Weekly Newsletter from Woodfield School

PLP Days 17th and 18th August
PLP meetings will be held between 8:30 and 11:00 on the mornings of Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th October. We have decided to split the day so that all pupils can still attend school, eliminating the disruption that affected some families when the meetings were held over a whole day, and pupils in Key Stages 4 and 5 were not required on site.

Invitations will be emailed and SMS'd to you next week. There will be invitations sent for both Monday and Tuesday meetings, but you only need to select one of these, either Monday or Tuesday and book an appointment. The meetings will be online, over video link. If you would prefer a phone call to video call, can you please let the teacher know this by making this known in the comments section when you make the booking.

If you do experience any problems with bookings, please contact the school office.

TooGoodToGo
Parents and carers may be interested in TooGoodToGo. Every day, delicious, fresh food goes to waste at cafes, restaurants, hotels, shops and manufacturers - just because it hasn’t sold in time. The Too Good To Go app lets customers buy and collect Magic Bags of this food - at a great price - directly from businesses. Find out more on their website.

Brent Mencap session
Come to Brent Mencap for a Brent Mencap 12th October Training . Part of National Hate Crime Awareness Week (8th-15th October). The training is on Wednesday 12^th October from 11.30am to 1.30pm.

We will cover: Learning disability awareness and inclusion. How hate crime affects people with learning disabilities and how to report it. Hear from Brent Mencap members with learning disabilities as they describe their experiences.

Virtual Parent Meetings - Tuesday 11th of October, 10:30am-12:00pm
Last Tuesday, (27/9) , we held a College Information Session, specifically aimed at parents and carers with children in Kety Stage 4 or Key Stage 5. The session for next week is a Curriculum Overview, where our curriculum leads will explain our curriculum and take part in a Q&A session with parents and carers. Patsy will send out meeting details before the 11th. These meetings are recorded and the video posted in the parents section of our website.

College Tours - Yr14 parents or parents of leavers We have arranged college tours of CNWL on Monday 10^th October and Harrow College on Wednesday 12^th October . The tours are aimed at parents in Yr 14 or if your child will be leaving next year. If you are interested in attending, please contact Patsy asap.

Short Breaks Statement of Intent Consultation
Local Authorities have a duty to produce a short breaks statement so that families, carers and young people understand the services that are available, the eligibility criteria for these services, and how the breadth of services have been designed to meet the needs of the families in Brent. Please take the time to take the survey, find out more on the Brent website.

Clothing - Label your child's clothing and equipment
We have already collected various items of lost property this term. Please ensure that your child's clothing and equipment (lunch box, drink bottle etc)is clearly labelled with their full name. This makes it so much easier to return items of clothing and equipment that have a name clearly marked on them. We have already collected some unlabelled clothing left in the playground, and with the return of cooler weather, coats, scarves and hats will be needed. If you do not have a permanent marker to write on a label, you child's form tutor may be able to do it for you if you ask.

Sew on and iron on labels can be purchased form the internet, or marking the label already on the clothing with an indelible marker makes it much easier to return items to their owners. A clearly written first name on equipment is of enormous assistance in getting clothing and equipment returned to their owners expeditiously.

School Money
Reminder to all parents/carers that we are a cashless school and take card payments via the School Money website or phone. Everyone should have received log in information via text by now, if you haven't then please contact Laila via the school office. We advise all parents to keep up with payments. You are able to pay in advance per week or per term, which ever method suits you best. If you have any questions regarding this then please feel free to contact Laila in the office.

Brent Parent Carer Forum Events Brent Parent Carer Forum offers information, support and friendship for families of children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). See https://brentpcf.org/ for full details of what they could help you to do!

How to choose a secondary school for your son or daughter
Thinking about what is the best secondary school for your son and daughter is often a different decision for all parents and their young person . When our children have some degree of SEND this process can often be more stressful and confusing .

Join us to hear about the steps you need to take and when along with hearing about some useful tips of actions to do to support your decision making

How to Challenge effectively
Every day we are faced with situations where our point of view can be challenged. Being able to present your ideas, and work with others with opposing views. It takes confidence to challenge others. Thinking through your approach can help reduce nervousness about challenging someone and give you a different perspective.

Join us and a member of the SENDIASS TEAM to hear about ways to challenge differences and effectively challenge decisions and situations

Wetting the bed – understanding – toilet training and Enuresis – Incontinence service
Bedwetting (also known as nocturnal enuresis) affects around half a million children and teenagers in the UK. It's an issue families can find very isolating and difficult to talk about openly. It can take a huge toll on family life and affect kid's self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Some of our children/Young people with SEND will require support from a incontinence services for much longer and possibly into adulthood Join the community nursing and Enuresis teams to ask questions and hear about some of the ways you can manage and where to go for help.
Wednesday 12^th October 2022 10-11am online
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wetting-the-bed-toilet-trainng-and-enuresis-incontinence-service-tickets-419556353347
Thursday 13^th October 2022 7-8pm online
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wetting-the-bed-toilet-trainng-and-enuresis-incontinence-service-tickets-419565881847

School Uniform
Just a reminder about school uniforms, could parents and carers take a couple of minutes to review our uniform policy.

The school uniform consists of the following items:

The following items of clothing/accessories are not allowed to be worn at school as they are not part of school uniform

Emergency Contact
In addition to parent/carer details, we must have at least two other persons as emergency contacts for all our pupils. These people could be grand parents, a sibling aged over 18, aunts, uncles etc.

It is vital that we are able to get hold of a contact person in the case of a pupil emergency or illness. In the past we have had issues in contacting parents or guardians, which not only creates concern for the school but also makes pupils anxious.

Sufra Food Bank
Woodfield is also a referrer to Sufra Foodbank. A charity that provides support to vulnerable families in need of additional help. They provide essential food and toiletries to families experiencing an acute crisis. The size of their food parcels depends on the size of the family that needs support but typically last between 5 to 7 days. They also offer other support such as:

Last year Sufra delivered 600 meals across NW London to families and individuals in need. Their volunteers were incredible ambassadors, dressed in Christmas jumpers and hats and very often stopping to chat with guests, ensuring that those experiencing isolation were not alone on Christmas Day. This year Sufra will again be offering a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, crackers and presents for children will be delivered to referred guests experiencing financial difficulties or social isolation.

For those who are more vulnerable and unable to cook using the contents of a food parcel, Sufra also has a ready meal service available. This service is particularly for guests who have mobility issues/lack cooking facilities and are unable to purchase their own food.

If you know of anyone who may benefit from the assistance Sufra provides, please contact Patsy to discuss. This is a confidential service, no records regarding any conversations are held by the school, and any referral will be treated with absolute privacy within the school.

Attendance
We are aiming to have an attendance rate above the national average. We think it is very important that all our pupils benefit from being in school for as many days of learning as possible to ensure they make progress and achieve the results they should. If a school can improve its attendance by 1%, this can result in a 5-6% improvement in attainment. We are asking you to support the school by ensuring your child achieves excellent attendance. You can read more on our website.

The Brent Parent Carer Forum have just released details of their workshops for September and October. See more details below. The session next week is about managing challenging behaviour.

Please take note of some of the other resources available to help families though difficult financial and health situations we have linked below. For those not resident in Brent, there are similar services to the Brent Resident Support Fund and Open Access Service in other London boroughs. Please contact Patsy who can also direct parents and carers to other support.

School Lunches
From September 2022, the cost of school lunches for a 5 day week is £11.00, (£2.20 per meal). That is an increase of 5p per day (from £2.15 per meal) on current prices.

Brent Resident Support Fund
The Brent Resident Support fund (RSF) is a discretionary support fund available to Brent residents who are having difficulty due unforeseen financial circumstances this winter. It also includes short term need for support due to an emergency. The fund provides support in the form of an interest free loan, grant or both. See the Brent website for full details and find out how to apply.

Help with gas bills - are you eligible?
The British Gas Energy Trust offers grants worth up to £1,500 for households with an energy debt between £250 to £750. This opens on July 1 and is available for non-British Gas customers. See the story in the Daily Mirror or on the British Gas Energy trust website.

Brent Cove Open Access Service The service has been commissioned by Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust for 16+residents from Brent on an open access basis (individuals can just turnup), including A&E Liaison Psychiatric Services, Home Treatment Teams, Community Mental Health Teams and Single Point of Access). Click the image for more details

Free School Meals to families with no recourse to public funds. If your family is not currently eligible for free school meals, they may be now. The government has permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), subject to maximum income thresholds. Please review the guidance on the gov.uk website to check your eligibility, and contact the school or Patsy to assist if you require any help. The application form can be downloaded here.

Woodfield Newsletter

The school uniform consists of the following items: