Newsletter 16th September

You can also view key dates in our event calendar. Click here 

This week we have been welcoming more new children and families to our school and community. It has been a pleasure to hear from parents and carers why they selected Brookfield for their child and the influence recommendations from neighbours and friends has had. Thank you!

As the nation mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, our thoughts have been with the royal family. Our school will be closed on Monday, a Bank Holiday, to give people an opportunity to commemorate her life and pay their respects. Parents and carers may find this link to Newsround helpful in providing age appropriate information for children https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround.

Congratulations to our departed year 6 children who achieved fantastic results in their Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests (SATs) last summer. Most children met or exceeded age related expectations and as a cohort attained the following results: reading 88%, writing 78% and maths 78%. Also to Sonny, Eva, Maya and Millie for their “revealing insights” in Radio 4’s Bringing Up Britain (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bz58) which is praised in this Radio Times piece. CLICK LINK

As well as our new look newsletter, we have written this Communication Guide for parents and carers. We will no longer be using ParentHub and streamlining communication through our weekly newsletter, relevant emails and timely text messages. Your feedback and recommendations are welcome!

Community Day 24^th September 10am-1pm

We look forward to welcoming families and friends to our Community Day on Saturday 24^th September. Come and help us make improvements to our infant playground and various areas around school. Rob (Forest School Gardener), Derek (Site Service Officer) and I will be directing children, parents and friends and we are planning lots of activities to enhance our school. So that we can cater for lunch, please email to let us know you are coming: admin@brookfield.camden.sch.uk.

Staffing news

Our much loved PE coach, Haseeb, will be leaving Brookfield at the end of September, to pursue a managerial role with Fit for Sport. Haseeb started at Brookfield 14 years ago, and has driven the PE curriculum at Brookfield with passion and enthusiasm, leading sports teams to victory, and organising many exciting sports days! The children will be told today by their teachers, and I am sure that you will join me in wishing Haseeb the very best in his new position.
David, who has been working alongside Haseeb since May will be taking over as PE lead until Christmas. We will shortly be advertising for two PE roles at Brookfield to start in January, as we had already taken the decision to deliver our sports provision in house. If you know of any inspiring PE coaches or teachers - please encourage them to apply.

We are planning a fitting send off for Haseeb so that his contribution to Brookfield can be celebrated.

Communications Guide for parents

Attendance and Punctuality

This year, we will be having a big focus on improving attendance and punctuality. During the COVID pandemic it was necessary for pupils and families to isolate if they or a close contact tested positive.  That is not now the case and it is essential that we build back up on our previous positive attendance rates.

The impact upon children’s education through lost learning is huge. At a time when so much education has been disrupted it is vital that we make every school minute count.  Please ensure that your child is in school and on time everyday to prevent anyone falling behind with their learning.

Government departments track school attendance figures. It is considered that attendance of 90% or below is persistent absence which will be closely monitored by school staff.  Failing to improve on this 90% can lead to referral to education welfare, which school want to help families avoid.

Brookfield Primary School have a whole school attendance target which is 96%.

To help with this, we have created a new school attendance policy which can be found on the school website: https://www.brookfield.camden.sch.uk/about/vision-values-and-policies/

Key points from the school policy: 

- If your child is too unwell to attend school, please call the absence line on 020 7272 9627 and provide a detailed reason why and when we can expect them back.

- If a reason is not provided or,  is not acceptable, this will be marked as an unauthorised absence.

- Leave during term time is only provided in exceptional circumstances and must be made by contacting the Head Teacher (application available from the school office). Requests for leave must be made in advance of any bookings.

- We will be promoting good attendance through rewards, displays and throughout the school.

- Please contact your child's teacher, phase leader, Faye or Carole if you do require support with attendance.

Thank you for your support in improving attendance and punctuality at Brookfield.

Music News

We are looking forward to individual and paired instrumental lessons starting next week (Monday lessons will start the week after), and also our Y5 Whole Class Ukulele lessons will start. Year 6 parents and carers - please let me know if your child would like to join the Year 6 Ukulele group (free for Pupil Premium children) which will be on Thursdays.

Children who are eligible for Free School Meals are eligible for a 50% discount on instrumental lessons. Camden Music, who organise the lessons, have received extra funding to now also offer the 50% discount to families who receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, but may not be eligible for Free School Meals. This offer is open to children in Years 3 - 6, and Camden Music will subsidise one instrumental lesson (and the associated instrument hire) per pupil. Piano lessons are not included in the offer, as in most schools there are already long waiting lists. Please see the attached document for more information and details of how you can apply.

I look forward to hearing lots of wonderful Music making next week.

Julia Reid

j.reid@brookfield.camden.sch.uk

Subsidised Instrumental Lessons

AGM Notice

The AGM will be on Zoom on October 4th. Please email any question or items for the agenda to brookfieldptatreasurer@gmail.com

EasyFundraising

Did you know you can raise money for Brookfield while shopping online? Just follow this guide.

Call for Reps

We still need a few class reps - thank you to all who have stepped up so far.

Being a rep is mostly about making sure information is passed on to other parents or relayed back to the school. There’s also an occasional fundraising activity to find volunteers for – each year group will do maybe two things per school year. Plus arranging teacher presents, and maybe a class parents/carers night out.

While it’s not too big a job… It is a really important job. Sharing information about events and activities helps build the sense of community around the school. And the money the PTA raises funds vital activities that kids enjoy and learn from.

The Class Reps job is vital for us to be able to communicate with all the parents as we do not have access to the school’s email database. Without your class having a rep your children may miss out on things, so I hope that one of you will be willing to do the job. It is also fine to have two people sharing the role.

Let us know – email the PTA at BrookfieldSchoolPTA@gmail.com

The PTA Team – Sophie, Nicolai and Rob

Mental Health Support Team (MHST) Webinar Series

The MHST are pleased to offer parents/carers a series of workshops to support their children’s well-being.  Each workshop will last up to 60 minutes and have an optional follow-up of 30 minutes for you to ask questions or discuss the topic further.

You can opt in for all topics, or whichever most appeals to you.  The webinar series will run from Thursday 29^th September 2022 until Friday 24^th March 2023.

You can register for any of the above webinars through Eventbrite for free at:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mhst-parent-and-carer-webinar-series-2022-2023-tickets-415252660887

Or please scan the QR code using your mobile phone’s camera:

Autumn Term

Spring Term

Camden Mental Health Support Team

The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is a mental and emotional wellbeing service to support children, young people, and their families. The team provide a range of interventions to support children experiencing early signs of common mental health problems, such as low mood and anxiety. It is a school-based service, as this is accessible for children and families.

Areas we can offer support:

• Signs of low mood: Prolonged sadness, irritability, low motivation
• Signs of anxiety: worries, difficulties when separating, specific phobias, shyness
• Challenging behavior at home or in school
• Moderate anxiety during periods of transition

What support we offer:

• 1 to 1 interventions for children or parents
• Workshops and webinars for parents
• Groups
• Whole Class workshops
• Signposting to appropriate services

Your school’s practitioner:

Brookfield Primary school practitioner is Thomas Burnand, who works on site on Wednesday mornings.

To find out more:

If you are interested in discussing support for your child, please contact Lillie Rosenblatt (Deputy DSL/Year 4 teacher) to consider making a referral to our team.

Alternatively, the option to self-refer to our service is also available. You can do so by completing an electronic referral form on the Tavistock and Portman website which will be processed by our Clinical Intake Team.

Email: tpn-tr.CYAF-Intake@nhs.net     ​

Take part in an exciting Family Day inspired by books and storytelling.

On Saturday 24th September 12-4pm

Camden Harmony Singers are welcoming voices of any ability.

Wednesday evenings 6.30-8.30pm

Sign up for after school language club at Brookfield. For more information visit www.lingohubz.com

Parliment Hill School have a series of open mornings and an open evening. All the dates are included on the poster below.