I really can’t believe how quickly these weeks seem to be flying by, how are we almost in December?!

Last week, we opened our doors for the first of two opening mornings for new prospective parents, with another taking place in January; a great opportunity for us to share a snapshot of our amazing school.  Pupils from Year 6 acted as tour guides and I would like to say a massive congratulations to them and a thank you to Mrs Gelsthorpe who organised them – they were a real credit to themselves and the school. Last week, we also took part in the hugely successful ‘Really Wild Reading Festival’, Odd Socks Day, Anti-Bullying week, the GSSN Cross-Country Championships and Children in Need. It certainly was a busy but enjoyable week.   This week has been just as busy, with Year 5 enjoying Forest School experiences and Year 2 visiting Gloucester Cathedral (and a very wet walk back!).  Let’s hope that we can enjoy these clear skies over the weekend and that the rain stays away!

Don't forget the school's Christmas Card post box will be outside my office from 5th to 16th December - following advice from the school's data protection team, we are pleased to be sending out class lists via email from the beginning of next week

Have a lovely weekend,
Lucy Collins

The Stars of the Week for week ending 18th November:

The Stars of the Week for week ending 25th November:

The aim of this newsletter is to promote good attendance for all pupils in our school and to raise awareness of the importance of this to support their development and academic achievement. As parents, we need your help and support to ensure your child reaches their full potential.  

Who to contact to report absence or discuss any barriers that may impact on your child's attendance. 

We expect parents to notify the school every morning of absence by 9.30am, unless the length of absence is known in advance. We will contact you if your child has not arrived in school by 9.30am and no message has been left.  If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence. You may leave a telephone message 01452 527020) or e-mail to [email protected].

We take school absence very seriously. We identify pupils whose attendance drops below 95% and provide support and intervention to help improve this if required. It is Important for parents or carers to work together with the school when a pupil’s attendance is a concern.

If a pupil does not attend school or is not taking part in an approved educational activity, they are classed as ABSENT from school. This means that if your child is off school for any reason, even if they are ill or have medical permission to be off school, they will be marked as ABSENT.  

Providing Reasons for Absence 

May we remind you that you are required to contact school every morning of absence. When contacting for a pupil who is off school, we require an actual reason for the absence. The more information you provide will enable us to consider if the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Medical Appointments – We ask that you make every effort to ensure that any medical or dental appointments are not made during school time. Where this is unavoidable, we request that parents and carers send pupils to school prior to appointments and return to school after. Please put this in writing to the school prior to the appointment and include the date and time. Please request when attending appointments an appointment card from the receptionist at the surgery as school will require this as proof of appointment upon your child’s return to school. Failing to provide this information may result in the absence being unauthorised. If arriving late for school following an appointment, please ensure that your child is accompanied and signed in by an adult at the school office for safeguarding reasons. School may request that medical evidence is provided to support absences.

At school, we love to take photographs or video clips of your children having learning experiences at school.  We love to share these with you even more!

We use these photos and clips only with your permission on school approved platforms such as our newsletter, prospectus, internal displays in the school, Teams, Twitter and our own closed Facebook group (users can't view the group's content until they become a member which school have to authorise).  We really need your consent to take and share photos and video clips of your child to use in these school approved platforms.  If you’re not happy for us to do this, that’s no problem – we will accommodate your preferences.

FORM: Photograph Permissions

Link to join the school's Facebook page (users can't view the group's content until they become a member which school have to authorise):

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lindenprimaryhub/?ref=share_group_link

(Please ensure you answer ALL the questions) 

Activity Clubs

Activity Clubs have now FINISHED.  When they re-start please be aware you will need to book again to ensure every child gets a fair chance to attend a club.

Christmas Cards

Please check, sign and return your data collection sheet back to school as soon as possible to ensure we have up to date contact information for you. 

Lost Property

We have lots of lost property at the moment. Please remember to clearly label your child’s belongings so it is easier for us to return the items. If you know your child has
misplaced anything come and have a look.

SZapp

You are probably already aware that, like many other schools, we use an app called SZapp. To ensure that your device is tied to your child's details, we ask that you register with SZapp using the same email address that you have listed on our database. Please ensure you keep us updated with any changes to your personal contact information. Finally, please ensure that the SchoolZine email address:   [email protected] is added to your safe senders and contacts list to avoid messages going into your junk or clutter folder.

Late Arrivals

All late arrivals need to be escorted into the School Office as the pupil needs to be signed in, and lunch choice taken.

We would like to make you aware of the Holiday Free School Meal voucher scheme that Gloucestershire County Council is currently offering to families in Gloucestershire.

This winter holiday period, Gloucestershire County Council are providing vouchers to eligible families who have signed up to our Holiday Free School Meals (FSM) scheme. These vouchers are provided by Gloucestershire County Council as part of our commitment to 'no child goes hungry'. The vouchers are funded through grant funding we have received and they are separate to that of term time free school meals.

The scheme is for children in reception to year 11 who receive benefits-related free school meals and attend a school in Gloucestershire. We are unable to consider college and sixth form students, as well as children who receive infant free school meals (available to all children from reception to year 2), as they are not eligible for this scheme.

Families who have signed up to the scheme will receive £15 per child, per week for the holiday period. We will be distributing  2 weeks of vouchers for the winter holiday period.

To find out more about the scheme and to apply, parents can visit our Holiday free school meal vouchers webpage<https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/meals-during-school-holidays/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/#main>, seen below:

https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-transport-and-free-school-meals/meals-during-school-holidays/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/holiday-free-school-meal-vouchers/#main

Parents who have signed up previously do not need to re-register, they will already have been included. To ensure we reach all those who are eligible, we are encouraging parents that have not previously signed up, to sign up as soon as they can.

For any parents wishing to update details of an existing application, please ask them to email [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>  so we can update their account, as this not an automatic process.

Applications for Holiday Free School Meal vouchers for the winter holiday period are now open until the 6 December. Voucher emails will be sent out on 13 December.  Please encourage parents to check their junk/spam email folders during this period as sometimes the vouchers end up there. If parents have not received their vouchers by the 14 December please encourage them to email [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>.

If you are interested in finding out more about what we do and maybe getting involved, we would love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected] to get in touch.

My name is Ms Sidhu, (previously known as Mrs Atwal)

Having worked at Linden Primary School for over 20 years, I am now the founder of my own business Draw to Explore.

My practice supports clients with a non-cognitive therapeutic method which is recommended by CAMHS. It is currently being used very successfully with children within my pastoral role at school.

Below are the details of the service I provide, please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information or wish to make a booking.

Email: [email protected]