Taking Stock: December 2025

• To ensure our children are happy and we explain things well
• To ensure no child leaves our school unable to read
• To ensure children learn a broad vocabulary to access the world around them
• To enhance the educational experiences of diagnosed and undiagnosed children with SEND

As we reach the end of another busy and brilliant term, it’s a perfect moment to pause and reflect on just how much our school community has achieved together.

This term has been full of learning, laughter, and plenty of proud moments. From classrooms buzzing with curiosity, to confident performances, sporting successes, and thoughtful acts of kindness, our pupils have shown what it means to try their best and support one another. We’ve seen resilience when learning felt tricky, creativity when ideas took flight, and teamwork everywhere we looked. We couldn’t be prouder of how hard everyone has worked.

A huge thank you goes to our dedicated staff, who continue to go above and beyond to make Stockwell a safe, inspiring and happy place to learn. And, of course, thank you to our families for your ongoing support — whether that’s reading at home, cheering from the side-lines, attending parent meetings, joining in with workshops and drop-ins or simply ensuring that the children are in school, ready to learn, despite the cold weather, tiredness and early mornings!

As we close the door on this term, we do so with a real sense of accomplishment and gratitude. Ahead of us lies Spring, bringing lighter days, fresh energy, and lots to look forward to. We’re excited for new topics, outdoor learning, and all the opportunities the new season will bring.

For now, we wish everyone a restful and well-deserved break. We can’t wait to welcome you back refreshed and ready for another exciting term ahead.

Year 4 had an amazing three-day residential at Ufton Court and came back full of stories! One of the highlights was taking part in a Roman banquet, where the children felt like they had truly stepped back in time. They learned about crime and punishment in Roman times and had lots of fun finding out about the games Roman children used to play, giving them a real insight into what life was like long ago.

The children also loved spending time on the farm, learning about different animals and how they are cared for. They enjoyed trying out new skills, including making bows and arrows and learning how to safely create fires in the firepits. It was a fantastic trip that helped Year 4 grow in confidence, independence and teamwork, one they will remember for a long time!

Our Winter Fair was a huge success and filled the school with festive cheer! The raffle was hotly contested, with lots of excitement as the winners were announced. (A special mention must go to Mr Serra, who very kindly shared his prizes with children around the school, spreading even more smiles.) Huge congratulations to the choir and the band, who treated us to fantastic performances and really set the mood for the afternoon.

There was plenty to enjoy around the fair, with Mrs Claus delighting children by giving out presents, and the bouncy castle, face painting and candy stalls proving to be particular hits throughout the event. A massive thank you goes to our amazing PTA for organising such a wonderful fair and to everyone who helped on the day. We are always looking for more volunteers to support future events, so please do get in touch if you’re able to help.

We’ll be sharing an update on how much was raised in the next edition of the newsletter... watch this space!

Our end of term performances were a real highlight and a wonderful way to celebrate the festive season together. Huge congratulations to our Nursery and Pre-School children for their delightful Nativity, to KS1 for their fantastic performance of A Winter Quarrel, and to our Pre-School children for their joyful Christmas Singalong, which brought plenty of smiles to the audience.

A big thank you must go to all of our staff for their incredible hard work in preparing the children for these performances. From rehearsing songs and lines, to organising props and costumes — including the much-loved Pre-School Christmas Tree T-shirts — their dedication and care truly shone through. The performances were a credit to everyone involved and created some very special end-of-term memories.

On Tuesday 16th December, we celebrated Christmas Jumper Day and enjoyed our festive Christmas lunch. This was a joyful way to end the term! Thank you so much to all the parents and carers for your support — your generosity helped us raise £108 for Save The Children.

The children really enjoyed their Christmas lunch, tucking into a full festive meal and proudly wearing their Christmas crowns. Special congratulations to the two children who were awarded Harrison Bears for their excellent crown designs — they were truly creative! It was a wonderful day full of festive fun and smiles all around.

Our end-of-term Reading Drop-In was a fantastic way to celebrate reading together! Thank you to all the parents and carers who came along and shared a story with the children — your support makes a huge difference.

At our school, we prioritise teaching children to read, but we also know how important it is to foster a love of reading for pleasure. Shared reading is a wonderful way to enjoy books together, spark curiosity, and create lasting memories around stories. A special thank you to Ms Mattey for organising the day and making it such a success.

We hope the children enjoy their new books and continue to find joy in reading over the holiday and beyond.

We would like to wish everyone who celebrates a very happy and peaceful festive season!

School will reopen for children in Reception to Year 6 on Tuesday 6th January, while Pre-School and Nursery parents are asked to refer to their letters for information about their children’s specific return dates.

We hope everyone enjoys a relaxing holiday filled with joy, laughter, and special moments, and we look forward to welcoming the children back in the new year.

Although December has been a quiet month in terms of sporting events, the progress of all the school sports as continued to improve. We should be so proud of our young children as sport isn’t just about being the best it’s about being your best!

The football teams this month have played 4 games with the boys' A team winning 2 out of 2 matches and the girls achieving draw and a loss. There is still plenty of time for the girls to storm up the league. At present, the boys are flying high with 4 games played and 3 wins in total.

January promises to be an absolute cracker of a month with our Lambeth school games year 5/6 competition starting us off. With the current year 5s placing 4th overall in Lambeth last year we are looking to do even better and win it all.

Sports Stars Of the Month:

Raekeem 6A

Valentina 6K

Maher 5E

Raseel 5M

Oore 4B

Celia 4T

Anes 3N

Arielle 3T

Lukas 2S

Luna 2A

Khalid 1R

Camila 1B

Arabella RB

Lyna RB

Utah Nursery

Ella Rose Nursery

Mr Osman - Sports Coach

We are thrilled to celebrate one of our Year 4 pupils who has been named Platform Cricket’s Player of the Month!

Over the past few weeks, Platform Cricket has been working with Year 4 to develop their skills and identify young talent, and a few key players have really stood out. Platform Cricket works with children all across the borough, so this award is a fantastic recognition of how hard this child has been working, their dedication, and their love of the game.

Well done!

Check out the latest issue of the BJS Federation SEND Newsletter by clicking the button below. This issue is al about vocabulary and attachment.

Don't forget to drop off your old, unwanted clothes. The donations will go to new homes that need them and we will raise money for the school. We have already filled the bank once, so keep your items coming please. Every time we fill the bank it raises money for the school.

Fill up a bag and pop it in.

Have a look at the poster below for more information.

The clothes bank is located outside the Main Hall.

Appreciation means noticing and being thankful for something or someone.

Synonyms: gratitude, thankfulness, recognition, respect, admiration

Example sentences:

• I showed my appreciation to my teacher by saying thank you for helping me.

• We have great appreciation for our friends who help us.

• The children clapped to show their appreciation for the performance.

• When someone does something kind, it’s good to show your appreciation.

To learn more about the curriculum for your year group/s next term, visit the school's website to access the knowledge organisers.

Homework is issued on a Friday and is due back in on a Wednesday. Please make time to help your child with their homework. All tasks are based on what the children have been learning in school. While the children can learn independently, they might need your help to get started.

All children should be reading at home daily. Please remember to make a comment in your child's reading record after you have listened to them read.

Friday 19th December - Friday 2nd January

School Holidays

School Closed

January

• 5th - INSET Day (School closed for all pupils)
• 6th - Nusery and Pre School Stay and Plays (Nursery and Pre-School Closed for current pupils)
• 7th - Phonics Workshop for parents
• 7th - Continuing Nursery and Pre-School children return
• 8th - New to Stockwell Nursery from Stockwell Pre-School begin
• 8th - Open Morning
• 9th - Art, DT, Topic and Homework Exhibition
• 9th - Parent Forum
• 12th - ASAs begin
• 12th - New to Stockwell Nursery and Pre-School staggered starts
• 14th - UKS2 Writing Drop-In
• 15th - KS1 Writing Drop-In
• 16th - LKS2 Writing Drop-In
• 21st - EYFs Writing Drop-In
• 22nd - SATS Parent Workshop
• 26th - SEND Coffee Morning
• 30th - Y4 Multiplication Workshop

February

• 2nd - 6th - 6K Into University Week
• 3rd - Digital Leaders Event
• 6th - Number Day/ EYFS & KS1 Maths Parent Workshop
• 9th - 13th - E-Safety Week
• 10th - Safe Internet Day
• 12th - KS2 Maths Parent Workshop
• 12th - Federation Spanish Parent Workshop
• 13th - PTA Non-Uniform Day
• 13th - Last Day of Half term - 3:30 finish

Monday 16th - Friday 20th February

Half Term

School Closed

Behind video-sharing platforms (like YouTube) and streaming TV shows and movies, gaming is the third most popular online activity for children in the UK. In fact, according to recent data from Ofcom, an overwhelming 89% of children aged 3 to 17 play video games. Of those, more than one in five (22%) talk to other players online who they don’t know outside the game.

The risk of contact from strangers is just one of the reasons that many parents are concerned about their child’s gaming: increased screen time, inappropriate content and in-game spending also figure among the most frequent fears. Agreeing on some rules around your child’s gaming activities can certainly help, and our guide has some useful tips for establishing these boundaries.

This guide from the National College gives you helpful tips for keeping your children safe when gaming, particularly during the festive period.

We have an active PTA, called Friends of Stockwell, who do a brilliant job of fundraising for the school and bringing the community together. It is great to see new faces taking part. Every parent is a Friend of Stockwell. I ask that everyone gets involved. If you can spare an hour per term (that's three hours per year), your contribution would make a huge difference.

Please email friendsofstockwell@gmail.com to get involved.

We are often asked how parents and carers can support the school. We have worked with the school to create an Amazon Wish List to enable parents, carers, friends and family members to buy items that the school really needs.

If you are in a position to support the school in this way, please have a look through, and if you see something you would like to buy, just follow the same process as you would if you were ordering something for yourself. Items will be delivered directly to the school, marked for the attention of the relevant teacher.

We would like to say a huge thank you to all our parents and carers for their incredible generosity in supporting this year’s Secret Santa appeal. Your kindness and thoughtfulness truly make a difference within our school community.

Thanks to the funds raised, six families received £50 vouchers, which were very gratefully received and made a real impact during the festive period. The families have expressed how thankful they were for this support.

We are extremely appreciative of every contribution, no matter the size. This appeal would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our PTA, who continue to go above and beyond in raising funds to support the Stockwell Primary School community.

Thank you once again for helping to spread kindness and support to those who need it most.

Can you help out around the school? Are you a keen gardener? Do you have skills or knowledge that the children would benefit from? Visit our Call to Action page to let us know how you can help.

Central to raising standards in all schools and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential is the need for children to attend school regularly to benefit from their education.

There is a strong link between good learning, high achievement, rapid progress and developing good social skills with excellent attendance.

We want to take this opportunity to outline our expectations for school attendance this academic year.

If your child arrives at school from 9am they will be marked as LATE, if they arrive after 9.30am, they will be classed as “late after the register is closed” and their attendance is classed as absent for the morning session. As the registers would have already been returned to the Department for Education.

Regular poor punctuality can also have a negative effect on your child’s attendance as well as their academic learning. Being 6 minutes late each day equals 30 minutes of missed learning every week.

If your child’s attendance drops below 90%, we will need to share our concerns with the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer at Lambeth Council.

Holidays in Term Time

Education Law states that it is not a parent’s right to take a child out of school during term time to go on holiday. Families must seek permission from the school and your school’s Headteacher is limited in what they can authorise. We can authorise leave if a child is in a performance and a performance license has been granted by the local authority. For any other authorised holiday, there must be extenuating circumstances therefore we cannot authorise a holiday because it is cheaper outside of term time.

Despite the recent bouts of cold and flu, we have ended the term broadly in line with national expectations for attendance.

December's attendance was 94%

Let's see if we make an excellent start to 2026 with excellence attendance in January.

School uniform should be worn throughout the school day. While we do not enforce that all school uniform should be branded, children should be wearing the correct colours (white t-shirt tops, navy trousers/ skirts/ pinafore dresses, sensible black shoes). Football boots/ coloured trainers are not school uniform and should not be worn.

Children should be changing into their PE kits for PE lessons (blue or black tracksuit bottoms, plain white t-shirt, trainers). We have made arrangements for girls and boys to be able to change separately, so the expectation is that all children change for PE.

While our supplier of school uniform is WearAbouts, we do have some items available for sale from the school office. Please check with us to see if we have what you need in stock.

If you have a concern, please see your child's class teacher in the first instance.

If they are unable to resolve the problem, please speak to your child's phase leader.

If they are unable to help, please see one of the school's Assistant Headteachers.

If you are still dissatisfied, please see the Head of School.

We let space around the school.

You can hire the school hall, and grounds, on a regular basis or as a one off.

Need a space for a party?

Looking for a pitch for your team?

Contact the school office on:

clericalofficer2@stockwell-pri.lambeth.sch.uk

to make an enquiry.

What are Pre-School, Nursery and Reception learning about? Find out below.

Years 1 and 2 are incredibly busy with their learning. Find out more on our website.

Are you keen to find out more about the learning in Years 3 and 4? If so, have a look by clicking the button below.

Please check our website, to find out what the children in Years 5 and 6 are learning about.

We are delighted to to have on site our Children Centre where the team works with families at Stockwell and our local community. The Children Centre is open every week day and during the holidays. All of the team will be happy to meet parents and carers to give help, advice and support relating to the following issues:

Citizens Advice

Parenting Support and Advice

ESOL classes

Vaccination clinics

Access to Midwives and Health Visitors practitioners

Take Your Pick sessions

Baby and Toddler session

Benefits advice

Food Bank Vouchers

Disability Living Allowance applications

Cost of Living information

Training and employment advice

Activities for children during half-term breaks

Advice on support available within Lambeth

In these difficult times any of us can find ourselves in challenging situations. Should you need support, please contact Mrs Fraga, or the staff at the Children's Centre, who can support with food vouchers discreetly.

Our Children Centre team have a great deal of knowledge and expertise and are a fantastic asset to have working with us at Stockwell. Please feel welcome to pop in and find out more during their opening times.

Please see below for wallet friendly family events in Lambeth and the local area.

The Gaia Centre provides support for Lambeth residents affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse. It’s closed on 29th March and April 1st, 2024, but has an out-of-hours on-call service: 07725245779. Normal hours are 8am-6pm Monday – Friday. It also offers services for young people and advice for practitioners. Tel: 020 7733 8724, E: lambethvawg@refuge.org.uk.

Helpline support is available:

• National Domestic Abuse Helpline, 24/7
• Women’s Aid live chat, daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Men’s Advice Line, weekdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Samaritans Helpline, 24/7
• Childline 24/7
• In emergencies, call 999

Support online:

Kooth is a free online mental health and wellbeing service available to all young people in Lambeth aged 10-25. It is a self-referral service, where young people have access to fully-qualified online counsellors until 10pm every single day of the year. There is also a range of other support including: an online interactive magazine, discussion boards, self-help tools, and wellbeing activities.

The new Lambeth microsite to accompany the ‘It’s Not That Deep’ campaign is aimed specifically at young people and contains information for those experiencing harassment, those wanting to become allies, and those who are doing the harmful behaviour.

You can view useful resources on emotional wellbeing and mental health support services for children in Lambeth.

For the latest Lambeth VAWG news and campaigns please go to: https://linktr.ee/lambethvawg

We have an engagement hub with a specific page focused on what we can do to improve public safety for women and girls which asks residents and visitors to tell us where in Lambeth they feel safe and unsafe by placing a pin on the Map. Please sign up for email updates about the project using the ‘follow’ button on the new site.

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child during the holidays, please make use of the following contacts:

• Lambeth Integrated Referral Hub (Education & Children's Social Care): Office Hours: 020 7926 3100 | Out-of-Hours: 020 7926 5555
• Emergency Duty Team: Out-of-Hours: 020 7926 5555
• Police (Immediate Danger): 999
• Lambeth CAMHS (Mental Health Crisis Support): 020 3228 7370

A new child comes into care every day in Lambeth. Many of these children will need the love and stability that a foster carer can provide.

What is fostering?

Being a foster parent means caring for someone else’s child as part of your family. Foster carers look after children who are unable to live with their parents, through no fault of their own. You'll be given lots of training and support, as well as allowances to cover living costs, the costs of food, travel and for the time you'll need to invest in supporting any child in your care.

Who can foster?

Lambeth Fostering welcome applications from everyone with a passion for caring. You just need to be over 21, have a spare room, good written and spoken English, and permanent UK residency.

Find out how you can be the difference: www.lambeth.gov.uk/be-the-difference

Have you downloaded the BJS Federation parent app?

Stay abreast of school events, book trips, clubs and give permission.

If you are finding it difficult to find your way around the app, check out our guide below.