St Paul's Newsletter
Friday 26th June 2026
Message from Mrs Evans
It has been an incredibly busy and productive fortnight here at school as we approach the end of the academic year. Our pupils have been working hard completing their recent assessments, and I am delighted to share that 83% of our Year 1 children met the pass mark in their Phonics Screening Check this year. We are immensely proud of them, and I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Year 1 team for their dedication. Parents will be receiving individual information about the child's score in a letter sent home today or on Monday.
There is also much to celebrate beyond the classroom, including a fantastic victory for Year 5 in the e-waste race after an incredible community effort. Furthermore, our amazing PSA has been working tirelessly; the London to Brighton Cycle raised over £7,850, and the Fun Run raised over £1,100. Combined with the summer fair, these three events have raised a magnificent total of over £15,500. This brings us much closer to funding our new music room, which will benefit every child at the school. I would like to say a huge thank you to the PSA committee, our volunteers, and the staff who worked so hard together to deliver these events.
Next week, the children are looking forward to 'moving up' sessions with their new class teachers, our Year 6 pupils will visit their secondary schools, and we have several exciting school trips in the calendar. Every member of our school community has so much to be proud of as we draw closer to the summer holidays.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend,
Attendance Overview
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 |
|
97.7% |
93.2% | 91.5% | 91.3% | 95.7% | 93.8% | 89.3% |
Whole School - since the start of the year
| Our Target | Current Attendance | National |
| 97% | 95.8% | 95.12% |
Regular Reminders
Mobile Phone and Smart Watch 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.
Smart watches are also not allowed to be worn to school by pupils in any year group.
Fidget Toys
Please ensure that children are not bringing any fidget toys into school. We have seen a number of children bringing these into school and using them in the playground. We are concerned about these getting lost or broken and causing a distraction within the classroom. If they are brought into school, we will remove them and keep them in the office until the end of the school day.
Holidays in Term Time
I would like to remind all parents that holidays during term time will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. These absences cause disruption not only to children's learning, but can also have an impact on their social interactions within the class.
Absences in term-time should only be taken for 'exceptional circumstances' which are 'unavoidable and unplanned'. The Educational Welfare Service recommends to schools that any absences that do not meet this criteria must be marked as 'unauthorised'.
Where families do apply for an absence during term-time, they may be invited in for a meeting and will receive a letter to confirm how the absence will be marked on the register.
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.
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.
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 had a special visit to St Paul's Church where Jen gave us a tour around the church explaining different parts. Jen also let us all ring the bell which was really fun. We had our online session with the Postal Museum based on the story 'The Jolly Postman'. It was incredibly interactive. We got to pretend we were the postman and deliver letters to some characters from fairy tales. In Maths we were looking at the composition of numbers by matching the domino to the right jeep. This week in Reception we have been looking at the story 'Poo in the Zoo'. It was a very funny story and we got to see lots of different zoo animals. We have been writing about our favourite animal from the book and then having a go at drawing them. In Maths, we have been looking at 2D and 3D shapes and their properties. We have been going on shape hunts around the school and also making shapes out of lollipop sticks. We have been creating our own zoo maps, drawing around animals and labelling them.
Reception Newsletter 2025-26
Year 1
What a sizzling, busy week we've had in Year 1! Despite the blistering hot weather, we've been bringing maximum energy to our learning, starting with our new English book 'Stanley’s Stick', where we've been inventing awesome new characters, rewriting story endings, and mastering capital letters for proper nouns. In Maths, we faced a total "time crunch" as we turned ourselves into human stopwatches, timing exactly how fast we could smash through a puzzle challenge while counting forwards and backwards to solve problems. The fun didn't stop there—we transformed into Jolly Postmen to deliver special mail to fairytale characters, and we made the most of the sunshine in PSHE by drawing out the human life cycle with chalk from baby to adult. To keep our cool through all this non-stop action, we ended our busy days by dipping our feet into freezing water trays, which felt absolutely amazing and left us totally refreshed and ready for next week!
Year 1 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 2
We have been working hard in Year 2! The weather has been exceptionally hot, but the children have coped remarkably well in the heat, and we are incredibly proud of their mature attitude and resilience. In English, inspired by Helen Ward's book, we designed our very own version of a tin forest, using adjectives to bring the imaginary settings to life in a leaflet. In DT, we rolled and shaped clay into unique patterned tiles. In our Science lessons, we continued to explore recycling and reusing. We were absolutely fascinated to learn how long it takes for everyday waste to disintegrate and how we can reuse materials to protect our planet.
Year 2 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 3
In Year 3, we have started learning the story of Beowulf in English. We have identified that the story originates from the Anglo-Saxon times and found where that is on our history timeline. We have thought about how Beowulf makes us feel and learned the story in order, while looking forward to rewriting the story ourselves in the upcoming weeks. We thoroughly enjoyed our science experiment where we tested to see whether hand span affects grip strength. We each measured our handspan before testing this with different-sized fruits. In Maths, we have learnt how to add fractions with the same denominator and can explain that the denominator does not change when we add them.
Year 3 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 4
This week in Year 4, we have been continuing to develop our confidence with adding and subtracting money in our Maths. The children have been using rounding, mental strategies and written methods, including the column method, to help them solve problems accurately. In English, we are finishing writing our own myths to explain how a natural phenomenon, such as the rainbow or the moon, came to exist. We have also been looking at the Maya creation story to help us think about how different cultures have explained the world around them through stories. We have also been working hard on our assessments this week, using these to help us identify our target areas and next steps in learning. In History, we have continued to explore the Maya and have been learning about the importance of cacao in Mayan history. In French, we have been learning how to describe where we live and have also looked at some of the countries that may appear in Eurovision, linking this to different styles of music.
Year 4 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 5
This week in Year 5, we have been working hard to finish and edit our own dragon non-chronological reports. The children have been focusing on using fronted adverbials, parenthesis and relative clauses to add detail and structure to their writing. Our new learning has been using colons to introduce a list, and the children have also worked hard to maintain a formal voice throughout their reports. In Maths, Year 5 have continued to develop their understanding of fractions, particularly identifying simplification and equivalent fractions in different contexts, including measures. We have also been working hard on our assessments this week, using these to help us identify our target areas and next steps in learning. Year 5 have shown great resilience, focus and determination throughout. In History, we have been exploring how the Vikings impacted England and have been using a range of sources to draw conclusions from evidence. In science, we have been working logically to investigate what impacts different crater sizes by experimenting with height and the craters created. In RE, we have been looking at the Golden Rule and considering how values in different religions can help us to create equality and equity.
Year 5 Newsletter 2025-26
Year 6
Team Points
Congratulations to Year 3 and Rubies who were the Team Points winners for the week beginning 15th June, to Year 2 and Diamonds who were the team points winners for the week beginning 22nd June.
News from St Paul's Church
St Paul’s Church hold an all-age service every first Sunday of the month. It is a great introduction to Church with an interactive service lasting around 50 minutes with refreshments afterwards. Our children’s group (from age 3+) is run on the other Sundays of the month with an experienced team of leaders; babies and younger children are very welcome to stay in Church with their parents.
We will be holding our Church Welcome Sunday for new Reception starters (and other St Paul’s pupils and their families) at 10am on Sunday 5th July. This will be an opportunity to meet your new classmates and have an introduction to the Church.
Wider Community News and Events
Mental Heath Support Team at a Glance
Further information about the services provided by the Mental Health Support Team to support families can be found here: MHST Information
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!
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.
New Swimming Company at our Pool!
Aqua Babies & Kiddies Surrey are excited to share that swimming lessons are returning to St Paul’s C of E Primary School! We are a 5.0 star swim school that has proudly served families across Surrey for over 8 years, and we’re excited to now welcome families back to our newly opened and refurbished pool!
For primary school-aged children, our lessons focus on building confidence and water safety, whilst also progressing swimmers through structured stages that build strong technique across all strokes. Children develop the confidence and competency expected at each level while fostering a lifelong love of swimming.
Aqua Babies & Kiddies lessons are supportive and conducted in a small-group environment - helping children feel calm, capable and happy in the water.
For further details, or to enrol in our March launch lessons, please visit: www.aquababiessurrey.com/swimming-lessons-chessington or send us a WhatsApp on 07766 242 572.
We can’t wait to welcome St Paul’s families back to the pool and see it thriving again at the heart of the school community.
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:
- Mon 29th June: Year 6 MFL Session at Southborough
- Tues 30th June: Year 1 Trip to Chessington
- Tues 30th June: Year 2 Forest School Trip
- Weds 1st July: Whole School 'Move Up' Morning
- Fri 3rd July: Year 5 Taster Day at Chessington School
- Fri 3rd July: Year 6 Leavers' Service at Southwark Cathedral
- Fri 3rd July: PSA Picnic in the Playground at 3:15pm
- Sun 5th July: New Reception Parents/Carers welcome Church Service at 10am
- Mon 6th July: Year 1 Drama Workshop
- Mon 6th July: Southborough Reading Conference
- Mon 6th July: iRock Concert at 2:45pm
- Tues 7th July: E-Waste Race Whole School Reward (Animal Encounters)
- Thurs 9th July: Y5/Y6 Production (adults only) at 9:15am
- Fri 10th July: Y5/Y6 Production at 9:15am
- Mon 13th July: Year 6 Dough Shack Pizza Treat
- Mon 13th July: Year 6 Shirt Signing
- Tues 14th July: KS1 Sports Festival (Reception at 9:15am and Year 1 at 10:15am) - postponed from Friday 26th June
- Weds 15th July: Year 6 Water Fight
- Fri 17th July: End of Term at 2pm
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.
