The Link Newsletter #38

12th September 2022

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the first edition of our web-based newsletter. We have moved to this format for accessibility reasons meaning that our content can be easily translated into any language and read to you using a screen-reader. We believe that this will make our newsletters even more accessible for all.

It is with great sadness that I write following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. She was a truly inspirational person as Monarch, Head of the Church of England, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. We held a special assembly on Friday 9th September, instead of our usual Celebration Assembly, to enable children to gain a greater understanding of who Queen Elizabeth II was. We also invited children to think about what the Queen meant to them. We noted that life changes and that we are pleased to welcome a new monarch, King Charles III. Thank you Mr Ian for joining us and leading us in prayer. As you will have heard from the news, there is to be a national Bank Holiday on Monday 12th September, meaning that St John's will be closed on this day. Normal school will resume on Tuesday 13th September.

OFSTED

It seems like an age since Ofsted visited the school in June. I wrote at the time to thank the whole school community for their support, best wishes and the feedback given in the Parent Survey. We were not able to confirm any outcome until the report had been written and quality assured. However, with the publishing of the final report today, I am delighted to confirm that the school remains Good. Due to the type of inspection, the report is very succinct, but throughout the report it recognises the hard work of everyone. 

Please find the final report below.
Ofsted Report - June 2022

HARVEST FESTIVAL

Our Harvest Service will take place on Thursday 22nd September. More than ever, people in our local community need our support. We would be grateful of donations of tinned food, rice and toiletries. A full list of suggest items may be found on the Epping Forest Foodbank website.

Please do not supply items that need refrigeration or that have a short shelf-life. We intend to create a display of all the donated items in the church ahead of our assembly and the Church Service on Sunday 25th September. We will then arrange for the food to be delivered to the Loughton Foodbank. 

Please could you bring in your donations before Wednesday 21st September. Thank you.

CROSSING PATROL

I am delighted to report that our new Crossing Patrol person, Sarah, started in post this morning. I know you will share my excitement having worked on this for three years. Richard is the crossing patrol supervisor for this area and will be providing on the job training this week. Please do say hello to both of them. 

In assembly this morning, I asked children to consider using the crossing patrol instead of their usual crossing points even if that meant walking a few additional metres. It is far safer to be crossed by an adult in uniform than without.