Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been another busy month at Vaughan.

I hope everyone had a wonderful half term break and Diwali for those who were celebrating with loved ones.

It was wonderful to welcome parents back on site to the recent Parent Consultations with positive feedback and discussions.  The Year 1 Diwali assembly and the ‘Migration’ themed school art exhibition were also some of the amazing highlights from the half term.

Yesterday, we have waved off Year 6 pupils to their residential and their London-based activities, and there is a great feeling of returning to the experiences that we can all enjoy as a community.

I look forward to parents celebrating more of their children’s achievements in the upcoming weeks.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

YEAR 1 DIWALI ASSEMBLY
Monday 17th October 2022

Year 1 spent time learning about the story of Ram and Sita and used this to inspire their Diwali Assembly.  They told the story of Diwali through narrating, acting, and singing.

Lots of parents and carers came to watch the performance, and they were joined by Year 2.

Everyone agreed that Year 1 did a fantastic job!

Here are a few photos of the assembly:

ART EXHIBITION
Thursday 20th October 2022

On Thursday 20^th October, Vaughan held an art exhibition in our school hall to celebrate and showcase pupils’ work.  Pupils have been learning about migration and have focused their art on a book of illustrations titled ‘Migrants’, by Issa Watanabe.  Through powerful images, ‘Migrants’ narrates the journey of a group of animals facing harsh realities of migration and centring around the themes of death and hope.  The use of animals in Migrants creates empathy for a diverse group of people without categorising their race or nationality.

Pupils empathised quickly with the elegantly illustrated animal characters, each of whom have their own identity with details like clothing, colour choices and expressions.  The dark pages add weight to the silence of their journey and the individual animals help make the story a universal one.  Through studying this book, pupils learnt about refugees and migration, with humanity, inclusivity and empathy.

We looked at our own identities and what the word identity means to us, and came to the conclusion that although we all come to Vaughan together we each bring something unique from our cultures into who we are.

Here are some photos of the art exhibition....

STREET TAG

Street Tag is a free child and family-friendly mobile app that uses virtual tags to incentivise communities and families to become more physically active and boost mental health.  Communities are transformed into a fun virtual playground to accelerate physical activities.

On the Street Tag app, you collect points assigned to virtual tags all-around your community including green spaces, once you are within a 40-metre radius of any virtual tag.

The app will automatically collect the points and the tag colour changes to Red from Yellow.  The same tag cannot be collected within an hour.

Indoor and outdoor steps can be synced and converted into Street Tag points.

These points add up in real-time on the school / community / workplace leaderboard, with prizes to be won at the end of each season.

How does Street Tag work?
Install the app, create a team and join your local leaderboard.

Earn points from physical activities indoor and outdoor - e.g., walking, running, cycling or in a wheelchair, to scan virtual tags and convert your steps into Street Tag Points.

Get rewards / win prizes such as Amazon vouchers, gift cards, sports equipment, and lots more.

Download the app now on IOS and Android.

Need assistance with Street Tag App, email support@streettag.co.uk or send a support ticket inside the app settings.

For Frequently Asked Questions, please click here:  FaQ — Street Tag

JOB VACANCY - AFTER SCHOOL CLUB SUPERVISOR

We currently have a vacancy for an After School Club Supervisor.

For more details and to apply, please visit our website here: Vaughan Primary School - Current Vacancies

NURSERY SPACES

Are you looking for a Nursery place in 2022/23?  Do you have friends or neighbours in the local area who are looking for a Nursery place for their child?  We are pleased to say that we have a limited number of places in our Nursery still available for 2022/23, therefore if you have not yet applied, it is not too late.

All three and four year olds are entitled to access up to 15 hours a week of free part-time early education.  Children who go to a local authority nursery, primary school or academy automatically have the education costs paid for by the local education authority.

Our Early Years Provision has been judged by Ofsted as 'Good' and when Ofsted visited in January 2019, they were able to see what happy children we have and how excited they are by learning.  "Children in Nursery are typically engrossed in their learning. They benefit from a supportive and stimulating environment that engages them well.”

Children in Nursery follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and are taught using a topic based approach.  Learning is done through play, led by the teacher, with opportunities to apply knowledge through child initiated learning.  We have a fantastic learning environment which enables children to be independent and take risks.  Our outdoor area has been designed with the needs of the Nursery and Reception children in mind and it enables us to provide learning opportunities that are adapted to a wide range of learning styles. 

“There is a good balance between children making choices about their learning and staff-led activities. The outdoor provision is used well to support the different areas of learning. Both Nursery and Reception children have access to the engaging outdoor provision, which provides children with a wide range of experiences.” OFSTED 2019

If you want to apply for our Nursery, please apply on the Harrow Council website here:  In year school admissions (harrow.gov.uk).

KEY MESSAGES FROM WELFARE

Polio Vaccines

We have lots of parents asking whether we will be doing the polio vaccines at school, we won’t be and they need to book them via this link Extra polio vaccine dose for children (London only) - NHS (www.nhs.uk) perhaps we can somehow add that?

Flu Vaccinations

Also could we let parents know that the Flu Vaccinations will be happening in school on Nov 25^th and that an e-consent letter will go out, probably before half term.

Sickness and Diarrhoea

Please remember that we have a 48 hour policy for sickness and diarrhoea.  This means that we ask parents to keep their child at home for 48 hours after the last time their child has vomiting or diarrhoea.  This is to minimise infection to other members of the school - children and staff.

Covid Absence

If your child tests positive for Covid, please notify the school in the usual way.  Children can return to school once they are feeling better.  There are no government requirements to ensure a child has one or two negative lateral flow test before returning to school, however, we would still advise parents to check their child with a lateral flow test if they have one at home, before they return to school.

If a parent or carer tests positive for Covid, we would ask that they do not enter the school grounds with their child.  We recommend finding a family member or friend to drop and pick up their child.  If there is no one else to bring their child to school, then we can authorise their absence.  Please ensure you notify the school office if someone different is collecting your child by emailing the office email (office@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk). 

SAFEGUARDING AT VAUGHAN

Safeguarding Forum (date TBC)

The next Safeguarding Forum will be on Attendance and Punctuality.  Please look out for more information after the half term holiday.  The date is still to be confirmed.

If you have any safeguarding concerns, please email safeguarding@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk or speak directly to Miss Rogers. Alternatively, you can call the Golden Number (see below) at any time to report concerns.

FRIENDS OF VAUGHAN

Welcome back to all of our children & families, we hope you had a lovely half term!

Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM on 14^th October.

We said a heartfelt thank you to Becca who is stepping down as Chair after her hard work over the last two years.  Along with Becca we said goodbye to Lucy who has been in our Vice-Chair position for the last two years.  Finally, whilst they will still continue to be part of the committee a big thanks to Praj (Secretary) & Sam (Communications Lead) for their dedication to their roles.

Please meet your new committee:

Himani Bailey, Lead Chair

Rekha Aggarwal, Co-Chair

Aveen Zangana, Vice Chair

Sonal Patel, Co-Treasurer

Jackie Talaber, Co-Treasurer

Lizzie, Secretary

Autumn Term | Upcoming Events

Bake Sale – Friday 18^th November

To celebrate a variety of upcoming calendar events we will be running a Bake Sale.   If you are able to bake or help out with the sale, please let us know. We will be in touch regarding ingredients & allergen food labelling.

Christmas Cards – November

We are in the process of confirming dates with our supplier for the much-awaited Christmas Cards orders.  The forms will be making their way to the classrooms very soon!

Santa’s Grotto – December (Dates TBC)

We are excited to have Father Christmas visit again this year - watch this space for further details.

Save the Date: Friday 4^th November – Next FoV meeting in the small hall
(2.00 pm - 3.00 pm)

Every parent at Vaughan is automatically a member of Friends of Vauthan (FoV). We have half-termly meetings which everyone is welcome to attend where we discuss upcoming events and coordinate with the school. As a result, we are always looking for parents on an ad hoc basis to help lead specific initiatives such as the bake sales, disco, summer fair etc. 

If you can support FoV in anyway, please get in touch.

If you have any other questions, ideas, comments please don’t hesitate to drop us an email at vaughanpta@gmail.com and join our Facebook group facebook.com/groups/VaughanPTA.

Himani Bailey & Rekha Aggarwal
Lead Chair & Co Chair, Friends of Vaughan

HARROW FOODBANK

Further information is available from the following website:
https://harrow.foodbank.org.uk/

HOUSE SYSTEM

We are pleased to announce that House Captains have been elected in Year 6. After a gruelling application and short-listing process, all candidates presented their manifestos to the school.  Pupils in their Houses then voted for the individual they thought best represented them.

The House Captains are:

Willow – Zenshin

Elder – Jaya

Beech – Berik

Ash – Otis

Oak – Tippi-Rose

Our House Vice Captains are:

Willow – Daniel

Elder – Amelia

Beech – Khalid

Ash – Noa

Oak – Akshar

We are all incredibly proud of all the pupils who put themselves forward for the election and those who presented to the school.

Vaughan Primary School House Captains and Vice House Captains 2022-2023

TERM DATES

School will close at 1.35pm on the last day of each term
(Thursday 21st July 2022, Friday 16th December 2022, Friday 31st March 2023 and Friday 23rd July 2023).

Afternoon Nursery will be closed on the last day of each term.

After School Club finishes at 4.00pm on the last day of term. 

Please do not book holidays for during term time as these will not be authorised.  If you wish to request leave from school, please complete a Request for Leave form and email it to attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk for Mrs Jones' attention.