You may have seen that The Comet recently published an article about our Ofsted inspection.  Although this was not expected, I’m really pleased they highlighted some of the wonderful strengths from the report. I was also told about some lovely comments shared on Facebook recommending our school. I am so grateful to our families for your support and it means a great deal to know that so many of you are proud to promote Almond Hill. Positive word of mouth makes a real difference. It helps us welcome new families (which in turn supports our budget) and it contributes to the happy, thriving environment we want for all children and staff. Thank you for continuing to champion our school — it benefits our whole community. 

A BIG thank you to everyone who attended our science morning today. We had more than 130 family members join us which is fantastic. We hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully, we will be able to share photos with you next week.  

Parents appreciate the school’s visible efforts to promote online safety, particularly the posters displayed at the school entrance, which help raise awareness of key online safety messages as families arrive each day. However, parents feel that communication could be more regular and consistent, with information tailored to specific age groups, so families know what is most relevant for their child’s stage of development. They also highlighted the value of interactive workshops or sessions where students and teachers explore online safety together.  

Parents note that without regular, age‑appropriate education and guidance: 

• Children may not recognise online risks such as strangers, scams, inappropriate content, or data sharing. 

• They may be more vulnerable to cyberbullying, unsafe gaming interactions, or pressure to share personal information. 

• Families may miss opportunities to put home safety measures in place if they are unaware of emerging online trends or threats. 

If children have repeated time off for medical reasons, unfortunately we may not be able to authorise the absence without medical evidence when attendance is an issue. I appreciate there will be times that you may not be able to get evidence and therefore the absence will be marked as unauthorised.  It is therefore important the school are aware of any on-going health problems so we can put the correct support in place. The local authority would expect me to liaise with parents and the attendance officer to try and find solutions/ways to improve attendance. Please don’t worry about this. This is the usual process and doesn’t always result in a fine. 

We hope you are looking forward to the Rocksteady concert on Wednesday 18th March. The concert doesn't start until 2.15 so please don't arrive too early as we can't let you in the hall before the bands are ready. You will be asked to sign in at the main office and we ask that you please remember to sign out at the end. If the concert finishes before the end of the school day, you are welcome to take your child home but we will not be able to get siblings out of classes. They will need to stay until the end of the school day as normal. 

Thank you to those of you who have already completed the consent request on Arbor for the swimming lessons in the pop up pool. Please note, if your child has already achieved their 25m swim we have marked the consent manually to 'declined' so you do not need to do anything. Consent received this year will remain in place until your child leaves Almond Hill. You are welcome to amend your consent at any time by contacting the school office. 

Please can I remind parents who wish to make a contribution towards their child's swimming lessons in the pop-up pool that the payment request will close on Friday 27th March. 

Please remember to order your child’s leavers’ hoody. We have only received orders from 1/3 of the year group. The deadline for ordering is 9.00am on Monday 20th April. After this date, if we have not received your selection, we will choose a size on your behalf so the order can be placed in time. Please note, the order cannot be changed once it has been placed. 

Year 6 Leavers' Hoodies Order Form - 2025-26 – Fill out form  

Last year, a few children were disappointed with the size their parents chose, so we kindly ask that you check the attached size guide carefully before submitting your order. 

We are looking into what other clubs we can offer to families. Some local schools offer an art club which is run by ‘My After School Art Club’. We would like to gather an idea of interest for this club if we were to introduce it next year. It would be for Years 5 and 6 (so current 4 and 5) and would be a six week club costing £12 per session.  

Information on the provider can be found on their website: https://www.myafterschoolartclub.com/