St. Mary's School Welcome Pack 2024-2025

ST. MARY’S SCHOOL, HAMPSTEAD

Come

WELCOME A Head’s

A very warm welcome to the St. Mary’s School community, from Headmistress Charlotte Owen

I am delighted to welcome you and your daughter to St Mary’s, Hampstead You are joining a very happy community of individuals who are able to flourish in their learning journey and personal growth thanks to our caring ethos and excellent teaching and pastoral provision As parents you will realise that this very special place is one of warmth and friendship where our girls are guided to become respectful, resilient, risktaking, and reflective leaders of the future

Humble confidence and developing into a decent human being with integrity is what we want all our girls to be while working hard on the building blocks of an outstanding preparatory education We do encourage you as parents to become fully involved in the life of the school so that St Mary’s can continue to be the vibrant, dynamic, and incredibly happy community that has been described in years gone by as “Happy Hampstead ”

I look forward to getting to know you better

Best wishes, Charlotte

TERM DATES

2024-2025

AUTUMN TERM 2024

Monday 2nd September - INSET for Staff (School Closed)

Tuesday 3rd September - INSET for Staff (School Closed)

Wednesday 4th September - Term Starts

Monday 21st October-Friday 1st November - Half Term

Monday 4th November - Pupils Return

Friday 13th December - Term Ends 12:30pm

SPRING TERM 2025

Monday 6th January - INSET for Staff (School Closed)

Tuesday 7th January - Term Starts

Monday 17th-21st February - Half Term

Monday 24th February - INSET for Staff (School Closed)

Tuesday 25th February - Pupils Return

Wednesday 2nd April - Term Ends 12:30pm

SUMMER TERM 2025

Wednesday 23rd April - Term Starts

Monday 5th May - Bank Holiday (School Closed)

Monday 26th-Friday 30th May - Half Term

Monday 2nd June - INSET for Staff (School Closed)

Tuesday 3rd June - Pupils Return

Friday 4th July - Term Ends 12:30pm

SCHOOL UNIFORM MUSIC LESSONS & PE CLUBS

Attached to your welcome email will be our Uniform List

Uniform can be purchased online or in store from our retail partner Uniform4Kids. We also regularly hold Second Hand Uniform Sales at school, the dates for which will be available in our School Calendar. All uniform items must be clearly labelled. Children are not permitted to wear make-up and hair should be kept tidy and tied back (if long).

Children may wear a watch (not a smart watch), a small cross or religious item, and small studs if ears are pierced.

On your child’s first day, they will be given a school book bag (for Early Years, Years 1 and 2) or backpack (Year 3 and above)

Children in Year 1 and above are able to book peripatetic Music tuition at the school We offer Piano, Violin, Woodwind (Flute, Recorder) and Singing Lessons. The booking form is attached to your welcome email. Please speak to Mr Wood if you have any questions.

Children in Year 1 and above are able to join a variety of extra-curricular sport clubs and activities. Parents joining these year groups will be contacted by the Head of PE during the summer holidays with further information.

St Mary‘s also offers a variety of non-PE clubs throughout the year, run by both internal staff and external companies We share the full club timetable for each term in advance, with instructions of how to sign up

ST. MARY’S

THE SCHOOL DAY

ARRIVAL

Arrival at the beginning of the school day is deliberately over an extended period in order to minimise congestion

The main school doors are opened at 8 00am Please note pupils do not have to come to school before 8 45am Pre-Nursery, Nursery and Reception pupils may go straight to their classroom All other pupils should go to the playground where a member of staff will be on duty

Registration takes place at 8.45am. It is only after 8.45am that pupils are deemed to be late.

DEPARTURE

The dismissal of classes at the end of the day are staggered:

3.30 pm Mini Explorers & Explorers

3.30 pm Reception

3.35 pm Year 1

3.40 pm Year 2

3.45 pm Year 3

3.50 pm Year 4

3.55 pm Year 5

4.00 pm Year 6

If you have more than one daughter at the school, you may collect your younger daughter at the same time as the older daughter. Pupils who are not collected on time are brought to the entrance hall where they wait on the stairs with the teacher who is on duty If they are not collected within 10 minutes of their expected collection, your daughter will join After School Club, which is chargeable

AFTER SCHOOL CLUB HOLIDAY CLUB

We run an After School Club every day until 6pm The cost is £21 50 per child per session for children in Reception to Year 6 and £25 per child per session for children in MiniExplorers and Explorers (billed in arrears at the end of term)

We provide a 45-minute session to support the girls with their reading or homework, followed by a light snack and a variety of activities. The booking form for ‘ASC’ is attached to your welcome email. For further details, contact the Club Co-ordinator: afterschool@stmh.co.uk

We run Holiday Club during every holiday, including half terms Booking information will be shared in our weekly Friday parent newsletter, with booking typically opening the half term before the club

The Holiday Club team can be reached at holidayclub@stmh co uk

A MESSAGE FROM

Mr Wood, Head of Admissions

Welcome to St Mary’s! We are so looking forward to you joining our happy community Just a reminder, please send your Pupil Information Form back to me by Friday 5th July, and also complete our online Permissions Questionnaire. You will receive our termly calendar via post during the holiday, and a weekly Friday newsletter in termtime with our school news and events. If you have any questions prior to your arrival, you can reach me anytime by emailing admissions@stmh.co.uk.

TUITION FEES

Fees for the academic year are published on our website

Fees are reviewed annually and are subject to increase from time to time. Normally, Trustees will notify parents in April for the coming September.

BILLING CYCLE

Termly fee invoices will be emailed each term and are due and payable before the start of the term to which they relate. Extras are billed in arrears, and emailed at the end of each term. The charge for tuition fees includes the annual cost of all non-residential trips.

LUNCH CHARGE

This charge is compulsory for pupils in Reception to Year 6 (other than on medical grounds) and will be included on the fee invoice automatically for all pupils. Pre-Nursery and Nursery pupils who opt to stay for lunch and or afternoon sessions will be billed in arrears at the end of each term

FEES REFUND SCHEME

Fees are not normally refunded, reduced or waived if a child does not attend school (see our Terms and Conditions)

However, an optional fees refund scheme, provided through Marsh Limited, is available which provides for fees to be refunded (provided conditions are met) if a child is unable to attend school due to sickness, accident or quarantine Your first term’s fee invoice will include this automatically You have the choice to opt in or out Full details of the scheme will be provided with your termly fee invoice and are available on Firefly

TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING NOTICE PERIOD

Please refer to the Terms and Conditions which are published on our website

FURTHER INFORMATION AND SUPPORT

If you have any financial queries or require any further information or support with paying your fees, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Sara Gibbins, Bursar (sara gibbins@stmh co uk), or Ms Debbie Stewart, Finance Manager (debbie stewart@stmh co uk)

FINANCE →

HOUSES The School

‘Women will do great things in times to come’ Mary Ward

The School is divided into four Houses into which each pupil is assigned. Sisters are always in the same House. Your daughter will be allocated a House when she arrives in September. The House who earns the most points during the year will win the House Cup at Prize Giving!

WARD: Named after Mary Ward, Founder of the Congregation of Jesus (formerly the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

BEDINGFIELD: Named after Frances Bedingfield, companion of Mary Ward.

LOYOLA: Named after St Ignatius Loyola, Founder of the Jesuit Order.

DE PORRES: Named after St Martin de Porres, born in 1597. He was the son of a Spanish knight and a free black woman from Panama. He was a Dominican Monk in Lima, Peru.

Note: The circle of red flames which appears on the School badge is an ancient emblem of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). It refers to a statement of St Ignatius of Loyola. He hoped that his followers would “set the world on fire with the love of God”.

If your child is ill at school, a member of staff will call you We ask your consent to administer basic, non-prescription medication, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, as part of our medical information and consent forms Such medication will only be administered in accordance with school protocols We cannot administer other medication unless we get your written permission

Simple first aid will be carried out at school Parents will be notified of all head injuries as a matter of routine Parents will be contacted if we suspect broken bones or a serious injury

Parents of children in EYFS are told on the same day, at pick up or by telephone, when medicine/treatment has been administered

Please make sure that all contact details (mobile and landline telephone numbers, email addresses and home addresses), including work details, are always kept up to date to ensure we can always contact you in an emergency If necessary, if the injury is exceptionally serious, we may take a child directly to hospital and arrange to meet you there.

If your child is ill at home, please do not bring your child to school, but telephone (020 7435 1868) or email the school (absences@stmh.co.uk) each day until your child returns to school. Please do ensure your child has fully recovered before they return to school. We suggest looking at the NHS guidance: www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Yourchildatschool/Pages/Illness.aspx.

Please note it is not the School’s policy to provide homework for children who are absent due to illness.

If a pupil is required to complete a course of medication e.g. antibiotics, then the medicine should be handed into the School Office together with our medication permission form (you can ask Mr Wood or the School Office for this) and may be administered only by a person designated by the school Any medication requiring a prescription in the UK must show that it has been prescribed to your daughter

If your child has a serious or on-going medical condition, we will arrange a meeting with you and we will work together to set-up a Health Care Plan for your child

MEDICINE Illness, First Aid &

USEFUL INFO

GETTING TO SCHOOL

We encourage children to walk to school where possible or join a Car Pool (details of this are included on the Pupil Information Form and on Firefly)

By Bus: St. Mary’s also has its very own bus stop, right outside the school. Bus numbers 46 (between Camden and Lancaster Gate) and 603 (between Highgate, Muswell Hill and Swiss Cottage) serve this bus stop.

By Train: The nearest tube stations are Hampstead (Northern Line), Swiss Cottage (Jubilee Line), Finchley Road (Jubilee and Metropolitan Line) and Finchley Road & Frognal (Overground).

Parking: Please do not park in front of the school main gates as a clear entry/exit is needed at all times in case of emergencies.

We also recommend the local site ‘Green School Runs‘; the link can be found here

CONTACT INFORMATION

Reception: 0207 435 1868

Head of Admissions & Marketing: 0207 435 1568

Email: office@stmh.co.uk

Website: www.stmh.co.uk

Firefly (School Intranet): https://stmh fireflycloud net

A staff list will be available to you in September In order to contact a member of staff directly by email, use the following formula: firstname surname@stmh co uk

Appointments with the Headmistress should be booked via her PA You can contact the Headmistress’ PA by email (heads pa@stmh co uk), or by telephoning the school office

If you have an urgent message, please call or email the School Office (0207 435 1868 or office@stmh co uk) and they will ensure that the message is passed on Please do not email your child’s class teacher without copying in the School Office as teachers are not able to regularly access their emails during the school day