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Safeguarding when using private tutors

We know some parents and carers want to organise additional tuition for their children and we get asked for advice. Most children in primary school do not need a tutor, but they are sometimes used for entrance exams as children approach secondary school. If you decide to do this, please read the following advice about safeguarding your child.

Firstly if the tutor is a qualified teacher and currently working in a school, you can be reasonably satisfied that they are safe to work with children, but there is no guarantee. Schools carry out robust checks at the start of appointments and teachers have to declare annually that there has been no change. However, ask for the school's name and check that the information they provide is accurate and that they are still employed there. The school website usually has a list of staff.

If they are not currently employed by a school, then you should ask to see their DBS certificate. This will show any criminal offences. Be aware that a DBS certificate is only valid at the point the check is done, so look at the date. You could also ask to see evidence of any qualifications they have stated.

Schools should never give open references, so if you are being presented with a reference or personal statement from a school on headed paper, it may not be real. You could double-check with the school. Raglan would never provide a reference for a current or ex-member of staff in this way. If you know of other parents who are using or have used the same tutor, ask for their recommendations. 

When lessons begin, think about the location of the lessons. If it is in your family home then always leave a door open or have lessons in an open space. It is a good idea to sit in on the first few lessons so that you are satisfied that all is well. Keep an open dialogue with your child after each lesson so they have opportunities to talk about any concerns. 

Finally, if the tutor is supporting your child with entrance exams, you must use your own contact details for any applications to schools or via the local authority.

The use of private tutors is a personal choice and many arrangements are successful and safe. Children in Y2-6 at Raglan do termly standardised tests which give you an idea of their ability in Reading and Maths. If you need more information or an explanation about these results, please come and have a chat with us at school. 

Thank You

Thank you for all the kind words, cards and gifts shared with staff today, it is very much appreciated. We enjoyed our final assembly today celebrating some Headteacher Award Winners, AR Millionaires and looking back at Sporting successes. We also said goodbye to Year 6 and several members of staff who are leaving us.   

End of Term

We are fast approaching the end of term so this is an opportunity to say thank you to all the parents and carers for all your support this year. It has been another successful year and this is down to having that support from our community. On Friday we will be saying goodbye to Year 6 and also to some members of staff. We we wish them well for the next steps. Year 6 will have their leavers assembly on Thursday where they will be gifted the Yearbook which is a lovely keepsake for the future.  

Friday finishes at 1.30/1.40pm with Wrap Club closing at 16:30

Have a safe and enjoyable Summer. School reopens on Tuesday 3rd September for Years 1 to 6.

Martin Kelsey-Hatton

(PS Look out for the Summer Magazine which will be published over the next week or so)

PE & Sport 2023/2024

Another great year for PE and Sport at Raglan. 361 pupils from Reception to Year 6 have represented the school in sport and physical activity this year. You can see from the trophies and shields that it was another successful year in local and national competitions. 

A huge thank you to Mr Flett for leading his amazing team this year who continually strive to provide as many opportunities as possible. Thanks to our sports coaches Mrs Tungatt, Mr Wick and Miss Duff for all their hard work. Mr Wick will be undertaking teacher training at Raglan next year and Miss Duff has been appointed as the permanent Sports Coach. A big thank you to Mr Hughes, who completed his sports coach apprenticeship and will be leaving us at the end of term. We wish him well in his next role. Thanks also go to Miss Baptiste who has been on a placement at Raglan this year and contributed so much. We wish her well for the future. We have two new sports apprentices Mr Alfie Hemington, who has already started and Mr Declan Linnane, who will join us in September.

Progress Reports 

Our reports have been sent by email this term. Please see below the guidance notes to help you understand the data and information provided. If you need to talk about your child's report please get in touch with the class teacher. 

Infant Sports Day

We are once again battling with the weather for the Infant Sports Day tomorrow. There is a weather warning for heavy rain from 15:00 today to 09:00 Tuesday. 

We are going to cancel the picnic element of the event so we have certainty about the food ordering. You can order lunch for your child as usual on Arbor or your child can order at registration. 

We will try to go ahead with the sports at 1.30 pm if the weather and ground conditions permit. We will text you if we have to cancel.

New times:

1pm Gates Open (you do not need to rebook tickets, the original date/ticket is still valid)

1.30pm Sports Begin 

3pm Finish 

Please remember that children should come to school in their active uniform and they will need a water bottle. It would be helpful if they don’t bring anything else tomorrow, which will allow us to dismiss from the field at the end of the day rather than going back to school to collect things. 

If we do have to cancel tomorrow then we will try again during the remainder of the week, however, it is a busy week with Music Concerts and leavers’ assemblies so this will be a last-minute decision and will therefore not be open to parents. 

NEXT WEEK

Next week is the final week and we will have a focus on the Olympics with a focus on art and culture. Each class will adopt a country to investigate and increase their knowledge and awareness. 

Reports have been delayed due to the OfSTED Inspection. We will send the reports by email as soon as they have been checked by the leadership team. 

Sports Day for the Infants (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2) will be on Tuesday 16th from 12pm (picnic) please book your tickets below to help with the security and signing-in process. 

The children's final day is Friday 19th July and we will close at 1.30/1.40pm. Raglan Wrap Club will close at 4.30pm

Summer Activities 

There are many activities around Enfield this Summer, we have added some to the Community News page for your information. Please note, we share these in good faith and cannot vouch for the quality of the provision. 

Visit the Community News Page - Here

Sports Day

The Infant Sports Day has been changed to Tuesday 16th July with the same timings. If you have already registered use the same booking as we have just changed the date accordingly. 

CLUBS

Most clubs finish this week except for Monday clubs that have one more session next week to make up for the bank holiday. There is also an extra Dance Club for Reception on Tuesday as a catch up.

KEY Dates

• 9th July - Infants Sports Day (from midday)

• 10th July - Year 6 present Aladdin, 6pm

• 11th July - Year 6 present Aladdin, 1.45pm & 6pm

• 17th July - Music Concerts at 2pm and 6pm

• 18th July - Music Concert at 2pm

• 19th July - School Closes for Summer at 1.30pm

CHANGES TO MUSIC CONCERT

Unfortunately, we will have to make some changes to our scheduled performances. it has been a very busy period and although preparations are going well with the Y6 production of Aladdin, next week the Year 6 have no rehearsal time due to Sports Day, Music Concerts and Secondary Transition Days. Therefore, to create more rehearsal time for the Year 6, it is necessary to move the Music Summer Concerts

I apologise for the inconvenience, but we would not make this change unless it was necessary. Our productions are large in scale and take many hours to put together. Changes to the sports day and late notice of the secondary dates have added to our issues. 

The new schedule is 

Tuesday 2nd July - Music Concerts at 2pm and 6pm  **CANCELLED**

Wednesday 3rd July - Music Concerts at 2pm and 6pm  **CANCELLED**

Wednesday 10th July - Aladdin 6pm **PERFORMANCE AS SCHEDULED**

Thursday 11th July - Aladdin 1.45pm and 6pm **PERFORMANCE AS SCHEDULED**

Wednesday 17th July - Music Concerts at 2pm and 6pm **NEW DATE & TIMES**

Thursday 18th July - Music Concert at 2pm only **NEW DATE & TIME**

We have cancelled all the Music Concert tickets and have added new dates and times, so please book again. Please note there will be only ONE evening performance in the new schedule. 

Book your new Music Concert Tickets Here

Upcoming Events

We have now added the Infant Sports Day to the Events so tickets are now available. This event is on Tuesday 9th July from 12 noon starting with the picnic lunch and then into the Sports Day.

Please remember to book your free tickets in advance which helps with our safeguarding and security and speeds up entry at the events. 

Thank you for the donations, supporting our extracurricular programmes and enrichment activities. 

Raglan Wrap Club

Bookings for the Autumn Term will open on Monday 1st July at 6.30pm. Bookings are through Magic Booking as usual. Some prices are rising in September, so please note the changes:

• Breakfast Session 07:30-08:40 £3

• Short After-School 15:10-16:30 £6

• Long After-School 15:10-18:00 £11

Summer Wrap

There has been a steady flow of bookings for our first Summer Wrap Club, however at the moment the numbers make the offer unviable. If you intend to book, please do so or contact wrap@raglanschools.org if your intentions are clear but you are not ready to book just yet. 

RSA Update 

The Olympic Walk was a great success and a fun afternoon. The event has raised £15,800 to date, an amazing amount. The online donations page will close this Friday 28th June, so if you have any outstanding sponsor money to add, please do so by then. 

The RSA will be meeting on Friday to finalise the spending and will discuss a new pond area, a green wall for Year 5/6 playground and a new set of Chromebooks. 

Freezer Fridays have been busy and these will run to the end of term except the very last Friday on 19th July. 

Key dates coming up

• 27th June - Year 3/4 Sports Day 

• 29th June - Epping Forest and Raglan Schools joint concert at St Peter's Church

• 1st July - Year 5/6 Sports Day at Lee Valley

• 9th July - Infants Sports Day (from midday)

• 10th July - Year 6 present Aladdin, 6pm

• 11th July - Year 6 present Aladdin, 1.45pm & 6pm

• 19th July - School Closes for Summer at 1.30pm

Please note that we have put three INSET days on the 22/23/24th July, which is why it appears that we are finishing the term earlier than many schools. Typically, when schools finish midweek, attendance is often poor and days are ineffective. Our final full week will be a theme week based around the Olympics including art and culture activities. 

Sport Update

It's been a busy week for sport at Raglan. The Raglan Rhinos were representing the borough of Enfield in the London Youth Games finals and finished bronze medallists, an amazing achievement to finish third in the whole of London.  Some of our athletes were invited to a special event called Athletics for All where British Athletes were present, including Olympic Champion Christine Ohuruogu and Olympian Montell Douglas. Finally, our athletics team did themselves proud in the Enfield Athletics Championships with some impressive individual and team performances including 3 relay gold medals! The team finished runners-up overall. Well done to all.  

Lunch Menu Changes

There are a few special days coming up, so please note the changes 

• Thursday 20th June - Infants BBQ Lunch 

• Monday 24th June - Juniors BBQ Lunch 

• Tuesday 25th & Thursday 27th June - Junior menus are swapped allowing for a take-away lunch on Sports Day (27th)

Community News

We've added a few more community news items including

• Play Memories short film - Filmed and Produced by two Raglan Mums, this short film features young people exploring play with older members of the community in Haringey.

• Register for Greek School 

For the Community News page click here

Swimming

Swimming is going well and we are coming to the end of the first 8 lessons, so we will be starting swimming lessons with 3KS, 4MW and 4YS starting on Friday. These will run fro 8 days except for 27th June which is Sports Day. 

School Leavers

If you know your child is leaving at the end of the term, please can you let us know. This doesn't apply to Year 6 as we know they are leaving! Please contact the office. 

Report your child's absence

There is an expectation that you report your child's absence and the best way is to do that online using this form There is an expectation on schools to follow up missing pupils, which is why we will text or phone you if your child is not in school and has not been reported absent. This is time and money that could be spent elsewhere so please do report the absence by 09:30 at the latest. 

BBQ Lunch

There are some special theme day lunches coming up. Due to a busy calendar, the Infant and Junior BBQ lunches are on separate days. Free for all pupils except Nursery. Please book on Arbor as usual or your child can pick this option on the day.

Infants - Thursday 20th June 

Juniors - Monday 24th June  

Lunch

We had no gas in the junior kitchen today, so the menu was changed to ensure we could feed everyone. All is now sorted so we should be back to the menu tomorrow.  

Welcome Back

It's the final stages of the academic year, but probably the busiest from a school point of view. Please keep an eye on the parent updates to ensure you are not missing any important dates and deadlines. 

A big thank you for your support of the Big Olympic Walk, which has pushed past the £15,000 mark with online and cash donations. We will be able to move ahead with some of our plans straight away. 

Staffing 

Some teachers will be leaving at the end of the academic year

• Mrs Brown (Class Teacher, part-time job share) will be leaving us at the end of the year to spend more time with family. Amy is currently on maternity leave and will return briefly at the end of the term. Amy has been teaching at the school since 2016 and has previously been a Lead Teacher.

• Miss Lasher (Year 5 teacher) will be leaving us after teaching here for 6 years. Chloe will be changing sectors to move into secondary school leading on PSHE which is an exciting prospect. 

• Miss Arda (Y2 Teacher) will be leaving us to move to another local school to further develop her teaching career.

• Miss Kastanias (Y3 Teacher ) will be finishing her maternity leave cover at the end of the year and we thank her for her flexibility and hard work. 

We will also be saying goodbye to Mr Hughes (specialist computing teacher) although we hope it is a temporary goodbye. Mr Hughes is taking some time out of teaching to go travelling but has been invited back to his role next year. 

A big thank you to all the teachers for their hard work over the years, contributing to the good progress the schools have made.

We have previously shared that the school had a significant shortfall in funding this April, which has led to £250,000 worth of cuts including 6 jobs. We will not be able to replace some vacant positions next year including: 

• Two Assistant Headteachers (who left in April);

• Computing Specialist Teacher;

• Site Assistant;

• Two Teaching Assistants.

Key Dates in June

• 3-14 June Y5 Bikeability

• 3-7 June Y4 Multiplication Checks

• 5-7 June Y6 Sports Tour to Cardiff

• 6-7 June Y6 Day trips 

• 6 June Y1 Church Visit (1ND & 1AS)

• 7 June Y1 Church Visit (1OH & 1ED)

• 10-14 June Y1 Phonics Screening

• 11 June Y1 Southend Visit 1OH & 1AS

• 11 June New Reception Parent Meetings

• 18 June Y1 Southend Visit 1ND & 1ED

• 18 June New Nursery Parent Meetings

• 20 June Y6 Junior Citizen Workshops

• 20 June Y5 Keyboard Concert

• 27 June Y3/4 Sports Day

Swimming

All is going well with the construction of a pop-up swimming pool. We will be able to start lessons with 3DB, 3BH and 3TG next week and this will be followed by 3KS and Year 4 in future weeks. Please look out for an email regarding Swimming with more details and a form for you to complete with the level of your child's swimming ability.

Sports Days

The three main Sports Days are confirmed for 

• Thursday 27th June - Years 3 & 4

• Monday 1st July - Years 5 & 6 at Lee Valley Athletics Stadium

• Tuesday 9th July - Infant Sports Day (Yr, Y1 and Y2)

Parents/Carers and family members who wish to attend will need to register in advance and we will send details nearer the time. Nursery children will have their own fun sports events and these will be shared soon. 

Those of you who have been to a Sports Day at Lee Valley will know that it is a great day and venue, however, the costs for this are now too high for our school budget and we will be asking for a contribution towards this day for Years 5 & 6. This helps with the hiring of the indoor arena and coaches. If we can get a healthy response to this then we should be able to keep it for future years, but we will have to consider reducing this event to every 2 years or holding the event at Raglan. 

Charges & Fees for 2024/25

The Governing Body has agreed on the charges and fees for the next academic year. 

Lunch

A school lunch is expected to remain at £2.50 per day pending a final decision by the caterer. This only applies to nursery pupils as all other year groups are covered by the two schemes namely Universal Infant Free School Meals (YR, Y1, Y2) and The Mayor of London's Universal Free Meals (Y3-Y6). 

Raglan Wrap Club

There will be some increases to Raglan Wrap Club 

• Breakfast session remains at £3

• Short Wrap (to 4:30pm) will increase to £6

• Extended Wrap (to 6pm) will increase to £11

Nursery

Nursery fees will increase to £6 per hour to reflect the increase in staffing costs and mirror the increase to funding from the government. This only applies beyond 15 hours and those self-funding or who want additional hours beyond the 30 hours. 

Clubs

After-school clubs will remain at £30 per term. 

Uniform 

We will be extending our shop over the next twelve months to reflect the new uniform policy. We currently have the following items that can be purchased through the Arbor App/Portal. Other supplies available, see our uniform page

• School Sweatshirt £7.99

• Book Bag £3.60

• Gym Bag £4.20

• Water Bottle (House Colours) £3.60

Mini Marathon

It has been confirmed that 98 pupils completed the London Mini Marathon and we have received a donation of £980 which we will use towards our Sport and PE Programmes. Thank you to all the children and parents/carers who took part. 

Term dates and Training Days

We've had a few queries about term dates for the next academic year 2024/2025. These can be found in Information>Term Dates where we have also confirmed the 5 training days. Pupils attend 190 days and staff 195. We will issue the official postcards soon. 

Summer Wrap Club

We will be going ahead with a Summer Wrap Club, details and booking will be available soon. The dates will be the last two weeks in August, excluding the bank holiday, but will also include the training day on the 2nd September. School opens on Tuesday 3rd September for Years 1-6. 

WANTED

We are building up our resources so if you have any of the following that you don't need anymore and are happy to donate we are looking for 

• Lego/Duplo

• dressing up clothes (EYFS)

• dinosaur figures 

New Nursery & Reception 

If you have a child starting in Nursery or Reception, please remember to return your online forms. This will help with our organisation for the new academic year. Meetings for new parents/carers are on 

• Tuesday 11th June (5.30pm or 7pm) for new Reception 

• Tuesday 18th June (5.30pm OR 7pm) for new Nursery 

ENFIELD SEND Feedback

The local authority are seeking feedback from parents and carers. They have designed a questionnaire to help them better understand the experience of children, young people and families as they access and journey through the SEND system.

The questionnaire has been anonymised to enable honest feedback and the results will be used to inform decisions made by the SEND Partnership.

The link for the questionnaire can be found here

The questionnaire will remain open until Monday 3rd June 2024

Community News

We have a community news page to post information about local events, support and opportunities. These are not directly related or endorsed by Raglan but we are happy to share things that may be of interest to our school community. The latest updates include

• May Half-Term Activities (Artz Kidz & Spanish)

• Girls Only Cricket - Enfield Cricket club 

• Summer Fete - Enfield Town Ladies

• Community Litter Picks

• ABC Parents - Free First Aid Course, Postnatal Fitness & Breastfeeding Support 

• Foster Carers Wanted - Five Rivers

Visit the Community News Page here

Educational Visits

Our Educational Visits programme is a key way in which we bring the curriculum alive for children, however, it is becoming more challenging with rising costs and I am sure as parents/carers you have noticed this. I am pleased to say that the Year 1 planned visit to Southend including the Sealife Centre will now go ahead later this term, following a positive response from parents. We have to look at each trip to ensure it is good value for money, look at the contributions made on previous trips so we can be confident that we can cover the costs through parental contributions. 

Class Photos - Last Chance for Free Delivery

Today (Thursday) is the last day for ordering photos if you want to avoid any delivery charges. After this point there is a charge for P&P.   Visit: https://churchbury.gotphoto.co.uk/login  and use the access code provided in email. 

New Nursery Parents

If your child has been offered a place in the Nursery starting in September 2024 we have emailed parents today with starting details. If you have not received the email, please contact the school office. The school website features two pages for New Nursery Intake and New Reception Intake

Both Nursery and Reception year groups are full for September. This is encouraging as we know that other schools in Enfield are struggling to fill all their places due to a falling birthrate and families moving out of the borough. 

Funding

Thank you to those reaching out to the school following news of our funding. The school has been forced to make cuts of £250,000 this April to balance the budget for 2024/2025 following an increase of less than 1% to its core funding. We will be relying on fundraising more than ever as our curriculum budgets for new resources will be minimal. Supporting RSA events including the upcoming Sponsored Walk is a good start.

Staff Changes 

Yesterday we said goodbye to Assistant Headteachers Ms Giles and Mrs Pettifor. Unfortunately, the school is unable to replace these roles due to budget cuts. We are expecting a further 4 posts to be cut by the end of the academic year, placing greater pressure on other staff. The school was faced with a £250,000 shortfall this April due to funding not keeping pace with costs. 

Mrs Daly (Deputy Headteacher) will be leading in Year 3/4 from today, taking over from Mrs Giles. Parents should first discuss any concerns with their class teacher but the leadership is also there to help, support and resolve any issues. 

Any questions or concerns around SEND should be directed to Mrs Plume (SENCo) who will also be the designated person for Looked After and Adopted children. The plans and progress of pupils will be overseen by the AHT/DHT of their phase. 

Mr Kelsey-Hatton will be the Designated Safeguarding Lead overall but all members of the leadership team are trained and together form the Safeguarding Team at Raglan. Again please speak with your AHT/DHT if you have any concerns about safeguarding.  

NO Smoking and Vaping 

This a polite reminder that smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere on the school site and we would also encourage parents/carers and visitors not to do this near the school gates. Thank You! 

Dates for May

It's May already, so here is what is coming up

• 6th May - Bank Holiday (School Closed)

• 7th-10th May - Year 4 Residential Visits

• 13-16th May - Year 6 SATs

• 13th May - Nursery Farm Visit 

• 14th May - R2 & R4 Lee Valley Visit

• 15th May - R1 & R3 Lee Valley Visit

• 20th May - Y4 Violin Concert - tickets here

• Friday 24th May - School Closes at 3.10/3.20/3.30pm for Half Term 

• Monday 3rd June - School Opens for Summer 2

Community News

There are some updates to the community news page. This is where we post events or opportunities that may be of interest to some pupils and parents. This includes

• Coffee Morning/Fundraiser at Bush Hill Park Methodist Church

• Prayer Meeting for Raglan Parents 

• Sewing Bee applications open

Visit the Community News here

Class Photos

These are now available for purchase direct from the Churchbury website 

Visit: https://churchbury.gotphoto.co.uk/login  and use the access code provided in yesterday's email. 

Orders placed online before 9th May (extended deadline) can be returned to school free of charge, after this date P&P will apply for home deliveries. Orders will enter production together on 03.05.24 and be returned to school in one eco-friendly delivery approximately 2 weeks later. 

Clubs 

Infant clubs have now all been allocated and are full. 

Junior clubs have the following spaces. Please email clubs@raglanschools.org if interested 

• Chess Y3456 (Wednesdays) - 10 spaces (there are two groups so more spaces available) 

• Table Tennis Y456 (Wednesdays) - 5 spaces

Goodbyes 

Next Tuesday we will be saying goodbye to two Assistant Headteachers. I'd like to repeat my thanks to Corrine Giles and Jo Pettifor for all their hard work and contributions to Raglan over the years, they will certainly be missed. If any parents/carers wish to contribute to their leaving gifts, please drop any contributions into the office by Friday. 

Sue's Friendship Stop

Last term we were devastated to lose one of our colleagues Sue Stone, who died unexpectedly. Around 30 staff attended a moving service for Sue which was a fitting tribute to her life. We have plans to install a Friendship Stop/Bench for Sue in the Year 3/4 playground where she spent many lunchtimes supporting pupils. The bench is for pupils looking for a friend or someone to play with. 

Thank you to those who have donated towards this so far, we will be closing this collection on the 3rd May so if you wish to contribute, please do so via the Arbor School Shop. Any money left over will be donated to the chosen charity The National Trust.  

Clubs

Parents and Carers should now have registered and paid for any clubs that have been offered on Arbor. Please do this as soon as possible so we can offer out any remaining clubs.

Clubs start next week from Monday 22nd April and run through to the final clubs on Monday 8th July. We finish on a Monday to catch up from the bank holiday. 

Sports Days

The three main Sports Days are confirmed for 

• Thursday 27th June - Years 3 & 4

• Monday 1st July - Years 5 & 6 at Lee Valley Athletics Stadium

• Tuesday 9th July - Infant Sports Day (Yr, Y1 and Y2)

Parents/Carers and family members who wish to attend will need to register in advance and we will send details nearer the time. 

Nursery children will have their own fun sports events and these will be shared soon. 

Those of you who have been to a Sports Day at Lee Valley will know that it is a great day and venue, however, the costs for this are now too high for our school budget and we will be asking for a contribution towards this day for Years 5 & 6. If we can get a healthy response to this then we should be able to keep it for future years but options for every 2 years or returning the event to Raglan are under consideration. 

Key Dates In MAY

Other Key Dates include 

• Monday 6th May - Bank Holiday Monday (School Closed)

• Tuesday 7th to Friday 10th May - Y4 residential(2 days, 1 night)

• Monday 13th to Thursday 16th May - Year 6 SATs week 

• Friday 24th May - School closes for Half term at 3.10/3.20pm

Staffing Update 

As we reach the end of another term, there are some significant staffing updates. We will be soon saying goodbye to two of our Assistant Headteachers, Corrine Giles and Jo Pettifor. 

Corrine has been at Raglan since 2014 and has been a key part of the leadership team as we moved the schools forward. She has undertaken several roles across the curriculum and has been a leading part in several OfSTED inspections. Corrine is leaving to seek new opportunities. 

Jo joined us in 2021 as AHT for Inclusion and soon found her feet, bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the Inclusion agenda. Jo has been in education for 30 years and is ready for a phased retirement seeking new opportunities.

I'd like to thank them both for their hard work and dedication over the years and wish them well for the future. Their final day will be the 30th April. If you would like to contribute to a gift, please leave any contributions at the office. 

Funding 

As anticipated we have received less than a 1% increase to our core funding which does not match the rise in costs for the next twelve months. This has left the school with a £250,000 black hole this April. We have spent all our reserves, which were wiped out with the pay rises for the last two years which were not fully funded. We also saw energy costs soar 125%.

We are also hit with an increase in pension contributions this April and the grant provided by the DfE does not cover all the actual costs. National Insurance thresholds are frozen so we are paying more NI contributions. As yet, we don't know what the pay rises will be for teachers or support staff in 2024. So in summary, we are unable to afford the staffing bill going forward. 

We have no choice but to reduce the workforce which makes up 75% of our costs. I have discussed this with the Governing Body and we will be unable to fill some of the vacant positions. Therefore we will not be replacing the two Assistant Headteachers leaving in April. Further cuts will also be needed and these will be finalised next term. It's disheartening that we have reached a really good place at Raglan and it is in danger of being undone. 

Clubs 

All clubs have now been allocated and added to Arbor. You can scroll down for previous updates. There was a significant increase of busy parents who missed the deadline which emphasises the importance of reading these parent/carer updates. Hopefully, we have been able to find clubs for most pupils who have requested them. Initial figures look like around 700 pupils have a club after school. 

We are working through the spaces and waiting lists for Infants and Juniors 

Please do look on Arbor and register (and pay) for the clubs offered. If you no longer want the place, let us know clubs@raglanschools.org as we do have pupils waiting for spaces. 

Remember to also email us if you need us to pay clubs for you, especially if your child is in Nursery until 3.30pm or is booked into Wrap Club. Parents who receive help with school expenses (FSM) should see clubs automatically registered and paid but do let us know if that has not happened and it is asking you to pay. clubs@raglanschools.org

Progress Reports 

All reports have been sent by email. Let us know if you have not received one for your child. As the term was short and face-to-face meetings were not long ago there will be no comments, just a data update including attendance, effort and test results. 

Raglan Wrap Club

One parent said it was easier to get Beyonce tickets when the system went live last week. I'm sorry if this is causing stress and frustration, but we cannot meet the demand for places. Having extended the club twice already we have brought forward plans to use the Hub as part of the Wrap Club. This means children in Nursery and Reception will use the Hub between 3.10 and 5pm before moving over to the main room. This will help create some more places for next term and we will see if that works. This takes us to around 150/160 pupils. The Hub is ideal for EYFS pupils as the set-up has everything they need. It is a shame to split them away from the older pupils but this is the only way we can safely extend the club to create more places. 

Some parents have made suggestions on how best to manage the booking situation, but most suggestions require us to create criteria for which pupils get priority over others and that comes with problems around what is fair. Further discussions will be taking place next term to see how we can best manage the process going forward. 

In other news, there was a healthy response to a consultation on whether parents would welcome Wrap Club opening during the Summer break. We are now working on the staffing to see whether we can make it happen this year.  

Community Updates

We've added a few updates to the Community News including 

• Artz Kidz this Easter

• Football Camps with Mr Wick

• Enfield Cricket Club this Summer 

• Easter Egg Hunt in Bury Lodge Park

Visit the Community News Page here 

End of Term

We close tomorrow at the normal time. School reopens on Monday 15th April. 

Clubs 

Infant Clubs are now available on Arbor, these are the clubs your child has been allocated. Unfortunately, Arbor does not delete old clubs so you need to look closely at the names and dates. We have also added Sum24 to most of the club titles this term. Junior Clubs are being finalised today and should be live tomorrow. 

PLEASE LOG ON TO ARBOR TO ACCEPT THE CLUBS OFFERED. This adds your child to the club register. Where there is a fee to pay, it needs to be paid at this point for your place to be secured. 

A few points to note 

• The vast majority of pupils have been allocated their first choice and most clubs are over-subscribed. 

• If you don't want the place, please let us know so we can offer it out to other children clubs@raglanschools.org  

• Dance for Reception has been split into a Tuesday and Friday club to meet the demand

• If you receive help with school expenses, we will have paid the fee for you automatically and your child should be registered already. 

• If your child is booked into Wrap Club on the same day as a club, you do not need to pay the club fee of £30. Please email clubs@raglanschools.org and we will pay the fee for you. 

• If your child is booked into Nursery on the days they have a club, your child has been registered and the fee has been paid. If there is an error with this then please email clubs@raglanschools.org

There are 53 spaces left in some of the Infant Clubs, please click here to see what is available and to request a place. Again we will do this in priority order starting with pupils who have no clubs to those who have already been allocated two. 

Progress Reports

We will be sending you a progress report/data update by email over the next two days. This will show you the latest teacher assessments, effort grades (Y1-6), test results (Y2-6) and attendance. As the Meet the Teacher events were just a few weeks ago there will be no comments this term. However, teachers may contact you if there is something to discuss or update. You are of course welcome to make an appointment to see a teacher after the break if you wish to follow up on anything. Guidance notes are below.

CLASS PHOTOS

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have the photographers in for the class photos. Please send your child into school wearing their uniform. If they have PE, please send in the PE kit separately. 

Clubs for Summer 

The Summer Term Clubs programme has now been published. There are three steps to the process, which are:

1. Make your REQUESTS for clubs on the Google form by Monday 25th March (9am)

2. We will allocate the clubs, and then add them to the Arbor app/portal by 28th March.

3. You then need to accept the club offer and pay any fee (where applicable)

Some key points to know:

• Clubs are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We try to find at least one club for everyone who wants one starting with your first choice. 

• Music clubs will have the same pupils as this term as they are already preparing for the Summer concerts.

• Do not wait for the outcome of KS2 trials this time. Submit your form and if there is a clash we will allocate the KS2 trial place. 

• There are clubs for Nursery this term at 2.30pm. If your child is still in the nursery at this point, they can still attend a club and there will be no charge. If your child finishes at 11.30am or 2.30pm then club fees apply.

• Waiting lists from this term do not roll forward, please make any club your first choice to stand a good chance of getting a place.  

The direct links are 

• Clubs Booklet - click here 

• Google Form - click here 

In Memory of Sue

A couple of weeks ago we lost our friend and colleague Sue Stone. Her funeral will take place next Thursday 21st March. Around 20 staff will be attending, however, we have been able to arrange cover and the school will remain open on this day.

Donations

A collection has been started in memory of Sue. The family have requested no flowers, but donations to The National Trust are welcomed. The school is organising a community collection which will go towards this charity, but also towards installing a Friendship Bench in the Year 3/4 playground, where Sue spent many hours supporting pupils at lunchtime. If you would like to donate, this can be done via the School Shop, so please visit your Arbor portal or app. 

Clubs 

A reminder that all school clubs finish this Friday 15th March. We are ready to launch the new clubs for Summer so look out for details. We will again try and allocate all the clubs before the break. Next week will be the junior trials and information has been shared on the arrangements. 

Raglan Wrap Club 

Bookings for the Summer Term open on Monday 18th March at 18:30. This week, whilst the system was being prepared and tested, some parents saw the system was open and made bookings and then shared this with others. These bookings have all now been cancelled so the procedure is fair to everyone. We will always notify you when the system is open for general booking. 

Musical Collaboration 

Musicians from Kingsmead School joined our wind band this week as they prepare for an upcoming concert. It was great to see the school schools together especially as many pupils now go to Kingsmead for their secondary school.

Parent Workshop - Behaviour

On Tuesday 26th March at 9am My Young Minds Enfield (MYME) will be leading a parent workshop about behaviour. The aims of the session:

• To understand what we mean by behaviour that challenges

• To understand what factors can impact on your child's behaviour

• To have an understanding of the strategies that you can use to support your child's behaviour

• To learn strategies to support your child's sleep

The Workshop will take place in The Hub and is open to all parents. Please use the google form to sign up.

Clubs

Clubs end on Friday for this term and the process begins to sort clubs for next term. Next week will be trials for KS2 pupils and we will be moving to Summer Sports including athletics, cricket and rounders. Further details will follow.

There were many positives using Arbor for clubs last term, but it wasn't without glitches and of course we were all getting used to a new app and software. Hopefully some of those issues will be better this time round. The process remains the same in three steps: 

• You make requests for clubs via the Google Form 

• We allocate the clubs and add them to Arbor 

• You accept the clubs offered and where applicable pay the fee.

We allocate as fairly as possible with the aim that everyone who wants a club can attend at least one club. Often we can do more than one but this depends on your choices and how popular each clubs is. Some clubs will roll over from this term especially in Music where children are already preparing for concerts. 

The fees will remain at £30 for the term which will give you between 8-10 weeks over the Summer Term.

Ramadam & Fasting

If older pupils are fasting during Ramadam, please let us know in writing to the school so we can support them through this period.

Term Dates 

This term ends on Thursday 28th March as the Friday is a bank holiday (Good Friday). We return on Monday 15th April at the usual times. Other key dates for Summer and beyond: 

• Monday 6th May - School Closed (Bank Holiday)

• Monday 27th - 31st May - School Close (Half Term)

• Friday 19th July - School Closes for Summer at 1.30-1.40pm

• Tuesday 3rd September - School opens for Autumn Term 

World Book Day

Our World Book Day is tomorrow (Friday) with many activities planned. The theme is "Read what makes you happy, wear what makes you happy!" There is also a pre-loved book sale so everyone goes home with a book. Thank you for your kind donations of books, we have a great collection for the children tomorrow. We welcome a donation of £1 towards the book sale. All this will go back into replenishing library stocks. 

Quiz Night Postponed

Unfortunately, we have had to postpone tomorrow's RSA Quiz Night. This has now been rescheduled to Friday 17th May. The RSA will be in touch if you have already booked tickets.  

Red Nose Day

We will not be participating in Red Nose Day (Comic Relief) as a school this year, but if you wish to support the charity as a family, please do so by visiting https://www.comicrelief.com/rednoseday/

Coffee Morning 

There will be a Coffee Morning led by Lorraine Bennett (Outreach Support Manager, Waverley School) discussing Personal Care and Toilet Training.  Lorraine has been running outreach support to schools and families in Enfield for many years. Aimed at families in Nursery/Reception or those families with children due to start school in September who are finding this process difficult. The coffee morning will be Tuesday 23rd April 9am in The Hub

Please use the Google Form to sign up.