Please remember to apply for your child's secondary or upper school place for September 2027. The online application system is now open.

Please see the leaflet below for details of open events. Further information is available at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.

Saturday 31 October 2026 - Closing date for applications (online and paper).

I am sure families will be as delighted as I am at the wonderful news that both Mrs Bonfield and Mrs Waldrom are pregnant.

While this is truly happy news, we understand that change can sometimes feel unsettling for some children. I am therefore pleased to let you know that Mrs Geer will be increasing her hours to provide the majority of the teaching in 3B.

We have also secured a new teacher to support in 4W, who will join us after half term. This will allow for an extended handover period to ensure a smooth transition for both staff and pupils.

This year for home learning we would like the children to spend 20 minutes per week on TTRockstars but more specifically on the 'Garage' game. This option is all about increasing times table fluency and speed and your child making progress against their own 'Heatmap'. As most parents will be aware, heatmaps are shared with them at Parents’ Evening and are an indication of which times tables children are more or less confident with. Class teachers will check that children have spent time on TTRS and hopefully, over time, will see their heatmaps 'go green'. 

We understand that for families of children in Year 3, TTRockstars may be completely new. We will explain how TTRockstars works and what the heat maps are at our parent information meetings and subsequently via the newsletter and Seesaw.

To raise the standards of times tables recall and ultimately improve maths fluency, we will be holding half termly TTRS battles in year groups. These will be fully celebrated with a range of certificates, at the end of each half term, including battle and gone green certificates plus Rock star status accolades and badges. We trust that as parents you will support your children in working hard to improve this vital maths skill. Please come to the parent meetings to learn more!

Miss Simmons runs our Parent Forum and organises termly meetings where parents and school leaders come together to discuss an agenda that is jointly shaped by the leadership team and parent volunteers.

Towards the end of last year, we noticed a decline in attendance at these meetings. We know that parents' time is valuable but your input is incredibly important. Every one of you is an expert in what it is like to be a parent at our school and your perspective helps to shape the decisions we make and the direction we take as a school.

The Parent Forum has played a key role in many of the positive changes we have made over recent years and we would love to hear from as many parents as possible.

With that in mind, we would like to ask how you would prefer to get involved. We are happy to work in whatever way best suits the majority of parents so that we can gather the widest range of views and feedback.

At Almond Hill, we are passionate about encouraging children to read because they want to, not just because they have to. Creating a real love of reading is something we value deeply.  As part of this, we’ve been talking with the children about our school library and their feedback has been clear - they would love to see some new and exciting books!

This is where we’d really appreciate your support. We know how incredibly generous our families have been in the past, particularly when helping to develop areas such as our relaxation spaces. We have worked with the children to compile a wishlist of books they would love to see in our library. If you are able to, we would be very grateful if you could consider purchasing a book from the list to donate to the school. We were touched by the number of people who purchased from our wishlist last year and it really has made a difference to our libraries.

Some families may even wish to mark a special occasion, such as their child’s birthday, by gifting a book creating a lasting contribution that can be enjoyed by many children for years to come.

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From September 2026, all families receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for Free School Meals. As a result, a new two-tier Free School Meal status has been introduced:

Targeted Free School Meals

This applies to families whose annual household income (including Universal Credit) is £7,400 or less. Children with this status will qualify for Free School Meals, and schools will also receive Pupil Premium funding and other associated benefits.

Expanded Free School Meals

This applies to families who receive Universal Credit and have an annual household income of more than £7,400. Previously, these families would not have qualified for Free School Meals. Under the new arrangements, children with this status will be entitled to a Free School Meal; however, they will not attract Pupil Premium funding or other associated benefits.

If you believe that you should qualify for Free School Meal, please apply by visiting Free school meals and other benefits | Hertfordshire County Council for a quick 5 minute check.

The Premier Education App is available to download now. Simply search “Premier Education” on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and download the app today.Premier Education.

As is typical of this time of year, the weather has been a bit unpredictable. One minute there is glorious sunshine and the next, the heavens open! We try to get the children outside as often as possible – even in the rain so please can we ask that children are bringing a rain coat to school (even if the weather is looking promising!)