New Shepherd Families

Welcome to Shepherd Primary School!

Please find below a few messages and reminders to support new families starting at our school:

Please return all completed forms to the school office, before your child starts.
If your child has any medication e.g. asthma inhaler, epi pen, Piriton etc., please ensure that you have filled in the relevant forms at the school office and that the medication is handed in before your child starts with us.
Please ensure your child brings a named water bottle to school each day (please only fill with water).
Please ensure that all belongings are named, including all items of school uniform.
Please ensure your child arrives between 8:40 and 8:50am each day.
School finishes at 3:20pm each day.
Please note that if someone other than you is coming to collect your child from school, you will need to advise the school office at least one hour before they are due to be collected.
We are a nut-free school so nuts of any type should not be brought into school, this includes sandwich spreads.
If your child currently receives Free School Meals, please re-apply at: www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/freeschoolmeals
School letters and correspondence will be emailed home to you via Arbor
School lunches can be booked via School Grid – an invite will be emailed to you
School lunches are prepared by Herts Catering Ltd - a copy of the current menu can be found at: www.hcl.co.uk If you need to request a special menu for your child (e.g. cultural or food allergy/intolerance), please visit: www.specialmenu.hcl.co.uk
Online payments for school trips etc can be made by School Gateway – to register, go to: www.schoolgateway.com
Weekly Home Learning is set on Google Classroom, MyMaths & Times Tables Rock Stars – your child will be given login details by their class teacher
Children in Nursery and Reception only have an online learning journal, Tapestry – an invite will be emailed to you

Managing Celebrations at School

There is a long-standing custom of children bringing sweets and chocolate into school to share with classmates, for various different special celebratory events, including birthdays and cultural celebrations, e.g. Diwali.

This is becoming increasingly challenging for us to manage, for the following reasons:

We have a significant number of children at school who have allergies – not just to nuts, but to many different things, including dairy, gluten and different fruits. It is very difficult to make sure that no child with an allergy takes home food which contains ingredients they are allergic to, which could harm them.
We have children at Shepherd who for dietary reasons cannot consume certain foods. Again, it is very difficult to make sure that no child with a health dietary requirement, takes home food which contains ingredients they are not allowed to consume, which could harm them.
We are lucky to have children and families at our school who come from a whole range of backgrounds, with different cultural beliefs. It is very difficult to make sure that no child is given something which contravenes their family’s cultural or religious beliefs, for example gelatine, which is often found in cakes and sweets, is an animal derived product and therefore is not suitable for children who are vegetarians for cultural or religious reasons.

In addition, healthy eating is an important message which is important to us as a school - giving out sweets contradicts this important message.

Finally, we as a school are aware of the cost-of-living pressures on families, some of whom may find keeping up with the tradition of bringing sweets and chocolates into school, financially challenging.

So children are not allowed to bring any food at all into school to share with classmates. This way, we ensure that no child with an allergy consumes anything they shouldn’t; no child consumes anything that goes against their cultural or religious beliefs; we continue to reinforce our message about healthy eating; and no parent is under pressure to provide something for their child’s classmates which puts them under financial strain.

As a school, we will continue to celebrate religious festivals across the curriculum and celebrate children’s birthdays by presenting them with a birthday bookmark and badge in assembly