Headteacher

Newsletter no. 22

27^th February 2026

Dear Parents / Carers,

I hope you had a wonderful half term break and you feel well rested. The children came back to school with enthusiasm and were ready to learn. Hasn’t it been lovely to see some sunshine this week- long may it last.

Key Stage 1 Visits to London

I am delighted to share some wonderful news about our recent educational visits.

On Wednesday, our Year 1 children enjoyed a trip to the London Eye. I was incredibly proud to hear how beautifully they represented our school. The staff there commented on how well the children listened, and how kind, polite and well behaved they were throughout the visit. When I spoke to the children on their return, they could hardly contain their excitement—eagerly sharing what they had seen and experienced. It was truly a joy to see their eyes light up as they talked.

This memorable experience was a culmination of their learning from the last half term. The children were able to talk about what they observed and discovered when seeing the London Landmarks in person, consolidating their wonderful learning from the previous half term.

Before half term, our Year 2 pupils visited Tower Bridge, where they too demonstrated exemplary behaviour and represented St Mary’s in the very best light. They spoke with great enthusiasm about their visit and have since been applying what they learned in their classroom work.

Educational visits and first-hand experiences are an essential part of children’s learning. Our staff work tirelessly to plan and deliver an engaging curriculum that ensures knowledge and skills are not only learned but retained and built upon. Each trip and visitor are carefully researched and organised well in advance, with safeguarding always at the forefront of our planning.

These enriching opportunities are a significant part of our curriculum at St Mary’s and contributed to us being awarded ‘Outstanding’ for Personal Development in our most recent Ofsted report. Educational visits are strongly encouraged by the Department for Education, as they deepen understanding, enhance learning and, just as importantly, bring great joy to the children, staff and myself—especially when I see the excitement on the children’s faces when they return.

Our staff are already busy planning further trips for the summer term, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the children’s reactions when they discover where their next adventures will take them

Parents Evening

This half term will be our second parents evening of the year. It is a chance for you as parents to speak to your child’s class teacher and discuss their progress.

I have had to change one of the dates from the original list of dates I sent out to you due to the Year 2 Music Festival falling on the same day.

The dates of the parents’ evenings will now be:

Tuesday 17^th March

Thursday 19^th March

I apologise for the change of this date but we were not given the Music festival date until mid-January.

Happy Bag Collection

Thank you for all your contributions you gave for the Happy Bag collection we raised £230 for our school. All those clothes, shoes and bags will be distributed to those people around the world who need it. We have not only made some money to buy resources for the children but we have also lived out our Catholic Faith by helping and thinking of others. So, thank you.

World Book Day

Just a reminder about World Book Day which will take place on Thursday 5th March 2026.

As I said in my last newsletter, we are inviting children and their families to create a ‘Book in a Jar’.

You can use any jar or container you have at home. Children can then decorate it by drawing scenes or characters from a favourite book, or by creating and placing small items inside the jar that represent parts of the story. We encourage creativity and imagination!

All of the children’s creations will be displayed in the school entrance and hall for everyone to enjoy.

We hope that lots of you have already started to create your own entries for this competition and if not, you still have a week left to create one!

Please bring in your jars when they are completed either on World Book Day or before if you are ready!

Winners will be announced on Friday 6^th March.

We look forward to seeing your wonderful creations and celebrating World Book Day together.

World Book Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate reading for pleasure and to share our love of books together in school. Throughout the day, the children will take part in a range of fun, book-themed activities in their classes. The children are welcome to come to school dressed as a favourite book character if they would like to. However, dressing up is completely optional. If your child would prefer not to dress up, they are very welcome to:

Bring their favourite book to share with their class.
Bring an item linked to their favourite book/character (for example, something their character likes or uses in the story).
Please do not feel under any pressure to spend additional money on costumes. Simple, homemade, or existing outfits are absolutely fine and encouraged, and coming in school uniform is perfectly acceptable too.

We are excited to share a day full of stories and imagination with the children and thank you, as always, for your continued support.
Waterstones

As part of our World Book Day celebrations each of the classes will be visiting Waterstones in the Whitgift Centre to meet an Author and hear a story. The dates for these visits are as follows:

Reception will be visiting Waterstones on Monday 2^nd March at 11.30am

Year 1 will be visiting Waterstones on Monday 9^th March at 1.45pm

Year 1 will be visiting Waterstones on Thursday 12^th March at 11.30am.

Also, over the next few weeks we are hoping to take part in some live webinars hosted by Scholastic Books, where the children get to hear a story read by an author and they complete activities during this session. Each class has signed up to a live event of their choice and I am sure the children will tell you all about it once they have taken part

Wednesday Word

A word from the Saints

‘The invitation of the transfiguration is to listen to Jesus and to follow him’

Pope Francis

Dear Lord Jesus

Thank you for the sacred places where you are worshipped and praised, and for making our homes sacred through your presence among us.

Amen

Golden Table

Today I had the absolute pleasure of sitting on the Golden Table with six of our children at lunchtime. It was such an enjoyable experience. The children demonstrated impeccable manners throughout – saying “please” and “thank you,” using their cutlery beautifully and engaging in such polite, thoughtful conversation.

The children who joined me this week were:

Elizabeth in St Andrew Class

Isaiah in St George Class

Raphael in St Bernadette Class

Mercy in St Therese Class

Riley in St Francis Class

Skylar in St Martin Class

They were a credit to themselves and to our school. It was lovely to spend time with them and see first-hand the kindness, respect and consideration they show every day. Well done to each of them for setting such a wonderful example.

Healthy Start NHS Scheme

Healthy Start is an NHS scheme that helps families to buy healthy food and milk. The scheme provides support for those more than 10 weeks pregnant or those who have a child under four and receive certain benefits. If you are under the age of 18 and over 10 weeks pregnant, you can apply even if you don’t receive any benefits.

The scheme is worth over £1,000 per child if claimed from early pregnancy until the child’s fourth birthday.

Once approved, you receive a prepaid card that is topped up with payments every four weeks. You can buy fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula with the card, which is accepted in most places that accept Mastercard payments. You can also get free Healthy Start vitamins.

Applying only takes about five minutes, and you receive an instant decision. Apply at www.healthystart.nhs.uk.

If you can’t apply online, call the National Healthy Start Team on 0300 330 7010 (phone lines are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, except public holidays)

MARY’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS TRUST

A letter from Miss L O’Callaghan - CEO

27^th February 2026

Dear St Mary’s Families,

The Archdiocese of Southwark is proposing that St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Trust should join Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust. This process is known as a MAT merger.

The leadership team of Sancta Familia has consulted with St Mary’s Governing Body and is now beginning a consultation period with stakeholders.

Will The Trust definitely join Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust?

The Archdiocese is proposing St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Trust should join Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust. However, the Trust is not obligated to join until parents and carers of pupils at both Academies, staff at the Academies, and pupils themselves have had the opportunity to comment on the proposals.

What are the benefits of becoming part of a Larger Multi Academy Trust (MAT)?

Larger MATs benefit from having larger combined budgets and may be able to fund specialist expertise
Larger MATs improve the prospects of staff retention and recruitment by creating greater opportunities for staff within the expanded trust.
Larger MATs can develop shared professional development programmes.
Larger MATs benefit from shared thinking and planning.
Larger MATs benefit from economies of scale and shared procurement.
Larger MATs can benefit from improved collaboration and accountability.

Are there any disadvantages to joining a larger MAT?

Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust will be directly liable for matters such as insurance, employment liabilities, pensions, health and safety, and property maintenance. However, academies receive more funding from central government to help them meet these additional costs.

What will happen if we join Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust?

The Trust currently responsible for maintaining the Academy will end once the assets and staff of the Trust are transferred to Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust. Subsequently, the trustees of Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust will have responsibility for the Academy after transfer.

Will the admissions arrangements change?

The Trust currently deals with its own admission arrangements. As part of Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, the multi academy trust will become the admissions authority for the Academies and would also still be bound by the national Admissions Code and Admissions Appeals Code.

The current admission arrangements will remain in place for the time being. If the Academy wanted to change its admission arrangements consultation would be required.

Will staff leave?

If the Trust joins Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, all staff currently employed by the Trust will automatically transfer to the multi academy trust on their current pay and conditions.

Will St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Trust change?

Having discussed the transfer and future of our Trust with Sancta Familia Catholic Academy Trust, we do not anticipate changes except in ways in which we think will improve the Academies even more. For students, it is unlikely that they will see much, if any, change in their day-to-day lives in the Academies.

How can I find out more?

There is also more information about multi academies trust on the DfE website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multi-academy-trusts-establishing-and-developing-your-trust

How can I make representations?

To respond to this consultation, representations can be made in writing to:

The Chair of Governors

St Mary’s Catholic Primary Schools Trust

Bedford Park

Croydon

CR0 2AQ

Or by email to: office@st-marys-inf.croydon.sch.uk marked for the attention of the Chair of Governors

The closing date for representations to be made is Thursday 26^th March 2026