Headteacher’s NewsletterIssue 3 9th January 2018Dear Parents,Welcome to the start of a new year and a new term.

THE STAFF OF ST STEPHEN’S JOIN ME IN WISHING ALL OUR FAMILIES A HAPPY, SAFE, VERY PEACEFUL AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

As Head Teacher of St Stephen’s School and Children’s Centre I am extremely proud that the school was given the honour of ‘The Top State Primary School in the Country’. This was published in The Sunday Times on 19th November 2017.

I am also proud to share that St Stephen’s was visited as part of Ofsted’s Early Years curriculum review ‘Bold Beginnings’. Gill Jones HMI Deputy Director Early Education for OFSTED visited the school in Summer 2017 and said, ‘I had a lovely day and thoroughly enjoyed meeting you, your staff and the children. I was struck by the high expectations you set for the children and all who work with you. Also notable is the care and attention you give to every aspect of school life, including in making the lovely memory books, such as for the Queen’s birthday celebrations. You run a lovely school, where children have excellent opportunities to learn. It was a privilege to see it in action.’The full report can be found on the website.

I want to genuinely thank each and every one of you past and present for working in partnership with the school to ensure that together we have offered the best possible education and well-being for all children who have been at St Stephen’s.

You as parents and the community have played a crucial part in the success of the school and indeed in my personal success as a Head Teacher. You have always trusted my judgement, respected my role and welcomed me into community life. Your support, sincerity and warmth is overwhelming. I know how fortunate I am to have been part of this school for so many years.

At St Stephen’s our children come first, the start that we give them makes a positive difference not only for the time they are here but also as they continue their education beyond St Stephen’s gates. The children understand that they are modern British citizens, know their rights and respect the rights of others.

The children that make the greatest progress are those with parents who believe in what we do and take on advice given by the school.These parents:

read with their children daily at home take interest in their homework and ensure it is completed to the best of their ability support their children when attending enrichment opportunities ensure their children are smart, alert and ready for school

allow their children to be confident and independent learners.

I also have to pay testament and tribute to the excellent work and support given by our active Governing Body.

Finally, I am sure you will agree that the highest accolade must be paid to the highly effective, hardworking and intelligent staff team led by two superb Deputies. The staff team work tirelessly to ensure that your children receive the highest quality provision and teaching that enables all children to make progress and flourish in a nurturing and safe environment.

With much respect

Ms. Neena Lall

Headteacher

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF GOVERNORS- Mr Arif QawiAs you all know, our School has been rated the best in England.  I wish to pay tribute to the amazing teachers that Neena has assembled, and developed, to deliver the very best education to the children.  Therefore, it is absolutely vital and respectful that each and every parent support Neena and her team in every aspect.  The vast majority of parents are very supportive, but I have been disturbed to see a few individuals not behaving respectfully on campus, and wearing pyjamas when coming to drop off or collect their children.  You must set an example to your children, and I humbly request that you take the time to dress appropriately, and behave well in and around School.

St Stephen’s School works hard to ensure that every child receives a complete education, and that no child is left behind.  A vital part of this approach is offsite excursions, and residential visits.  Children need to be exposed to as many external experiences as possible, within a safe environment.  This helps with their overall development, and I am asking each and every parent to support the School by permitting your children to attend ALL of these events. I would like to remind you that primary school education is required by law, whereas the religious classes are a matter of choice and some parents are choosing to send their children at weekends only.  Therefore, we are making all offsite trips and residential stays mandatory, and every child is expected to attend.

I cannot emphasise enough how blessed and lucky you and your children are to be part of the St Stephen’s community.  Thank you for your support and I feel incredibly proud, humbled and honoured to be associated with the best primary school in the land!SPRING TERM DATES 2018

JANUARY 2018Tuesday 2nd January Children’s Centre and Day care openMonday 8th January Primary pupils returnMonday 8th January-12th January STEM WEEKMonday 8th January-19th January Year 4 swimming for 2 weeksTuesday 9th January Year 4 Q and A-3.30pmWednesday 10th January Maintained Nursery Pupils returnFriday 12th January –Friday 19th January

Year 6 Farm residential visit

Friday 12th January Science Fair -2.30pm in the School HallMonday 15th JanuaryTuesday 16th January

Reception Class Forest Visits

Wednesday 17th JanuaryThursday 18th January Primary KS1 Parents evening 2pm-7.30pm

Nursery and Reception Classes Consultation Day 9am-7.30pm

Thursday 18th January Health Event 3.30-6pm in the School Dining HallTuesday 23rd January Year 3 Headteachers Q and A- 3.30pmThursday 25th January Primary KS2 Parents evening 2pm-7.30pmTuesday 30th January Year 5 visit to the British LibraryTuesday 30th January Year 2 Headteachers Q and A- 3.30pm

FEBRUARY 2018Tuesday 6th February SAFER INTERNET DAYTuesday 6th February Governor’s OPEN day and meetingThursday 8th February Reception Parent Workshop 9.15am in the School

HallThursday 8th February SEN parent forum 9.15 in the Dining HallThursday 8th February Year 6 SATs Meeting at 3.30pm

Friday 9th February-Half Term holiday – School closes at 3:15 pmChildren’s Centre and Day care will remain open.Monday 19th February -School restarts at 8:55 am

I will inform you of any additional dates and events that may be set during the term.

THEMED WEEKS

8 th -12 th January STEM WEEK Pupils will learn a range of science, technology, engineering and maths in this interactive learning week, which will include a St. Stephen’s Science Fair.26 th February – 2 nd March LITERATURE FESTIVAL The annual Literature festival, which will include world book day, is an opportunity for pupils to learn a love for reading, as well as completing reading based workshops and activities throughout the week.JOY CUP ‘THE JOY CUP’ is awarded to a member of each class each term.The joy cup is awarded to those children who have a joy for coming to school and embrace all that St Stephen’s has to offer.I would like to congratulate the joy cup winners for the Autumn Term 2017.

RIN –Khadijah BhutaRMW –Zunaira ShahzadRRF – Jamila Dwornik

1 DT- Haaziq Shafeer1GD-Izaan Ull Habib1SC-Aalim Malik

2ZK –Umar Farooq2JW – Ayaan Mumtaz2SH –Hamzah-ur Rahman

3CP-Zainab Husseini3JM-Aisha Yunus3HA-Anas Iqbal

4EW –Zayd Rahman4TB-Suhana Ali

5AW: Mohamed Omar5JW: Maryam Karim

6TN: Zaynab Ghauri6SR: Adil Ahmed

FUNDRAISERS Harvest Donations of food were gratefully received by Community Links. We raised funds for the Poppy Appeal- we are still awaiting final confirmation of the

amount raised Macmillan Coffee Morning : £736.31 DISCO-£2278.43 Save the Children- Christmas Jumper Day-£498.48

Sports for School : £1740.00 United World Schools : £2318.00 Christmas Hamper £57.65

Thank you for all your donations to these worthwhile causes.

CURRICULUMHopefully, your children have told you that we have changed the Primary School curriculum here at St. Stephens, this academic year. We are no longer learning through termly topics and have moved towards individual subject teaching. We believe that children should have a secure grounding in all subjects, whilst still flourishing in the core elements of English, Maths and Science. Our expectation is that your children should be challenged to be the best they can be in all subjects from art to PE, RE to History. In order to achieve this, we are ensuring that children learn and practice key skills and knowledge in our broad and balanced curriculum.

Subject Coordinator

Non-negotiable

Computing Esther Touch typing skillsRE Jo M Knowledge of faiths that are not your ownArt Donna Developmental stages of drawingDT Donna Practical problem solving – building to prove (STEM)History Sarah C Chronology/key dates in timeGeography Amina Key geography facts e.g. capital cities, continents,

countries, rivers etc.PE Ray Fitness and swimmingMusic Eluned Reading forms of musical notationPHSE/SMSC/BV Zahira Knowledge of UNCRC rights and key facts

If you have any comments about this, or would like to discuss this further please contact my deputy at adam.bennett@st-stephens.newham.sch.ukRESIDENTIALS

As you know, St. Stephen’s seeks out unique opportunities to support children in achieving their best. We have a systematic approach to residentials that builds upon experiences year on year.Year 3 ~ School Sleepover (1 night)Year 4 ~ Science Museum Sleepover (1 night)Year 5 ~ Fairplay House (3-5 nights)Year 6 ~ The Farm (1 week)There is clear correlation that these learning opportunities support children’s independence and ambition, which in turn has a direct impact on children’s desire and ambition to succeed.

SAFEGUARDING

Online SafetyOnline safety is a major point of focus internationally and it is important that, as adults, we understand the risks posed to our children. The most important consideration is to be fully aware of what your child is doing online, who they are talking to, the apps they are using, the games they are playing and information they are sharing. This can be done through:

regular and consistent conversations and monitoring. ensure your child isn’t accessing the internet without adult supervision. Check the age restrictions of apps and games which can be found in the terms and

conditions of that specific app.The following websites offer in depth guides on: privacy controls, having positive conversations with your child about online safety and information for you as parents and

carers. www.internetmatters.org www.saferinternet.org

AttendanceAt St. Stephen’s we believe that attendance is key to attainment. Therefore, we encourage children to attend school every day. Extended holidays are not encouraged and will not be permitted if your child’s attendance is below the annual school target of 98%. We track attendance on a monthly basis and parents are notified if their child’s attendance drops below our monthly target figures.

PunctualityGood punctuality is essential for children to achieve their full educational potential.  It is also vital to form good habits for later life.We would ask parents to support us in maintaining good punctuality by:

Ensuring that their children get up in plenty of time to be ready and prepared for school.

Ensuring their child has organised their bag and equipment the night before so that this does not delay departure in the morning.

Discussing any issues of lateness with staff to ensure this does not become a habit.We thank you for your support on these matters.

CONTACT USSt Stephen’s Schools and Children’s Centre, Whitfield Road, London E6 1AS

Head teacher: Ms Neena Lallneena.lall@st-stephens.newham.sch.uk

Primary SchoolTel: 020 8472 7575

Email: info@st-stephens.newham.sch.ukWebsite: www.st-stephens-primary.org.uk

Nursery School Tel 020 8586 0147

Email: childrenscentre@st-stephens.newham.sch.ukWebsite:www.st-stephens-nurserychildrenscentre.org.uk

Deputy Head TeacherMrs Fozia Ramzan

fozia.ramzan@st-stephens.newham.sch.uk

Deputy Head TeacherMr Adam Bennett

adam.bennett@st-stephens.newham.sch.ukThis newsletter is also available on the school website.