5th September 2025
Dear Parents/ Carers
It has been lovely to see you all return to Harpenden Academy this week looking refreshed and ready to start the year. We have quite a few new families joining us in other years across the school this term, not just the Reception children which is lovely to see. We hope that you have a long and happy time at your new school.
Our Ladybird children will be starting next week, and Mrs Withers, Mrs Haines and Mrs Welch have been busy this week doing home visits and getting to know our new families.
New faces
We have some new staff members who have joined us this year:
- Miss Fielding is teaching in Moomin class
- Miss Pratchett is teaching in Milne class
- Miss Copas is teaching in Dahl class.
Additionally, we have two new teaching assistants:
- Ms Bainbridge in Dahl class
- Mr Marshall in Shakespeare class.
The entrance area of the school displays the passports of all teachers and teaching assistants, allowing parents and children to learn more about the staff.
In addition, we held a “Meet the Teacher” event on Wednesday after school, where we had the opportunity to share a little about ourselves with the parents who attended. This will be made into a PowerPoint later to be displayed in the entrance hall too.
Mrs Stanger
Our first day back at school was Mrs Stanger’s last day before Baby Stanger arrives next week. We were not sure if she was going to make it back after the holidays, but it was lovely to see her before she left. We will of course keep parents up to date when Baby Stanger arrives.
Phones and smartwatches
Last term, we informed all parents that, as a school community and part of the wider community, we are supporting a smart free phone approach. This initiative is in line with all primary schools in Harpenden and the surrounding villages. We understand that some older children may have existing phone contracts, and parents wish to continue these. For those children, if their phones are kept in the school office, as previously, we have no issue with that.
However, we are noticing a new trend: children are bringing smart watches to school instead. These devices are unnecessary for school activities. We have already experienced incidents where parents message children through their watches during class, which cannot continue. If your child has a smart watch—even if it can be switched to school mode—it must be handed into the school office and collected at the end of the day.
Electronic watches such as Fitbits, analogue watches, and similar devices are perfectly fine - but not a watch that is a smart watch - no thank you.
New entrance to school
Most parents will have already noticed the improved entrance area, which now offers more space for visitors when coming to school. While there are a few finishing touches still to be completed, we are all very pleased with the final result.
Emergency building work
Just before the children returned to school, the school experienced a significant flood in the Key Stage 1 area. This issue persisted throughout the week, and after further examination on Thursday, it was decided that emergency building work is necessary to prevent future flooding.
This decision primarily affects the children in Elmer class, as they will need to walk through the library instead of using the last door to access their classroom in the mornings and at the end of the day. Parents will collect their children from the library door instead.
The work is scheduled to begin this Saturday and is expected to take approximately a week. Members of staff will be available to guide the children during the mornings until they become accustomed to the new arrangement. We hope this solution will effectively address the problem.
Forthcoming dates
Monday 8th September: we will be holding curriculum meetings for all year groups. We have two times available, and we will publish the PowerPoint too. The timings are 3.45pm-4.10pm and 4.15pm-4.45pm. These will be held in your child’s classroom and there is no need to sign up, please just turn up via the main school entrance. The children are welcome to attend with you.
Dates for diaries
We are hoping to have this completed for the whole year by next Friday. The first half term dates were sent out at the end of last term so parents should be aware of what is happening up to half term.
Annual Authorised Pick Up Consent: Deadline: Friday, 19th September 2025
Annual Authorised Pick Up Form
To ensure pupils are only picked up by authorised adults please could you provide a list of nominated people who have permission to pick up your child. We need names of additional authorised adults other than those with parental responsibilities. If one of these people arrives to pick up your child no further checks will be made.
This e-form supersedes any information you have given to the school previously and this form will be completed annually to ensure we have up-to-date information to guarantee the safeguarding of the children.
If your pick up arrangements change over the year then please notify the office by email.
If you have an adhoc pick up arrangement then please notify the office by email and also post it on Class Dojo to the class teacher as early as possible.
Contractor Clubs and Teacher Clubs - Reminder following email communication this week
Thank you for your patience as we navigate everything on Bromcom (MCAS) for the first time. Please email the school office if you notice any issues so we can resolve them.
The booking window to book teacher clubs opened yesterday. You will now be able to login to your child's MCAS profile and select the club option from the menu. If the club is full the system will add your child to the waiting list and the office will inform you if there are any cancellations. We will always do our best to try and accommodate your child’s choices.
Please do not rely on these school clubs as childcare, it is dependent on teacher commitments and we may need to cancel them at short notice.
Magical Maths Reception & Year 1: this club will now start on 22nd September to accommodate when the Reception class are in full time.
Traffiic Light Creative and Performance Arts
NEW AUTUMN TERM OF CREATIVE ARTS CLUB
Welcome Back from FoHA
A very warm welcome back from FoHA, and a special hello to our new Ladybird parents!
We’re delighted to invite you to a coffee morning at The Silver Palate on Friday 12th September, 8:30–10:00am (after drop-off).
This will be a lovely chance to catch up with familiar faces and meet some new friends. Everyone is welcome—there’s no obligation, just come along if you’d like.
About FoHA
Friends of Harpenden Academy (FoHA) is our Parent Teacher Association. We are committed to supporting the school and wider community.
The money we raise is spent on school infrastructure, materials, activities and equipment, all of which make a huge difference to the quality of the school experience our wonderful teachers and staff can provide to the children.
You can find out more about FoHA at www.foha.co.uk
Upcoming Events
A reminder that the FoHA AGM will be held on Tuesday 7th October at 7:00pm at The George, Harpenden.
We have lots of exciting events planned over the coming year, so come along and find out what’s in store!
Interested in getting involved? We are a friendly bunch… please come and have a chat or drop us an email at friendsofharpendenacademy@gmail.com
Class Reps List
Happy Birthday to: Aida (Reception), Jamie (Year 4) and Jensen (Year 3)
Please click here to view our Harpenden Academy vacancies
Please click here to view our Scholars' Education Trust vacancies
