FREE SCHOOL MEALS
Important changes from September 2026
The government has broadened the eligibility criteria, meaning that a greater number of families will now qualify for free school meals. In particular, from September 2026, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to free school meals, regardless of overall household income.
To ensure all eligible pupils are registered and able to access meals from the start of the new academic year, the government has asked schools to carry out a new eligibility check. A letter has recently been emailed home with further details, and can also be found here: Important changes to Free School Meals - June 2026
We kindly ask all families who have previously received FSM, as well as those who currently receive Universal Credit (or believe they may now be eligible), to take a couple of minutes to provide the required details by completing the FSM Eligibility Form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx...
If you have not yet completed the FSM Eligibility Form, please do soon as soon as possible. All information provided is treated in strict confidence, and children’s FSM status is never publicly identified.
If you have any questions or would like help completing the form, please contact the school office.
START OF TERM
September 2026
With the end of term approaching, we wanted to remind you that we will be finishing on Friday 17 July at 1:00pm. More details will follow.
We also wanted to take the opportunity to summarise the start of term arrangements for September:
- Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 September
- Inset Days – students not in school.
- Thursday 3 September
- Y7 and Y12 students are in school all day.
- Y11 students will be in school for a 'Sharp Start Meeting' with their tutors. In addition, this is an excellent opportunity for Y11 to catch up on coursework in school if they are behind. Attendance in school will be compulsory on this day.
- Friday 4 September
- All students (Y7 to Y13) in school
WATER SAFETY REMINDER
Important Warning from the Royal Berkshire Fire Service
With the exams finishing and the continued hot weather, we want to remind you again about water safety.
Sadly, there have been a significant number of deaths in young people from water-related incidents recently.
We request that you take just 10 minutes this week to have an open, honest conversation with your children about water safety.
Here are a few quick talking points to cover:
- Always ask first: Never go near or into water (pools, lakes, rivers, or the ocean) without a trusted adult explicitly saying it’s okay.
- The buddy system: Never swim alone.
- Look out for hazards: Remind them there can be many hidden hazards beneath the surface and that open water behaves differently than a pool—strong currents, sudden drop-offs, and cold temperatures can surprise even strong swimmers.
- What to do in an emergency: Teach them to "Call, Don't Crawl." If a friend is in trouble, they should yell for help or throw a floating object but never jump in to save them – call 999.
- Float to live: If you find yourself in difficulty, lean back, tilt your head above water and calmly control breathing, then swim to safety.
- Life Jackets Matter: If you are on a boat, kayak, or near open water, life jackets are non-negotiable.
Drowning is quick and silent, but a simple conversation can make all the difference. We cannot overstate the importance of water safety education. Swimming lessons are fantastic, but the absolute first line of defence is awareness.
It only takes a moment for a situation to become dangerous. By educating our children and setting strict boundaries now, we can prevent tragedies before they happen.
You may also wish to show them one of the following videos:
‘Drowning - Its Up To You’ from the RLSS. The video is around 15 minutes long, it has been designed to be engaging: Drowning - Its Up To You | Videos & Movies on Vimeo
The video ‘Float to Live’ from the RNLI: Float To Live – What To Do In An Emergency – RNLI
We will also be holding a 'Water Safety' whole-school assembly in July to reinforce the message before the summer holidays. Please talk to your children about water safety. In the meantime, DON'T have the mindset of "It won't happen to us".
