Dear Parents,
I hope you’ve all had a lovely summer and have made the most of the good weather. I also hope that the children are ready to get back to school and excited about going into their new classrooms, working with their new teachers and catching up with their friends.
Over the last few days, staff have been busy in school preparing for the start of term, and I look forward to welcoming all the new families joining Horsmonden on Monday. Both Mr Fenton and I will be available at drop off on Monday morning should you have any queries.
Behaviour and Conduct
Following a review of systems and procedures, I am pleased to share that we will be implementing a new behaviour reward system where children across the whole school will be able to earn stars. Stars will be given to children who consistently show either our Learner Profile Attributes or our Approaches to Learning. A reminder of these can be found below:
| Learner Profile Attributes | Approaches to Learning |
| Balanced
Caring Communicator Inquirer Knowledgeable Open-minded Principled Reflective Risk-taker Thinker |
Communication Skills
Research Skills Self-Management Skills Social Skills Thinking Skills |
When a child is awarded a star, they will place a point on their classroom chart. Parents will also be notified through MCAS, though please note this feature may not be enabled straight away. In addition to the new stars, the children will still be eligible for the Horsmonden Hero Award at our weekly celebration assemblies.
As part of this new system, I will be reminding the children about the importance of good manners. I will encourage them to be polite and courteous, hold doors for adults, and walk calmly around the school. The start of the school year is a great time to reinforce these basic expectations, and I feel this new reward system will complement them perfectly.
It’s also essential that everyone in our school community models the behaviour we expect to see from the children. I ask that both staff and parents demonstrate respect and politeness at all times within the school community, so the children have a positive example to follow.
Morning routine and messages for teachers
The routine in the mornings for dropping children off will remain the same as it has been. The gates will open at 8:40am for parents to walk children round to the classroom following the one way system. The gates will be locked at 8:50am as usual and anyone arriving after this time will be recorded as late on the register. Parents of children in Year 5 or Year 6 do not need to come onto the school grounds if they prefer not to and children are welcome to walk round independently.
To speed up the process of dropping children off at the classroom door, please keep any messages you have for the class teacher until the end of the day. Teachers are always pressed for time in the mornings and need to focus their attention on settling children into class quickly and calmly so that learning can begin and no time is wasted. If parents have urgent morning messages, please speak to myself or Mr Fenton at the gate, or leave a message at the office.
In addition to this, please can all parents remember not to enter the classroom in the morning. It is our aim for all children to walk into class independently with their bags and to hang everything up themselves, without help from parents. This is an essential life skill and one that we are keen to promote to ensure all children who attend Horsmonden are confident, independent, resilient learners.
Wraparound Care – Premier Education
The booking system for wraparound care via Premier Education is now live. Anyone who wishes to use Breakfast or After School Club should book directly with Premier by registering to use their online portal. Bookings will no longer be able to be made via the school office, and must be placed with Premier in advance.
Co-Curricular Clubs run by school staff
Our co-curricular clubs will start on Monday 15th September. Details of the clubs available to book will be shared at the start of the new term, once the new families are set up on MCAS.
MCAS codes for new joiners
New families joining us in EYFS will receive their MCAS code today. Please check spam/junk folders if you cannot see any messages. The MCAS (MyChildAtSchool) app must be downloaded and your account activated in order to book meals, clubs and view all school messages.
Existing families with children starting in September will be able to toggle between their children on their profile page. It is not necessary for you to receive a new MCAS code.
MCAS – meal bookings
I am pleased to report that the trial of our new MCAS meal booking system has been a great success. Not only are parents able to see the menus and order school meals in advance, our catering team has significantly reduced food wastage and our teaching team has now streamlined their registration process, which means more time for learning! For reference, a copy of this term’s menu is attached.
From now on, all school meals MUST be booked in advance on MCAS by parents and not at school. If a child comes to school without having booked a meal or brought in a packed lunch, we will call to ask you to bring in a lunch or order a meal on the MCAS app. We will be unable to order meals at school.
Further to this, we are also moving to a pay-as-you-go system, which means that parents will need to top up their dinner balance before booking a meal or pay for the meal at the time of booking. It will no longer be possible to incur a deficit. The price of a school meal (Years 3-6) is £2.61. Children in EYFS, Y1 and Y2 are entitled to universal free school meals so no payment is required.
Any new parents having difficulties booking a school meal on the app, please call into the School Office on Monday morning.
Attendance Reminder
For those of you who are new to Horsmonden, I would like to emphasise that we have high expectations of behaviour, learning and attendance. Children should be in school, on time, every day unless they are too ill to attend. Requests for absence during term time cannot not be authorised and may result in a Penalty Notice being issued by KCC.
At the end of each term, 100% attendance and punctuality certificates are handed out and I look forward to issuing the first round of certificates at the end of this term.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Mr Fenton and I are available on the gate most mornings, or alternatively, contact the school office to make an appointment.
Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday.
Kind regards,
Hayley Sharp
Diary Dates 2025 – 2026
| Thursday 28th August | Inset Day for staff |
| Friday 29th August | Inset Day for staff |
| Monday 1st September | Start of Term 1 for all children |
| Monday 8th September | Individual Photographs – Vancols |
| Monday 13th October | Year 5 Residential Trip – PGL Grosvenor Hall |
| Friday 17th October | Year 5 Class Assembly @ 2:30pm |
| Friday 17th October | End of Term 1 |
| Monday 3rd November | Start of Term 2 |
| Wednesday 5th November | Parent Consultations, 3:30pm – 6:00pm |
| Thursday 6th November | Parent Consultations, 3:30pm – 6:00pm |
| Tuesday 11th November | LAT Swimming Gala – selected KS2 children only |
| Tuesday 11th November | Remembrance Service on the Village Green @ 10:55am |
| Friday 14th November | Children in Need |
| Friday 21st November | Flu Vaccinations |
| Friday 28th November | Year 4 Class assembly @ 9:00am |
| Friday 12th December | Christmas Jumper Day |
| Tuesday 16th December | KS2 Carol Concert @ 5:00pm |
| Wednesday 17th December | EYFS Nativity @ 2:00pm |
| Thursday 18th December | KS1 Nativity @ 2:00pm |
| Friday 19th December | End of Term 2 |
| Tuesday 6th January | Start of Term 3 |
| Tuesday 10th February | Internet Safety Day |
| Thursday 12th February | Year 3 Class Assembly @ 9:00am |
| Thursday 12th February | End of Term 3 for children |
| Friday 13th February | INSET Day for staff |
| Monday 23rd February | Start of Term 4 |
| Friday 13th March | Fabulous Females, 2:15pm – 3:00pm |
| Wednesday 25th March | Parent Consultation evening, 3:30pm – 6:00pm |
| Thursday 26th March | Parent Consultation evening, 3:30pm – 6:00pm |
| Thursday 2nd April | Year 2 Class Assembly @ 9:00am |
| Thursday 2nd April | FoHPS Easter Egg hunt |
| Thursday 2nd April | End of Term 4 |
| Monday 20th April | Start of Term 5 |
| Thursday 23rd April | World Book Day |
| Monday 11th May | Y6 SATs week |
| Monday 18th – Friday 22nd May | Y6 Residential – PGL Windmill Hill |
| Friday 22nd May | Year 1 Class Assembly @ 9:00am |
| Friday 22nd May | End of Term 5 |
| Monday 1st June | Start of Term 6 |
| Monday 1st June | Year 4 Multiplication Check week |
| Monday 8th June | Phonics Screening week |
| Friday 19th June | Marvellous Males Event 2:15pm to 3:00pm |
| Wednesday 24th June | Sports Day KS1 @ 9.15am, KS2 @ 1.15pm |
| Friday 3rd July | LAT Cricket Tournament – selected KS2 children |
| Tuesday 7th July | LAT Sports Day – selected KS2 children |
| Thursday 9th July | Year 6 Production @ 2:00pm and 5.00pm |
| Monday 13th July | Whole school transition morning |
| Friday 17th July | Y6 Leavers’ Assembly @ 2:15pm |
| Friday 17th July | End of Term 6 |