Taking Stock: September 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

What a busy September that was. I can't believe we've only been back at school a month. The children are incredibly settled and walks around the school show how well they're doing in their new classes and with their new teachers. It is wonderful to hear school leaders talk about the quality of education that is evident across the school each time they walk around.

It was wonderful to see so many of you at our Meet the Teacher events in the first two weeks of the school year. It is very important that you get to know your child(ren)'s teachers and form positive relationships with them. It is only by working together that we can ensure that the children succeed.

The PTA worked with Mr Serra to host the EYFS Meet and Greet. Our PTA does a wonderful job of supporting the children in the school. Did you know, the PTA contributes to every child in the school to reduce the cost of school trips? If you can spare an hour or two, please find a member of the PTA to sign up to help. Many hands make light work.

To help the school day run more smoothly, please ensure all of your child’s belongings — including clothing, coats, bikes, and scooters — are clearly labelled with their name and class. This greatly improves the chances of lost items being returned and supports our Lost Property Monitors in reuniting belongings with their owners. Families are also encouraged to check the Lost Property trolley in the front playground at the end of each day.

Ms Kelleher hosted our annual Secondary Transfer Meeting for Year 5 and 6 parents. This meeting provided parents with important information about the application process. We also had representatives from a number of Lambeth schools.

The deadline for applying for a Secondary School place is 31st October. If you need help with your application, please speak to a member of school staff. We can certainly support you.

Remember: Apply Online, Apply On Time

Thank you to those who attended our Inclusion/ SEND Coffee Morning. Mrs Congdon shared our in-house strategies, such as the Zones of Regulation, alongside the range of external agencies we work with to support our neurodiverse learners. It was a valuable opportunity to celebrate the inclusive practices that are central to our school. Our next Inclusion/ SEND Coffee Morning will take place on Tuesday 18th November. See you there!

We have sent home our annual calendar of events. Please do make a note of these dates. While changes may occasionally be necessary, we will always provide families with as much notice as possible.

Looking ahead, we are excited to be hosting the first of this year's Father Figure Friday events, this Friday, 3rd October. If you haven't already done so, please use the button below to confirm your attendance.

We started the year off with a celebration of Afro hair, holding our second annual World Afro Hair Day Exhibition. The annual event, founded by Michelle De Leon, celebrates Afro hair and identity and aims to promote understanding and challenge discrimination and beauty biases.

The exhibition was incredibly well attended with the Mayor of Lambeth and Member of Parliament Bell Ribeiro-Addy joining us for the afternoon. The exhibition then moved to Bonneville before ending its tour of our schools at Jessop.

Watch this space to find out where it goes next.

This term we were pleased to welcome our new school meals provider, Harrisons, who have now taken over the running of our school kitchen.

Harrisons bring with them a wealth of experience in providing healthy, balanced meals for schools. Their menus are carefully planned to meet nutritional standards while also ensuring variety and appeal for children. Meals are freshly prepared on site each day, with a focus on seasonal produce, balanced portions, and dishes that encourage children to try new foods.

As part of their approach, Harrisons also aim to promote healthy eating habits and an understanding of food sustainability. Over the course of the year, we look forward to working with them to introduce initiatives that encourage pupils to make healthy food choices and develop a positive relationship with food.

We are excited about this new partnership and the benefits it will bring to our school community.

Our charitable endeavours have continued this term. So far we have supported Jeans for Genes and MacMillan. We are hosting one more cake sale this Friday, so do come along and show your support.

Through your donations, we raised £168 for Jeans for Genes.

I will update you on the final amount for MacMillan in the next edition.

Don't forget to attend our Phonics Parents' Workshop with Mr Serra.

This is taking place tomorrow, 2nd October, at 9am.

We are following this up with a series of Parent Drop-Ins. Following requests from parents, we are splitting these onto different days.

Check the dates for your diaries section below to find out when you can join your child in class.

Parent Teacher Consultations will be taking place as follows:

• 2A - 15th and 16th October
• Nursery to Reception - 21st and 22nd October

Booking will go live on the BJS Federation App (Weduc) on Monday 6th October at 4pm.

All that remains for me to say is have a wonderful day. See you on the gates at 8:50.

Sports tournaments start in October.

We are beginning the year with a Y 4, 5 and 6 girls' football tournament and a friendly against a local school.

Mr Osman and Miss Ruiz have started training the boys' and girls' teams in preparation for the league, which begins in November.

Watch this space for updates.

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.

A strong desire to learn, discover, and understand things around them.

It's the feeling of wonder that makes you ask "Why?" or "How?" when you see something new, like a cool bug or how a toy works.

Curiosity is an important part of playing and exploring, and it helps us find out more about the world and how everything fits together

Synonyms: inquisitiveness, interest

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.

October

• 2nd - Parent Phonics Workshop
• 3rd - Father Figure Friday
• 6th-10th - Wellbeing Week
• 6th - EYFS Phonics Drop-In
• 6th - Year 2 Library Trip
• 7th - KS1 Phonics Drop-In
• 8th - LKS2 Phonics and Spelling Drop-In
• 9th - Google Classroom/ Homework Parent Workshop
• 9th - Dove Day Self Esteem Workshops (Yrs 4-6)
• 10th - World Mental Health Day (Wear It Yellow)
• 10th - UKS2 Phonics/ Spelling Drop-In
• 11th - Flu Vaccinations
• 15th - Open Morning
• 15th - Year 4 Trip to Gurdwara
• 15th/ 16th - 2A Parent Teacher Consultations
• 16th - Reception Local Area Walk
• 20th - 22nd - KS2 Learn to Ride Course
• 20th - Year 4, 5 and 6 Girls' Football Tournament
• 21st/ 22nd - Parent Teacher Consultations
• 23rd - Year 6 Residential Parent Meeting
• 24th - PTA Non-Uniform Day

27th - 31st Half Term - School Closed

November

• 3rd - INSET DAY - School Closed
• 4th - Term Begins: School open for all children
• 5th - Football Leagues Begin
• 6th - Domestos Germbusters Workshops (Yrs 1-3)
• 10th - Odd Socks Day
• 10th - Individual and Sibling Photos
• 10th - 14th - Anti-Bullying Week
• 10th - 14th - Year 6 Residential
• 12th - 5M Class Assembly
• 13th - 5E Class Assembly
• 13th - Open Morning
• 14th - Children in Need
• 14th - EYFS/ KS1 Parent Drop-In
• 17th - 21st - Year 5/6 Level 2 Cycle Training
• 17th - Federation Spelling Bee
• 18th - SEND/ Inclusion Coffee Morning
• 19th - 4B Class Assembly
• 20th - 4T Class Assembly
• 24-28th - Enterprise Week
• 24th - Year 3/4 Football Tournament
• 25th - Reception and Year 6 Height and Weight Checks
• 26th - 6A Class Assembly
• 26th - 2A Trip to Florence Nightingale Museum
• 27th - 6K Class Assembly
• 27th - Open Morning
• 28th - 3rd Dec - Scholastic Book Fair
• 28th - PTA Winter Fair
• 28th - 2S Trip to Florence Nightingale Museum

As infants, we all rely completely on adults to help us resolve situations that are causing us to become upset or stressed. This is known as co-regulation. The next phase, once autonomy has begun to develop, is called self-regulation: this is when children start to become capable of exercising more control over their impulses and behaviour, and managing their own emotions.

This vital developmental milestone, however, isn’t reached spontaneously. Learning to self-regulate requires sensitive guidance from trusted adults – simply talking with children about their thoughts and feelings, for instance, can ease the route to self-regulation. This #WakeUpWednesday guide from the National College has some expert tips for supporting children to reach this goal.

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.

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.

Attendance has got better and better throughout the month of September. We have ended the month on 94%. Let's see if we can meet, or exceed the National expectation of 95% in October.

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 Mrs Bonsu 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.

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.