Mrs Scarth's Start of Spring Term Letter
Posted 9th January 2026
9th January 2026
Dear Parent/Carer
Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed a lovely Christmas holiday and 2026 is a happy, healthy and prosperous one for you all. Our children have settled quickly back into school and made a positive start to the new year. I have enjoyed listening to many interesting new year’s resolutions!
Emergency School Closure Plans and Arbor In-App Messaging
Whilst we have missed the heavy snowfall that much of the UK has experienced this week, it has been a very frosty start to term with sub-zero temperatures and icy conditions. I would like to thank Mr Rowniki (site supervisor) for his efforts to ensure school has been safe this week by gritting the paths each day.
I have updated information for you regarding our response to extreme weather conditions, which you can access on our school website.
Please do take time to read this, so that you are aware of where to find it on our website for future reference. Closing school due to snow/ice is never an easy decision, but the safety of children, parents and staff is at the centre of all considerations.
With that, can I please encourage you to install Arbor In-App messaging onto your mobile phones, as this is our main way of communicating with you quickly. Follow the links for guidance, if you haven’t done so already.
If you are having problems with this, please do contact our school admin team who are more than happy to help. Thank you.
What I wish my parents / carers knew: A guide for parents on managing children’s digital lives.
The Children’s Commissioner has recently published this new guide.
Supporting children’s safety is a shared responsibility between families, schools and wider society. For parents and carers, this responsibility has become increasingly complex as children’s lives are now deeply intertwined with the digital world. Many parents face difficult decisions about how to balance protecting children from online harm with enabling access to spaces that are now central to learning, socialising and play. I hope you find this guide useful.
Smartphone Free Childhood
If you are interested in joining the Oatlands SFC WhatsApp group plea follow the link below:
This is a voluntary group run by parents and carers for parents and carers. Visit our webpage to find out more.
In addition to the video from the Children's Commissioner, a recommendation for two books, the Amazing Generation and the Anxious Generation, have been added to the page recently. Visit the page to find out more.
Spring Term Calendar
We have lots of exciting things planned for this term, with parent consultations happening the first week back after half-term holiday:
Monday 23rd February – Years 5 and 6
Tuesday 24th February - Years 3 and 4 and Y5 Tigers
Wednesday 25th February– Years 5 and 6 - not Tigers
Thursday 26th February - Years 3 and 4
The 2026 Spring Term calendar of events and Spring term curriculum overviews are on the school website for each year group:
Bike Bus
Oatlands Infant and Junior School Bike Bus will be returning in January. There will be more information about dates and times emailed to parents and carers next week.
Volunteers
We always welcome parent/carer volunteers to help with any school trip or into school to read with children. If any of the topics for next term are of a particular interest to you, then please contact your child’s class teacher. It is always great to have parents enrich our curriculum, sharing their knowledge and skills associated with their profession or interests.
Social Media
Our Instagram account is now live. Follow to find out more about all the exciting things that children at Oatlands Junior School get up to. We will continue to post news stories on our website, to give parents and carers a range of places to find out about children’s learning.
Follow at: Instagram
A polite reminder that our Instagram is for sharing celebrations and not a platform for parents/carers/followers to air complaints or negative comments about our school. Please do contact your child’s class teacher or me if there is something you are unhappy about, so that we can work together to resolve any issue. Thank you.
A reminder that our weekly news and information is shared through the school website. This is an accessible and convenient way of keeping up-to-date with school news.
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Estelle Scarth
Headteacher
