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Knowledge begins with respect for God. (Proverbs 1:7)

St Matthew's C of E
Primary School

Live, Love, Learn

&

Brunel
Nursery School

Learning Together

Latest Newsletter

 

 

Newsletter 7 – 13th October 2025

 

Knowledge begins with respect for God (Proverbs 1:7)

 

This half-term’s value is ‘Thankfulness’ (Colossians 2:7)

 

 

Parent Governor Vacancy

We currently have a vacancy for a parent governor on our Governing Board. A letter with more details about how you can volunteer for this role will be sent home tomorrow.

 

What do parent governors do?

Parent governors bring their unique life experience and knowledge to the Governing Board, contributing to the successful running of their child’s school. Being a governor is a "hands off" role – decisions made by the Board influence the whole school, but governors are not responsible for, or involved in, the day-to-day running of the school. Governors set the ethos of the school and drive for continuous improvement, and they also oversee financial performance and ensure money is well-spent. Governors commission the headteacher and other school leaders to act on their behalf in putting their ideas into practice, and ensure that the school leadership is held to account in doing so.

 

What skills do parent governors need?

There is no particular skillset that marks out an ideal parent governor. So long as you are over 18 years of age and have a child at the school you can express an interest in becoming a parent governor for the school. There’s a legal requirement for parents to be DBS checked before starting their post as a governor.

 

What's in it for parents?

There's plenty of opportunity to learn new skills, working with others to help to develop useful policies that will benefit the education of children. The role may sound formal, but governors play a vital role in the running of the school and governors appreciate the sense of duty and opportunity to show loyalty to their school. The experiences of school governorship look great on any CV, and can even create career opportunities. You will gain a great understanding of how the school is run, and this will have a positive knock-on effect on your child’s education, academic outcomes and school life.

 

Diwali Day

The children had a great day today with our special visitor, Prags Birk. Depending on their age, the children enjoyed music, dancing and making rangoli patterns, as well as finding out more about Diwali, Hinduism and Sikhism. A big thank you to Mrs Minoprio-Nicholson for organising another great learning experience for the children.

 

Parents’ and Carers’ Evening

Advance notice that this will be taking place on Tuesday 9th December, 3.10 – 6.00pm. Please make a note of this date and make it a priority to come along and discuss your child’s progress this term.Booking this year will once again be through the school website - your correct email address will be needed for this.

 

 

Parents’ and Carers’ Evening

Advance notice that this will be taking place on Tuesday 9th December, 3.10 – 6.00pm. Please make a note of this date and make it a priority to come along and discuss your child’s progress this term. Booking this year will once again be through the school website - your correct email address will be needed for this.

 

School Photographer – Thursday 23rd October

The school photographer will be in school next Thursday, 23rd October, to take photographs of classes. Photographs of individual children will be taken later in the school year.

 

Attendance and Punctuality

Thank you to all the parents and carers who do a fantastic job of ensuring that their child is in school, on time, so regularly.

We have recently updated the procedures we follow when we have concerns about a child’s attendance and/or punctuality – these are attached to this newsletter.

 

 

This week’s Amazing Achievers!

 

Headteacher’s Award

Children chosen for a special achievement:

 

Abdullah Hassan – Woodpeckers

M. Awais Aftab – Kingfishers

Umair Fulat – Swallows

McKenzie Mulleny – Doves

Sabrina Ismaili - Owls

Shakeel Hussain – Kestrels

Zakariyya Motala – Hawks

Subhan Nain – Falcons

Faizaan Abdul-Ghafoor – Eagles

You’ve Been Spotted!

Children who have been spotted demonstrating one of our school values:

 

Jannat Ahmed-Sharif – Woodpeckers

Abeera Chaudhry – Kingfishers

Huda Hooti – Swallows

Yusuf Bismillah – Doves

Iqra Aziz – Owls

Anaya Chaudhry – Kestrels

Max Jackson – Hawks

Fatima Aziz – Falcons

Imaan Zohaib – Eagles

Recent Reading Badges

 

Doves

Rayhan Rizwan - Bronze

Farah Hussain & Zahra Akhtar - Sapphire

Khadijah Faiz – Emerald

 

Kestrels

Zakariya Faqir – Gold

Ella Smith - Sapphire

Bilal Badat - Pearl

 

Hawks

Shamsa Hooti - Pearl

Umar-Farooq Chothia & Rehan Khan – Bronze Star

Anaya Faisal – Silver Star

Aisha Hussain – Gold Star

 

Remarkable Readers

 

Children who have impressed their teachers with their reading this week:

 

Adam Sabir - Woodpeckers

Maahnoor Syeda - Kingfishers

Alayna Hussain - Swallows

Khadijah Faiz - Doves

Azaan Qureshi - Owls

Simrah Hajat - Kestrels

Rehan Khan - Hawks

Laraib Shah - Falcons

 Mishaal Yasir - Eagles

 

Mrs Martin’s Class of the Week:

Kestrels

Mr Ulhaq’s Ultimate Achiever:                         

Subhan Atiq (Falcons)

Mr Richardson’s Lunchtime Awards:

Skye McCaw (Kingfishers) & Aleena Bhamji (Kestrels)

       

 

 

Last Week’s Attendance

 

Best attendance

Best punctuality

Infants

Kingfishers

Woodpeckers & Swallows

Juniors

Eagles

Hawks

 

 

Attendance

This is what we do when we have concerns about a child’s attendance:

Stage

Number of absences

What we will do

1

3 days of absence (6 sessions)

Text message issued. Parents/carers invited to discuss any concerns if they wish to do so.

2

4 days of absence (8 sessions)

Attendance concern letter sent home to parents/carers

3

6 days of absence (12 sessions)

Parents requested to attend a meeting in school to discuss attendance with the Headteacher

4

10 days of absence (20 sessions)

Parents requested to attend a further meeting with the Headteacher to discuss the creation of a parenting contract with the school and Local Authority.

5

15 days of absence (30 sessions)

Parenting contract has been breached and attendance has not improved.

Any of the thresholds for legal action have been met

School will refer the case to the Local Authority.

The Local Authority will utilise appropriate legal powers to enforce attendance. This could include Fixed Penalty Notices, charged at £160 per parent if paid within 28 days. This is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.

 

 

Punctuality

This is what we do when we have concerns about a child’s punctuality:

Stage

Number of late arrivals

Actions to be taken

1

3 late arrivals

Text message issued. Parents/carers invited to discuss any concerns if they wish to do so.

2

6 late arrivals despite initial text

Punctuality Concern Letter 1 sent home to parents/carers

3

9 late arrivals despite warning letter

Punctuality Concern Letter 2 sent home to parents/carers

4

12 late arrivals despite second warning letter

Parents requested to attend a meeting in school to discuss punctuality with the Headteacher

5

15 late arrivals despite meeting with Headteacher

School will refer the case to the Local Authority who will utilise appropriate legal powers to enforce punctuality and attendance. This could include Fixed Penalty Notices, charged at £160 per parent if paid within 28 days. This is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days.

Best wishes

Julian Rogers

Headteacher