https://www.primary-sports.co.uk/events/2024/07/29/gatehouse-primary-academy-haf-programme-summer-2024

 

Places are still available for children on the HAF programme (free school meals families).  Please check out the link.

Our school and Sport England would like to find out about the sports and physical activities our pupils take part in, both in and out of school. The information collected will be used to:

· Provide a report to our school to help us understand what our pupils are doing and what we can do to support them

· Help Sport England invest in opportunities for children and young people to take part in and benefit from sport and physical activity.

Classes chosen to take part in a survey this week are Ennis Hill, Shakespeare, Farah and Dahl.

Children will be asked about participation in sports and physical activity, attitudes to activity, wellbeing, age and gender. The survey asks for their birthday so that their answers can be matched to the survey you complete based on age, birthday and gender.

If parents DO NOT consent to the children taking part, please can they contact the school today.

Reminder - Parentpay Payments Due

 

Unit 2 - Escot Trip - Due Thursday 23rd May

 

Year 4 Camping - Due Friday 24th May

 

Year 5 Residential - Full Payment - Due Friday 24th May

 

Year 6 Residential - Full Payment - Due Friday 24th May

 

If you are struggling with parentpay do let us know, we will take cash payments via the office.

 

If you experiencing financial difficulties please contact the office team.

 

If you have any concerns or queries please drop into office and one of our team will help you.

Within most schools at any one time, there will be a small number of children infected with head lice.  Infection levels can remain fairly constant so we need your help to combat the bugs!

 

We understand your frustrations and concerns regarding head lice.  Alert letters are emailed and sent home however this frequently leads many parents to attempt to treat their children preventatively, head ice infection cannot be prevented, and over-use of insecticide treatments may lead to resistance.

 

As a school we want to support parents in managing the problem by working closely with them and promoting that ‘Once a Week, Take a Peek!’ approach.

 

It is parental responsibility to detect and administer treatment for head lice and we would like to request that you check your child for head lice once a week, remember ‘Once a Week, Take a Peek!’.  To diagnose a case of head lice you need to find them alive, they move fast and are small, so they can be hard to find!  Where to Peek – close to the scalp, behind the ears, back of the neck, top of the head, under the fringe. 

 

Please can all long hair be tied up.

 

Remember - ‘Once a Week, Take a Peek’ and this approach can be a normal part of every family’s hygiene routine, like brushing your teeth or washing your hair.

 

Let’s beat the bugs together!

Dear Parents/Guardians

 

MESSAGE FROM DAWLISH DYNAMOS

 

We are delighted to be offering Dynamos Cricket again in 2024 at Sandy Lane in Dawlish for Girls and Boys from 8-11years old. This is a new community lead cricket programme that started last year supported by the Devon Cricket Board. We will help your child have fun learning and playing, whether they want to be a future England player or just want to have fun playing an amazing game with their friends.

 

Dynamos Cricket provides Girls and Boys from 8-11 years old a safe and fun environment to experience cricket and have fun. Each week there will be a focus on a different cricket skill to build their confidence and ability, before they take part in a fun cricket match.

 

It’s an 8 week programme taking place Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 7pm starting on Wednesday 15th May.  The sessions will be lead by a qualified ECB coach and member of the ECB Coaches Association.  This year the charge for the 8 week programme is £30, which includes for a personalised New Balance playing shirt, Topps Wildcards and access to the Dynamos Cricket app for every player.

 

The link to sign up is here

 

https://ecb.clubspark.uk/Dynamos/BookCourse/0f5ad503-e878-4637-bd62-8b145fe7f9ff

 

Dynamos Cricket will help grow your child's love of the game, and will give them the opportunity to socialise and make friends in a safe environment.

 

Finally if any parents, guardians or other family members wish to volunteer to get involved and help run the programme they are very welcome.

 

Best wishes from Robin Poole, Dawlish Dynamos

Devon County Council’s Free School Meals Holiday Voucher Scheme

Easter Holidays 2024.    

 

About the scheme 

 

Devon County Council is supporting families of children who currently receive free school meals during term time with supermarket vouchers to help buy food during the Easter Holidays. 

 

The vouchers will be to the value of £30 per child.

 

These vouchers can be used at the following stores: Sainsburys, Iceland, Farmfoods, Tesco, Morrison’s, Asda, Aldi, M&S Food and Waitrose to purchase food over the holidays to replace the meals your child would have received at school during the day. Please note that Tesco/Morrisons/ALDI vouchers can only be used in-store.

 

If you have more than one child entitled to free school meals, you should receive a unique code for each child, as the holiday vouchers are issued separately.   

 

Please note that these codes expire on Monday 17^th June 2024. Once this date has passed, the scheme will expire, and we will not be backdating any payments. We encourage parents to redeem the full amount together, as once redeemed the vouchers are valid for longer.

 

Getting the vouchers 

 

Devon County Council has partnered with an organisation called Black Hawk Network to help us distribute these vouchers as quickly as possible via their ‘Select’ website because they have lots of experience managing voucher schemes like this and are working with several other local authorities too. 

 

• To get your vouchers you will need to visit a website called ‘Select’ (www.select-your-reward.co.uk) and input your unique code.  

 

• You will then be able to choose your preferred supermarket and add your vouchers to your basket.  

 

• Please then checkout of the ‘Select’ website by providing an email address for them to send you your chosen supermarket vouchers electronically. There is no option to receive physical vouchers by post.   

 

• Once you have received the vouchers to your email inbox, you can save them to your phone or tablet to use online (depending on the supermarket) or show at the checkout in store. Alternatively, you can print the vouchers off to give to the cashier.   

 

 

What if I need some help? 

 

If you are struggling to get your vouchers because you don’t have access to the internet or a mobile device to receive and store the vouchers on, and don’t have any friends or family to help, please contact Devon County Council’s education helpline on 0345 155 1019. 

      

Further information 

 

If your child has siblings attending school in a neighbouring authority (for example Plymouth or Torbay) who are also receiving free school meals, the local authority their school is located within will have arrangements to support them over the holidays.   

 

More detailed information about the free school meals holiday voucher scheme, including how to use them and what to do if there’s a problem, is available on Devon County Council’s website. Please visit devon.cc/holidayvouchers  

   

There are also some useful FAQs on the Select website along with contact details for any technical support if you have a problem using the codes and accessing your vouchers. Please visit www.select-your-reward.co.uk.  

 

If you’re experiencing severe financial hardship, support is available. Please visit Help with the cost of living in Devon - Devon County Council for information about how to access local financial support, where to find foodbanks and community larders and what to do if you’re on a low income.    

   

Finally, if you have received this message in error, please let us know by calling 0345 155 1019 or emailing freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk so we can make sure this vital support gets to the right family.    

Encouraging Good Attendance

At Gatehouse, we constantly strive and look for ways to improve the education for all our children. The target for attendance is 96.5%

Our attendance communication letters are changing at Gatehouse and detailed below are the different stages.

Registers are inspected on a regular basis by school staff (teachers, office staff and our attendance monitoring team).

Our attendance team meet half termly to review the school's attendance, as a whole school, per class and as individual pupils. Their decisions and review may lead to a parent(s) receiving a letter. See below for a summary of the communication that may be sent.

Letter 1

Where a child's attendance is giving the school cause for concern, an attendance letter will be sent advising the parent that their child's attendance has dropped below 96%.

Letter 2

If attendance continues to drop below 92%, letter 2 will be sent to invite parents and carers to a School Attendance Meeting with our Family Support Advisor. The aim of this meeting is to develop an action plan as to how school and parents can best support the pupil in improving their attendance. A date for a review meeting would also be set, so that we can continue to support the pupil and their family.

Letter 3

This is an optional letter, sent to parents following the School Attendance Meeting. It would include the action plan set out in the meeting, and confirmation of review date.

Letter 4

A further letter would be sent following the review meeting, with a further plan if necessary. If attendance has continued to drop, or if further support is required, a review meeting would be arranged with the Family Support Advisor.

Letter 5

In the event that the invited parent or carer does not attend the School Attendance Meeting, a letter would be sent asking parents/carers to contact the school to reschedule the meeting.

If a pupil’s attendance continues to fall to below 90%, they are considered a 'Persistent Absent' pupil. The Attendance Improvement Office (formerly known as Education Welfare Officers), may be contacted to seek advice and be involved. If you, as the parent/carer, do not follow any plan or contract set out, legal proceedings may be considered. More information can be found on our website: https://www.gatehouse.devon.sch.uk/attendance-matters/

Did you know, a child who is absent one day of school per week misses an equivalent of two years of their school life.

We are here to help and support you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss how we can work together.

Today our therapy dog Blossom is in school, getting use to us all and her new environment.  She will be popping around school to meet our children.
Please do let our office team know if you wish your child NOT to come into contact with Blossom, today or in the future,  or if you have any concerns or questions.