if this is manageable. KS1 and Infants should not bring in additional equipment. We would also like KS2 pupils, over time, to have a miniature dictionary and thesaurus for personal use. They can use these the whole way through KS2 and beyond. We have sets in school but notice children are quicker at looking things up if they have their own copies that they are familiar with. A birthday, Christmas or when they are on offer is an ideal time to buy.
Secondary School Transfers
I know some parents in Year 5 and 6 will be thinking about Secondary Schools. Miss Flowers will be emailing details of some open days\evenings of those schools that inform us. Please let us know if you are attending a school visit for planning and register purposes. If anyone would like talk about options for Secondary for their child, then speak to Mrs Green, Mrs Taylor or Mrs Saulet. There are bursaries and scholarships available which pupils have availed of in the past, so it worth looking at what the different schools have to offer.
Sacred Heart pupils move on to a wide range of secondary schools and this can vary year on year. Details on our website. In the summer of 2024, the 23 pupils in the Year 6 cohort transferred to the following secondary schools:
St Richard Reynold's Catholic High School, Twickenham - 8
Waldegrave School, Twickenham - 1
Clarendon School - 1
Twickenham Academy - 1
Ursuline High School, Wimbledon - 1
Turing House - 1
Hampton Boys - 2
Tiffin Boys - 1
Tiffin Girls - 1
Hampton High - 1
Ark Putney Academy - 1
St Catherine's - 2
St George's College, Weybridge - 1
Christ's School -1
Mrs Green
Headteacher
