Newsletters

MESSAGE FROM MRS JONES

Dear Parents and Carers

It has been an incredibly busy start to the year.

The children have come back eager to continue their school journey and there have been a number of different events and opportunities already with more on the way in the second half of the term. 

Further on in this newsletter, there are a number of opportunities for parents to attend virtual sessions and forums in order for them to find out more about how the school operates.

There is an exciting parent forum coming up regarding the launch of the school's 'House System' so we look forward to parents attending this session to learn more.

Starting this term has been incredibly difficult with a number of covid cases seen in staff and pupils.  I would like to thank the  parent community for adhering to the covid procedures and safeguarding of all of us.

Please remember that there is an additional bank holiday date and school will be closed on Friday 11th February 2022.

Mrs Jones
Headteacher

UPDATE FROM THE SCHOOL GOVERNING BODY

Governors are pleased to add their voices to the welcome to everyone coming back to school after the seasonal break.  We've heard how much energy all the children have and the focus they are giving to their school work - brilliant to hear!  Thank you also to parents and carers for following the Covid rules, as they have changed over the past month.  Keeping the school and everyone in it as safe as they can be, is a real team effort.

The governance calendar this term commenced with our Finance, Premises and Personnel Committee meeting on 18th January.  This committee is chaired by parent governor Morwenna Paz.  In this meeting we welcomed a number of our new Governors.  This committee meeting focusses on providing strategic budget oversight, supporting with significant procurement decisions, health and safety at the school, school premises management and staff and volunteer management. 

On 26th January Governors joined our 'school improvement partner' for the afternoon at the school.  These sessions are a great opportunity for governors to visit the school and get to know different aspects in more detail. 

There are a lot of training requirements for Governors to ensure they are effective in their role and support the school to the best of their ability.  In the evening on the 26th January the Governors undertook training together. 

Nerys Anthony
Chair of Governors

What’s New

Thursday 10^th February

World Book Day

Ahead of World Book Day in March, we are organising a pre-loved costume sale on Thursday 10^th February at pick up. Thank you for all the brilliant donations and please come along with cash to pick up a bargin!

In order to continue to support the library we are fiundraising for new books and you can donate at https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsofvaughan.

Bake Sale

After the very popular bake sale last term, we are having another one again on Thursday 10^th February. We are looking for bakers and helpers to support on the day, so please get in touch if you can help.

How to help Friends of Vaughan all year round

Raise Money While You shop! 

You can support Friends of Vaughan without spending a penny extra by doing your shopping through easyfundraising & Amazon Smile. 

Sign up to Easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/vaughanschoolpta (or download the app) and use the links provided whenever you shop online with John Lewis, M&S, Ebay and more. 

Please use Amazon Smile whenever you buy from Amazon and select Vaughan School PTA as your charity. You can set this up on the app so you don’t need to remember each time.

Regular Giving

As with all charities, you can choose to support us through regular donations which are all eligible for Gift Aid. If you, or a member of your community would like to do this then please contact our treasurer who can advise on the best way at fovtreasury@gmail.com.

Thank You!

Finally, a big thank you to all of you for your support so far this year!

If you have concerns regarding a child’s safety and wellbeing during the summer break, below are services that will be able to help you.

During holiday time and the weekends, you can contact Harrow Children's Services by calling:

SAFER INTERNET DAY

Safer Internet Day is on Tuesday 8th February.  Children will participate in an assembly and activities about how to keep safe online.   Parents are reminded that we send out regular Online Safety newsletters to parents via email.  These newsletters help parents to set up parental controls, and give information about apps and websites that they need to know.

PARENTS SAFEGUARDING FORUM

We also have a Parents Safeguarding Forum will take place after half term on Wednesday 9th March.  It will focus on what safeguarding is, what this looks like at Vaughan, what the statutory obligations are and how parents can ensure that their children are safe.

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING

It is Children's Mental Health Week in the week commencing Monday 7th February.  Children will participate in an assembly, activities and discussions about mental health, its importance and what they can do to ensure that they have good mental health.

We have a Mental Health Forum on Wednesday 9th February at 10am and repeated at 6pm.  The focus will be on what can cause poor mental health in children, how parents can spot the warning signs that their child may be suffering from, poor mental health and what they can do to support their child if they are.

Please look out for more information about these upcoming events!

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS

Thank you to all the parents and carers who purchased school individual and family photographs from Tempest.  The school has raised a massive £1,071.47 in commission from sales received. 

These funds will be used to support the school budget and go some way to help subsidising workshops etc. as part of the curriculum enrichment programme.

SLIMMING WORLD OFFER!

Are you looking to lose weight and lead a more healthy lifestyle?  Slimming World may be the answer! 

By using the code BETTERFEBRUARY2022 (before 26th February), you can save money when you register.  Present this voucher in print or on your smartphone to your Consultant at your Slimming World group.

Please contact Ush on 07932 822700 for more details. 

KEY MESSAGES FROM WELFARE

COVID UPDATE

COVID is still very much with us and any children displaying symptoms should not be coming to school.  Symptoms include cough, high temperature, loss of taste and smell.  We are still asking parents and carers to book a PCR test for their child with any of these symptoms, before they return to school.

We have also been advised that new symptoms have been recognised of the new Covid variant, Omicron.  These are sniffles, headache, sore throat and achy muscles.  If your child experiences any of these symptoms, please can you do a lateral flow test for them, and if that test is positive, then there is no need to follow up with a PCR test, but they will need to isolate for 10 days (unless they receive two negative lateral flow tests on day 5 and day 6).  Please see the chart below to help understand the isolation period:

 Please also 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.

Medication

If your child is prescribed medication which has to be administered at school, please complete a consent form which can be found on the school website with clear instructions.  It must come via the school office or alternatively, call Welfare tel: 0208 427 7222 Ext 2 and arrangements can be made to collect from outside the school office.

Any medical queries, please contact Mrs O’Rourke or Ms Goodspeed in Welfare.

Medical appointments during the day

And lastly a reminder about medical appointments.  If your child has a medical appointment during the school day, please remember to email attendance@vaughan.harrow.sch.uk with the details and with proof of the appointment.  We do ask however, that appointments during the day are kept to a minimum and that you book appointments for outside of the school day.  Thank you.

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
(please see separate letter sent regarding the end of the Autumn term)

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.