Welcome To
Regents Park Community Primary School
Believe in Yourself - Anything is Possible!
Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As you know, today is the last day of term. We close today at 3pm as normal and then school is CLOSED for two weeks. We REOPEN for ALL pupils at 8.40am on Monday 8th April.
We know that Eid-al-Fitr will fall during the week that we return to school after the holiday. We know that the majority of our families will be celebrating and we appreciate that this is a very special event for many of our children, parents and staff.
I'd like to make parents aware that, whichever day Eid falls on during that week, we will be able to authorise ONE day of absence due to Religious Observance to children that are Muslim so they can celebrate at home with their families. Any further absence will be unauthorised unless it is for another authorised reason. This is inline with other maintained local authority schools in Birmingham.
Children that are not Muslim should attend school as normal during this week.
We expect all children to return to school on Friday 12th April. This will a non-uniform day when children may come to school in Eid clothes if they wish (sensible footwear is still required). We will hold Eid parties for the children in the afternoon on this day.
We hope you all have an enjoyable and relaxing holiday and look forward to seeing you all again on Monday 8th April.
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
Next week sees the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan and so it is important that all parents understand the school’s responsibilities to those children who may wish to consider fasting.
Over the years, we have taken advice from a range of sources (Government, Local Authority and various Islamic organisations) and recognise that children under the age of 10 years are generally not required to fast but that parents/carers may request that their child in Year 5 or Year 6 take part in some fasting.
The school is happy to provide support for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils who wish to fast but needs to make clear its responsibilities, together with those of the parents/carers. Primary age children become very tired when they do not have regular meals and are sometimes unable to safely perform the activities expected of them during the course of a school day. Children in other year groups will not be permitted to fast on school days.
For parents of pupils in Y5 and Y6, we want to explain the procedures that will be followed to ensure the well-being of your child or children:
I hope that the above is clear, but please do not hesitate to contact a member of the school leadership or the school office if you have any questions.
Yours sincerely,
Mr A Beale
Head Teacher
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I'd like to make you aware that we have made an amendment to the school Attendance & Punctuality policy regarding the time that school registers close. From Monday 5th February 2024, school registers will officially close at 9.00am and pupils who arrive after this time will receive a U code which is categorised as an unauthorised absence and will affect their attendance. This is a change from previously when school registers have closed at 9.10am.
As you know, school starts and learning in class begins at 8.40am. Gates remain open until 8.50am for families who may on the odd occasion be running late. Once the gates close, pupils who arrive late have to arrive at the office with their parents and they are marked with an L code (i.e. Late before the registers close). This is a late mark but does not count against a pupil's attendance. The number of late marks a child receives are monitored and parents may be invited into school for a discussion if children continue to be late.
However, from 9.00am, pupils who arrive late will have arrived after school registers have officially closed and will be given a U code (i.e. Late after the registers close). This is classed as an unauthorised absence and will affect your child's overall absence.
Again, parents of children receiving U codes on the register may be invited into school to discuss this issue. Parents should also be reminded that 10 unauthorised absences (i.e. 10 sessions such as 10 U codes or 5 whole days) could lead to parents receiving a penalty notice for each child affected.
Obviously, we wish to see all children in school on time at 8.40am every day and hope to encourage parents to make sure they support their children and school in doing so.
Thanks,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I'm pleased to let you know that we are organising Parents' Evenings to take place before February half term so parents can meet their child's class teacher and get an update on the progress that they are making this year.
We are organising two after-school Parents' Evenings, one on Tuesday 6th February and the other on Wednesday 7th February. Parents' Evenings on both afternoons will begin at 3.15pm with the last appointment being at 5.35pm (4N will begin at 3.05pm on both days and 4SA will begin at 3.05pm on Wednesday 7th February).
As before, parents will be asked to use an online booking system to book a 10 minute slot with their children's class teachers on one of the two Parents' Evenings.
We will have to be quite strict about the timings of the appointments so please don't be late and please don't be offended if the teacher has to end the appointment after 10 minutes to meet the next parent.
Guidelines for Parents' Evenings:
It's useful for children and parents to attend but please try to keep to a minimum the number of other family members attending
Booking appointments with your child's class teacher:
We're looking forward to welcoming all parents into school on either the 6th or 7th January.
We look forward to seeing you all,
Mr Beale
Your child will be coming home today with an Attendance Newsletter and with a record of your child's attendance for Autumn 2023. Please look out for it in your child's bag.
The newsletter share information about school attendance, why it is so important and why it is in the news at the moment.
There is a some information which compares our school attendance to the national average and also an explanation about the concerns around "Persistent Absence".
Your child's attendance and summary of absences for Autumn 2023 is provided so you can compare it against the average for your child's year group and across school.
There is also information about which children achieved 100% attendance last term and which class had the best attendance in each phase. There is also some information on the importance of punctuality and some FAQs for parents.
An online copy of the newsletter can be found here: https://bit.ly/3SmVe0P
We hope you find the information useful and that you will work with us to keep improving attendance over the next two terms. We will update you with another newsletter and report for Spring 2024 in April
Mr Beale
Newsletter - December 2023
Dear Parents/ Carers,
As we reach the end of term, there are a few important messages to share with you.
Early finish at 1.00pm on Friday 22nd December
As in previous years, please note that school closes early for the Christmas holiday on Friday 22nd December at 1.00pm. Children will have lunch before they leave. They will be available for collection from the usual places at 1.00pm.
School reopens for ALL pupils on Monday 8th January 2024 at 8.40am
Please also note that school reopens after the holiday for ALL pupils on Monday 8th January 2024 at 8.40am. There is no Teacher Training day on this day.
Other schools may not open until the Tuesday or Wednesday of that week; however, we are expecting ALL children to be in school at Regents Park on Monday 8th January at 8.40am as usual.
Non-Uniform Day and Christmas Parties on Thursday 21st December
We will be having a non-uniform day with Christmas parties taking place in the afternoon on Thursday 21st December. Children in Nursery will have their Christmas party in the morning and we will be in touch seaprately with Nursery parents to let them know how we will make arrangements for them.
Children will be able to come to school in their party clothes on Thursday and make a £1 donation to the School Fund - this can be paid in cash on the day or on sQuid. Money donated to School Fund helps to pay for special events when we celebrate things like Christmas and Eid in school so we do appreciate your donations towards this.
Children will have Christmas party food at lunchtime on Thursday - this means we don't have to worry about children bringing food into school which is safer for children with allergies and hopefully means less food is wasted. Again, we will let parents in Nursery know separately how we will organise their Christmas parties in the morning.
Children who normally bring a packed lunch may order a school meal and have Christmas party food on this day (cost is £2.40 - please contact the school office as normal) or they may bring their packed lunch as normal to have with the other children.
As well as wearing non-uniform on Thursday, children will also be able to do so on Friday when we will finish at 1.00pm.
Celebration Assemblies and Y4/ Y5/ Y6 Guitar Concert next week
We have Celebration Assemblies taking place next week - parents should be informed if their child will receive a Gold Achievers certificate. Please make sure if you are attending one of the assemblies that you are in the hall on time at 9.00am.
On Thursday 21st December at 9.15am, we would also like to invite all parents of children in Y4, as well as parents of children in Y5 and Y6 who are learning to play guitars to join us for a special Guitar concert. We hope as many parents as possible will join us for this!
Goodbye Mrs Folbigg!
It is very sad that we are saying goodbye to Mrs Folbigg after over 13 years of her working here at Regents Park.
Many of you will know Mrs Folbigg because of all the work she has done over the years in establishing, developing and then teaching all of the children in our Forest School! The development of the Forest School has been a significant achievement that without Mrs Folbigg's enthusiasm and passion, may not have been as successful as it has been. All of the children in school have benefitted from Mrs Folbigg's determination for all children to experience and take part in learning outdoors in an environment that they wouldn't necessarily find anywhere else in Small Heath.
The Forest School has been an oasis of calm and tranquility in which many children have thrived when perhaps some of them might have found learning more difficult in the normal classroom. All of the children have developed skills and knowledge and a love of being outdoors in nature whilst working with Mrs Folbigg in the Forest School and she will be sadly missed.
We wish Mrs Folbigg all the very best in her new job as a Mental Health Education Practitioner and hope she will come back and visit from time to time.
Other staffing changes for Spring 2024
Mrs Hazelwood will be taking over some of Mrs Folbigg's role in teaching children across school in the Forest School. This will mean that she will no longer be sharing responsibility for teaching 1HB with Ms Bibi.
Instead, Ms Bibi will take over responsibility for the class full time and the class will now be known as 1B from January 2024.
Have a Happy Holiday!
I hope all children, parents and families have a wonderful holiday. To those of you who are celebrating, have a very Merry Christmas and I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year!
Thank you,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents
Before the holiday, I sent a message home via the school website mentioning some issues we have had dismissing children at hometime.
One request was for parents not to use their mobile phones whilst in the playground collecting children as we have had some instances where parents were so caught up in their phone call that they have not been aware that their child or children have been left behind.
This is a polite request at the moment even though many other schools ban mobile phones completely from their school sites.
It would be much nicer for your children if, instead of being on the phone when you collect them, you were able to greet them and ask them about their day.
Please can I respectfully ask all parents to put their phones away when they come into the playground and only use them again once they have left the school gates.
Thank you,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
We have had some issues recently at the end of the day with concerns about whether children are with their parents or not. It is extremely important for us to know that children are not released until their parents have arrived and that children leave school with their parents.
The way we organise dismissal in the playground and by the main entrance on Arthur Street is for parents to stand away from the classes and for children only to go to their parent when they have been seen by the class teacher. Unfortunately, some of the confusion is being caused because parents are not respecting the gap we have created between parents and classes at home time and are getting too close or are calling children from long distances away. In addition, some children are not always letting the teacher know and have run off without telling them.
Another issue we have is also that many parents are on their phones when collecting children and are distracted. Some children have been released to parents in the playground but parents have been talking on their phones and haven't been aware that their child has been left behind.
I have reminded all staff to be extra vigilant when releasing children and to make sure that they speak to children about this too.
However, I also need to ask ALL parents to support us and work together to keep children safe:
Let's work together to make sure that all children stay safe,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I'm pleased to confirm that we are organising Parents' Evenings to take place before half term so parents can meet their child's new class teacher.
We are organising two after-school Parents' Evenings, one on Tuesday 24th October and the other on Wednesday 25th October. Parents' Evenings on both afternoons will begin at 3.15pm with the last appointment being at 5.45pm (4SA and 4N will begin at 3.05pm on Wednesday 25th October).
As before, parents will be asked to use an online booking system to book a 10 minute slot with their children's class teachers on one of the two Parents' Evenings.
We will have to be quite strict about the timings of the appointments so please don't be late and please don't be offended if the teacher has to end the appointment after 10 minutes to meet the next parent.
Guidelines for Parents' Evenings:
Booking appointments with your child's class teacher:
We're looking forward to welcoming all parents into school on either the 24th or 25th October. If anything changes, we will let you know so please look out for any messages we send via text.
We look forward to seeing you all,
Mr Beale
Dear Parents/ Carers,
We are already half way through the first half term and I hope you feel that your children are now settled back into school after the Summer holiday and enjoying learning in their new classes with their new teachers!
We have 4 more weeks until half term but I do want to give you lots of notice about when our Parents Evenings are and of two days when school will be closed for children due to staff training.
Parents Evenings - Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th October 2023
We will be holding Parents Evenings on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th October from 3.15 to 5.45pm and I'm sure you will be very keen to join us on one of these two dates to meet your children's new teachers and find out how your children are doing.
As before we will be organising an online booking system for you to make appointments and these will be sent out via email next week. Please make sure we have an up to date email for you on our system. We will send out a text message to let you know when the emails will be sent.
Staff Training Days - School CLOSED to pupils on Thursday 26th & Friday 27th October 2023
We have two Staff Training Days booked for Thursday 26th and Friday 27th October which means school will be CLOSED on these days to ALL pupils.
This means that school will CLOSE for half term holiday at 3.00pm on Wednesday 25th October. School will REOPEN for ALL pupils on Monday 6th November at 8.40am.
Schools are allowed to take 5 Staff Training Days per academic year. So far this year we have had two days on the 4th and 5th of September and these two days are booked on 26th and 27th of October. One more Staff Training Day is booked for Monday 22nd July meaning the last day of the summer term for children will be Friday 19th July. I have listed all the term dates below - please note that our school may be open on a day on which your other children's school are closed.
| Wednesday 25th October 2023 at 3.00pm | School CLOSES for half term |
| Thursday 26th & Friday 27th October 2023 | School CLOSED for Staff Training Days |
| Monday 6th November at 8.40am | School REOPENS for ALL pupils |
| Friday 22nd December at 1.00pm | School CLOSES for Christmas holidays |
| Monday 8th January 2024 at 8.40am | School REOPENS for ALL pupils |
| Friday 9th February at 3.00pm | School CLOSES for half term |
| Monday 19th February at 8.40am | School REOPENS for ALL pupils |
| Friday 22nd March at 3.00pm | School CLOSES for Easter holidays |
| Monday 8th April at 8.40am | School REOPENS for ALL pupils |
| Friday 24th May at 3.00pm | School CLOSES for half term |
| Monday 3rd June at 8.40am | School REOPENS for ALL pupils |
| Friday 19th July at 1.00pm | School CLOSES for Summer holidays |
| Monday 2nd September 2024 | Autumn term begins |
Harvest food donations
Thank you to families who have sent in food for our Harvest collection. We will continue to accept donations this week and will then organise for them to be collected by local foodbanks. Thank you again for your generosity.