St Mary's Newsletter

Dear Parents & Carers,

We have come to the end of a busy and eventful year, and we expect that, like us, you’re glad of the opportunity to pause for a while.

Work will continue over the summer to get the school ready for September and ensure everything is ship-shape.

Over the last two weeks we’ve had the fantastic Y6 production, and the Y6 children enjoyed their water fight and pizza party.  We’ve had bowling and ice-skating trips, violin assemblies, gymnastics and cricket competitions, all while navigating the hottest temperatures! Plus an incredible Olympic-themed Sports Day. Rectory won the overall House Cup for the first time in a while.

Our final social event of the year was the BBQ on Friday night, which was a lovely, low-key relaxed and fun afternoon – it’s always one of the nicest events of the year.

St Mary’s CE Primary School Achieves Platinum Mark for PE

We are beyond excited to have been awarded the Platinum Schools Games Mark for 2026-2027, showing our commitment to sport and physical education. It’s a real testament to the dedication of Mr Oakley, and the spirit of determination and engagement that he brings out in the children, and pours into every lesson he teaches.

After School Club (ASC) / Breakfast Club (BC)

If you already have a place in ASC & BC, your days will automatically roll over. If you would like to change them, please contact the office.

If you would like your child to attend but they are not currently attending, please also contact the office. The cost of the clubs will increase for the first time in many years starting in September. After School Club will be £15.00 and Breakfast Club will be £5.00. Please email office@stmarysn8.co.uk

New Start Times & Entrance Details

We’re offering you a choice of three gates from September!

Looking at the school, the left-hand gate is for Years 1–6, the middle gate will be for the 2-year-olds, and the right-hand gate is for our 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as Reception.

All three gates will open at 8.40am and remain open for 10 minutes, with learning officially beginning at 8.50am. Children arriving after 9.00am will be marked late and will need to sign in to the system at the office.

At the end of the day, the gates will open at 3.15pm, and the children will be dismissed at 3.20pm.

Rectory Gardens is a SchoolStreet

Rectory Gardens is a SchoolStreet, which means no driving on the road between 8.00am and 9.00am, and between 2.45pm and 3.30pm. Parking is tight in the area (as it is at Church Lane), but the Sainsbury car park is only a short walk away and helps us maintain our goals for our School Travel Plan (park and stride).

Great British Summer Savings scheme

The government is trying to help cut costs for families over the summer. From 25 June to 1 September 2026, VAT will be temporarily cut from 20% to 5% on children’s meals in restaurants, children and family tickets to cinemas, theatres, concerts and exhibitions, and admission to a wide range of attractions. With free transport already available to children in London, these cultural and educational attractions will hopefully enrich children’s lives outside the classroom Summer Family Savings

Extra-Curricular Clubs for September

We don’t currently have a full list of clubs that we will be offering in September. Please look out for them in the weeks to come. We will get what we can to you before

School Reports

You should have received your child’s report via email over the weekend. Please contact the school if you haven’t received it, or would like more information.

Hornsey Church Tower

The lovely people at Hornsey Church Tower will be flying the St Mary’s flag from the top of the tower for the next week, to pay their respects to the Church Lane site – have a look as you go by.

School will finish for children on Wednesday 15th July at 1.15pm at Rectory Gardens and 1.30pm at Church Lane (so no After School Club).

As we come to the end of another fantastic school year, it’s amazing to reflect on just how much learning has taken place.

Over the course of the school year, our children have completed more than 916 hours of planned curriculum learning. This includes 156 hours of writing, 156 hours of maths, and 100 hours of reading, alongside learning across science, PE, RE, PSHE, computing, art, design technology, history and geography. Throughout these experiences, the children have developed their creativity, curiosity, resilience and a wide range of knowledge and skills, preparing them for the next stage of their learning journey.

Of course, these figures only tell part of the story. They don’t capture the friendships made, the confidence built, the resilience shown, the questions asked, the laughter shared or the countless moments of discovery that happen every day in school.

We are incredibly proud of everything the children have achieved this year. They have worked hard, embraced new challenges and grown in so many ways. Thank you to all our families for your continued support – have a lovely summer, and we look forward to welcoming you back to school for another exciting year on Monday 7^th September, apart from Year 6, for whom we wish the very best of luck in the future.

Best wishes,

Debbie Butcher

Consultant Headteacher

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Important Dates – please make a note

• Tuesday 14th July – Year 1 to Bruce Castle (rearranged)
• Wednesday 15th July – Year 6 Leavers Assembly – 9.15am (Y6 to leave after)
• Wednesday 15th July – half day for all children – please collect your children promptly at 1.15pm (RG) 1.30pm (CL)
• Monday 7th September – children return to school (reception/nursery will be communicated separately)  – new school times 8.40am to 3.20pm

For Your Information

• Haringey Summer Fun – Have a look at the brochure for events that are going in during the summer in Haringey – many of them free, or low cost Haringey Holiday Fun Summer 2026
• Free School Meals – Free school meal (FSM) eligibility is changing. This is due to the way Universal Credit is calculated.  All families who receive Universal Credit are entitled to a free school meal. This is slightly complicated in London as all children receive a free school meal anyway, courtesy of the Mayor. Free School Meals checks will come back as either Expanded, meaning children are eligible for a free school meal only or Targeted, which means children will continue to receive vouchers in the holidays and access to the HAF Holiday Activity scheme.  All meals are currently free for all children from Reception to Year 6 so you won’t have to start paying.  If we don’t have your National Insurance and date of birth on file, we will contact you for this so that we can run the check.

• Reminder: Rectory Gardens is a School Street. This means no driving on the road between 8am–9am and 2.45–3.30pm. Let’s keep our children safe, the air clean and prevent you from getting a penalty notice

Reminders

• Please remember to call or email if your child is going to be off school – don’t wait for us to call you!
• We are on Instagram – follow us to see our wonderful school @stmarysschooln8 and tell your family to follow us too!
• Reminder about unauthorised absences and holidays during term time As you will know from previous correspondence, St Mary’s will be following the Government guidance with regards to fining families when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. Children should only be out of school for reasons that have been authorised.
• We are strictly a nut-free school – please remember this for packed lunches and party treats
• We are a latex-free school – this includes balloons, latex gloves, rubber bands etc

Contact Details

Are your contact details up-to-date?

If you have changed your address, telephone or email address please let us know as soon as possible. Have your personal circumstances changed? Again, please let us know. If you don’t get emails or texts from us then we may need to update your details.