Taking Stock: October 2024

This month our whole school value has been Kindness, and it couldn't have come at a better time. We have just honoured Jeans4Genes Day and MacMillan, which raised nearly £600 for these worthwhile charities. Last week, we focused on Wellbeing, looking at a different aspect of Wellbeing each day. Thursday was World Mental Health Day. We wore yellow to raise awareness of this important issue and to brighten our days.

Thank you to the staff and parents who contributed to making the days huge successes.

This week, we held our first Parent/ Teacher consultations of the year. These meetings are an important opportunity for parents and carers to come together with school staff to discuss the children's progress and attainment. If you could not attend a meeting with your child's teacher, please make an appointment to do so as soon as possible.

We also held our phonics and Spelling drop-in last week; this followed our annual Phonics workshop, which gives parents the tools to support their children at home. The school was full of parents joining in the learning alongside their children. Please come along to our workshops and drop-ins. They are designed to support you so that you can help your children at home.

Sporting events have started in earnest. We took part in the Tag Rugby tournament and the Year 3 and 4 football tournament. While we didn't place in the Tag Rugby Tournament, we reached the quarter-finals in the football.

Well done teams! The Ferndale Football League begins again after half-term, so I look forward to hearing about our teams' progress. This year we are entering a girls' team as well as boys' team. I can't wait to hear how they get on.

Watch this space for write-ups from our new Sports Journalists!

Remember, the deadline for applying for a Secondary School place is 31st October. If you need support with completing your application, please let us know.

Reading is a major focus for Stockwell. The children read every day in Guided Reading and are read to each day by their class teachers.

As part of the wider curriculum, we are looking forward to hosting Philip Hartley, author of The Adventures of Arthur Pennington series. He will be visiting Stockwell on Monday 21st September and you can buy his books at the end of the day. The Scholastic book fair is also returning to Stockwell. Please see below for more information about both of these events.

Lost property is now available for parents to check every day. If your child has misplaced something, please check the box in the Courtyard. Please help by making sure that your child's belongings are clearly labelled with their name and class.

Have a wonderful evening, and I look forward to seeing you bright and early at the gates in the morning.

Between 2nd September and 30th November 2024, every time you shop with Asda using the Asda Rewards app, Asda will donate 0.5% of the value of your shop to our school.

Also, every time somebody opts in, Asda will give an additional £1 to the school Cashpot.

All you have to do is opt in through the Asda Rewards app, choose Stockwell Primary School, and shop instore or online at Asda.com. The offer ends on 30th November 2024.

Asda does the rest! We are aiming to spend our donations on much-needed tablets for all classes in the school.

Don't forget to drop off your old, unwanted clothes. The donations will go to new homes that need them and we will raise money for the school. We have already filled the bank once, so keep your items coming please. Every time we fill the bank it raises money for the school.

Fill up a bag and pop it in.

Have a look at the poster below for more information.

The clothes bank is located outside the Main Hall.

Kindness is way of being that involves consideration, generosity, and friendliness. It can also be described as:

Listening and understanding: Being kind means listening to others, understanding their needs, and trying to help.

Caring for others: Kindness is about caring for other people's feelings and well-being.

Helping others: Kindness can involve helping someone who is in need.

Doing something positive: Kindness can be expressed by saying or doing something positive for someone.

Pre-School- day, night, sleep, parent, place, doctor

Nursery - Body, Heat, Different, Vegetables, Fruit, Exercise

Reception - compare, shorter, longer, before, after, more

Year 1- Minus, Sort, Numeral, Number sentence, Minus, Sort, Place value, Equal/s, Measure

Year 2- Partition, Sum, Calculate, Vertice/s, Times, Centimetre

Year 3- appraise, accumulation, opposite, reflection, arrangement, minimum, tenth

Year 4- round, decimal, decline, parallel, result, remainder, interchangeable

Year 5- congruent, Decade, Duration, Finite, Implications, Interval

Year 6- Aggregate, Compensation, Compiled, Context, Converted, Expression

To learn more about the curriculum for your year group/s next term, visit the school's website to access the knowledge organisers.

October

• 18th - Year 3 Trip to British Museum
• 18th - Reception Local Area Walk
• 21st - KS2 Author Visit
• 23rd - Flu Clinic
• 23rd - Year 4 Residential Meeting
• 24th - Year 6 Residential Meeting
• 25th - PTA Dress Up Day

28th - 1st Nov

Half Term Break - School Closed to all children

November

• 4th - INSET Day - School closed to all children
• 5th - Term Begins for all children
• 6th - Girls' Football Tournament
• 6th - Ferndale Football League Starts (Weekly on a Wednesday)
• 7th - St Giles Parent Workshop
• 11th - 15th - PGL
• 11th - Remembrance Day
• 11th - Individual and Sibling Photos
• 12th - 3T Trip to Pizza Express
• 12th - Odd Socks Day
• 13th - 3N Trip to Pizza Express
• 13th - 5H Class Assembly
• 14th - 5O Class Assembly
• 14th Open Morning
• 14th - Federation Spanish Workshop
• 15th - Children in Need (Own Clothes Day)
• 18th - 25th - Bikeability Levels 1 and 2 (Years 5 and 6)
• 18th - BJS Federation Spelling Bee
• 19th - 2B Trip tp Florence Nightingale Museum
• 20th - 22nd - Ufton Court
• 20th - 3T Class Assembly
• 21st - 2M Trip to Florence Nightingale Museum
• 21st - 3N Class Assembly
• 25 - 29th - Enterprise Week
• 25th/ 26th - LKS2 Learn to Ride Course
• 25th - Reading Parent Workshop
• 27th - 6K Class Assembly
• 28th/ 29th - Bikeability L1 Course (LKS2)
• 28th - 6A Class Assembly
• 28th - PTA Film Night
• 29th - Enterprise Market Place
• 29th - 4th Dec - Scholastic Book Fair

Last year, around one in five children aged 10–15 in England and Wales admitted experiencing online bullying: most commonly being insulted or sworn at, or having hurtful messages sent about them. To a child who’s being bullied, the world can seem like a bleak, negative place – but just one kind word can be a ray of hope: a turning point that brightens someone’s day and resets their perspective. This year's theme is 'Choose Respect.' As we approach Anti-Bullying Week, thinking about this month's value of Kindness, this issue brings you ten top tips for beating online bullying by replacing it with kindness.

In the guide, you'll find tips such as reaching out, thinking before commenting and recommending fun things.

The National College has lots of information and free guides for keeping children safe online. These can be found here.

We have an active PTA, called Friends of Stockwell, who do a brilliant job of fundraising for the school and bringing the community together. Last year, every child was given a £5 donation to reduce the cost of trips; the PTA contributed to class Christmas presents; they also raised money for vulnerable families at Christmas.

It is great to see new faces taking part. Every parent is a Friend of Stockwell. I ask that everyone gets involved. If you can spare an hour per term (that's three hours per year), your contribution would make a huge difference.

Please email friendsofstockwell@gmail.com to get involved.

Can you help out around the school? Are you a keen gardener? Do you have skills or knowledge that the children would benefit from? Visit our Call to Action page to let us know how you can help.

Have you read the BJS Federation Newsletter? You can find it below.

This issue is all about transition

Check it out.

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 9am 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.

Holidays in Term Time

Education Law states that it is not a parent’s right to take a child out of school during term time to go on holiday. Families must seek permission from the school and your school’s Headteacher is limited in what they can authorise. We can authorise leave if a child is in a performance and a performance license has been granted by the local authority. For any other authorised holiday, there must be extenuating circumstances therefore we cannot authorise a holiday because it is cheaper outside of term time.

Well done to 3T and 5H for the best attendance in the school. They achieved 99% attendance last week. What a great way to start the year.

Our overall attendance last week was 96%. We have started the year well. Let's see if we can continue to build on this solid foundation.

School uniform should be worn throughout the school day. While we do not enforce that all school uniform should be branded, children should be wearing the correct colours (white t-shirt tops, navy trousers/ skirts/ pinafore dresses, sensible black shoes). Football boots/ coloured trainers are not school uniform and should not be worn.

Children should be changing into their PE kits for PE lessons (blue or black tracksuit bottoms, plain white t-shirt, trainers). We have made arrangements for girls and boys to be able to change separately, so the expectation is that all children change for PE.

While our supplier of school uniform is WearAbouts, we do have some items available for sale from the school office. Please check with us to see if we have what you need in stock.

If you have a concern, please see your child's class teacher in the first instance. If they are unable to resolve the problem, please speak to your child's phase leader.

If they are unable to help, please see one of the school's Assistant Headteachers.

If you are still dissatisfied, please see the Acting Head of School.

We let space around the school.

You can hire the school hall, and grounds, on a regular basis or as a one off.

Need a space for a party?

Looking for a pitch for your team?

Contact the school office on:

clericalofficer2@stockwell-pri.lambeth.sch.uk

to make an enquiry.

What are Pre-School, Nursery and Reception learning about? Find out below.

Years 1 and 2 are incredibly busy with their learning. Find out more on our website.

Are you keen to find out more about the learning in Years 3 and 4? If so, have a look by clicking the button below.

Please check our website, to find out what the children in Years 5 and 6 are learning about.

An amazing opportunity for our young children living in Lambeth!

Parents can register with Dolly's Parton's Imagination Library and receive a free book each month through the post, from birth up until their child's fifth birthday.

The flyer is attached, or visit this link: Register for the Imagination Library

The Gaia Centre provides support for Lambeth residents affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse. It’s closed on 29th March and April 1st, 2024, but has 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

Support online:

Kooth is a free online mental health and wellbeing service available to all young people in Lambeth aged 10-25. It is a self-referral service, where young people have access to fully-qualified online counsellors until 10pm every single day of the year. There is also a range of other support including: an online interactive magazine, discussion boards, self-help tools, and wellbeing activities.

The new Lambeth microsite to accompany the ‘It’s Not That Deep’ campaign is aimed specifically at young people and contains information for those experiencing harassment, those wanting to become allies, and those who are doing the harmful behaviour.

You can view useful resources on emotional wellbeing and mental health support services for children in Lambeth.

For the latest Lambeth VAWG news and campaigns please go to: https://linktr.ee/lambethvawg

We have an engagement hub with a specific page focused on what we can do to improve public safety for women and girls which asks residents and visitors to tell us where in Lambeth they feel safe and unsafe by placing a pin on the Map. Please sign up for email updates about the project using the ‘follow’ button on the new site.

A new child comes into care every day in Lambeth. Many of these children will need the love and stability that a foster carer can provide.

What is fostering?

Being a foster parent means caring for someone else’s child as part of your family. Foster carers look after children who are unable to live with their parents, through no fault of their own. You'll be given lots of training and support, as well as allowances to cover living costs, the costs of food, travel and for the time you'll need to invest in supporting any child in your care.

Who can foster?

Lambeth Fostering welcome applications from everyone with a passion for caring. You just need to be over 21, have a spare room, good written and spoken English, and permanent UK residency.

Find out how you can be the difference: www.lambeth.gov.uk/be-the-difference