Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

We have come to the end of another busy half term at school.  As always, the Spring Term is notoriously short, and jam packed!

The start of the term has flown by.  There have been several great events that have already taken place this term, from Year 5’s Sikh Assembly, the wonderful assembly on Children’s Mental Health that was delivered by our CBT Counsellor, Mrs Fink and our House captains and Vice House Captains, to Year 5 and 6 Football tournaments.  School Visits are underway and planned for various year groups this term and beyond.  There was an impressive turnout for the Year 5 Parents meeting for the upcoming residential trip in Year 6.  It was lovely to see so many parents in attendance at Parent Consultations this week, and to have the opportunity to welcome you into the school and showcase the wonderful work of your children.  There will be other celebratory events that take place in the second half of term including World Book Day and Dance Evening.  Please look out for more details after half term.

We have also welcomed back the school’s extracurricular club offer.  It has been great to be able to give pupils the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities – particularly those which are voluntarily run by the staff.

On a sad note, we say goodbye to Mrs Patel, one of our support staff in Year 3, who takes up a new role in another school in Harrow.  We would like to thank her for her commitment to Vaughan over the 12 years that she has worked at Vaughan and her support as a parent at this school prior to this. Good luck Mrs Patel.  We will miss you!

We also say goodbye to Ms Rogers, our Assistant Headteacher with responsibility for SEND and Safeguarding. Ms Rogers is stepping away from teaching and we wish her all the best for her future endeavours. In the Interim Miss Mistry, the Deputy Head, will assume the role of Safeguarding Lead. In terms of SEND, the Headteacher will be taking responsibility for this area of provision. Parents will need to still contact the school via the Inclusion email address until the school is able to formally recruit for this post.

To all our Vaughan families, have a wonderful half term break, and we look forward to seeing you on Monday 20^th February at 8.50am.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

Governors met for a Full Governing Body Meeting on 7^th February.  This meeting fits within our cycle of governance to ensure strategic oversight of all that the school is progressing.

In the agenda for the meeting we discussed the safeguarding of children, the school budget, reviewed and signed off policies and gained updates on a number of other developments.

The school has recently completed an external review of governance which was a positive experience.  The independent consultant praised the governance of the school, and the ambition of governors to support the school to deliver the best education for all its pupils.

As half term approaches we hope that you are all able to have some time to rest, play and enjoy your children while our teaching and support staff recharge ready for the second half of our Spring term. 

Nerys Anthony
Chair of Governors

SAFEGUARDING FORUMS on 18^th January 2023

Thank you to all the parents who attended the forums on attendance and punctuality.  Many commented on how useful and informative they were.

Attendance and punctuality are monitored on a daily and weekly basis.  As you can see from the figures below, it is vital that your children arrive at school promptly and that they are in school every day.  Please let us know by using the attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk email address if they are going to be absent. Thank you for your continued support.

Why do pupils need to be on time?

If a pupil is 5 minutes late every day, this equates to 25 minutes per week.

That’s 100 minutes per month!

That’s 950 minutes for the school year!

That’s 16 hours of lessons that can never be repeated!

And that’s just 5 minutes per day!

DON’T BE LAST, BE FIRST IN CLASS!

ATTENDANCE REMINDERS

If your child has an appointment during the school day, please email attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk with the date and time of the appointment and please include proof of the appointment.  This can be a hospital letter, a screenshot of a text, photo of a letter or by forwarding an email from the medical practitioner.  

If your child is absent from school for 5 or more consecutive days, we will require proof of absence.  GP receptionists can print out (for free) a sheet of paper which will show details of any appointments/phone calls in the last week or so.  Alternatively parents can send a photo of their child's antibiotics to the attendance email.  Please ensure your child's name is showing and the date of the medication being prescribed.  If you have any queries, please contact the school and we will be able to help.

Please also note that if your child is absent for 3 days either side of a school holiday we will require proof of absence in order to authorise the absence. 

SIMS PARENT APP

Please note that we are no longer using the SIMS Parent App to update addresses and to view pupil's attendance

We will be using a new product in due course, and we will advise parents when this is up and running. 

In the meantime, if you have changed address, please email office@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk with your new address and the date you moved.  We will then update your records.  

HOUSE POINTS COMPETITION

Please find below the results of the house points competition from the Autumn term:

Ash – 94

Beech – 98

Elder – 102

Oak – 111

Willow – 128

We also reviewed the Autumn term focus of “Excellence” and celebrated successes across the school of pupil’s who showed excellence in some way last term. 

We also introduced this term’s focus of “Determination” and we spoke about famous people who have achieved great success through their determination and resilience.

The “Excellent” pupils were:

Reception – Calista, Lucy, Toby

Year 1 – Niam, Kaylan, Leonit

Year 2 - Oliver, Kemal, Mariam

Year 3 – Noah, Mariam, Joseph L

Year 4 – Evelyn, Issa, Farhat

Year 5 – Advik, Mathias, Megan

Year 6 – Shahzaib, Trisha, Surjaa

FRIENDS OF VAUGHAN

A big thank you to all of you for your support so far this academic year!

Last month we saw the return of Santa’s Grotto along with artwork ordered through PTA.  Thanks to your generosity we raised £640 from both events.

A special mention to Sam Webster & & Lizzie O’Connor who lead the artwork and Eco Coat/Toy events that took place last term.

Every event requires a lot of planning and voluntary time behind the scenes of parents involved so we would like to thank everyone in the school community who has helped in any way to support us, and not forgetting all of Santa’s elves!

We always welcome help and any volunteers, especially as we are in the process of planning our events for the remainder of this academic year.

If you are interested in finding out more, please reach out via email or Facebook.

Himani Bailey & Rekha Aggarwal

VALENTINES BAKE SALE

To celebrate Valentines Day, Friends of Vaughan will be holding a bake sale this Friday 10th February at 3.25 pm ahead of the half term holiday.

There will be Krispy Kreme donuts, Wenzel Cookies & dietary alternative goodies to purchase.  

All items will be sold at £1 each (cash only).

We do not require any baked donations for this sale.

Please look out for the stands in the playground and under the silver Vaughan sign.

Wishing you all a restful half term.

Keep in touch:

facebook.com/groups/VaughanPTA
vaughanpta@gmail.com

YEAR 4 VAUGHAN WORLD CUP

Year 4 held their Vaughan World Cup to round off last term's outdoor PE unit on ball control in football.

Having been long-delayed due to the frozen conditions before Christmas, 3 teams from each class finally competed in a double elimination tournament to see who would lift the famous trophy!

Congratulations to Germany from 4B, who defeated England (also from 4B) in an end-to-end final marked by the goalkeeping heroics of player of the tournament Issa.

YEAR 5 SIKHISM ASSEMBLY
Wednesday 25^th January 2023

by Sofia, Year 5

In our Sikhism Assembly, Year 5 told the audience all about the great leaders of the Sikh religion. 

We thought about what makes a great leader.  We also looked at all of the traditions of Sikhism, such as the 5Ks and the Khalsa or five noble men.  As well as giving lots of information, we also sang a song about togetherness and equality and shared a dance in celebration.

IMPRESSIONABLE MINDS WORKSHOP

By Otis, Year 6

What was the workshop about? 

This workshop was about the importance of being careful and not being tricked into delivering drugs.  

What we learnt

We learnt about the importance of being careful about what we take from strangers: no matter how much money they offer you.  

What I found interesting 

We learnt how drug dealers are recruiting children as young as 11-13 years old.  This reminded us to be cautious about talking to strangers and taking things from strangers. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, this workshop taught us many lessons, including how to be safe when we walk around the streets on our own.  I would rate this workshop 10 out of 10.

By Eliza, Year 6

On Monday 16^th January Year Six had a workshop run by Watford FC to teach us about the problems with drugs and how to deal with them.

Russell ran the workshop and gave an insightful story of his history.  He told us how, being the target audience, we should steer clear of strangers.  He also taught us that even if someone seems a nice person and offers you money, you still don’t know them, so as not to talk to them.

It taught everyone valuable life lessons and helped with children, should they have to deal with these problems.  One particularly important lesson was about how there are ‘good drugs’ and ‘bad drugs’ and how ‘good drugs’ can become ’bad drugs’ when too many are taken or taken at the wrong time.  The children enjoyed this workshop and everybody had a chance to say something and feel included.  It explained what drugs are and some of their names.

YEAR 5 “MINI MEDICS"

Written by Dexter, Year 5

Watford FC Community Trust came to Year 5 to deliver a “Mini Medics” programme to all of the children in Year 5. 

We learnt about what should be in a First Aid kit and how to put somebody into the recovery position.  We also learnt about what to do if we find someone unconscious.  We were told about “DR ABC” and how to follow this to save someone’s life!  We also practised giving CPR using dolls!

If you have concerns regarding a child’s safety and wellbeing during the February break, you can contact Harrow Children's Services by calling:

GENERAL REMINDERS FOR PARENTS

LOST PROPERTY

Please ensure that ALL items your child brings to school are labelled with your child’s name and class – e.g., coat, school clothes, water bottles etc.  This will help us return lost items to children!

EMAILING THE SCHOOL

If you need to email the school regarding your child for any reason, please ensure you add your child's class on all emails (e.g., NAM - morning nursery, NPM - afternoon nursery, RA, 3B etc).  This makes it quicker and easier to pass on your message to the relevant members of staff.  Thank you.

NO CASH IN SCHOOL

A few children have been bringing cash into school this term.  Children are not allowed to bring cash into school and Vaughan cannot be responsible for any money lost.  Thank you for your understanding. 

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A VAUGHAN PUPIL

Please find below a lovely piece by Surjaa in Year 6 regarding life as a Vaughan pupil.

CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

The event is run and organised by the children’s mental health charity Place2BE and takes between 6^th and 12^th February this year.  This week’s theme is – Let’s Connect.  Connecting with others is vital for our wellbeing.

The children split into 2 teams and worked on their assemblies and Powerpoint presentations for Infants and Juniors, which they presented on Monday 6^th February.  They all worked really well in their teams, put in a good deal of time (including their own time) and effort and did a really good job.

Here are some photos...

Here is a link to some helpful resources for parents:

Families - Children's Mental Health Week (childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk)

PARENT FORUM
Tuesday 28^th February at 6.00 pm

The school will be holding a forum linked to Parent Partnership.

The session will explore the purpose of home school partnership,
consider how we develop this priority moving forward
and support engagement and contributions from parents
in ensuring that Vaughan seeks the best outcomes
for all pupils, and parents feel positively involved in their child’s school lives.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Please see the link below to join the session.

Karen Jones is inviting you to a scheduled MS Teams meeting.
Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 373 876 475 468
Passcode: MQTLke

Download Teams | Join on the web

Or call in (audio only)

+44 20 3855 5143,,41355562#   United Kingdom, London

Phone Conference ID: 413 555 62#

Find a local number | Reset PIN

COST OF LIVING SUPPORT

Young Harrow Foundation have developed a new hub for cost of living support on their website: www.youngharrowfoundation.org/cost-of-living-support

This hub aims to signposts people to local services from the voluntary sector and local authority - and is particularly aimed at families or carers that have children and young people in their household.

The online hub, developed by Young Harrow Foundation, lists services that can help with things like, mental health and wellbeing, warm hubs in the borough, help with accessing food, housing support and low cost furniture providers.

KEY MESSAGES FROM WELFARE

Please find a link here to some important information related to Strep A which we have already shared with parents but may be useful for a reminder .....

Harrow Council Strep Infection Dec 22.pdf

APPLY FOR JUNIOR BAKE OFF

Do you have a budding baker in your midst?  Junior Bake Off are looking for contestants.  If your child is interested in taking part they can apply following the instructions below:

KENTON JUNIOR PARKRUN

Kenton Rec junior parkrun takes place every Sunday at 9am at Kenton Recreation ground at Kenton Recreation Ground, Carlton Ave, Harrow, HA3 8AX.

Junior parkrun is a free, community event where you can walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate.  Junior parkrun is 2 km and dedicated to 4-14 year olds and their families, every Sunday morning.  Parkrun is positive, welcoming and inclusive, there is no time limit and no one finishes last. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Although called Kenton Rec. junior parkrun, children can jog or walk too, and the events are incredibly inclusive.  To keep a record of how many times your child has completed the course, you can register their details on the parkrun website. You only need to do this once and they can then run, jog or walk at any of the 500+ parkrun events in the UK. Just print out and bring along their personalised barcode which is emailed to you when you register.

www.parkrun.org.uk/register

https://www.parkrun.org.uk/kentonrec-juniors/

Milestone wristbands are presented when you child has completed:

• 11 junior parkruns - a half marathon
• 21 junior parkruns - a marathon
• 50 junior parkruns - an ultra-marathon
• 100 junior parkruns

Adults are welcome to run with their child too* so it’s a great opportunity to get active as a family. 

*although parents aren’t allowed to cross the finish line!

HARROW FOODBANK

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

TERM DATES

Full term dates can be viewed here:  Vaughan Primary School - Term Dates 

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