Wednesday 17th December 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

It's been a lovely end to a very long term with lots of events that we have been able to share with our families. I have particularly enjoyed the festivities during the last two weeks - some amazing singing, dancing and acting from our younger pupils in their Christmas performances, and the Art Exhibition in November was definitely a high point of the term. The children were not only very proud of their individual pieces of Art work but it was also very rewarding to see them working collaboratively on the class collages and 'tapestries', many of which are now gracing the ceiling of the hall. As with all our Parent events, it has been such a pleasure to welcome so many parents into the school to celebrate your children's learning. Credit must also be paid to the teachers who take so long preparing for these events which are so very worthwhile.

We have been very pleased to offer several trips this term, amongst which have featured the Year 5 trip to the Science Museum in London, and I think there should be a special shout-out to our bladder-busting Year 5's who managed to hold on for the loo for a whole two and a half hours on the way there! We also had the trip to Duxford for Year 6 which coincided with Remembrance Day this year, making it an extra-significant experience for the children and there have been several speakers in school, including some from local churches and the Humanist Association, not to mention the grandparents attending Year 1 for their Grandparents Afternoon to speak about the toys with which they used to play when they were five or six. We rounded up the term with the annual Early Years trip to post their Christmas letters to Santa. Both Reception classes have settled so well into school life, and little steps like these help to increase their independence further.

In November, the KS2 choir performed for the fourth year running at the Rotary Club's local school's competition. While we were not placed, the judges commented on the high standard of singing this year and the children did so brilliantly - harmonising on a big stage with lights and a large audience. Continuing on a musical note (!), Year 3's played their ukuleles again this year to an audience of delighted Lexden Springs pupils and staff. We have had a large offering of extra-curricular clubs this term as well as activities running during lunch-times and booster sessions for Year 6. I am delighted that we are able to offer all these extra opportunities for our children. In addition to these, the PTA introduced a very successful Laser Firework Show this year, which will hopefully become a regular feature of the school calendar, along with a Christmas Fair. Many thanks to the massive amount of work behind the scenes that enables these events to run and gives the children so much fun, and the parents and other relatives who give up so much of their time to help with these events.

This term we have benefited hugely from our expanded Key Stage One Nurture Room. It is a real pleasure seeing the exceptional work that goes on in these rooms, enabling all children to access learning at their own level, and providing opportunities for practical play and sensory circuits that are often not possible in the classrooms. We continue to all look forward to the weekly visits from Fern, our therapy dog, and the weekly Forest School sessions in our Wildlife area, also enjoyed by Hendra and Rosen children. Year 3 children this term have also taken part in weekly Forest School Sessions led by Essex Wildlife and I know that it is a highlight of the week for many.

As you will be aware, this year we have changed our School Values and have chosen new special mascots to represent each of them. In September, I invited Key Stage Two children to write a book to share with younger pupils, exemplifying one of the values by writing a story about its mascot. I had a fantastic response with over twenty entries and last week the children spent time sharing these stories with Year 1 children. The older children always excel in this kind of situation, taking over the 'teacher' role very effectively and being super role-models for the younger children which is just what we want.

So, here we are finally at the very end of the term and year. There have been triumphs and successes and also mistakes and experiences good and not so good which will help us all to build resilience, empathy and the ability to grow. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Key Stage Two Carol Services on Thursday and then we will have our wind-down day on Friday with our School Council Pyjamas and Movie Day to provide a fitting end to an exhausting couple of weeks. 

Many thanks to our conscientious and resilient staff who have all helped to make this term such a success, and who have supported all our children during every part of the school day, and to our Governors who have played such an active role in attending school events and have been involved in many different aspects of school life.  I would also like to take this opportunity to wish Miss Wilson all the very best as she prepares to welcome her second child, and we look forward to Mrs. Nicholson joining us again in Year 5 in January. Lastly, I hope you all manage to catch some minutes of relaxation and peace during the busy festive season and are able to create some special memories with your families. 

Warm wishes,

Rebecca Loader

Friday 26th September 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

Now we are settled into the new term, I just wanted to write a few lines to familiarise you with our new values, which have been introduced to all our pupils during the last few weeks. You will start becoming aware of these more as we start using them in our Celebration assemblies.

For a while, we have felt that our old values did not quite align with our ethos and could be more inspirational and meaningful for our children and school community. During the summer term, the School Council, staff and governors all voted and offered their opinions on this process and we have finally arrived at our six new school values which form the basis of our wider curriculum and pastoral system. These are: Ambition, Kindness, Respect, Perseverance, Teamwork and Integrity.

The values have been introduced to all pupils via our weekly assemblies and, to make them more `user-friendly`, we have also introduced some school mascots - please see below! I have also set KS2 children a home learning challenge to write a story introducing a character and their value to the younger pupils. All entries will be shared with our younger classes with the most inventive being `published` and displayed in our Reception area.

Our Stanway Pupil Learning Journey has been updated to reflect our new values and give the children some ownership of the activities and challenges they can set for themselves as they move throughout our school. It consists of our values, their related areas in school and then a series of forty-eight tasks (eight tasks per value) which are linked to these. We want to encourage the children to make the most of the opportunities open to them in school as well as building confidence, independence and leadership skills, and the sense of being a 21st century world citizen.

  

In Key Stage One, classes will focus on the meaning of the half-termly value (which will also be an assembly focus) and then will look to completing one of the activities a term. In Key Stage Two, children will have their own copy of the wheel and will be tracking what they are achieving in each spoke of the wheel at the end of each half-term. The tasks have been collated to contain a mixture of things that all children will be able to achieve and then some which will require extra initiative or home learning. 

Do please have a chat with your child about our new values and their understanding of them. This half-term's value is Ambition, and we have already had some thoughtful assemblies on Monday, thinking about our short and long-term ambitions. I am already starting to receive some entrants for the story-writing competition and will be accepting these until the end of the half-term.

Thank you for your support.

Rebecca Loader

Tuesday 22nd July 2025

Dear Parents and Carers,

I can't believe that we are finally at the end of a long and extremely busy term, where we say goodbye to classes and especially to our Year 6 who are ready to make the next exciting step in their educational journey. We have had so many enjoyable things to celebrate this term, which began way back in April. The glorious sunshine has meant that we have been able to spend lots of time outdoors, just the way summer should be! From our own Sports Week to the Consortium Sports Events,  our Time Walk, the wonderful PTA Summer Fête and Forest Fun, we have been out and about in our school grounds. The end of term Rocksteady and Summer Music Concerts were a joy to watch with so many of our children performing on their instruments (or voices) confidently and with great enthusiasm. Added to that, we have had class trips, a KS2 Create Day, Class Assemblies for Year 4 and EYFS, Greek Days in Year 4 as well as all our normal learning. 

This year we have also started our class blogs, which give a fascinating look at the weekly learning in each year group. I really enjoy reading these myself, and the photos of your children engaging with all the activities the teachers have planned are just wonderful. Please take a look, if you haven't already! Keep an eye on our website as we are gradually updating it with new photos and there will even be some drone footage of the school being uploaded soon. The photos and video really capture what it is like to be a pupil and work in our lovely school.

Year 6 have had an action-packed end of the year with a roof-raising Year 6 performance, their residential trip to Bawdsey Manor and the Senior School Council-run Talent Show which, as usual, showcased a spectacular range of talents from across the school. The Senior School Council have been particularly proactive this year with their focus on Tolerance through the assemblies they have run, as well as the improvements they have made to the school, such as the motivational phrases it was their idea to buy and display with the money they raised during the year.

We have been delighted to receive a bumper set of statutory assessment results this year. In Key Stage Two, our pupils and staff worked incredibly hard and achieved excellent results, with 75% reaching the National Standard for Reading, 74% for Maths and 66% for Writing - a very pleasing 61% combined Reading, Writing and Maths at the expected level. We also had over 30% of children achieving the Greater Depth Judgement in Reading and Maths. Year 1 also did us proud with 82% of children passing their Phonics Check. What brilliant reading - well done to both the Year 1 pupils and the staff team!

We are sorry to say goodbye to one of our Year 4 teachers, Miss Milburn, who is moving house and pursuing new opportunities in another area. We welcome to the school Mr. Thomas, who will be teaching in Year 6 with Miss Vanner. Mr Thomas joins us from another Essex primary school, and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the team. The school is undergoing some exciting building work over the summer with the KS1 Nurture Room being significantly extended in the next stage of development of our Nurture Provision, as well as some final works taking place to our front playground. 

And so, I would like to end this letter by saying goodbye to our current Year 6 children and wishing them all the best as they get ready to embark upon the next exciting step in their educational journey. We look forward to hearing of your future success, and we hope you remember your time at Stanway Primary fondly. I hope all our families have a chance to unwind and relax over the summer. We look forward to welcoming you back into school on Wednesday, 3^rd September. Full winter uniform please - please see our website for further details.  

Warm wishes,

Rebecca Loader

Friday, 23rd May, 2025

In line with the rest of the school, my half-termly newsletters will now come in the form of a half-termly blog. I hope you are enjoying keeping up to date with your child/ren's learning through the weekly class blogs. The photos really showcase the amount of things going on throughout the school and I'm enjoying looking at them each week too!

It's been a fast and furious half-term with our Year 6 children working particularly hard as they navigated their SATs tests and are finishing their portfolios of writing ready to be assessed. Test week dawned bright and sunny and the children enjoyed breakfast with their friends in the hall before they settled down to the tests in exam conditions. I was very impressed by their excellent attitudes and focus during these. They were well-prepared by Mrs. Riggs and Miss Vanner and I hope that the results reflect the hard work of everyone involved. The children certainly tried their very best and we are very proud of their efforts.

At the beginning of May, we celebrated the eightieth anniversary of VE Day with a street party in the area between KS2 and the KS1 building. We had bunting, more sunshine and a wartime-style packed lunch. Then the children were serenaded by a World War Two soundtrack and the atmosphere was wonderful with children singing, getting up to dance and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Many of them commented on how much fun it was and so we plan to have a few more al fresco lunches before the end of term.

Our School Council continue to work together to make positive changes for the school. With some of the proceeds they have made from the Choosing Day earlier in the year, they voted to purchase some motivational stickers to display around the school. They are all now in situ and we are very pleased with how they look on our walls. I thought this was a great idea from our Senior School Council and, again, the stickers have been well-received by the other pupils and hopefully provoke lots of positive thoughts as children make their way around the school.

As the weather improves, we have been taking part in some friendly competition with neighbouring schools which is an invaluable experience for the children. Our Year 6 football team visited Stanway Fiveways this week to take part in two friendly matches against them; they lost 5-2, 3-2 but, more importantly, kept motivated and well-behaved - they represented the school brilliantly. After half-term, the Upper KS2 netball team will be playing two friendly matches and the football team will have the chance to compete against other local schools in the Stanway Cup which is very exciting. It is lovely to see the field in use at lunchtimes and breaktimes and Year 5 have enjoyed the start of their swimming lessons too. The forest school area at the side of the field seems, more or less, to be in constant use; it is great to see our school grounds being appreciated so fully.

Hendra and Rosen classes and Year 5 benefited from some Road Safety Workshops last week, and it was pleasing to be able to welcome Reception parents into school to share in these also. I have seen some brilliant Road Safety Raps from Year 5 which they also enjoyed showing other classes. Today we had the half-term tea parties which were taken outside with Mr. Godwin to take advantage of the weather. It is always very uplifting to end the half-term on such a positive note.

There are lots of things to look forwards to during the next half-term of school but, for now, we will take a well-deserved break and I wish you all a relaxing and fun-filled half-term holiday. 

Warm wishes,

Rebecca Loader