Dear Parents/Carers
Welcome to the start of our new academic year, I hope you have all had a relaxing summer.
We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back to learning. I’m sure they will be very excited to see their friends and to make friends with ‘new’ children joining our school.
Punctuality and attendance:
School opens at 8:45am every day so you can bring your children into school nice and early. Remember the gates shut as we start teaching immediately at 8.55am so if your child is late, by even one minute, they are missing out on essential learning. (Nursery children have different start times.)
In order to support parents with collection, the school day now ends at 3:15pm for all children from Reception to Year 6. (Nursery PM children 3:15pm/30 hours 3:00pm.)
New Reception and Nursery children have a phased start and you will have been informed of your child’s start date and time. If in doubt please email the school at admin@devonshirehill.haringey.sch.uk.
Our attendance figures for the last academic year improved after the absences caused by the Coronavirus pandemic and I look forward to building on that success this year.
School Uniform: Uniform is very important to our school as it adds a real sense of community, avoids children wanting expensive ‘trend’ clothes, sets high standards and expectations of self within our school community. We are proud of our children and when they are on trips representing our school we want the general public to see our Successful Learners in their smart school uniforms. Therefore please ensure your child comes to school in full uniform every day and wears the correct school PE Kit on their PE days. Please note that we have increased our PE lessons to two lessons per week.
In addition to the school uniform your child will need a waterproof school coat with a hood and black school shoes. This is really important, fresh air, even when raining is healthy for your child and they will be going out to play/lunchtime play even if it is raining. Also children’s feet need to develop and grow, school shoes allow this to happen. Trainers do not and are therefore not allowed.
Your child will need a school reading bag for their reading book. If your child is going to use a backpack then we would prefer that this is a school backpack. Please avoid using non-school bags/carriers as these can take up lots of space that sadly we do not have.
If you want your child to wear the school branded uniform then this can be purchased from the school’s supplier, Mapac and occasionally on our Parent Mail shop at discounted prices. Access to the school’s Mapac shop is always linked in the ‘parent links’ at the bottom of the school website.
To support families with the cost of school uniform the school accepts the purchase and wearing of school uniform that is non school branded (supplied generally through high street stores) but this has to be in the school colours. We accept that this may be a more affordable way of sending your child to school in school uniform. The school also sells ‘pre-loved/pre-worn’ items at heavily discounted prices. We encourage our families to donate items of good quality outgrown school uniform to our school. All proceeds will go directly to the school fund to support additional resources for your children.
Children in Years 5 & 6 will need a change of footwear (old trainers) to go onto the field at lunchtimes and to access the Trim Trial. These can be kept in school in a named bag, on your child’s peg.
Children in Years 1 & 2 will need their PE plimsolls/old trainers in school to change into to go on the climbing apparatus in the front playground during lunchtimes.
Assemblies:
Assemblies to celebrate your child’s success will be open to families and friends to attend. We will let you know when they will begin.
| Celebration Assembly | ||
| KS1 – Years 1 & 2 | Friday | 9:00 – 9:20 |
| LKS2 – Years 3 & 4 | Tuesday | 9:00 – 9:20 |
| UKS2 – Years 5 & 6 | Monday | 9:00 – 9:20 |
School meals are free if your child is in Reception / Year 1 / Year 2: Government funding for universal free school meals continues this year for children in Reception, Opal & Pearl Classes, Year 1 Emerald Class and Year 2 Diamond & Sapphire Classes. This means you do not have to pay for your child to have a school lunch. Olive Dining provides a delicious healthy meal with a choice of hot food, salad and hot desserts/fresh fruits. The menu and more information about our catering company, can be found on our school website www.devonshirehill.com
Packed Lunch (KS2) and Nursery ‘all day’ pupils: If you provide your child with a packed lunch please ensure it’s healthy and varied, without crisps, chocolates, cakes or sweets. Please note that food containing nuts is not allowed in our school. For packed lunch ideas please visit: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/school-packed-lunch-inspiration.
Younger children (up to age 5) receive milk and a piece of fruit daily. Children up to age 7 receive a piece of fruit daily – this is a Government funded scheme.
All children must bring a fresh bottle of water to school every day (in a named container) that can be refilled across the school day.
Breakfast Club and After School Clubs: Our catering company, Olive Dining, will be supplying a breakfast for children who attend Early Birds Breakfast Club from September. Please contact the school admin@devonshirehill.haringey.sch.uk to register your interest and to book a place for your child. Early Birds starts at 7:45 each day. The school will be offering exciting and varied after school club provision commencing the week beginning 12th September – details will be announced soon.
Hiring our school premises: If you are interested in running a club or hiring our school premises then please contact our School Business Manager, Jon Vellapah, via: admin@devonshirehill.haringey.sch.uk
Kidscape: This is a private company that offers holiday and after school provision to families at our school. Kidscape will collect children from this school. If more parents wish to use this service then Kidscape will be able to offer a service based at this school. https://kidscapeafterschoolclub.vpweb.co.uk
Behaviour Policy: In response to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic and the current challenges faced by our families in society generally, the school has made an informed decision to focus more on the need to to support pupils with their emotional wellbeing ( improved childhood mental health) To support the school with doing so we are using the Haringey Anchor Approach from September 2022.
Our staff have been receiving training in the Anchor Approach and we will be introducing this to the children on their return in September. The school will be running a number of parent workshops, with more information to follow. In the meantime please visit here to get lots more information. Our new Behaviour Policy will be available to you on our school website.
Subject Learning Journey Statements: The subject Learning Journey statements and lots of other curriculum information is available on the school website. During the first week we will send out your child’s class timetable. You will be able to see what subjects they are learning and on what days.
From September, across autumn term, we will be teaching History through a connected topic approach and your child will be able to tell you more about this as teachers carefully incorporate art & design and design technology into their lessons. We are planning the curriculum to enable your children to be more active with their learning, which will include more planned trips and themed days. Spring term will bring a geography led connected curriculum.
In addition we ask that you:
- Read/share a book with your child daily to develop their love for reading.
- Talk to your child and encourage them to share school experiences with you.
- Support your child to access school recommended online educational software to enhance their learning outside of school.
- Let the teacher know if there is any support you need to support your child’s education.
Term Dates:
A reminder of the term dates can be viewed here. Please do not make routine appointments for the doctor /dentist during the school day. Refer to the holiday dates and make any appointments early so they are during the holidays so your child does not miss out on their learning. Or after the end of the school day.
Parentmail: Parentmail continues to be our preferred method of communicating with parents and carers. If you have not yet registered please do so at your earliest convenience.
Volunteers needed: We need parents/carers to support our children and teachers with a range of activities in our school, our libraries, Forest School, supporting on school trips. We always need ‘an extra pair of hands’ to help our younger children in our Nursery, Reception & Year 1 classes. Please let the school office/class teacher know if you can help.
Communication: We ask that you use admin@devonshirehill.haringey.sch.uk for any queries you may have and to avoid as much as possible coming into the school. You can also telephone the school on 020 8808 2053.
We are aiming to make our website our main point of reference for information:
We are also using Twitter, so please follow us @DevonshireHill
As always, we welcome your thoughts and ideas. I thank you for your continued support as we embark on another very exciting year where we have the highest expectations for your children to excel in all they do here at The Devonshire Hill Nursery & Primary School.
Yours sincerely
Julie D’Abreu
Headteacher
Vacancies: We currently have an Early Years Practitioner vacancy which is listed on the school website https://devonshirehill.com/about-us/vacancies/. Please take a look if you are interested in education and would like to join our dedicated team in supporting and developing the needs of the children in our Early Years setting. We are also seeking a Breakfast Club Assistant to support our Early Birds Breakfast provision – call the office for more details.
