CLUBS

Clubs start next week. If you have yet to check Arbor for clubs, please do so as soon as possible and register for your allocated clubs. Please also pay any fees where applicable. If you no longer want the club(s) please email clubs@raglanschools.org so we can offer the places to other pupils on the waiting list. 

Please note that the Junior French Club has been cancelled due to low numbers. It is important that clubs are financially viable when we use outside providers and this club did not meet the threshold.  

In the week beginning 4th May, the sports team are on a residential visit with Year 4, so many of the school-led sports clubs are cancelled on these days. This includes

• Tuesday 5th - Morning Movers, Cricket (Y56), Rounders (Y56)

• Wednesday 6th - Morning Movers, Tag Rugby (Y56), Netball (Y56)

• Thursday 7th - Girls' Football (Y12), Table Tennis (Y456), Athletics (Y456)

• Friday 8th - All Junior Football Clubs 

Menu Change 

There is a new lunch menu for Summer which was shared last term, you can scroll down to 4th April news update or visit the Lunchtine webpage here 

Class Photos

A reminder that class photos are now available for purchase directly from Churchbury. 

Visit: https://churchbury.gotphoto.co.uk/login 

You will need an access code to log in which will be emailed separately, as this is a public website. 

Orders placed online before 28th April can be delivered to school free of charge, after this date P&P will apply for home deliveries. Orders will enter production on the 29th and be returned to school in one eco-friendly delivery approximately 2 weeks later.

Key dates for Summer 

• Monday 5th May - Bank Holiday (School Closed)

• 6th-9th May - Year 4 Residential 

• w/c 12th May - Year 6 SATs week

• 4th-6th June - Year 6 Sports Tour 

• Friday 20th June - INSET Day  (School Closed) 

• Tuesday 24th June - Year 3/4 Sports Day (10am-3pm)

• Friday 27th June - RSA Summer Fair 

• w/c 7th July - Year 6 production week - Oliver!

• Tuesday 8th July - Year 5/6 Sports Day (10am-3pm)

• Monday 14th July - Infant Sports Day (12pm-3pm)

• Wednesday 16th July - Reserve sports day in case of bad weather

• Friday 18th July - Final Day - school closes at 1.30pm

End of Term

Mrs Ali (class teacher 1AD) has left to start her maternity leave and I am sure you will join me in wishing her well. Mrs Christou is returning from maternity leave after the break and will be taking over the class share in 1AD along side Mrs Dopran.

The term finishes on Friday at the usual times. This late break is unusual with two weeks then the Easter weekend so we return on Tuesday 22nd April. Please remember there is another bank holiday on Monday 5th May. The next half term is very short at just five weeks due to the late break. 

Class Photos Available 

Class photos are now available for purchase directly from Churchbury. 

Visit: https://churchbury.gotphoto.co.uk/login 

You will need an access code to log in which will be emailed separately, as this is a public website. 

Orders placed online before 28th April can be delivered to school free of charge, after this date P&P will apply for home deliveries. Orders will enter production on the 29th and be returned to school in one eco-friendly delivery approximately 2 weeks later.

Clubs Summer 2025

We are launching our Summer 2025 clubs today to sort all the places before we break. There are over 50 clubs across Nursery to Year 6.

Clubs are either free or have a flat fee of £30 for the term. Terms and Conditions apply. 

Please read the booklet and discuss it with your child before submitting a form. If you change your mind please submit another form and write a note in the last box.

Key Dates

• The form closes on Monday 31st March 

• We hope to sort places by the end of the term

• Clubs run from Monday 28th April to Monday 7th July (extra Monday for the bank holiday)

Attendance Letters

In the news update (13th February), I have previously written about the changes to our Attendance & Absence policy and the inclusion of penalty notices (fines). This is following changes to government guidance. All parents (Reception to Year 6) will receive a personal email this week to confirm the changes. This letter is a requirement to warn all parents of the change and does not mean you are about to receive a penalty notice. This will be issued at the start of each academic year going forward.

RSA Discos

There will be three more Discos at the end of the term on 2nd April. These are for Reception and Year 5 directly after school, so children will need to bring a change of clothes with them to school. Year 6 will have their disco after Year 5 so will need to come back for that start time at 4.45pm. 

Class Photos

These take place tomorrow Wednesday 19th March. Please ensure your child is in school uniform. Any pupils with PE should bring their kit separately.

LOST PROPERTY

This will be displayed at the Meet the Teacher evenings. For the Infants, it will be in the main entrance and for the juniors it will be outside the main hall. The nursery has its own lost property. 

Clubs 

Clubs finish on Friday 21st March. We will take the final two weeks of term to sort clubs for the Summer Term and to undertake the trials in KS2. 

Comic Relief

We will not be taking part in Comic Relief (Red Nose Day) as we are doing other fundraising this year supporting the school (RSA) and other local charities such as Horizons. If you would like to support Comic Relief as an individual or family, please visit their website to donate. This year the charity is celebrating 40 years.  

Meet the Teacher

Most parents and carers have now booked their appointments. If you have yet to do so, please contact your class teacher. We will be sending home the progress reports today ahead of the meetings. These will have the latest teacher assessments and test results in Years 2-6. Due to an upgrade of the system, these reports will also include more attendance information including graphs and comparative data. Guidance notes can be found below.  

Class Photos

These will be taken on Wednesday 19th March so all pupils will need to attend in school uniform on this day. For those classes with PE, please bring their Active Uniform separately on this day. 

Meet the Teacher

If you have not yet booked your meeting, please do so as soon as possible. This can be done via your Arbor app or the portal. The meetings are Wednesday 19th and 26th March.

Baselayers

There have been some mixed messages with baselayers, so our apologies for any confusion. Baselayers should not be seen when wearing the school uniform. However, in discussion with the PE team, they can be worn on Active Uniform days through the winter months (through to the end of March). PE lessons do continue outside wherever possible. Please keep them plain and without the thumb holes as children still need to write for other lessons in the day. 

Clubs 

Clubs finish on Friday 21st March. We will take the final two weeks of term to sort clubs for the Summer Term and to undertake the trials in KS2.  

Swimming 

Last year, given the frustrations and increased costs of school swimming lessons, we hired a pop-up learner pool and swimming teachers to deliver the national curriculum requirements to Years 3 and 4, plus some catch-up sessions for children in Year 5 who had not secured the expectations. This worked very well overall and we hope to repeat the same thing this year. 

We are also exploring the possibility of allowing the Swimming School (Swim Plus) to use the pool over the Summer holiday to provide swimming lessons for those interested. This would be a crash course of 5 daily lessons (45 mins) over a week, with the price expected to be around £97. These lessons are delivered in small groups of around 6 children. This approach is an effective way to learn to swim within a small group.  

If you are interested, please complete the online form. This is not a commitment; it’s just so we can determine the level of interest and whether this is a viable opportunity. 

It's been a busy week or so for performances and shows so i want to say a big well done to all the children that took part in the Music Concert on Saturday alongside the Epping Forest Brass Band and to those who took part in the Dance through The Decades dance show this week. Thank you to all the parents and families for coming out to support not only the concert and shows but for supporting the children with their interests and attending clubs and rehearsals. More information below.

Meet the Teacher

Our meetings are fast approaching this month and bookings will open tomorrow Thursday 6th March at 18:30. This is done via your Arbor app or portal. The dates for the meetings are Wednesday 19th March (15:40-18:30) and Wednesday 26th March (15:40-18:30). Assessments are ongoing at the moment but the plan is to share the data report with you prior to the meetings. 

Our Voice 

Our Voice is a parent-led voluntary organisation working with parents and carers, as well as the statutory and voluntary sectors. Their aim is to improve services for children and young people with SEND, aged 0-25 and living or attending school or college in the London Borough of Enfield. You can read their latest newsletter here

Music Concert

Around 45 children joined the Epping Forest Brass Band at a joint concert on Saturday 1st March. The Brass Group, Wind band and Chamber Choir all performed separately before joining forces with the Epping band for a magical finale. We were also treated to a performance from the band including the music of John Williams and the music from Wicked. 

A big well done to the children and our thanks go to Miss Hart and Mrs Campaniello for their continued dedication to Music Making at Raglan. 

Join our Running Team?

We are looking for 10 or more staff or parents who would like to join Mr Kelsey-Hatton take on the Saucony London 10k on Sunday 13th July. The route is through Central London and is a great event for keen runners. 

The RSA (Raglan Schools Association) are looking to do a group booking which means if you volunteer, your entry fee will be covered in return for raising sponsorship for the RSA (minimum of £150). If this is of interest to you, please let us know over the next week or so as we will make a final decision as to whether this will go ahead. 

If your business or company would like to sponsor the team by paying the entry fees and having t-shirts printed, please get in touch to discuss this further.  Please email office@raglanschools.org FAO Mr Kelsey-Hatton

Key DATES

• Monday 3rd March (5.30pm) - Dance through the Decades, ticket only 

• Tuesday 4th March (1.45pm & 5.30pm) - Dance through the Decades, ticket only 

• Thursday 6th March - Let Girls Play (see below)

• Friday 7th March - World Book Day at Raglan 

• Monday 10th March - Year 1 visit for 1AD/1OH

• Wednesday 12th March - Year 2 visit 

• Monday 17th March - Year 1 visit 1ZS/1ND

• Wednesday 19th March - Meet the Teacher (1)

• Tuesday 25th March - Year 4 visit for 4SP & 4LC

• Wednesday 26th March - Meet the Teacher (2)

• Thursday 27th March - Year 4 visit for 4SS & 4CG

• Friday 4th April - School closes at the normal time for Easter Break

Chickenpox

Unfortunately, half-term has not dampened the spread of chickenpox with over 20 new cases reported since our return, mostly in Year 1, but this is now spreading via siblings into other year groups.

Please look out for the signs and symptoms shown below. Children should remain away from school until all spots have scabbed over which can be a minimum of 5 days. 

Further information can be found on the NHS website - click here 

Half Term

After a busy half-term but one that will not be forgotten, we will close for the half-term break at the end of Friday. We return on Monday 24th February.

Clubs Cancellations

On Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th March, several clubs are cancelled due to the dance shows. These are 

Monday 3rd March

• • 3/4 Boys Football

  • 3/4 Netball

  • 5/6 Tag Rugby Alpha

Tuesday 4th March

• • 5/6 Boys Football

  • 5/6 Netball

  • 3/4 Girls Football

If you need a place at Raglan Wrap Club on these days, please contact wrap@raglanschools.org as we will temporarily extend places to support parents on these two days.

Children performing in the dance shows may be in clubs on the two evenings. As they need to be back in school at 5pm, they will be able to stay through. Please contact the PE team at sports@raglanschools.org if you need this support for your child. 

Attendance 

New national guidelines were introduced in September, further strengthening the expectations around school attendance, including an increase in penalty notices (fines). Our attendance has generally been good over the years and is currently around 96%. Around 9% or 67 pupils are currently being monitored for attendance below 90%. 

We have never felt the need to introduce or use penalty notices, but with the new guidance, these will now feature in our policy and this was approved by governors at the end of last term. The new guidance states that 10 sessions (5 days) of unauthorised absence within 10 weeks meets the threshold for the penalty notice. However, we will continue to use all our other current strategies to bring about improvements in attendance for an individual or family. We are required to send a formal letter to every parent and these will be sent after half-term.

Nursery Places 

If you have a child who will be aged 4 next academic year, then you can apply for a place in our school Nursery. Applications can be made via Enfield Council and they close on 15th February, so please ensure you have applied on time. 

Book Swap Donations

Thank you for the donated books so far. We are collecting children's books for a book swap on Friday 7th March which will be our World Book Day (day after the official one). See the news on 7th February for more details below. You can donate one book or more anytime from now until Wednesday 5th March. 

BaselayerS

There is a growing trend of children in KS2 wearing a long-sleeved black baselayer with a short-sleeved white polo on top. This is not part of our uniform policy and we will be getting the children to change after half-term. Please send them in a royal blue jumper or cardigan if they are cold. We are in a traditional phase with our uniform and the new policy will be adopted in full in September 2025. Further details can be found here

Key Highlights from the OfSTED Report:

• Pupil Experience: Pupils thrive in our school environment, feeling safe and respected. They consistently demonstrate kindness and uphold our school values, enriching the lives of others through various initiatives, including our 'language of the month' activities and visits to places of worship.

• High Expectations: Our curriculum is ambitious and exceeds national expectations. Pupils engage deeply with their learning, achieving exceptional results in national assessments and being well-prepared for their future educational journeys.

• Extra-Curricular Opportunities: Pupils have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities, from fencing to choir, which enhance their learning experiences. Many also take on leadership roles, such as ‘Eco-councillors’ and ‘Sports leaders’, fostering a sense of responsibility and active citizenship.

• Expert Teaching: Our staff are committed to professional development, ensuring they possess expert subject knowledge. This enables them to present information clearly and effectively, addressing any misconceptions that arise during lessons.

• Reading Focus: Reading is central to our curriculum. We regularly assess pupils' reading needs and provide timely support, ensuring they develop accuracy and fluency. Our assemblies celebrate their reading achievements, and we encourage a love for literature through carefully chosen texts.

• Support for SEND Pupils: We pride ourselves on the exceptional support provided to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Our staff receive regular training to understand and meet diverse needs, ensuring full inclusion in all aspects of school life.

• Outstanding Behaviour and Attendance: Our pupils exhibit exemplary behaviour, supported by clear expectations and systems. Attendance is a strength, as we work collaboratively with families to emphasise its importance.

• Personal Development: Our comprehensive personal, social, health, and economic education curriculum equips pupils with essential life skills, promoting physical and mental well-being.

You can read the full report here, which will be published on the OfSTED website in the next few days. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support. Together, we will ensure that both schools remain a nurturing and inspiring place for our pupils to learn and grow.

Martin Kelsey-Hatton (Executive Headteacher)

Spelling Shed

All year groups from Year 3 to Year 6 are now using Spelling Shed which is an interactive way for them to learn their spellings. Children will be taught a spelling rule in the week and set assignments related to the spelling rule to complete at home. This will be through fun games. 

Please encourage your child to access Spelling Shed each week. Little but often is the best approach (e.g. 5 minutes, 3 times a week). 

Book Swap for WBD

We will be having a "Book Swap" for World Book Day again this year. We encourage all pupils to bring in a book they would like to donate in return for picking a book. You can of course donate more than one book if you are having a sort out, as this will help ensure every child at Raglan goes home with a book on the day. Our World Book Day will be on Friday 7th March) but please donate your books from now and by Wednesday 5th March. 

We would also like some help to sort the books as there will likely be up to 1000 to check and put into age groups. So if you can help on Thursday 6th March from drop off for a couple of hours, please let the office know. This will involve collecting books from classrooms and checking and sorting books ready for the swap.    

Meet the Teacher

We are in the process of reviewing when and how we report to parents in a formal capacity. At the moment there are two Meet the Teacher sessions and a termly progress report. This term we will be combining the Meet the Teacher meeting and the release of the latest assessments. These meetings will be held on Wednesday 19th and 26th March, 15:30-18:30. Further details on the booking process will be shared after half term. If you have any concerns that can not wait then please contact your class teacher. 

Sponsor our Show

Preparations are well underway for the Dance Show coming up in March. Around 150 pupils are taking part in a show covering Music and Dance from the Decades. This is a project with a choreographer and dance teacher costing around £4,000 and we use a combination of money from our sport premium funding and donations from parents and sponsorship/advertising to cover the remaining costs. If you know of a business that would like to advertise in our programme or sponsor the show, then please get in touch. The show is expected to have an audience of around 500 across three performances in March. 

Dates

Important dates coming up 

• Friday 14th February - School closes for half term at the end of the day

• Monday 24th February - School reopens 

• Wednesday 19th March - Meet the Teacher 15:30-18:30

• Wednesday 26th March - Meet the Teacher 15:30-18:30

• Friday 4th April - School closes for Easter Break at the end of the day

• Tuesday 22nd April - School opens for Summer Term

Sport AWARDS

We are delighted that the school has once again been awarded the School Games Platinum Award for the opportunities we offer our pupils in competitive sports. There was also an Equal Access Award from England Football in recognition that we offer equal access to football. A big well done to Mr Flett and his PE team who continue to work hard and provide great opportunities. 

OfSTED INSPECTION

The inspection of the Junior School finished yesterday after a couple of intense days. Thank you for your kind message of support and for completing the parent/carer survey. This was overwhelmingly positive and is in the public domain so you can view the information here.  As Headteacher, I don't get to see the comments, but the lead inspector did share some of those both positive and negative and these were discussed. 

The report will be with us within 18 working days and once approved will be published within 30 working days. The inspection was graded and included a close look at five subjects on day one and a lighter look at four subjects on day two to see if they were at the same standard. They spoke with many pupils and also groups of staff and leaders. We look forward to sharing the report with you in due course.

Scarlet Fever

There have been three cases of scarlet fever over the last few days, so please watch for the signs and symptoms. You can find more information about scarlet fever here - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/scarlet-fever/ 

Please let us know if your child has a diagnosis of scarlet fever so we can closely monitor this and inform the local public health team accordingly.  

Public Health Websites

Enfield Council has just launched two new public health websites for kids and teens in Enfield which may be of interest to the children, young people and families you work with.

Children, young people and families in Enfield can now access two new dedicated websites which will provide health messages and advice through interactive tools and creative marketing materials. The Health for Kids and Health for Teens websites cover age-appropriate subjects that promote health and wellbeing, with the aim of educating and supporting the development of children at every stage of growing up.

Enfield Council have worked in partnership with Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to ensure that children, young people and families in Enfield can easily access trusted information about their health at any time of day.

Health for Kids

Health for Kids is aimed at primary school children, aged four to 11 years old and their grown-ups. The kids’ section (www.healthforkids.co.uk) contains four exciting worlds of fun and games to help kids learn about their health. For grown-ups (www.healthforkids.co.uk/enfield), it covers important features of a child’s health and development, including healthy minds, healthy bodies, health issues and where to get professional help and support

OfSTED Inspection 

OfSTED inspectors will be in the Junior school for the next two days. The school was last inspected in November 2019. As we are a federation, not a primary school, the schools are inspected separately. The inspection will be graded.

Parents in the juniors have been notified and we would encourage parents/carers to complete the Parent voice survey which is a key part of the evidence. The link is here  https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/parent-view-results/survey/result/1538/15 Please note this closes tomorrow at 11am. 

Thank you for your support 

Art Challenge - KS2

We shared the Infant Art Challenge and now here is the KS2 (Junior) challenge for this term. Please see the details and encourage your child to participate. 

Clubs - Spaces

We are trying to fill the remaining places in the clubs and working through the waiting lists. Once the clubs have started we will finally know who has not taken up their place which creates a space for someone else. 

There are spaces in the following:

• French (Y3456 Wednesdays) The French Club is being taught by Speak Like a Native. However, this is now under the school's pricing and terms and conditions. This means a fee of £30 for the term, a saving of over £40 compared to booking directly. 

• Tennis (Y345 Wednesdays) Please note that we may be able to extend the tennis to Year 5, so let us know if that is of interest. 

• Zumba (Rec Mondays)

 Please contact clubs@raglanschools.org if any of these are of interest. 

Behaviour Support for Parents

There are two new opportunities to seek support for parent and family behaviour support. Please see the workshop and drop-in sessions in the flyers below. 

Clubs 

Clubs start next week. We are still waiting on a handful of parents/carers to register for the club(s) we have offered. Until you do this your child will not be named on the club register for next week and we will start to offer the place to other children on the waiting list. Please let us know if you no longer want the place so we can remove it from Arbor. 

Lost Property

Lost property will be on display in the Infant Hall on Wednesday 8th Jan 15:00-15:30 and Thursday 9th Jan 08:30-09:00 This is for both schools excluding Nursery who deal with their own lost property.

Welcome Back

Happy New Year and welcome back to school for the Spring Term 2025. There are 12 weeks this term, with a one-week break in the week commencing 17th February. There are no INSET days this term and the term ends on Friday 4th April. Term dates can be found on our Term Date page 

Clubs 

Clubs start next Monday, January 13th. We are still waiting for some parents to confirm and pay for the clubs they have been offered. If you no longer want the place, please let us know so we can offer it to a pupil on the waiting list. There are some spaces left in French on a Wednesday for Y3456, please get in touch if you would like your child to join. clubs@raglanschools.org

Austen and Elgar win the Raglan Sports Cup

Congratulations to Elgar (Autumn 1) and Austen (Autumn 2) who are the Raglan Sports Cup Champions for this term.  Well done to all 263 children that have been competing for their houses in football, tag rugby and netball after every week.

End of TERM

A reminder to parents in the Infant School that the Year 1/2 playground will be closed on Thursday and Friday. Please scroll down below for where to drop off and pick up. Staff will be outside to assist. 

We finish on Friday at 1.30pm (Infants including Nursery), 1.40pm (Juniors) and 4.30pm (Raglan Wrap Club)

We reopen on Monday 6th January 2025 

Staffing Update

This week we will say goodbye and good luck to Mr Pennock who is moving to another Enfield School as Deputy Headteacher. We are delighted for Adam who has been at Raglan for 7 years mostly in Years 5 & 6. We wish him well in his new role. We will be welcoming Mr Luke Spary who will be joining the Raglan team in January and taking over in 6AP. Miss Drew will be stepping up as the Leading Teacher for Year 6. 

Mrs Plume (SENCo) has agreed to do some additional days for us in the Spring Term as we make a second attempt to recruit a new SENCo for the school. 

We also have two new Teaching Assistants joining the school and we will welcome Alice Everett and Ailsa Husband in January. 

Art Work

Take a look at the fantastic artwork from Year 5 and Year 6 who have been having lessons with our specialist Art & Design teacher Mrs Ashall. There are some really good outcomes which you can see on the slide decks. 

If you want to see more artwork you can check out the Art & Design site here

Y1/2 Playground Closure

Over the holiday we will be having the Year 1/2 playground resurfaced. Some preparation work needs to begin before the end of the week so we can finish on schedule. 

This means the Year 1 and 2 playground will be closed on Thursday (after 9am) and all day Friday. 

Please note the following arrangements for drop off and pick up:

Thursday Morning Drop-Off

• Normal for all pupils.

Thursday & Friday Afternoon Pick Up

• Nursery - use the Nursery slope or Hub to enter and exit

• R1 & R3 - as normal on both days

• R2 - pick up from Infant Dining Hall

• R4 - pick up from the Reception door next to R1

• Year 1 pick up from the Year 5/6 playground from 3pm (1.30pm on Friday)

• Year 2 pick up from the Year 3/4 playground from 3pm (1.30pm on Friday)

Friday Drop-Off

• Nursery - use the Nursery slope or Hub to enter and exit

• R1 & R3 - as normal on both days

• R2 - drop off at the Infant Dining Hall

• R4 - drop off at the Reception door next to R1

• Year 1 & 2 drop off either the main office door, infant hall (millennium garden) or the emergency exit in the Year 5/6 playground. 

Clubs 

All clubs are now on Arbor so please check and register any clubs you have been offered and where there is a fee this should be paid to secure your space. If you no longer want the place, please let us know, as we have some waiting lists for those wanting the spaces. Email clubs@raglanschools.org with any queries. 

Progress Reports 

We are starting to email the progress reports, so look out for those in your inbox.  The guidance notes are below/ We have been reviewing how we assess and report progress and will be making some changes in 2025. Further details to follow. 

If you have any concerns about your child's report or want to follow up the report with a meeting, please contact your class teacher.