Latest Newsletter

Friday 16th October 2026

Dear Parents & Carers, 

A busy and productive week in school as we approach Autumn half term with lots of Science learning across both sites. The London PE Network has continued to deliver Year 6 girls’ PE sessions and Platform Cricket have attended for Year 4 PE sessions too. Year 2 children were joined by practitioners from King’s College for Teddy Bear Hospital medical workshops, Year 4 attended Southwark Park for part of their Science learning, our Year 6 Scholar’s Programme continues, KS2 children performed wonderfully in their Soul Concert yesterday and we are so grateful for your generous support for ‘Power the Fight’, both with yesterday’s Bake Sale and today’s non-uniform day. In Collective Worship we are continuing to look at our termly theme of The Sermon on the Mount; this week we’ve thought about reflection with ‘Prayer and Fasting’. We’ll continue to explore this theme when we return from half term.

Reception 2027-2028 Open Mornings – 09:30, Old Jamaica Road

Another reminder of tours of our OJR site for a series of Open Mornings for existing and prospective parents of Reception children starting school in September 2027. Please spread the word to any parents you know, or join us yourselves, for these on one of the following mornings:

• Tuesday 17^th November, 09:30 @ OJR;
• Tuesday 1^st December, 09:30 @ OJR;
• Tuesday 5^th January, 09:30 @ OJR.

These are also included on the attached dates letter.

Parents’ Evening Booking

Our Parents’ Evenings are approaching and will be held on Wednesday 18^th November (EYFS/KS1) and Wednesday 25^th November (KS2), both in the OJR Hall. Parent's Evening Consultation slots can be booked through our Arbor app as usual and will be live to book from 09:00 on Tuesday 3^rd November.

Autumn Half Term Activities and Camps

Please find a few attachments advertising things to do during the half term break. These include:

• Miss Jess’s Shout Out Youth Theatre Camp running at OJR for KS2 children from Tuesday 20^th – Thursday 22^nd October (details and contact upon flier);
• A local Gymnastics and Dance camp running from 26^th – 29^th October (details and contact upon flier);
• As previously advertised, National Tennis Association is running its ‘Monster Smash’ Tennis Camps this October half-term at both Burgess Park and Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park (flier attached);
• Please see attached flier from Appleby Blue for a family event during half term;
• The Garden Cinema hosts family film screenings every Saturday & Sunday morning, and on weekdays during the school holidays. The screenings are 'Pay What You Can', which means you’re free to pay as much or as little as you can afford.  On Sundays the films are followed by free, fun and creative activities for children. Upcoming films include ‘Dreamland,’ ‘Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom’, ‘Matilda,’ and ‘Snow White.’  The full programme can be found here: https://www.thegardencinema.co.uk/season/films-for-the-family ;
• Please follow this link for Southwark’s Food and Fun programme for those eligible for Targeted Free School Meals: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/public-health-and-safety/health-and-wellbeing/staying-healthy/healthy-eating-children-and-0 .

Arbor App/Annual Request for Consents

As you know, we often send notifications to you through the Arbor app. They appear as unread messages on the left hand side of the screen on the home page. We would be grateful if you would ensure that your notifications are turned on on your device to ensure you don't miss any of these alerts. This week we have pushed out a notification asking you to update your preferences regarding the publication of your child/children's work or image. Please take a moment to update your consent wishes on the Arbor app. Your consent will enable us to continue to celebrate the wonderful work & achievements of all the children at St James'. This is done through our school website, instagram feed and occasionally by posting embedded links on our website from our private Vimeo account, showing videos of the children performing sports & drama. This is not an exclusive list but represents the main use of the images taken by staff in school on school-owned devices. 

Safeguarding Reporting Tool

As an additional tool in our ongoing responsibility to "Keep Children Safe in Education", we have recently subscribed to a service from an existing supplier, CPOMS. This QR code allows anyone to anonymously and confidentially report a safeguarding concern to the Safeguarding Team at St James'. You will see posters around school displaying the code and it is also posted on our website under this link:

Link to Safeguarding\Who to contact if you are worried.

Please note that our advice remains the same if a child is in immediate danger - call 999 without delay.

Events after Autumn Half Term

Please also find our dates letter attached as usual with some further updates for Autumn term 2.

Monday 2nd November	Back to school for Autumn term 2 at normal school times; Violin lessons for KS2 (Years 3-6); Monday after-school extra-curricular continue, ending at 16:15 (Alexis St) and 16:30 (OJR).
Tuesday 3rd November	No events.
Wednesday 4th November	Years Reception and 1 taking part in ‘Germ Busters’ hygiene workshops in school.
Thursday 5th November	No events.
Friday 6th November	‘Wear Blue’ non-uniform day for King’s College & Evelina Diabetes Support. Wear blue items of clothing in exchange for a suggested donation of £1.00 or more.

 

Wishing you, along with our whole community,
a happy, healthy and safe Autumn half term break.
We look forward to seeing everyone on our return for
Autumn term 2 on Monday 2^nd November
at the usual school times.

God bless, from the St. James’ team.