Celebrating Diversity Week
What a special week it's been at Southill Primary! We've been celebrating the wonderful diversity of our pupils and all the unique qualities that make each child special. It was absolutely brilliant to welcome visitors and to see everyone dressed in whatever makes them feel proud.
Parent Forum – Thank You
On Tuesday evening, we held our Autumn Term Parent Forum. A big thank you to everyone who attended – we had some really valuable discussions and it was great to hear your views. I'll be sharing the minutes from the meeting in a separate post soon, so everyone can see what we discussed.
Share Your Views on Ofsted Parent View
We'd love to hear your thoughts about Southill Primary. Ofsted Parent View is an online questionnaire where you can share your opinions about our school at any time – not just during an inspection.
Your feedback really matters to us, especially if you're happy with what we're doing! Positive feedback helps us understand what's working well and any concerns you raise help us identify areas where we can improve.
It only takes a few minutes to complete. You can access Ofsted Parent View at: www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk
You'll need to register (it's quick and straightforward), and then you can answer questions about things like:
- How your child is getting on at school
- How well the school communicates with you
- Whether your child feels safe and happy
- The quality of teaching
Your responses are completely confidential and help build a picture of our school for Ofsted inspectors and for us as school leaders.
Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Policy
Our updated Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) policy is now available to view on our school website.
We'd like to draw your attention to an important aspect of parents' rights regarding RSE.
Parents have the right to withdraw their child from sex education lessons, but not from relationships education or health education.
This is an important distinction:
- Relationships education covers topics like healthy friendships, family relationships, staying safe (including online), and respectful behaviour
- Health education includes physical health, mental wellbeing, and puberty
- Sex education covers intimate and sexual relationships and sexual health
In primary schools, sex education is not compulsory, though the Department for Education recommends that all primary schools teach it.
If you wish to withdraw your child from sex education, you can request this and we must grant this request. However, you cannot withdraw your child from relationships or health education, as these are statutory requirements.
FOSS Update
FOSS (Friends of Southill School) also held their AGM on Tuesday evening. It was wonderful to see some new faces alongside our amazing existing team. I'm delighted to let you know that the team have stepped up once again, and we're looking forward to some fantastic events this year.
First up: Monster Mash Disco – Thursday 16th October
If you'd like to join FOSS, I can promise you they're a really friendly and welcoming team who would LOVE to have more members. Every bit of help makes a difference, whether you can spare an hour here and there or want to get more involved. You can get in touch by emailing foss@southill.dorset.sch.uk or have a chat with me and I'll put you in touch.
Music Studio Working Party Update
Unfortunately, our planned meeting with the Music Studio Working Party had to be postponed this week due to staff sickness. We're really sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.
We'll be rearranging the meeting very soon and will provide you with an update on the new date as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and continued support for this exciting project.
5 Star Reading Challenge – Starting Monday!
We're launching an exciting new reading incentive on Monday to encourage children to read every evening at home with their family. Here's how it works:
- Read with your child each evening
- Sign their reading record (parents or older siblings can sign)
- Each signature earns a star
- 5 stars in a week = rewards and prizes!
This challenge will run for 3 weeks until half term. Reading together is the most powerful way to support your child's learning and we hope everyone will join in. We can't wait to see how many stars we collect!
Quick Reminders
📧 Contacting Me: My email address is headteacher@southill.dorset.sch.uk. Please don't use my old email address as it is no longer in use and I won't see your email - if you have me saved in your contacts, please update my email address.
Wishing you all a lovely weekend,
Caroline
Upcoming Dates
- Thursday 16th October – Reception Class library visit
- Thursday 16th October – KS1 Autumn Celebration, 2pm at school
- Thursday 16th October – Monster Mash Disco
- Friday 17th October – Year 5 Bristol trip
- Tuesday 21st October – Book Fair begins (after school in the hall)
- 21st, 22nd, 23rd October – Parent evening consultations (after school)
- Wednesday 22nd October – Year 3 Stonehenge trip
- Thursday 23rd October – Year 4 Roman Adventure
- 27th-31st October – Half term