This is the place where you will be able to read my weekly newsletters. Thanks for taking the time to read them, Jessica

• Newsletter- Friday 25th September 2026

  Fri 25 Sep 2026 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  I hope you have had a good week. We have had a lovely one, welcoming Charis, the vicar at our local church, St Mary's, for a Harvest Festival on Wednesday. She led an engaging Harvest Festival assembly. We learnt where our food comes from and why this is an important date on the Christian calendar. Children had the opportunity to think about where their breakfast came from and how many people were involved in producing it. A big thank you to Charis for visiting us. As part of Harvest Festival, we will be asking for donations for the local Hackney Foodbank. These can include general items such as tinned food, washing-up liquid, UHT milk, toiletries, baby items, and dried food. Thank you for your support. We will have a table outside where you can leave donations. Here is the link to the Hackney Foodbank if you would like to see their most needed items: https://www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/donate#donatefood

   

  Our PTFA AGM is coming up soon and will be held online. It will take place on Monday 5th October at 5pm. The link will be sent shortly. We hope you can attend. The PTFA is hugely valuable, raising significant funds for the school that make a big difference to your child’s time here. Any help and support is very welcome and appreciated. We look forward to seeing you there.

   

  The school photographer will be at school on Monday 5th October and Tuesday 6th October to take individual and sibling photos.

   

  Thank you to our parents and carers for offering their time during Black History Month. As part of our Black History Month 2026 celebrations, our theme this year is “Honouring Our Community.” Throughout the month, we will celebrate the people, stories, experiences, and achievements within our community. As part of this, we would love to invite parents and carers to share their experiences with our children. We are particularly looking for members of our school community who would be happy to come in and speak to the children about:

  • Growing up in Hackney – sharing memories, experiences and stories about what Hackney was like when you were growing up.
  • Your profession or career – telling the children about what you do, how you got into your profession and any experiences or achievements you would like to share.
  • Your journey and experiences – sharing an aspect of your life story that you feel could inspire, educate or encourage our pupils.

  These conversations would offer our children a wonderful opportunity to hear directly from members of their own community and to learn from a range of experiences and perspectives. You do not need to be a public figure or have an unusual story — your experiences and knowledge are valuable and we would love to hear from you. If you are interested in taking part, please contact the admin team. We will then arrange a suitable date and time and provide any further information you may need. Thank you for helping us make Black History Month a meaningful celebration of our school and wider community. There will be a Black History Month Celebration in the hall on Friday 6th November from 3:30pm to 5pm. The children will display their work. We hope you can attend and see all their wonderful achievements.

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend and please do not forget to check the calendar on our website for up and coming dates.

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

   

   

• Newsletter - Friday 18th September 2026

  Fri 18 Sep 2026 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We hope you have had a lovely week. We have had a great one. The sunshine has enabled us to enjoy OPAL. I went out into the playground this week and was impressed to see the children building dens and hideaways. They were working together incredibly well.

   

  Please remember to sync your calendar with the school calendar on the website. That is where we post our dates, so if you don't sync yours, you will need to keep checking the website calendar.

   

  I would like to remind you not to stand by the entrance in the mornings and to come in at the correct times. It is 8:50 for Years 3, 3, 4, 5 and 6, and 8:55 for Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. We also ask adults not to use mobile phones on school grounds, including the Reception area. Please can you pass this information on to anyone else who drops off on your behalf.

   

  Thank you to those of you who have volunteered to be class reps this year. Your help is greatly appreciated. We still need one for Ocean and Aqua. If you'd like to volunteer, please let me know. As a thank you, you can come in and have a school lunch with your child.

   

  Over the last few years, there have been many national discussions about children attending school and the impact of absence on a child’s development and academic achievement. A child who attends school every day for the whole year is awarded 100%, and we celebrate this at the end of the academic year. However, we know that most children, at some point, will have a minor illness. At our school, the attendance target is 97%. You can find your child's attendance figure on Arbor, so please keep checking. 

   

  Here are some facts about attendance -

  90% attendance during 1 school year = ½ day missed every week.
  90% attendance during 1 school year = 1 day missed every other week.
  90% attendance during 1 school year = 4 whole weeks of lessons missed.
  90% attendance over 5 years of school = ½ a school year missed.

   

  Statistics show a direct link between under-achievement and absence below 95%.

  • Regular attenders make better progress, both socially and academically.

  • Regular attenders find school routines, school work and friendships easier to cope with.

  • Regular attenders find learning more satisfying.

  • Regular attenders are more successful in transferring between primary school, secondary school, and higher education, employment or training.

   

  We would also really appreciate it if your child arrived on time in the morning and was picked up on time in the afternoon. It can be unsettling for the child if they are dropped off late and have to wait to be collected. Thanks for your support with this.

   

  Have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

• Newsletter Friday 11th September 2026

  Fri 11 Sep 2026 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  We have really enjoyed our first full week back. The children are very well settled, and it is lovely to see them around the school.

   

  We do have spaces in our Nursery, so if you know any families who might be interested, please send them our way.

   

  We are delighted to announce that Betty Layward has been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction in recognition of our commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. To earn the award, we used the Eco-Schools programme to identify environmental priorities, take action, and involve pupils and the wider school community in making positive changes. One key project involved working with the North London Waste Authority to improve our waste management and reduce waste. As a result, we reduced our waste by 36% last academic year, and 85% of waste was correctly sorted into the appropriate bins. Members of our Eco Committee were also invited to an award ceremony at Eco Park House in Edmonton, where they received a North London Waste Authority award for their commitment to reducing waste. They enjoyed a tour of the recycling facility and took part in fun activities, including making bookmarks from waste materials and designing their own recycling facilities using LEGO.

   

  Thank you for your patience with Arbor this week. I know there have been a few teething problems. Please ensure you have added the names and details of the people authorised to collect your child, and that you have agreed to any documents we have asked for, such as the home school agreement. These should be under Notices in Arbor. Thanks for your support with this.

   

  Please can I remind you not to use mobile phones on the school site, except when taking photos in assemblies, if agreed. Please can you let other people who collect your child know this, so we do not need to ask them not to use their phones as they enter school. Please can I remind you to wait to cross the road before you come into school in the mornings. Key Stage 2 enters at 8:50, and Key Stage 1, Reception and Nursery open at 8:55. Please do not wait by the entrance or the gates. We have children monitoring and helping with how parents, carers, and children enter. Thank you for listening to them and for being understanding, as they are also trying to keep everyone safe. Please also remind the children not to scoot or ride their bikes anywhere on the school grounds.

   

  Parents and Carers can pay for extended school care (including breakfast club and after-school clubs) using Tax-Free Childcare or childcare vouchers via the HMRC platform or their childcare voucher provider. Once your payment reaches the school’s bank account, we will manually allocate it to your child’s Arbor account. Please note that Tax-Free Childcare and childcare vouchers can only be used for extended school care and cannot be used to pay for school lunches, school trips, uniforms or instrumental tuition. Please book your clubs as normal, then make the payment after you receive confirmation of your bookings.

   

  With Harvest around the corner, we will be supporting Hackney Foodbank with a food collection this year. They are currently providing emergency food and support to around 420 people every week, many of them families with children. Harvest is a really important time for them, as the donations they receive help keep their food supplies stocked and ensure they can continue providing emergency food to local people facing hardship. Boxes will be outside the School Reception areas from Monday, and we are asking for donations of dried food, tins, toiletries, nappies, cereals, and other long-lasting items.

   

  Head along to Hackney Foodbank’s Open Day

  Ever wondered about the logistics of feeding hundreds of people every week?

  For the first time, Hackney Foodbank is opening its doors at its Homerton HQ with warehouse tours, a chance to meet the team, games, a bouncy castle, crafts and a cake sale. The Open Day (on Saturday, September 26th between 10am and 3pm) is free, with any donations of long-life food gratefully received. Guests can also book to take part in the food bank’s legendary Supermarket Sweep Challenge, which sets off at 10 am.

  Jenna Fansa, Head of Fundraising at Hackney Foodbank, said: “Feeding hundreds of people every week takes a lot of organising, and we’d love the chance to show people around. Our caseworkers will be there to talk about the work they do and the difference it makes, and we’ll have some lovely activities for children. The Open Day is free, but we’d welcome any donations of long-life food. We’re also inviting guests to sign up for our Supermarket Sweep Challenge. Working in teams of up to six, they’ll head to the supermarket with trollies and shopping lists and compete to bring back the most food within a £100 budget. Other challenges await along the way, plus bonus points for our fun inflatables at the end. The winner will walk away with our coveted supermarket trolley trophy.”

  Places for the Sweep are limited and can be booked by visiting this website: https://donorbox.org/events/943950/steps/choose_tickets

  The Open Day takes place at the Wally Foster Community Centre, Homerton Road, Hackney, E9 5QB.

   

  SNCC currently has around 320 junior members (both boys and girls), and they would love to welcome more young cricketers to the club, particularly in their thriving girls' section. Indoor training for juniors this Autumn starts on the weekend of 18/19/20 September at four venues in Hackney: Bridge Academy, Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy, Britannia Leisure Centre and COLA Shoreditch Park. Here are links to all the timings (as well as details of subs):

   

  https://www.stokenewingtoncricketclub.com/training

  https://www.stokenewingtoncricketclub.com/membership

   

  I hope you have a lovely weekend,

  Jessica

  Headteacher

   

   

  

• Newsletter- Friday 4th September 2026

  Fri 04 Sep 2026 Jessica

  Dear Parents and Carers,

   

  Welcome to your first newsletter of the new academic year. I hope you had a lovely summer, and it is lovely to welcome you and all the children back. It is so great to see them. They are full of chat and smiles. They have all settled into their new classes really well and we are very proud of how they have started back. I am really looking forward to another brilliant year.

  Welcome to our new Nursery and Reception families, and to any families who have joined another year group. I went into Reception this morning and was so impressed with how settled they are. They were very excited about staying for lunch. It is a pleasure having them, and please let us know if there is anything you need or would like to ask. Our door is always open.

  Thank you to the parents and carers who have downloaded the Arbor App. It is essential that you do so, as we are going to move all communication to this app, including texts and emails, over the next few months.

  Please link your personal calendar to the website calendar. This means dates are automatically added to your calendar.

  Thank you for reading the information and policies sent out yesterday and please remember to agree to them in Arbor. This will be under notices.

  Thanks for a great start to the term, and have a very lovely weekend. I am really looking forward to a great year.

  Jessica

  Headteacher