Headteacher's Newsletter

Friday 4^th September 2026

Dear Parents,

Headteacher’s Newsletter

Welcome to the 2026–2027 Academic Year

I hope you enjoyed spending time with your family and had a lovely summer break.

I would like to warmly welcome our whole school community back to St Vincent’s. A particularly warm welcome to our new Reception children and their families. We are delighted that you have joined the St Vincent’s family and hope that you will quickly feel at home as part of our wonderful school community.

We have settled well into the new school year, and everyone has been busy getting to know new routines, making new friends and getting back into the rhythm of school life. It has been lovely to see the children returning with such enthusiasm and excitement.

We are sure that this will be another exciting and successful year, filled with new experiences, opportunities to learn and grow, and plenty of exciting learning challenges. We look forward to working closely with you throughout the year as we continue to help every child Let Their Light Shine.

Prayer for the start of term

Lord God, bless our school as we enter a new academic year.

May ours be a community of welcome and hope.

Watch over our pupils, so that they grow in understanding and love.

Encourage our staff, so that their service reveals your generosity and mercy.

Inspire our leaders, so that their actions show your wisdom and justice.

Loving Father, through the Trinity, you teach us the importance of relationships,

Help us work together to accomplish your mission:

That all your children may have life to the full.

Amen

Parent Curriculum Meetings

Year Group Curriculum Meetings

Each year, we hold year group curriculum meetings for parents. These meetings provide an opportunity for your child’s class teachers to share an overview of the curriculum and learning experiences planned for the year, including some of the activities and exciting opportunities the children will take part in.

It is also a good opportunity to meet your child’s class teacher, find out more about life in their year group and learn how we can work together to support your child’s learning and development throughout the year. We look forward to welcoming you to these meetings.

School Timings Reminder

The school day is as follows:

When the classroom doors open, children are welcome to enter their classrooms. A morning activity will be available for children to begin straight away, helping them to settle calmly into the school day. This arrangement also helps to reduce congestion on the playground and around the school site in the morning.

At the end of the school day, children and parents must make their way to the school exits by 3.45pm. This allows our Site Manager to secure and lock the gates and ensure that the school site is safe and secure.

For safeguarding reasons, children are not permitted to use the playground equipment or play on the field after school. As other activities take place on the school site after the end of the school day, it is important that the site is cleared promptly so that these activities can take place safely and the school can be secured.

Attendance and Punctuality

We want our children to have excellent attendance and achieve well. Please note that we do not authorise holidays in term time. Please refer to our term dates on this link before booking a holiday to ensure it is booked within the half term holiday. Please see the term dates here for 2026-2026  Term dates 2026/27

Please also note that we do not permit a child to leave school early to travel.

As part of our safeguarding procedures, if your child is too poorly to attend school, please notify the school office by phoning or emailing to report the reason for absence. 0161 711 0825 Admin@stvincents.trafford.sch.uk

Please note that all routine, non-urgent medical appointments such as the dentist and opticians should be made outside of the school day.

Keeping Safe by Reducing Congestion – Park and Stride

Many families use our Park and Stride arrangement, taking advantage of the free parking available at the large Tesco car park. Families can park for free and walk to school, entering through the Balmoral Road gate.

There are many benefits to walking to school. It helps children develop important road safety skills and prepares them for becoming more independent as they get older. Walking together also gives families an opportunity to exercise, talk and notice the world around them. Children arrive at school feeling refreshed and ready to learn.

As our main school entrances are located at the end of two cul-de-sacs, we ask that cars do not drive down Orchard Road or Osborne Road. This helps to reduce congestion and, most importantly, keeps our children safe.

Please note that there is no parent parking on these roads and traffic wardens regularly patrol both Orchard Road and Osborne Road.

School Entrance Gates

As a reminder, parents and children can enter and leave school through any of our school gates. Our entrances are located on:

• Orchard Road
• Osborne Road
• Balmoral Road
• Stockport Road, at the end of the ginnel next to the golf course

Please remember that dogs are not permitted on the school site, except for assistance dogs.

Keeping Children Safe from Allergies – Benedict’s Law

From September 2026, new statutory guidance strengthens the arrangements in schools to protect children and young people with allergies. This is often referred to as Benedict’s Law, following the campaign for improved allergy safety in schools. The guidance places a greater emphasis on allergy awareness, preventing exposure to allergens and ensuring children with allergies can participate fully in school life.

If your child has an allergy, please make sure that the school is aware and that we have up-to-date information about their allergy and any medication or healthcare arrangements. Please inform us promptly of any changes.

We also ask all families to help us keep children safe by:

• Ensuring your child only eats their own food. Please remind them that touching, sharing or swapping food can make another child very poorly.
• Reminding your child to wash their hands thoroughly with soap after eating. This helps to reduce the risk of food residue being transferred to surfaces or other children.
• Talking to your child about allergies. Help them understand that allergies can be serious and why they must not touch, share or swap food with others.
• Not sending cakes or sweets into school for birthdays. This helps us to keep all children safe and ensures that children with allergies are not put at risk.

Thank you for working with us to create a safe, caring and inclusive environment where every child can learn, play and take part in school life safely.

School Meal Payments

We serve delicious meals prepared and cooked on site. The menus can be found on our website or on the school meals link below.

Infant school meals are free and funded through the government initiative Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM).

The government does not fund the meals in the junior department, so parents are required to pay for them. Please note that payments must be made via ParentPay prior to the half term. The funds need to be in the lunch account before a meal can be accessed. Parents also have the option of paying in full for the whole term or year if they wish  

School meals

 Meal payments for children in Years 3-6 are as follows:

Please follow the link to pay: https://www.parentpay.com/public/client/security/#/login

Healthy Snacks and Birthday Treats

Reception and Infant children receive a government-funded piece of fruit each day for their break-time snack. The government does not provide fruit for children in the Junior Department, so Junior children are encouraged to bring a piece of fruit to school for their mid-morning snack. In line with our healthy-eating approach, we discourage processed snacks.

We know that parents may like to bring treats for their child’s class on their birthday. Whilst this is a very kind gesture, over the course of the year this can result in children receiving lots of sweets and treats. It can also create difficulties for children with allergies or specific dietary requirements.

As part of our commitment to allergy awareness and healthy eating, and in line with the approach taken by our Nursery and Sunshine Club, we therefore ask parents not to send sweets or other treats into school for birthdays. We appreciate your support in helping us to keep all our children safe and promote healthy choices.

An Open Door

We pride ourselves on having an open-door approach and value working in partnership with our families. If you have any questions about school life, please speak to your child’s class teacher in the first instance.

Mrs Farrell, Infant Deputy, Mrs Sutton, Junior Deputy, and I are also always happy to work with you and support you wherever we can.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs A Harrop

Headteacher