Dear Parents and Carers,
Wow! What a first week back – it has been a brilliant start to the year with our children and families returning to school. I have been overjoyed with the welcome that I have received from the children – so warm and positive.
This week, the staff have worked really hard to embed the school routines and expectations. Every classroom has been calm and purposeful where the children have got stuck into their new learning. I have been particularly impressed with how well the children have travelled around the school safely, especially after break and lunch times.
This morning was my first celebration assembly with the children – it is a chance for us to get together and celebrate the hard work and passion of the young people. Congratulations to the following children for their achievements this week:
Class 1 – Nevaeh Legg
Class 2 – Finley Redfern
Class 3 – Leo Stone
Class 4 – Fin Arnold
I would like to finish by saying thank you to everyone who was able to come to the headteacher welcome session on Thursday 4th. It was a pleasure to meet with you all and discuss the future of the school. I am truly grateful for the kind reception that I have received so far.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again on Monday. Kind regards,  KF

Attendance this week

Whole school attendance this week was 94% 
C1  92.68%      C2 100%      C3 85.19%     C4 98.33%
the overall figure for this academic year is 94.33%

Swimming – class 3 and year 5 will start swimming lessons on Monday.  Please bring a packed lunch every Monday as there is not enough time to serve a school dinner.

Please ensure they have a swim suit that fits, goggles, swim hat, towel. Thank you

Year 5 Bikeability – please fill out and return the form given out this week.

Diary Dates and communications  this week:

Monday 8th Jan – Swimming starts for years 3, 4, and 5.  Bring a packed lunch. (please can year reps remind on Whatsapp groups)

HALF TERM – Monday Feb 12th – Friday 16th

+ Monday 19th February 2024- INSET DAY

February 27/28/29th !!  – Bikeability for year 5 (letter to come out first week of term)

Last day of term Thurs 28th March 2024

Click here  for the school calendar which can be found at the bottom of the website home page.

The school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead is Mr Kevin Fry
Our Deputy Safeguarding Lead is  Emma Hill
Our SENCo is Mrs Lucy Rinvolucri.
Make contact with us via  dsl@georgeham-primary.devon.sch.uk

If you have any concerns that you’d like to discuss, please call through to Lottie and ask for an appointment.
You may also find some useful or helpful information on our Safeguarding webpage… https://georgehamceps.wpengine.com/staying-safe/

Attendance… We report the attendance of individual year groups as it’s a really good way to see if school attendance is at a good percentage…  as high as possible of course! The DfE have a target of 96.5%
Attending school regularly is vital to help children achieve and to give them the best possible start in life. It’s also the legal requirement of parents once children are of school age and enrolled in mainstream education. Ofsted has a strong view about attendance of course. Too many absences can lead into difficult discussions about how we can support children to achieve and do well – we could even be downgraded for our current Good status as a result.
Absences will only be authorised if they meet exceptional circumstances. With only 190 statutory school days in the year, there are 175 days (weekends and school holidays) left to plan for family visits, non-urgent medical/dental appointments, holidays etc. School holidays are published well in advance and parents are expected to plan and take family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their child’s education. We also try to arrange our Inset (training) days to provide time for travel… such as this term’s Friday October 20th.
Holidays… are almost always not recognised as meeting ‘exceptional circumstances’ and therefore an absence would be unauthorised. This could result in a penalty notice being issued by DCC.
Punctuality is important too, and the earlier we get our children into the right habits, the better. You may not realise that being just 5 minutes late every day equals 3 days of school lost a year. Please bring your child for 8.45am when they door is open and the classroom has a learning activity ready for them.

We are a Nut free school.  Even on school trips !

We understand that its not at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but it is important,
even on school trips, and even if outdoors. Thank you. 

We are community 

Our school is a community, but we are also part of a wider local and global community.
We encourage a sense of belonging and responsibility towards each other, our environment and the world we live in.

‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’  (Matthew 22 v39)