Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been another busy month at Vaughan.

There has been an amazing return to some of our normal Autumn Term events such as, school photos, odd socks for Anti bullying week as well as Parent Information evenings for Key Year Groups.

It was wonderful to see the FOV supporting the school with the Christmas Card drive, the Bake Sale and the amazing Coat and Toy Swap last week.  There has been an amazing community feel this month and I would love to personally thank all involved for their tireless support to raise funds to enhance the experience of our wonderful pupils and to support each other.

We now look forward to Christmas and again welcoming parents to watch our celebrations, as well as the anticipation of Santa’s Grotto in two weeks!

I look forward to seeing all of you to celebrate your children’s achievements in the upcoming weeks.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

GOVERNOR UPDATE

As the term draws to an end our School Governors reflect on the different elements of school life they have been involved in this term.  In addition to our usual Governing Body meetings we have been getting up to date with Governor training - covering safeguarding, data and Governor visits.  Some Governors have also attended the school for different activities - including a half day visit on the 21^st November where they were able to get a deeper understanding of the operations of the school. 

We have a number of school Governor vacancies at the current time and are looking for representatives of the wider community that are not parents or relatives of pupils at the school who would be interested in volunteering their time as a Governor.  If you know someone who is interested, please email the school office, and an application form can be passed on. 

As December gets busy towards the end of term our school Governors are looking ahead to our final meeting of 2022, on 6^th December, and the different performances of our year groups.  We also take a moment to say a huge thank you to all our teaching and support staff. 

Nerys Anthony 
Chair of Vaughan School Governors 

YEAR 6 RESIDENTIAL AND LONDON-BASED TRIPS

Year 6 had opportunities during their week long residential and London-based activity week.  Pupils had different learning opportunities outside of the classroom. 

This aspect of school trips added considerably to the range of learning opportunities, especially in the sphere of life skills, the experience of being outdoors, and working collaboratively in teams.  This had a great impact on the pupils.

There was also an element of individual challenge during activities such as climbing and abseiling.  The observers were also involved by encouraging pupils to go further to push themselves a bit.  Team building activities also encouraged pupils to work together and build upon their resilience and speaking and listening skills.

The children had a great time, and you can see photos from the residential trip here: Vaughan Primary School - Photo Gallery

One of the children in Year 6 produced this wonderful write up of the week:

ROAD SAFETY

We are currently discussing road safety in school with all pupils, but we ask parents to reinforce this at home with their child/ren. 

Here are some top tips for keeping your child safe

1. Hold your child’s hand.  As much as kids may hate it, holding their hand is the best way to ensure they are safe walking along a pavement. We also recommend you walking on the outside of the pavement and your child walking on the inside of the pavement, away from the traffic, if you do this a few times it becomes habit.
2. Consider reins.  If you have toddlers, consider reins for your child while you are walking along busy roads. If not, strap them in a pushchair.
3. Be aware of hidden entrances.  Look out for hidden entrances and driveways, and encourage your child to do the same.  It can be difficult for motorists to see youngsters, particularly if they are reversing, so be careful when walking along roads with driveways that go onto the path.
4. When you are crossing the road.  Generally, children aren’t ready to cross the road on their own until they are eight years old at the youngest. Even then, they may still not be ready.  However, if you encourage them to look out for cars, and make them aware of the dangers of not looking out for cars then this will help them when the time comes.
   It should be noted here that if you have a pushchair and you are crossing the road, to wait with the pushchair beside you, instead of poking out on the edge of the kerb or on the road in front of you, park your pushchair next to you to avoid any incidents.
5. Set a good example.  As we get older, we get slightly more relaxed about road safety.  However, when you have a child with you, you must set a good example.  Choose a safe place to cross and explain why.  When possible, always cross at a pedestrian crossing and always wait for the green man.  It can be tempting to cross when the light goes amber, but your child will have to learn to wait for the green man to tell them it is safe to cross.
6. Tell them where not to cross.  This includes in-between cars where they may not be seen, on corners, or where they cannot see far along the road.
7. Ask them where to cross the road.  Once they are slightly older, ask your child where the best place to cross the road is.  This will give them a chance to think about road safety and, by the time they are old enough to cross they should be in the habit of searching for the best place to cross and when to cross at the right time.  This will also make them more conscious of their environment and their surroundings.
8. Make sure everyone else that looks after your child also practices road safety.  If you have older children that often look after the younger ones, babysitters or family members that watch your children, make sure they are following the same road safety rules that you do.
9. When you are at a pedestrian crossing.  While pedestrian crossings are extremely safe, they are not 100% safe and can be dangerous if you do not take care.
10. Teach your child to wait until it is clear in both directions.  Teach them to look and listen while crossing just in case a driver has not seen them.  Remind them to look out for cyclists and motorcyclists, they can come up quickly, and it can be easy for both cyclist and pedestrian to miss each other.
11. Treat an island differently.  Islands are very handy on busy roads where there is not a safe place to cross.  Teach your child to treat an island crossing like two separate crossings, and that they will have to look and listen twice in order to get over the road safely.  Always use a zebra or a light-controlled crossing if possible, and encourage your child to do so
12. Invest in some bright clothing.  As the evenings get darker, it will be more likely that you are walking along the road with your child when it is dark. Therefore, it might be worth investing in some reflective clothing for your child when you are walking in the dark.  This alerts drivers that you and your child are there.  
13. Use the Green Cross Code.  Teach your child the Green Cross Code.  Go through it with them before you cross a road.  If you need reminding, here is the Green Cross Code:

• Find the safest place to cross
• Stop just before you get to the kerb
• Don’t get too close to the traffic
• Look for traffic and listen
• If traffic is coming, let it pass
• When it is safe to cross, go straight across the road and do not run.

TANG SOO DO

For 30 years a Martial Arts class has been held for the children of this school (from age 6) every Thursday evening.  The class runs from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm. 

The class is organised in conjunction with the “United Kingdom Tang Soo Do Federation”.  Training is given under strict supervision and techniques taught include hand and foot skills, sparring, free-fighting and self-control. 

The instructor is Master Meakins and the fee for each lesson is £5.00.  The students will join the Tang Soo Do Federation and take the examinations for the coloured belts.  This will, however, incur fees. 

If your child is interested in signing up, please come along with your child on any Thursday evening (including school holidays) at 6.15 pm to register.  Please ensure your child is wearing comfortable clothing.

COLD WEATHER

As the weather is turning colder, please ensure that your child has a coat with them every day, along with hat and gloves.  Please remember to write or sew their name onto each item so that if it gets lost, we can quickly return it to the correct child.  

HARROW SCHOOL
SHAFTESBURY ENTERPRISE PROJECT

Pupils from Harrow School have started their Shaftesbury Enterprise Project volunteering at Vaughan.

They will be reading with pupils across the school to further develop a love of reading for our pupils.

Our pupils have enjoyed their first week of reading with the boys from Harrow School and one pupil in Year 5 commented “I really enjoy reading with the boys because it’s nice to read with different people and I get to practise my reading with a different audience.”

As a result of the links Vaughan shares with Harrow School, our Year 6 pupils will have an opportunity to attend a selection of classes up at Harrow School next term.  More on this to follow shortly!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW.  PLEASE READ!

FRIENDS OF VAUGHAN

Friendship Friday Bake Sale

We were thrilled to hold our first PTA event for this academic year, our friendship Friday bake sale, which coincided with Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Sock Day!

A huge THANK YOU to our wonderful school community for supporting our bake sale.  Both the contributions and turnout were amazing and there were plenty of happy children, parents and even teachers!  We raised a whopping £451!

Christmas Grotto: Thursday 15^th December 2022

A team of fabulous elves will be making a very special and magical home for Santa where he will greet children with jokes and stories.  He is really looking forward to meeting lots of children in his Christmas grotto and wishing them all a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

As always we are reliant on volunteers and donations to make these events happen.  There will be no charge for the grotto this year, however if you are able to donate please do so via our Friends of Vaughan website - https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsofvaughan/index.cfm?event=login&notLoggedIn=true&success=event&eventId=54017#.Y0UzjtLMKUc

This is the easiest way to donate and parents can choose the amount they wish to give.  All donations help towards our partnership with the school to fund projects, plan fun events & support our school community.

Christmas Cards

Thank you to everyone who ordered a Christmas card.  These have all been sent off & orders will be delivered before end of term. We hope you & your loved ones enjoy the children’s artwork.

Keep in touch

All parents/careers are automatically part of Friends of Vaughan so feel free to come along to a meeting.  Keep an eye on our Facebook page or emails for details on meetings and future events.

facebook.com/groups/VaughanPTA

email: vaughanpta@gmail.com

Himani Bailey and Rekha Aggarwal
Friends of Vaughan

LONDON YOUTH GAMES CROSS COUNTRY RACE

On Saturday 19th November, Rose, Lauren and Ellen represented Harrow at the London Youth Games.

They ran in the U11’s Cross Country race which was 1.4km up the steep and muddy Parliament Hill.  They competed as a team and Harrow finished 19th out of the 32 London Boroughs. 

Here they are before their race.

IMPORTANT SCHOOL ADMISSIONS INFORMATION

CHILDREN WHO ARE

DUE TO START IN PRIMARY IN SEPTEMBER 2023

CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY 2022

Thursday 15^th December 2022

Our school will be taking part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 15th December.

We know times are tough, so please remember that donations are optional (it’s having tons of fun that’s mandatory!), and any amount you can spare - 10p, 20p or 50p, makes you an awesome fundraiser.

Remember, there’s no need to buy a new jumper. You could upcycle an old jumper, get crafty, or head to your local charity shop to buy a pre-loved festive knit.  You could even get creative and decorate a jumper.

We’d appreciate your support to make Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day a success.  Together, we can make the world better with a sweater.

Donations can be made via Schoolmoney which will be donated to ‘Save the Children’.  This payment will show up on your child’s account for payment once it's been set up.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK 2022

Monday 14^th November to Friday 18^th November 2022

This year’s theme was ‘Reach Out’ where children were encouraged to reach out and support peers in need and to stand up to bullies.

The week kicked off with an assembly and during the week, the children participated in different activities (see the photos below).

On Friendship Friday, children, staff and parents took part in Odd Socks Day, where we celebrated what makes us all unique and how to be a good friend.

BAND FESTIVAL

Wednesday 23rd November 2022

A selection of children were chosen to perform with other primary and secondary schools within the borough at ‘Bandfest!’

They performed their pieces at Harrow Art Centre.  Harrow Arts Centre (HAC) in Hatch End is the only professional performing arts venue in the London Borough of Harrow who are committed to providing a journey of a lifetime enjoying the arts for people from every background.

A selection of children who play woodwind instruments were exceptionally lucky to have been invited to play.

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

On Wednesday 7th December we have our Christmas Lunch in school.  If your child wishes to have this special lunch, please ensure you book their meal on the Eduspot app or website as soon as possible. 

Here's the menu for the day: 

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). 

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). 

Flu Immunisation Catch-ups

Some children were absent from school on the day of flu immunisations.  Parents can take their child to the Catch-up Clinic at Alexandra Avenue on:

• Monday 19^th December (all day)
• Tuesday  20^th December (1.30pm - 4.00pm), or
• Wednesday 21^st December (1.30pm - 4.00pm)

SAFEGUARDING AT VAUGHAN

Safeguarding Forum - Monday 12th December 2022

Miss Rogers, our Designated Safeguarding Lead, will be holding 2 online forums (10:30 am and 6:30 pm) about Attendance and Punctuality, on Monday
12^th December 2022.

Attendance and Punctuality play an important part of keeping children safe, which is why it is vital that children are not only in school every day, but that they are on time each day as well.

Miss Rogers will look at school policy and procedures as well as sharing advice and ideas about how to achieve good attendance and punctuality.

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.

HARROW FOODBANK

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

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.