Headteacher's News

All the most recent news from Edith

Monday 8th September 2025

Dear parents and carers of Stepney Park Primary School.

It's been a wonderful start to the new term, and we are so proud of how well the children have settled in. Despite some initial challenges and the recent rainy weather, their resilience and positive spirit have been shining through. We are sure you will agree that the return to our familiar school routine has been a welcome comfort for everyone.

Holidays in term time

We would like to remind you of the government's guidance on taking holidays during term time. As you know, attendance at school is of great importance for your child's education and their ability to achieve their full potential. Permission for term-time leave can only be granted by the school under exceptional circumstances.

We understand that you may have specific situations that lead to a request for leave. If you believe your circumstances are truly exceptional, please contact the school office to request an application form. We will consider each request on a case-by-case basis. Our policy can be found on our school website: 

https://www.stepneypark.towerhamlets.sch.uk/_site/data/files/users/12/policies/5E7F46BE89204E2A06BBEC5F4AE1FC9D.pdf

An overview of all school holidays this year can be found here: 

https://www.stepneypark.towerhamlets.sch.uk/page/?title=Term+Dates&pid=30

Permission for educational trips

We are delighted to confirm that we have planned a wonderful variety of educational and exciting trips and experiences for your child's year group this academic year.

To simplify the process for everyone, we are moving to an annual consent model. Instead of seeking permission for each trip individually, we are asking for your consent for all planned trips for the year at one time. We will, of course, send you a reminder with specific details a couple of weeks before each trip, but we will not require a new permission slip. 

You should shortly receive a letter for your child’s year group. Please complete the permission form and return it to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.

Parental Contributions towards educational trips

We have also adjusted our procedure for collecting voluntary parental contributions. To help support our planned school visits, we are requesting a one-off voluntary contribution of £10.00 from parents at the start of each school year. While these contributions are incredibly valuable, they do not cover the entire cost, and the school will continue to supplement the funding from its own budget. We rely on the generosity of as many families as possible to ensure we can keep planning these enriching experiences. To make it more manageable for families with more than one child, requests will be staggered across different year groups over several weeks. Please look out for a ParentPay request, and thank you for your continued support in helping us provide these fantastic opportunities for our children.

Meet the Teacher - Reminder

We would like to invite parents to a year group ‘ Meet The Teacher’ meeting during the next two weeks. This will be a great opportunity to find out what your child will be learning and what their routines and timetables will be like. It will also be a good opportunity to ask the teachers general questions. Parents can come into the school playground by the small Smithy Street entrance and wait there to be taken to the relevant hall, where the meeting will take place. All meetings will start just after 9.00 am and will last about 30 minutes.

Details are as follows:

• Mon 8: Y1

• Tue 9: Y2

• Wed 10: Y3

• Thur 11: Y4

• Mon 16: Y6

• Tues 17: Reception

• Wed 18: Nursery

 

Have a wonderful week,

Kind regards.

Edith Philipsen

Headteacher- Stepney Park Primary School