Weekly Newsletter from Woodfield School

First day of Spring Term
School will resume on Tuesday January 3rd. We wish all members of our community a safe and happy holiday season.

MIS Change
Over the Christmas/New Year break, we will be changing our management computer systems from School Pod/Teachers to Parents/School Money to Arbor. Your child's records etc will be transferred over to the new system, and we will send out further information to you in the new year.

Arbor has a parent App for smart phones, which allows you to manage payments (will replace School Money) and use it to check in on your child’s attendance, for example. Login details for the app will be sent to you in due course.

You can download the App for iOS or Android using the links below.

Strep A
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned parents and carers to be alert after an increase in Strep A infections across the country. Whilst we have had no reported infections at Woodfield, we ask parents and carers to review this document from the early years alliance. Further information on scarlet fever is available on the NHS website. More information on strep A infections, including both scarlet fever and iGas, is available on the UKHSA website.

Parents and Carers Survey
If you have not done so already, can you take the time to complete out short survey for Autumn 2022. Click here to take the survey. It should take no more than 5-10 minutes. All comments etc will be followed up.

Brent SEND Newsletter
The December 2022 newsletter can be downloaded by clicking this link. There is plenty of information about the support offered to you and your child in Brent and beyond.

Key Stage 4 and 5 Parent's Assembly 14th December Thanks to all parents and carers who attended these celebrations.

Barnado's and Brent
See the leaflet below for more information.

Makaton Advent Calendar
Our Speech and Language team have created this fantastic Makaton advent calendar. click the image below to open!

Term Dates 2023-2024
Provisional dates are as below. if these change, you will be informed via newlteer and website.
Autumn Term (Total 74 days)
Monday 4th September - Thursday 21st December 2023
Half Term Monday 23rd October - Friday 27th October 2023
Christmas Holiday Friday 22nd December 2023 - Friday 5th January 2024
Inset Monday 4th September, Tuesday 5th September & Friday 20th October 2023
Trust Occasional Day Thursday 21st December 2023
Spring Term (Total 54 Days)
Monday 8th January 2023 - Thursday 28th March 2024
Half Term Monday 12th February to Friday 16th February 2024
Easter Holiday Friday 29th March to Friday 12th April 2024
Inset Monday 8th January 2024
Summer Term (Total 67 Days)
Monday 15th April - Wednesday 24th July 2024
Half Term Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May 2024
Bank Holiday Monday 6th May 2024 & Monday 27th May 2024
Inset Monday 15th April 2024

Photo and video permissions This message is in regards to you giving the school permission to use your child's photograph or video in different ways At Woodfield School, we sometimes take photographs of pupils. We use these photos in your child's reports, for evidence in EfL to record your child's progress, and sometimes on the school’s prospectus, on the school’s website, newsletter, on display boards around school, in our computerized pupil records to recognize each pupil (this is for school use only) Compass Learning Partnership considers the age of 12 to be an appropriate threshold at which to seek consent directly from a child. However this is considered on a case by case basis given a student’s individual capacity to provide consent.

Our Privacy Notice has been provided to students in relation to the use of this information, is available on the school website or by clicking this link https://www.compasslp.co.uk/820/clp-privacy-notice. There are some things that we cannot do unless you tell us that we can. We have set these out on the online form. Please could you read this form very carefully and tick the appropriate options. This will let us know which of these things you are happy for us to do, and which you are not. If at anytime you have changed your mind about the consent, simply complete the form again. Your most recent responses will always take precedence. if you are unsure if you have completed the form, just submit a new set of responses. You have the option to download a copy of your responses for your reference once you have submitted the form.

Brent Family Wellbeing Centre
The Brent Family Wellbeing Centres provide a range of community-led services that can support you from the moment you know you’re expecting, through pregnancy and birth, until your child is 18 years old (or up to 25 for children and young people with special educational needs). The Centres, offer a wide range of free health, education and welfare services to families and aim to give everyone in Brent the best possible start in life. The Brent Family Wellbeing Centres are free to use by families that live in Brent. If you wish to use the services provided at any of the Centres, you will need to register your family's details, including all of the children you have. It’s simple and easy to do and once you are registered, you can book and manage your sessions and activities in advance. You need to sign into My Account to register for the Family Wellbeing Centres. If you haven't created a My Account yet, you can register for both.

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! The December sessions are below

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.

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: