Hamstel Infant School & Nursery Weekly News 9th january 2026

Dear Parents and Carers,

Happy new year and welcome back to the start of the spring term at Hamstel Infants. I hope 2026 is a happy and healthy one for you and your families.   The Christmas break is often a very busy one, so on Tuesday it was lovely to see so many children returning with happy faces, eager to see their friends and excited to come back to school to share their recent news.    This week the children have settled back to their work brilliantly and despite the cold weather, they have still embraced the chances to get outside and get some fresh air. Mrs Shine has done a great job in adapting her outdoor learning lessons to accommodate the freezing conditions and seeing the Reception year children having to break through the ice to free some toys and other objects was a particular highlight.   We have lots of exciting events planned for this term, including numerous sports events, library visits, a royal banquet and an afternoon tea, our science workshops with our crazy scientist, Book Week and the arrival of the Happy Chicks at the end of the term. We also have our Year 1 Spring Show scheduled for the last week of term, just before the Easter holidays. We have so much fun to cram in and we hope that the children really enjoy all of these fabulous events!   We also have a number of parent workshops planned throughout the term and as early as next week, we look forward to welcoming our Reception year parents in for a maths workshop on Friday 16th January led by Miss Goodman, our maths leader. These will take place at 9:00am for Woodpecker & Peacock parents and 2:30pm for Kingfisher and Owl parents. We hope to see you there!   The weather over the weekend and into the beginning of next week, still looks as if its going to be wet and cold, so please ensure that the children are well wrapped up against the elements.   Have a fantastic weekend and we will see you all again on Monday.   Scott Roche Principal   Important Messages   Please find below a few important reminders to start the new year;   1.       Hamstel school clubs start next week.   2.       Bottles brought into school should only contain water. These will be returned to you at the end of the day if other drinks are sent into school and your child will be given water in a cup to drink.   3.       No bikes or scooters to be ridden on site – please ask your children to dismount outside the gates to avoid collisions and congestion. 4.       No smoking or vaping on site. 5.       No dogs anywhere on the site (including held in arms). Thank you for your cooperation. Weekly Celebrations!   This week our special value was Aspire!     The aspirational reasons for being nominated this week included; brilliant writing, independent working, always trying hard, providing excellent answers, super phonics and reading and great handwriting.   Earning a certificate for rising to new heights were Sofia & Blake (Hedgehog), Andre & Georgi (Otter), Blerim & Buster (Fox), Isla H & Wrenly (Squirrel), Isaac & Eesa (Duck), Ruby & Jorgie (Heron), Lainey & Teddy (Newt) and Violet & Maja (Dragonfly).   For the first time, we also had our Reception year classes join us in assembly, so well done to some more ‘aspirational’ children – Coleby-Caine & Mya (Woodpecker), Primrose & Thomas (Peacock), Henrietta & Robyn (Kingfisher) and Barney & Ayleen (Owl).   With high expectations being reinforced at the start of the new year there were lots of Going for Gold stickers awarded this week for earning 20 or more dojos. Well done to the Whole of Hedgehog class who all achieved this feat along with Ezio, Oakley and Baran. A special mention also goes to Floyd, Ruby A, Joe, Luke and Albie who earned special Principal awards for reaching their third going for Gold award.   Our WOW moments were equally as good this week as Clementine, Joanie, Aria, Olivia. Eloise, Clara and Harley all wowed their teachers and classmates with a great range of brilliant moments from both in and out school.   This week the Golden Stars for the classes with the most dojos, went to Peacock class in Reception Year, Duck Class in Year 1 and Hedgehog class in Year 2.   Keep up the great work Hamstel Infants and well done to all our winners of the week!   Attendance Great first week back with our attendance hitting 95.9% , above our 95% target for the first time in several weeks. This week our weekly attendance cups went to…

• Kingfisher class who recorded 99% in Reception
• Newt class who managed a magnificent 100% in Year 1
• Squirrel class, who won the Year 2 cup with a super 98%

Well done Hamstel Infants – lets hope this is a sign of good health and great attendance to come for the spring term!  

Jump to a section...

Spring 1 Diary Dates - Nursery - Reception - Rainbow & Starlight - Year 1

Year 2 - Lunch Menu - PTA - Messages from the Office

Spring 2 Diary Dates - Community

Nursery

Welcome back, the children have settled back into Nursery life well, the children were pleased to see their friends after the Christmas break. This week we have been reading the story ‘Hooray for fish’, we have been learning about animals that live under the sea. In maths we have been looking at different patterns and practising our subitising (Knowing how many there are without having to count.) The children enjoyed mark making in response to music. We listened to ‘The Yellow Submarine. We have been learning the song ‘1,2,3,4,5 once I caught a fish alive’. Click on the link below to listen to the song. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/watch/something-special-once-i-caught-a-fish-alive

REMINDER: Please ensure that you child has spare clothes at Nursery. If you have borrowed clothes could you please return them as our stocks are getting very low. Thank you.

Applying for Reception Year

For ALL children in our nursery parents/guardians MUST apply for a Reception Year place at either our school or another school. There is no automatic entry into our Reception Year for your child. Please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline. The deadline is Thursday 15th January 2026. We have found in previous years that sometimes parents/guardians have not applied and then have not been offered a place at their preferred school. If you have already applied for a Reception Year place for  with your local authority then you do not need to re-apply but please check that you have a confirmation of your submission for your own peace of mind.

Letters sent home this week

• Whole School - CEO Letter - Ofsted News - 08.01.2026
• Nursery - Spring Term Events - 18.12.2025
• Nursery - Spring Term Overview
• Nursery - Spring 1 - KIRFs

Reception

Welcome back and Happy New Year! This week we started our new theme ‘Once upon a time’ by reading the book ‘The Gingerbread Man’ and writing some words and sentences about the story. In PSHE we have been reminding ourselves of the classroom expectations and why it is important to follow these expectations. In PE we have started out new unit on ball skills and started learning to explore different ways of pushing a ball. In DT we will be learning to join materials together in different ways. This week we started exploring different types of glue and using them to stick paper and card together. In RE we have been learning about the bible and why it is a special book for Christians. In outdoor learning we have enjoyed learning about winter and looking for different features of winter in the wildlife area.    CBeebies have a new CBeebies Parenting website offering lots of advice and inspiration for families. Have a look at the exploring resolutions article as we start the new year: How to set fun New Year’s resolutions with your child - BBC Tiny Happy People   How to help at home NELI special words: boots, jacket, hang, wear, helmet, uniform, belt, match. Handwriting: all the long-legged giraffe letters and one-armed robot letters

  Maths Workshop - Friday 16th January 9am: Woodpecker and Peacock 2.30pm: Kingfisher and Owl

Letters sent home this week

• Reception - Feedback from Reception Parents - 09.01.2026
• Whole School - CEO Letter - Ofsted News - 08.01.2026
• Reception - Spring Term Events - 19.12.2025
• Reception - Spring Term Overview

Rainbow & Starlight

Rainbow

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. It has been wonderful to see the children return to school so happy, settled, and ready to learn. Everyone settled in quickly and showed great focus and enthusiasm. This week, the children enjoyed listening to 'The Gingerbread Man' while learning about staying safe and understanding safer strangers. We have continued with RWi, writing, and Maths, revisiting and reinforcing learning from last term. The children have been practising name writing, sentence building, and working with CVC words. They loved joining in with the familiar phrase, “Run, run as fast as you can…”, and created some lovely Gingerbread Man artwork using paper and glue. We are looking forward to another term full of fun, learning, and growth. Thank you, as always, for your continued support and cooperation.

REMINDER: On Monday we have Outdoor Learning, so please provide wellies if you haven't already, and warm clothing, we may also need a change of clothes. Thank you.

Starlight

Welcome back! We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break. It has been wonderful to welcome the children back to school, and they have all settled in brilliantly. It has been great to see them and hear about their holidays. This week, we shared the story 'Ocean Meets Sky' by the Fan Brothers. The children explored the different settings in the story and then designed their own imaginative settings inspired by it. They went on to write setting descriptions, coming up with some fantastic ideas – including dancing jellyfish! In maths, we have continued learning and applying our knowledge of the 2-, 5- and 10-times tables. In Geography, we located and named the continents of the world. We also learned about Antarctica and the Arctic, identifying some of their key features and characteristics. Thank you for your continued support. We are looking forward to another exciting term ahead.

REMINDER: Outdoor Learning on Monday. Please dress your child in appropriate clothing and provide a spare change of clothes too. Thank you. 

Year 1

Happy New Year, Welcome back!  This week in literacy we have been reading the story ‘The Something’. We used our imagination to think about what creature or animal ‘the something’ might be. We drew a picture and wrote a character description about it.  In maths we have been learning about addition to 20. We used different skills such as counting on from the greatest number and making ten first.  In Geography we are learning to name and describe the seasons. We also looked at the weather related to each season and how it changes over time. We learned about what a rain gauge is and how to read and record the level of rain.  In PSHE we learned about what a community is and discussed what communities we belong to. 

REMINDER: Outdoor Learning next week:

• Tuesday - Duck Class
• Wednesday - Newt Class
• Thursday - Dragonfly Class
• Friday - Heron Class

Letters sent home this week

• KS1 - Feedback from KS1 Parents - 09.01.2026
• Whole School - CEO Letter - Ofsted News - 08.01.2026 ​
• Year 1 - Spring Term Events - 15.12.2025
• Year 1 - Spring Term 1 Overview
• Year 1 - Home Challenges

Year 2

Welcome back!  This week in literacy the children have enjoyed the story 'Ocean meets Sky'. The children enjoyed collecting adventurous vocabulary from the story and creating their own setting inspired by the book. In maths, the children have recapped multiplication and have used their knowledge of the times tables to solve problems. In geography, the children have learnt about the continents of the world and have begun exploring the polar regions and their features. 

Applying for Year 3 If you haven't yet applied please ensure that your application is submitted by the deadline. The deadline is Thursday 15th January 2026. We have found in previous years that sometimes parents/guardians have not applied and then have not been offered a place at their preferred school. It is important not to miss this deadline. If you have applied for a Year 3 place with your local authority then you do not need to re-apply but please check that you have a confirmation of your submission for your own peace of mind. As an Infant School, all children leave us when they finish Year 2 in July. A place is NOT automatically allocated to them in Hamstel Junior School. You will need to make an application if you would like your child to go to Hamstel Junior School, or any other Junior or Primary School. If you have applied for a school outside of Southend, please let the school office know.

Letters sent home this week

• KS1 - Feedback from KS1 Parents - 09.01.2026
• Whole School - CEO Letter - Ofsted News - 08.01.2026
• Year 2 - Spring Events - 15.12.2025
• Year 2 - Spring Term 1 Overview
• Year 2 - Home Challenges

Support Our School with Easyfundraising!

Our PTA is using Easyfundraising to help raise money for our school and you can help too, simply by doing your everyday shopping online! It’s completely free to use and takes just a minute to get started.

1. 🛒 Here’s how it works: Visit our fundraising page here
2. Click “Support this cause” and create your free account.
3. Start your online shopping at your favourite retailers (like Amazon, Argos, Tesco, M&S, Just Eat and many more!).
4. The retailer sends us a free donation at no extra cost to you!

It’s an easy way to support our school while doing what you’re already doing online. Every penny raised goes directly towards enriching the learning experience for our children from new equipment and resources to fun events and activities. Please take a moment to sign up and share the link with friends and family too!

Messages from the Office

Parking around the school

Have you spotted unsafe, illegal and inconsiderate parking near to the school at drop off and collection times? As a citizen if you see problem or illegal parking you can report this - the link for Southend Council is here Report a Parking Problem and the link for Essex Police is here Report antisocial behaviour | Essex Police

Arbor Hints and Tips

How to make a payment towards the Enrichment Events:

1. The payment item can be found on your child’s main profile page under ‘Quick Actions’, ‘Trips’, choose this option.
2. You will see a section 'Trips Open to (your child's name), choose School Enrichment Events.
3. Now you can view the information and on the right hand side of the page is a 'Sign up ....' button, choose this option.
4. The cost for the Spring Term events your child will be taking part in is ��6.00, increase the amount to pay to this figure or you can also choose to pay the full amount.
5. You can now choose to 'Add to basket' - use this option if there are other items you want to pay for in one total transaction.
6. Or choose 'Make Payment'. You will then be asked to add your card details and confirm the payment.

If you are unable to make payments using the system after following these steps please contact the school office.

Breakfast and After School Club

To change or cancel Breakfast or After School Club you need to contact the office. Parents are unable to change/amend their own bookings. If your child is booked into After School Club or Breakfast Club, it will show on their calendar in Arbor, including the session i.e SHORT, FULL, LATE. A full week view can be seen by clicking the blue arrow in the ‘Calendar’ tab.

Community

Course for Carers of children aged 0-25 years with SEND.

A six-week programme to support the health and wellbeing of carers. It is free and more information and registration is through Eventbrite.     https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ssif-6-week-healthy-parent-carer-programme-tickets-1976576391194?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl