St Paul's Newsletter
Friday 16th January 2026
Message from Mrs Evans
What a wonderful return to school! It has been a busy couple of weeks. The children have settled back into routines incredibly well. We have had many visitors to the school already - prospective parents and local education advisors and consultants - and they have all remarked on the calm, purposeful atmosphere as they have walked round and we are looking forward to welcoming our School Improvement Partner to school on Monday to share with her some of the things that we have been working on as a community.
New Ofsted Report Card
Some of our parents and carers may have seen the new that Ofsted have published their new framework and will be grading schools in these key areas: Safeguarding, Inclusion, Curriculum and Teaching, Achievement, Attendance and Behaviour, Personal Development and Well-being, Early Years and Leadership and Governance.
For each of these key areas, school will be given a grading (except for Safeguarding which will have an outcome of met or not met). Schools will be graded in each area as one of the following: Exceptional, Strong Standard, Expected Standard, Needs Attention or Urgent Improvement. Unlike previous frameworks, the school will not be given an overall grade but will instead receive a 'Report Card' with grades linked to each key area.
As we were last visited in 2022, it is likely that our school will be visited within the next 12 months and just like last time, we look forward to being able to share what makes our school so special.
If you would like to find out more about the new framework, further information can be found here: New Ofsted Report Cards Parent Guide
Staffing Update
After 25 years in various roles within our community, Mrs Rob will be retiring at the end of this half-term. We will be be saying goodbye to her as a community on the afternoon of Monday 9th February and her final day will be on Tuesday 10th February. If you would like to contribute to her leaving gift, you can do this via Parent Pay until Tuesday 3rd February. We will send out further details about her retirement worship once the plan is finalised.
Mobile Phone Policy
A polite reminder that mobile phones are not allowed to be used on the school site - we ask that they are away in a bag or pocket during drop off and pick up times. Please can we also remind parent helpers that mobile phones must not be used during school trips. A reminder will also be given to parent helpers before leaving school. A huge thank you to the community for your positive support in this change of policy.
Parking on the Road
We ask that our parents/carers are considerate when parking in the roads local to school. We have been receiving complaints again about cars parked on double yellow lines and across drives which has made these inaccessible to local residents. Please remember that double yellow lines have been put in place for safety reasons - in order to keep all of our pupils safe we ask that you do not park on these.
Attendance Overview
Next week you will be receiving an overview of your child's attendance. Please come and see the school office team if you have any queries about this.
Classes - since last newsletter
| Reception | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 |
|
96.31% |
95.95% | 96.71% | 95.02% | 95.59% | 96.71% | 96.04% |
Whole School - since the start of the year
| Our Target | Current Attendance | National |
| 97% | 95.84% | 92.77% |
Holidays in Term Time
I would like to remind all parents that holidays during term time will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. These cause disruption within the class due to children missing parts of the learning in topics which will later be built upon and can lead to children being unsettled on their return to school.
Holidays in term-time should only be taken for 'exceptional circumstances' which means that this would not be a regular (including annual) occurrence.
We are currently reviewing our attendance strategy and are closely monitoring the link between term-time absence and an increase in support needed for some of our pupils and families in school.
If you are considering a term-time holiday, I would really ask that you reflect on the confusion in the messaging to the children when they are taken out of school for a holiday having been told up to that point (and after) that they 'must' attend school.
Please look out for further updates about the changes to our strategy in the coming year.
Birthday Treats
A reminder that we do not allow cake or sweets to be given out on children's birthdays. If you are keen for your child to be able to share a treat with their class to mark the day, please provide a platter of fruit to be shared by the class or a new book to be added to the class library.
School Website
Please remember to make use of the school's website and calendar (which can be synced to your phone) for reminders and updates.
Support with Behaviour Concerns
A plea to parents/carers that if they have concerns about an incident that has taken place at school, that they avoid directly contacting other parents as this can lead to both misunderstandings and upset. We ask that any concerns are brought directly to school staff and that school are then left to deal with these. We will always follow up any concerns brought forward and would always prefer to find out more and resolve these within the school day (wherever possible) as this makes it easier for the children to accurately recall what has taken place. One of our key priorities is developing positive relationships across our community and this is something that our families can do to support us with this.
School Trips/Visits Policy
At St Paul's we have developed a rich programme of trips and visits to support our curriculum. Whilst parents/carers will always be asked for permission for their child to attend, these experiences have been carefully chosen and planned to enrich our pupils' learning and therefore we are always keen to enable as many pupils as possible to attend.
We are always keen to hear from parents/carers if they have any concerns about a trip or visit and will then invite them to come in and meet with us to discuss this concern further in the hope that together we can create a plan of support which will enable their child to take part.
Please do not be surprised to be asked to come in if you have not given permission for a trip/visit - we really value these opportunities to have conversations about concerns and to consider what can be done to support.
Developing Healthy Online Habits
We are aware that even our youngest pupils have regular access to devices such as iPads and phones to access activities online. We wanted to share some top tips with families to support them in helping their children to develop a healthy relationship with this technology. Parents and carers can do this by:
- Setting clear limits on the amount of time that these are being used daily
- Ensuring that devices are being used in an area that allows adult supervision at all times
- Discussing with children how to respond if they see something online that they do not like or if they are contacted by someone that they do not know
- Having regular conversations about what they are accessing
- Setting boundaries around online device use and bedtime – ensuring that there is a period of time when children are not using these before going to bed.
- Creating healthy habits, open discussion and clear boundaries early in children's lives is extremely important as it is much harder to put these in place once unhealthy habits have been formed. The following guide gives some suggestion
If you would like any further support with this please see the information on our school website here: Online Safety Advice for Parents
Alternatively, please contact Mrs Evans or Mrs Griffin to arrange a time to discuss this with them further.
PSA Updates
St Paul's PSA: ‘Bringing our school community together to create lifelong memories’
The PSA have done such a fantastic job in their fundraising over the last year which has made a visible difference to a variety of areas around the school. This year they have funded brand new libraries for both KS1 and KS2 which have made significant difference for our children. They have provided author visits, science and maths workshops and we are looking forward to having our astro turf repaired thanks to their fundraising efforts too.
Big Target: A new music room - look out for further information about this to come soon.
Remember to check out our events guide on the PSA page which is a guide for families about what our different events involve and how you can help:
Look out for upcoming events
PSA Store
Don't forget to head over to our PSA store to get involved in the latest events using the link below:
Second Hand Uniform
We have a large amount of good quality second hand uniform available, please use the link below and follow these instructions:
- Once on the website click on the three lines to the right.
- Scroll down to ‘find your school’
- Select Kingston upon Thames as our Local authority.
- Select St Paul’s C of E KT9 1AJ
Please carefully read the instructions on when to collect your items.
Easyfundraising
Easyfundraising turns your daily shopping into every day magic!
Easyfundraising partners with over 7,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice. It won't cost you any extra. The cost is covered by the brand.
Brands pay Easyfundraising a commission because when you start your shop from the Easyfundraising website or app, they can see we sent you to them. If you make a purchase, a commission is generated, and we turn that into a donation - magic!
Click the link above to register to use Easyfundraising - remember to search 'St Paul's Primary School, Chessington' when searching for your cause and turn on the donation reminder. Every little bit helps!
Class News
Reception
Last week in Reception we introduced our new topic 'People Who Help Us'. We focused on who helps us at school and our writing task was looking at 'Miss Beckett-Smith's busy day' where we wrote about how she helps us at school. In Maths, we have been looking at counting to 5 and ordering the digits 1 to 5 correctly. We looked in closer detail using multi-link cubes at how numbers 1 to 5 make a staircase pattern and then we built and drew our own. In the creative corner we did paintings of the people who help us at school. This week in Reception we have been focusing on the police. We learnt the number that we call when its an emergency and role played different scenarios to think about who we would call for help. In Maths, we have been looking at composition, using the nursery rhyme '5 Speckled Frogs' and acting this out.
Reception Newsletter 2025-26
Year 1
It has been a very exciting start to the new term in Year 1! In English, we started our new story 'The Naughty Bus'. We loved exploring the adventures that the Naughty Bus went on and enjoyed predicting what might happen next. We thought carefully about adjectives to describe the adventures and even learnt how to use onomatopoeia to make our writing more exciting. In Maths, we have been learning about patterns. We created our own repeating patterns and pictures using pattern blocks, thinking carefully about colour and shape. In History, we began our new topic “How am I Making History?” We used our baby photos, first day at school pictures, and pictures of ourselves now to create a class timeline. We also made a memory box where we wrote about and drew a picture of our favourite memory. In Science, we started our topic focused on "Seasons". We learnt about the four seasons, the months in each season, and the different types of weather that we might see throughout the year. The snowy weather gave us the perfect opportunity to explore winter first-hand, and we worked in groups to create season mobiles to show what we had learnt.
Year 1 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 2
Year 2 have returned to school with an excellent attitude to learning! In English this week, we have been reading an alternative Rapunzel, predicting events in the text and writing formal and informal letters to a trapped Rapunzel to lift her spirits! In Maths, we are focusing on our five times table and using our understanding of the link between the five and ten times tables to solve word problems. Miss Leigh says it is noticeable that we have been practising these at home. and she has enjoyed seeing the extra work from home in both Maths and English that sone of us have been doing. In Science, we are learning about different materials and exploring their properties, such as whether they are waterproof, flexible, or strong. We have enjoyed sorting materials and explaining why they are suitable for different purposes. In Geography, our focus is on weather, and we have had lively discussions about the impact on the world around us, including climate change and hurricanes! An amazing start to the Spring term!
Year 2 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 3
Year 3 have enjoyed starting our new topics learning about earthquakes, volcanoes and rocks. We used the magnifying glasses to look closely at the appearances of some rocks and recorded what we noticed. We have learned about the structure of the Earth and can describe how tectonic plates move. In Maths, we have been learning about angles including right angles and are becoming more confident in noticing when quadrilaterals or triangles have right angles. We have started our new book 'Into the Forest' in English and are describing some of the settings in the story.
Year 3 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 4
In Year 4, we have enjoyed reading Arthur and the Golden Rope. We enjoyed making predictions and working on retelling the story focusing on our use of chronology. We have begun to look at show not tell techniques to make our character more exciting. In Maths, we have continued learning our times tables and have been learning about square numbers. We enjoyed drawing them out and counting the squares inside to find the multiplication. In History, we have been learning about the Ancient Egyptians and looking at how the Nile was important to them. We discovered that the Nile flooded yearly and provided lots of nutrients for the soil which helped their crops grow. In Science, we have been learning about sound. We enjoyed playing different instruments and feeling the vibrations that the soundwaves caused.
Year 4 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 5
Year 5 have been loving delving deeper into their Alpine Region topic. We have started our topic by looking at some of our prior knowledge including our knowledge of the different continents (using the continent song which we love singing), world oceans and how to use an atlas to identify key physical features including mountain ranges. In our Maths, we have finished off our topic on using short division by applying our skills to multi step problem solving and using the inverse operations. In our English, we've started reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We had fun writing and performing odes to both heroes and villains. We've also looked at how we can define and use abstract nouns in these odes too. In our RE, we have started to look at Buddhism and particularly the different symbols that represent their key values. In our PHSE, we have been looking at how we can set our own goals but also keeping ourselves accountable for these goals too!
Year 5 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 6
In Year 6 we have been enthusiastically launching our new History topic on Ancient Greece. We began by using our chronology skills to explore world history, creating a timeline that helped us place Ancient Greece in relation to other civilisations we have already studied. This allowed us to think carefully about when Ancient Greece existed and how it fits into the wider historical picture. We have also been developing our research skills by using topic books to find out more about life in Ancient Greece. Working collaboratively, we selected key information and organised it clearly before working in teams to create informative posters that showcase our learning about daily life, beliefs and achievements of the ancient Greeks. In Art, we took part in a thoughtful silent debate where we shared our opinions on street art and considered whether it is a positive or negative influence. Using written responses and carefully chosen vocabulary, we built on each other’s ideas, challenged viewpoints respectfully and reflected on how art can communicate powerful messages in public spaces. It has been a week full of discussion, collaboration and careful thinking, and we are looking forward to continuing our exploration of Ancient Greece and creative expression in the weeks ahead.
Year 6 Newsletter 2025-26
Team Points
Congratulations to Year 5 and Sapphires who were the Team Points winners for the week beginning 5th January and to Year 4 and Rubies who were the team points winners for the week beginning 12th January.
News from St Paul's Church
Wider Community News and Events
Junior Parkrun comes to Chessington
The Junior Parkrun is a 2k fun run which takes place weekly at many different locations across the country. We are excited to announce that they have launched a weekly event at Lovelace Primary School on Sundays at 9am. It is a free event, but you do need to register in advance using the link here:
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/lovelaceprimaryschool-juniors/
It would brilliant to hear about some of our families taking part!
Miss C's Half-Marathon
Miss C is running the London Landmarks half-marathon on 12th April She is raising money for 'Hope and Homes for Children' who work to get children from orphanages back to their families. She is raising money through a just giving page - the link is here if you would like to support her:
Family Support Workshops
Achieving for Children’s Mental Health Support Teams are delivering a series of webinars for parents of primary-aged children. The ‘Helping Children with …’ series of webinars will cover a range of common difficulties experienced by children and will aim to share evidence-based strategies to help parents and carers support their children with these difficulties. Please use the link below to find further information.
Safeguarding Information
What if I have a Safeguarding Concern?
A reminder to parents and carers that if you have a safeguarding concern about a child this should be brought to Mrs Evans (Designated Safeguarding Lead) or Mrs Griffin (Deputy DSL).
There is lots of information on the school’s website to support parents in keeping their children safe (particularly linked to online safety) which can be found by clicking on the link below:
Road Safety Around Our School
We ask that parents and carers are considerate of the other members of both our school and local community when parking for drop off and collection. Please do not park on yellow lines or on the corners of local roads - markings have been placed on the road in spots where it will become dangerous if a vehicle stops. Parking in these places makes it very difficult for families to check that roads are safe for crossing and we are aware that this also applies to our Year 6 pupils who are walking home alone. Please leave time to find a suitable place to park safely and work with us to make the local roads as safe as possible for our pupils and families.
Key School Policies
Please take some time to familiarise yourself with our School Policies: 'Separated Parents Policy' and 'Communication and Conduct Policy'. These have been put together in consultation with the governing body who have now adopted these. Click on the links below to access them; they can also be accessed on the 'policies' page of the school's website.
Separated Parents Policy Communication and Conduct Policy
Key Dates for Your Diary
New or changes to dates shown in blue
- Tues 27th Jan: Whole school INSIGHT sessions
- Fri 30th Jan: Transport for London (TFL) Workshop for Year 6
- Thurs 5th Feb: Year 3 Natural History Museum Trip
- Mon 9th Feb: Work Share 3:15pm - 4pm
- Tues 10th Feb: Safer Internet Day
- Tues 10th Feb: Year 5 'Frameless' Trip
- Fri 13th Feb: End of half-term (3:15pm finish)
- Mon 23rd Feb: Children Return
- Fri 27th Feb: World Book Day Whole School Dress Up
- Fri 27th Feb: KS1 Author Visit
- Mon 2nd Mar: Class Reps Meeting at 10am
- Weds 4th Mar: Year 5 Easter Experience
- Thurs 5th Mar: KS2 Author Visit
- Thurs 12th Mar: Parent/Carer Meetings 4pm - 7pm
- Fri 13th Mar: PSA KS1 Disco
- Fri 13th Mar: PSA KS2 Movie Night
- Tues 17th Mar: Early Finish at 2:30pm
- Tues 17th Mar: Parent/Carer Meetings 3pm - 6:30pm
- Fri 20th Mar: PSA KS2 Disco
- Mon 23rd Mar: Height and Weight Check for Reception and Year 6
- Weds 25th Mar: Year 4 River Trip
- Fri 27th Mar: Easter Service at St Paul's Church 9:15am
- Fri 27th Mar: End of Term 2pm Finish
- Mon 13th April: Children Return
Remember to visit the calendar page using the link above and to link our school calendar to the calendar no your phone for automatic updates.
