Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024. I hope that it is not too late to say ‘Happy New Year’ to you all. I hope that you had a good Christmas and enjoyed the break with your families. On behalf of everyone, I want to thank you for the good wishes, cards and gifts that were given to staff at school: your kindness is very much appreciated.

We are all looking forward to the term ahead and seeing the children progress in their learning. Thank you for your on-going support.

Kind regards

Mrs D Hudson

Headteacher

At the start of term it is worth issuing a few reminders...

Uniform

Please remind yourselves of our uniform expectations for both regular days and PE days - https://theridge.sch.life/page/detail/uniform-1 . Please also check with your child that the pumps in their school PE bag still fit them.

At the end of last term we noticed a number of children who were not wearing a tie or a button up shirt with a collar. Please also remember that hair accessories should be plain and unadorned. Earrings must be a simple gold or silver coloured stud.  

Snacks and Drinks 

Every child should have a water bottle in school every day. Please note that only plain water is allowed in drinks bottles. Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils are given fresh fruit as a snack at break time. Key Stage 2 pupils may bring a snack but only fruit (either fresh or dried) is allowed. 

Toys in School 

Children must not bring toys into school unless this is part of agreed support for transition which has been arranged with your child’s class teacher or Mrs McGivney, the SENco.

Thank you for your support.

On Thursday 18^th January the Department For Education (DfE) will carry out it's second school census of the year which determines our school budget for next financial year. The characteristics of our school (its size, location and relatively low levels of deprivation) means that our school does not get as much funding as others. We cannot influence this but we can influence the amount we get in our budget for ‘universal free school meals.’   

**This means we need everyone in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to book a school meal on Thursday 18^th January, along with every child in Key Stage 2 who is entitled to free school meals. **  

The school gets another amount of additional funding for every child who is eligible for free school meals because of household income. It is therefore important that you apply for free school meals even if you currently don’t pay for lunches because your child is in Reception, Year 1 or Year 2.   
https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/benefits/free-school-meals/ 

Please contact the school office if you need support with this. 

We really need your help with this so that we can maximise the funding we have to provide the best that we can for your child. Thank you.  

This Weeks attendance 

Whole School - 95.94%

Reception - 94.67%

Year 1 – 91.72%

Year 2 – 100.00%

Year 3 – 99.33%

Year 4 – 96.07%

Year 5 – 91.00%

Year 6 – 98.67%

Well done Year 2!

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Mrs Hudson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and any concerns should be shared with her or the Deputy Safeguarding Leads – Mrs Hadley, Miss Beddoes and Mrs Gledhill.  Where child protection concerns are raised, the school has a statutory duty to refer these concerns to children’s social care.

Measles 

The Health Protection Agency has asked us to share the following information. 

Measles cases are rapidly rising across the West Midlands.

 Possible complications of measles include blindness, pneumonia, meningitis, and seizures NHS-measles

 Anyone who has not received 2 doses of MMR vaccine could be at risk from the potentially serious complications of measles infection if they are a contact of someone with measles. As well as pupils, this includes staff working with children and young people. Anyone who is pregnant and unvaccinated is especially vulnerable to the serious effects of measles infection.

In addition, because measles is incredibly infectious, settings are advised by the HPA to exclude any contacts of measles cases (who aren’t protected with MMR) for 21 days, including staff, close friends and siblings. This will have potential implications on the safe staffing of schools, children missing 3 weeks of education and social contact within school, and parents who would have to take time off work to care for their children. 

Therefore, we urge you to vaccinate your child against measles with the MMR vaccine. 

The MMR vaccine is safe and gives effective protection against measles infection. For those who are concerned for religious reasons about the vaccine, there is a non-porcine gelatine version of the MMR is available for anyone who would prefer this. 

If children and adults have missed these vaccinations in the past, it’s important to take up the vaccine now. Their GP surgery can advise people if they’re unsure of their own or their children’s vaccination status. It’s never too late to get vaccinated against measles. If 2 doses of MMR vaccine are needed, then they can be given with one month between doses. Protection against measles starts to develop around 2 weeks after having the MMR vaccine.

Full calendar dates for the academic year can be found here........  https://theridge.sch.life/page/detail/parent-dates-2023-2024

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