Headteacher’s Newsletter – 9th January 2026
Nursery News
We welcomed several new nursery children to our school at the beginning of this month. Our Early
Years area is full of happy faces that are settling in with some already familiar faces.
VR Experience
We started the year off with a whole school Virtual Reality Experience. One child said to me, ‘I didn’t really like the orangutang’s bottom in my face – it was scary’. I would tend to agree but everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience apart from that.
Attendance is at 97%
Three years ago, when I started St. Mary’s, our whole school attendance was 90.2%. It is currently 97%. This high attendance means that children don’t miss out on some amazing school experiences. The children have stated that learning is fun; they like to play with their friends and miss school when they are not here. Our attendance on the snowiest week of the year so far, has still been a super 96.5%. We have worked as a whole school community to understand the importance of high attendance. You can’t help it
when you are genuinely ill but our parents and children have really understood the value of having a duvet day at the weekend and that holidays are taken during the school holidays.
Wrap-around Care at St. Mary’s
Meet our wrap-around team.
Mrs Austin is our lead co-ordinator and runs Early Birds, Night Owls and our soon to be holiday provision. She has worked at St. Mary’s for a number of years and comes with a wealth of childcare experience. Mrs Austin is a keen artist and has run an art club alongside one of our other teaching assistants for the past two years. The art activities she provides at Night owls are the reason why we are currently bursting at the seams!
Miss Reynolds is a new member of school and is currently taking her Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification with us. Miss Reynolds loves to cook and is looking forward to getting creative in the kitchen over the half term break with our holiday club.
Mr Buzzard is our sporting member of the team and he can be seen with our PE coach during daily afternoon sessions. He is a keen watcher and player of football as well as loving several other sports. He
is eager to support the whole school by looking for grant opportunities and has secured several pieces of
equipment and kits for the school so far.
Charging for Clubs
| 8:00 – 8:25 am | 3:00 – 4:00 pm | 4:00 – 5:00 pm |
| Early Birds £2 | Night Owls £2 | Night Owls £4 |
| After-school clubs £2 |
Due to the high demand for Night Owls, we have had to recruit an extra member of staff. This will mean
that after half term, we will have to increase the cost to £4 from 3-4pm and to £8 3-5pm. Our afterschool provision is the cheapest across the county and all of the money goes to paying staff wages and resourcing. We will also be sending a google form to ascertain whether parents would like the times
extended.
Late pick up
If you are going to be late picking up your child, please ring the school office and let us know. We have
noticed that several parents during the Autumn term were regularly picking up their child/children from
school late and without prior warning. It has recently come to our attention that this is to avoid The Green
at the end of the school day. If you are late and you do not give us any warning, your child will be placed in Night Owls and you will be charged accordingly. If you are late for Night Owls, you will also be charged £10 for every 10 minutes you are late.
Holiday Club – Monday 16th – Friday 20th February
We will also be offering a holiday club during the half-term February break. There will be physical activities, cookery, art and crafts and that all important ‘chill time’. You will need to provide your child with
a packed lunch and snacks for throughout the day. Please email the office to register your interest, more
details will follow.
Attendance
| Whole school attendance this week | 97.48% |
| Class with the highest attendance this week | Year 5 – 100% |
| Whole school attendance (year to date) | 96.4% |
| National average | 94.5% |
Have a good weekend.
Mrs Christine McQueen
