Serving God and others in Love, Faith and Hope
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School
Sporle Road, Swaffham, Norfolk. PE37 7HL
01760 721330 Email: admin@sacredheartcps.uk

Headteacher’s Memo – February 06, 2026

 

Dear Parent/Carer

 

We have had a busy week in school with visits from both our governors and Trust leaders who have commented favourably on the progress the school is making in relation to our school improvement plan. This is borne out by the phonics data for both Reception and Year 1 which is already up on last year’s final outcomes. We are also seeing more children working at or above expected level in core curriculum areas. Despite this we still have more work to do, and further catch-up intervention is needed to help all children reach the levels we would like to see. To that end, we ask parents to support with the homework being set on Numbots, TT Rockstars, My Maths and Lexia for KS2 pupils. The online platforms are fun and crucial in helping children to maximise their potential.

 

Ms Stuart’s assembly this week focused on ‘Belonging’, and the importance of making school a place where people feel they belong.

 

The following pupils have been commended by their teachers for demonstrating this quality over the course of this:

 

Reception - Maeve:
For always being so thoughtful and caring with her classmates.
Year 1/2 - Riley:
For helping our new class member feel welcome at school.
Year 3/4 - Mia
For speaking out and being a caring member of the class.
Year 5/6: Kenny
For encouraging children to engage in their learning and work together within the classroom.

 

This week we also celebrated the following:

 

Secret Students

 

A student is chosen anonymously and randomly at the start of each school day. The class teacher will then monitor the positive behaviour of the secret student throughout the day and that student is named if they have demonstrated our school values throughout the day.

 

The secret students who were celebrated in our celebration assembly this week were:

 

Reception – Elijah, Rena, Lucas, Evie, Skylah
Year 1/2 – Delilah, Amelie, Luna, Maggie
Year 3/4 – Layla – Jo, Harley
Year 5/6 – Kenny, Sienna

 

Well done to you all for demonstrating good, positive behaviours.

 

Attendance Matters

 

As you all know students thrive and strive when they are in school. Year 3/4 were this weeks’ best attenders - Well done!

 

Maths homework

 

To support your child's Maths learning we have set them up on an interactive platform called MyMaths. This should help your child to structure their maths work and enable you to see how they are progressing. Coming home this evening is a letter detailing their username and password. Please go to www.mymaths.co.uk and follow the instructions on your letter to help your child to log-in, initially using the school username and password. You will find games and activities on the dashboard, which can be completed at any time. They will then need to log in to their portal and complete activities set for them by their teacher. This may be a lesson to watch and then a homework activity.

 

Please find engagement statistics below – we need these figures to increase so if there any barriers, please do let us know so that we can help.

 

Times Tables Rock Stars
Times Tables Rock Stars is an award-winning maths learning platform where children can practise their times tables like a rock star! The programme takes the worry out of learning times tables and has a proven track record of boosting children’s fluency and recall in multiplication and division. Your child should now have login details next week, please let us know if that is not the case. This is the same as last year. Please encourage your child to interact with the platform.

 

Numbots

 

This week, Reception have been given their own username and password for Numbots which they can access from home. This game is from the same people who created Times Tables Rock Stars and will help children progress from counting to calculating. Please encourage them to engage as much as possible at home.

 

The statistics this week show a decline in engagement (highlighted in red from Reception and Y5/6). Homework is integral to success and that success helps with positive emotions such as motivation and pride. All parents need to encourage their children to engage and let us know if there are any barriers to engagement.

 

Year 4 MTCs

 

Year 4 students have to undertake multiplication tables check in the summer term. Using the link below and TT rockstars, children can practice and improve their ability to complete these assessments and develop a key arithmetic skill necessary for other mathematic functions.

 

Year 4, Key Stage 2, Practice Times Tables Tests (Multiplication Tables Check)
Year 6 Booster sessions
Year 6 students are invited to attend booster sessions for both English and Maths after school on Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30pm.
Phonics - Supporting your child at home.

 

We would like to signpost you to the 'For Parents' area of the Little Wandle website for further resources to help you support your child with phonics at home. Here you will find some useful videos and information packs which demonstrate how to say the sounds and how we teach writing the letters. You can search via the Little Wandle website or alternatively, click on the link via our school website under 'Our Phonics Curriculum' area.
www.littlewandle.org.uk

 

Year 6 students are invited to attend booster sessions for both English and Maths after school on Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30pm.

 

Wider Curriculum Development

 

Swimming

 

We are pleased to announce that we will be starting our swimming lessons for KS2. Please can I remind you to complete the consent form sent home this week.

 

School trips

 

To enrich the curriculum, we will be increasingly organising school trips. It is vital that consent forms are completed on time for these events to occur.

 

Year 6 students are invited to attend booster sessions for both English and Maths after school on Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30pm.

 

Friends of Sacred Heart

 

We are looking forward to seeing you at this Friday’s
Valentine’s Disco and our first FOSH event of the year!
Please see the poster for further information.

 

Breakfast Club

 

We are delighted to introduce our Breakfast Club, running every school day from 8:10 AM to 8:40 AM. This is a great way for your child to start the day in a calm and positive environment. Please contact the school office if you would like a place for your child.
The sessions will be free of charge and will be run by Mr Greenwood and Miss Patel.

 

What’s on the menu? To begin with, we’ll be serving toast to all children who attend.

 

Year 6s will be working on Maths and/or English.
Details:
Time: 8:10 AM – 8:40 AM
Location: Y5/6 Classroom

 

School Food Bank – watch this space!

 

We are working closely with Tesco to offer families support with provisions during times of hardship. We will be notifying parents once we have received the donations.

 

Notices
Please can you be reminded that children bringing in scooters and bicycles should walk them when they pass the main school gates for safety reasons.
Please can you ensure that your child/ren come to school in full school uniform, if you need help with this, we have been donated lots of uniform or can assist in getting funds to help support you with this.
We are a ‘nut-free’ school. To that end, please do not send your child in with nuts for packed lunch or use peanut butter for sandwiches.

Please find a questionnaire that we encouraged you to complete before the Christmas break. Parent / Carer survey - SHS – Fill out form.

 

Dates for the diary
Friday 13th February: FOSH Valentines DISCO
Thursday 5th March: World Book Day. Details to follow
Week Beginning 9th March: Parents Evening Sessions. Details to follow