Latest Newsletter

Newsletter 1 – 3^rd September 2026

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

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

Welcome!

Welcome back to the new school year - it’s great to be back! I hope you all had a good summer holiday. A particular welcome to you if your child has started at our school today for the first time – welcome to the St Matthew’s family!

As always, this first newsletter of the year contains some important reminders about various aspects of school life. School newsletters are published every Monday and will be emailed to you. Newsletters are also available on the school website: www.stmatthewsblackburn.com each week. Please do read these letters as they will keep you fully informed as to what is happening in school.

School uniform and appearance

The children all looked very smart in their school uniform today - thank you for your support in this. Please do make sure that all your child’s clothing is clearly marked with your child’s name.  We do have a small stock of pre-owned school uniform in school, should you need it.

A reminder that children are not expected to wear any form of make-up in school, for example painted fingernails, false or gel nails or eye make-up. It’s a good idea to tie back long hair to help prevent the spread of headlice. Extreme hairstyles (e.g. shaving lines, spikes, dye) are discouraged.

Girls are welcome to wear a headscarf to school. Headscarves should be short (shoulder-length) and must be the pullover-type with no fastening. They should be either plain black or purple (to match the school uniform).

Please also remember that we do not allow jewellery of any description in school. This is stated in our school handbook. The key reason why we do not allow jewellery is down to health and safety. Jewellery can cause accidents or make injuries worse. There are also practical reasons – earrings can cause problems on PE days when they have to be removed and can easily get lost (as can any other forms of jewellery). I do hope that you will support us in this.

New purple book bags are available from the school office priced at £4.50.

Staffing News

Mr Orange, our Site Supervisor, is leaving us at the end of the week after working here for over seven years. We wish him all the best as he starts at his new school next week. We will miss him!

Mr Damien Gilpin is our new Site Supervisor from Monday. Some of you might have seen him today as he has been in school for a handover from Mr Orange.

Congratulations to Miss Darken, the Woodpeckers’ class teacher, who got married during the summer holidays! She will now be known as Mrs Marchment. 

Breakfast Club

New parents might not be aware of our Breakfast Club. This is aimed at working parents who may struggle to get their children to school at the usual start time due to work commitments. For a charge of £1 per day (paid at the end of the week using our online payment system SchoolMoney), children are given a nutritious breakfast and the opportunity to chat with their friends, read or play games.

Breakfast Club starts at 7.45am each morning – children can be dropped off between 7.45 and 8.00am. Unfortunately, we are not able to admit anyone after 8.00am as the entrance to Breakfast Club is the Falcons’ classroom door and the class teacher will be preparing for the day ahead. If you would like your child to attend Breakfast Club, please bring them to the Falcons’ classroom door and speak with Mrs Hussain. If you are not sure where this is, come to the main school entrance and a member of staff will direct you.

Attendance and punctuality

School starts at 8.30am (doors open at 8.20am) and finishes at 3.00pm. If your child is not going to be in school or will be arriving late, please ring and let us know before 9.30am.

Pupils who arrive late without good reason receive an unauthorised absence against their name so it is very important to ensure your child is on time.

We require evidence of medical appointments for every child to be able to authorise these absences. These should be made outside of the school day wherever possible.

School Dinners

For those children in our junior classes (Doves, Owls, Kestrels, Hawks, Falcons & Eagles), dinners should be ordered and paid in advance using SchoolMoney, our online payment system. The cost of a school dinner is now £2.60 per day (£13.00 per week). Children who are in our infant classes (Robins, Woodpeckers, Kingfishers & Swallows) are entitled to Universal Free School Meals and should continue to order their meal choice in advance on SchoolMoney. 

If you feel that you are eligible for free school meals you need to apply online. Please visit the Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council website and search free school meals.

Online Safety

Each month we provide parents and carers with an online safety newsletter via our school website. You will find this on the ‘Parents’ tab, ‘Online Safety’. September’s newsletter has just been posted and I would encourage you to read it. These newsletters are designed to help you to keep your child safe online. The online world moves extremely quickly and these newsletters are a great way to keep yourself up to date.

Medication

Please make sure that any medication your child might need to keep in school (including inhalers) is sent in to school as soon as possible. Medication must be in date and labelled with your child’s name. If your child needs to have medication administered in school you will need to complete a form which is available from the office.

Finally…..

We have all enjoyed the first day of this new term. The children have come back in a really positive frame of mind, keen to work hard. Your support in all areas of school life is so important and we all believe that the way to help the children to achieve their full potential is for everyone to work together. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss.