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,
With only 3 weeks to go before the end of the school year, there is lots to do and some changes to tell you about.
Change in School Leadership for September 2024
The first change to let you know about is that from September 2024, I will be reducing my working week from 5 days to 4 days a week. This was agreed by the Governing Board earlier this term. Most weeks I will be working from Tuesday to Friday, although there may be some times when I am working on a Monday. The intention is that this arrangement is in place for 12 months and I see it as being partly a preparation for my eventual retirement, possibly in Summer 2025.
During this period, I remain committed to ensuring that the children of Regents Park receive the highest quality teaching and learning, that they are happy and successful and that the school continues to go forward from strength to strength
I do not feel that my decision will have a huge impact on the day to day running of the school - Miss Paddem will be stepping up to become Acting Head Teacher one day a week and we have a large group of senior leaders in the school, including Miss Turner, Miss Khan, Mrs Vara and Mrs McDonald, who will continue to support Miss Paddem and myself.
Changes in Teaching Staff for September 2024
It is very sad that we will be saying goodbye at the end of term to two members of the teaching staff who, between them, have 31 years of experience of working at Regents Park.
Mrs Higby joined Regents Park in 2006 and many of you will know her for the work she has done in EYFS although recently she has been teaching in Year 3.
Mrs Halbert joined Regents Park in 2011 and has taught across KS2 including currently in Year 5.
Obviously, it is going to be very sad to lose two very experienced members of staff; however, we do wish them well in their new positions in schools in Solihull.
As a result of Mrs Higby and Mrs Halbert leaving Regents Park, we will be welcoming two new members of staff who will join us in September. Miss Ashraf will join us in Year 1 in September and Miss Akhlaq (who is currently working with Mrs Hemraj in 3VH) will join us in Year 2. They are looking forward to meeting with their new classes on Wednesday 3rd July during our transition day in school.
School closures - Thursday 4th July for Election Day and on Friday 19th July
We have sent out lots of messages to remind you that school will be CLOSED on Thursday 4th July due to the General Election. Staff will organise work for children to complete at home. School reopens as normal at 8.40am on Friday 5th July.
Governors have also given permission for school to be CLOSED on Friday 19th July. This is because of a large amount of work that needs to be done this year in school to prepare for the start of next term. We are moving the Nursery into the main building and we are reorganising where a number of classes will be in school next year. Because of the amount of movement taking place, Governors have given permission for school to close for pupils at 3.00pm on Thursday 18th July. Again, staff will organise some work for children to complete at home on Friday 19th July.
School Transition Day - Wednesday 3rd July 2024
This Wednesday 3rd July is Transition Day in school. Children from Year 6 will be out of school on this day visiting their new secondary schools. As a result, we will use this as an opportunity for children from Reception to Year 5, to also visit their new year groups and meet their new teachers for next year and spend the day in class with them. It's always very exciting for the children but can also be a little daunting, but I'm sure it will help the children get themselves ready for the new school year.
Children should come in as normal on Wednesday and, once registered, they will go to their new classes. They will also be collected from their usual locations.
Reports and Parents Afternoon - Wednesday 10th July 3.15pm to 5.45pm
It is nearly time to share with you your child's school report for 2023-24. These will be sent out to parents in the week beginning Monday 8th July.
On Wednesday 10th July we will be holding a Parents Afternoon from 3.15 to 5.45pm. Unlike in the Autumn and Spring term, this will just be held on one day so it does mean that teachers will not be able to meet every parent for an appointment. Appointments will be booked on a first come, first served basis and, as you will already have your child's report, they are available if you have a concern or an issue that you wish to discuss with your child's class teacher. Staff may also contact you if they feel it would be helpful to speak to you about your child's progress and how you can support them.
A link will be sent out this week so you can book appointments if you would like to.
Dixon Road closure for Active Wellbeing activities on Friday 12th July from 2pm to 4pm
On Friday 12th July, we will be working with the Active Wellbeing Society to organise a street closure and activities for parents, children and the community to take part in on Dixon Road. We have done something similar before and it has been very successful.
As well as encouraging families to take part in community activities, one of the reasons for doing this is to encourage everyone to help make the streets around our school safer. As such, on Friday 12th July, Dixon Road will be closed to all traffic. We hope this will encourage parents to leave their cars behind at home and encourage children and families to walk to and from school instead.
We would love for parents to join us for a fun afternoon of activities and look forward to seeing you on the afternoon of Friday 12th July!
Last week of term
Here are some of the events taking place in the last week of term:
INSET days in September and school reopens on Wednesday 4th September at 8.40am
Just a reminder then that school closes to pupils on Thursday 18th July at 3.00pm. We then REOPEN for pupils on Wednesday 4th September at 8.40am. School will be open for staff training days on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd September. If you need to contact school before then you can email at enquiry@rgntpark.bham.sch.uk or leave a voicemail on 0121 4646746 (please note that voicemails may not be picked up until September).
We hope you all have a good summer when it comes and look forward to seeing you for the next school year in September!
Yours faithfully,
Mr A Beale
Dear Parents and Carers,
As you will be aware, the General Election has recently been announced and, as our school is used as a Polling Station, school will be CLOSED to all pupils on Thursday 4th July 2024. Children will be given learning activities to complete at home on this day. We will reopen as normal on Friday 5th July.
Also, we are aware that many of our families will be taking part in celebrations for Eid al-Adha, which starts for some this Sunday 16th June and for others on Monday 17th June and wish all of you Eid Mubarak.
School will be open as normal on Monday 17th June for all pupils to attend. However, Muslim children who are starting Eid al-Adha celebrations on Monday 17th June will be given one day of authorised absence for "Religious Observance" on this day - parents must ring or email school to inform us of their children's absence. All other children (i.e. children who are non-Muslim or who celebrated on Sunday) are expected to attend school on Monday as normal.
Obviously, we expect ALL children to return to school as normal on Tuesday 18th June. Any further absence will be marked as unauthorised.
Many thanks,
Mr Beale
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