Welcome from the Head Teacher
As a practising Roman Catholic, I am extremely proud to be the HeadTeacher at St Ethelbert's Catholic Primary School and Nursery. Since starting in September 2020, I lead an experienced, hardworking, outward looking and committed team who look forward to developing the school further for the children and local community. I have worked in Thanet throughout my whole career so know the area very well.
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14th September 2026
Individual and sibling photos will be today Monday 14th September. Please make sure the children are smart and in full school uniform. Thank you.
11th September 2026
Latest Newsletter from Mr Marshall Loving God, Bless our schools as we begin this new academic year. Guide our leaders, inspire our teachers, support our families, and help our pupils to grow in wisdom, faith, and love. May all that we do reflect the example of Christ and strengthen our mission as Catholic communities. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Dear St Ethelbert's Community, We're excited to begin another year of learning, growth, and achievement together. As always, we are incredibly proud of our children and the progress they continue to make. This year, we remain ambitious and forward-thinking in our approach, and we're pleased to share our school vision and priorities for 2026–2027. Raising Expectations, Deepening Learning At the heart of our vision this year is a strong focus on challenge and depth. We want all our pupils to be confident, curious learners who think deeply and work hard. That's why we are continuing to strengthen the questions we ask in lessons, whether spoken or written, encouraging children to reflect more, explain their thinking, and push their understanding even further Retaining Knowledge and Building Stronger Foundations Learning doesn't just happen in the moment it needs to stick. That's why we're focusing on helping pupils recall, revisit, and apply what they've learned regularly. This helps them make strong connections between topics and deepen their understanding over time. To support this, we're embedding Cold and Hot Quizzes across all subjects. These short assessments help children reflect on their starting points and celebrate their progress by the end of a unit. You will find these in your child's books in every subject, every term by the end of the year. More Pupils Working at Greater Depth We continue to strive for higher standards in teaching and learning, and this includes increasing the number of pupils working at greater depth by 6%. Teachers will be using developmental marking and deeper questioning to stretch children's thinking and promote high-quality responses. Improving Attendance for All Regular attendance is essential to every child's success. This year, we continue to implement effective attendance strategies to ensure our whole school attendance continues to meet or exceeds national averages. We will also continue to place a particular focus on reducing persistent absence among our Pupil Premium children, helping all children make the most of their time in school. Last year, attendance improved but there is always more to do. More trips and more clubs Increase enrichment activities across the school, providing a minimum of 3 educational trips per year group and offering unique extra-curricular clubs (e.g., West End acting/theatre). Working Together We know that strong partnerships between school and home lead to the best outcomes for children. Thank you for your ongoing support, your encouragement at home, and your belief in our shared mission. Let's make 2026–2027 a year of achievement, joy, and excellence together Kent Test A very well done to all our Year 6 children who completed their Kent Test yesterday. They all took it in their stride. I have never known a year group take part in the test in such a calm manner. They all tried their best and now we have to wait for the results. Results will come out to the parent email address you registered the Kent Test to on Thursday 15th October no later than 4pm. ClassDojo Updates & New Milestone Certificates This Wednesday, our teaching staff met to refine our ClassDojo communication system, ensuring a consistent and fair approach across the entire school. Moving forward, you may notice a few positive changes to how points are awarded. Children can now earn single points across three key categories linked directly to our school values, including Inclusion, Knowledge, and Thoughtfulness. To further celebrate exceptional effort, we have introduced a Superstar Dojo worth 2 points, as well as an Out of This World Dojo worth 5 points for children who earn the golden class star! Rather than resetting each term, points will now accumulate over the entire school year, allowing pupils to work toward exciting new milestone certificates. A huge thank you to Mr. Clinch for designing these fantastic awards (pictured below)! Point Milestones: Bronze Certificate: 50 points Silver Certificate: 100 points Gold Certificate: 200 points Platinum Certificate: 300 points Diamond Certificate: 500 points Thank you for your continued support as we recognize and celebrate your children's hard work and character throughout the year! We know how much you value ClassDojo as a window into your child's day, so to support this, we have created a new policy, which is attached to this newsletter and available on our school website. To maintain high professional standards and protect teaching time, staff will only respond to messages when available between 8:00am and 5:00pm, and will not reply during active lessons or outside these hours. We kindly ask all parents to read the full policy to see how we can best work together. On an exciting note, we are delighted to launch two new ways to celebrate our pupils! First, we are introducing a "Positive Postcard" scheme each week, two children from every class will be selected by their teacher to receive a surprise praise postcard directly in the post. Second, we have revamped our Values Certificates for assembly. Two children per class will be recognized each week for demonstrating our key school values: Inclusion, Knowledge, or Thoughtfulness. Keep an eye out for these refreshed certificates and a happy delivery in your mailbox soon! Individual and Sibling photos Individual and sibling photos will be on Monday 14th September. Please make sure the children are smart and in full school uniform. Year 6 parents - Secondary School Places It's time to start thinking about secondary schools For children starting year 7 in September 2027 applications opened on Monday 1 September and close on Monday 2 November 2026. You can apply for up to 4 schools: Put the schools in your order of preference. It's in your best interest to list 4 schools. Naming only one school does not guarantee your child a place at that school or give priority for a place over another child. You are not able to name the same school more than once. Details can also be found on our website. https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/school-places/secondary-school-places Wishing you all a relaxing weekend. God Bless Mr Marshall Headteacher School Individual and Sibling photos Individual and sibling photos will be on Monday 14th September. Please make sure the children are smart and in full school uniform. Thank you. Year 6 Residential parent meeting There will be a parent information evening for Y6 parents on Tuesday 22nd September at 3.20pmto share more details and answer any questions. Nursery - Virtual Tour Experience our nursery space first-hand with our immersive virtual tour. SEND Please click here for the latest Kent County Council Newsletter for SEND. Here you will find the latest news on Children's mental health, KCC SEND progress to date and further general advice, guidance and support. Kent Adult Education Please see attached information about the September Family Learning online courses, along with community workshops which are happening in Thanet, Canterbury and Dover. All courses are free to eligible learners and cover a range of topics designed to support family life, wellbeing and learning. For full information and to book your free place please visit : www.kentadulteducation.co.uk Non-uniform for CAFOD On Friday 25th September we will be having a non-uniform day for CAFOD. Children can wear their own clothes for a £1 cash donation with all the money going directly to the charity. Following this, on Monday 5th October we will have an assembly with John Darby, a representative from the charity, who will share details with the children about how their fundraising makes a life changing difference. Our ongoing target is to raise £750 for a community water supply. Thank you for your continued generosity! Scholastic Travelling Book Fair We are delighted and excited to announce that after its success last year, the Scholastic Book Fair will be returning to St Ethelbert's! The Book Fair will be on the KS2 Front playground before and after school on 1st and 2nd October and on Year 1 and 2 playground before and after school on 5th and 6th October. However, you are welcome to visit either playground on the day and time that suits you best. There will be over 200 books to choose from to suit all ages, interests and budgets. For every book that you purchase, you will help us to earn free books for our school. Like last year, we are unable to accept cash payments. If you wish to purchase a book, there will be a QR code to scan with your phone which will take you to the Scholastic website where you can make payment. We can't wait to see you all! Mrs Webb and Mrs Russell Children showing our school values this week Year Group Class Name/Saint Name Child Value Reason for Value Nursery United Kingdom Saint George Olueze Thoughtfulness Being really kind and welcoming to our new Nursery children! Kyran Knowledge Trying really hard to learn, and join in, with our phonics rhymes Reception Poland Saint Jadwiga All of Reception Inclusion Settling into school amazingly well! Very proud! Year 1 Romania Saint Andrew Penelope Thoughtfulness Her calm, thoughtful and focused approach to the class assembly Chester Inclusion Participating in the whole class PE lesson when learning basketball skills. Year 2 Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary Archie Thoughtfulness Modelling good manners and helping others without prompting Otis Knowledge His excellent use of shading in his art lesson Year 3 Japan Paulo Miki Naeemah Knowledge Her wonderful use of descriptive sentences Evelyn Inclusion Being helpful and supportive to others in the class Year 4 Italy Catherine of Siena Eliza Knowledge Showing good understanding of expanded noun phrases in English Alicja Thoughtfulness Helping with lots of jobs around the classroom! Year 5 India Saint Mother of Teresa Alfie Knowledge Working really hard in RE and producing a fab piece of work Ocean Knowledge Working hard during English. Keep it up Ocean Year 6 France Saint Vincent de Paul & Saint Therese of Lisieux Peti Inclusion Being a fantastic addition to the St Ethelbert's family Jevon Knowledge Showing an amazing attitude to improving his writing Well done! Class Masses If you would like to join us for a class Mass, then you are very welcome. Children lead the Mass with readings and bidding prayers. Date Year Group attending Mass 17 September Year 5 24 September Year 4 1 October Year 3 8 October Year 2 15 October Year 6 22 October Year 5 Half Term 5 November Year 4 12 November Year 3 19 November Year 2 26 November Year 6 3 December Year 5 10 December Year 4 15 December KS2 Carol Service Christmas Holiday Mass will be on Thursday mornings at 9.30am in St Ethelbert's church Attendance this academic year... Our attendance policy states that we aim for a 100% attendance Reception 97.6% Year 1 94.1% Year 2 92.6% Year 3 97.1% Year 4 98.6% Year 5 98.1% Year 6 98.1% Whole School this week 96.6% Whole School academic year to date 96.4% National Average academic year to date % PLEASE NOTE – IF YOU NEED TO CONTACT A MEMBER OF THE WRAPAROUND CARE STAFF AFTER 4PM THE NUMBER TO CALL IS 07400 170519 DIARY DATES 2026-27 September 2026 14th September – Individual and Sibling photos 18th Year 5/6 football – John Curran Cup 3.45pm Newington Primary School 21st Feast of Saint Matthew 25th Non-uniform for CAFOD - cash donation 30th Book Fair arrives October 2026 1st Autumn Census 5th World Teacher's Day 5th CAFOD Assembly 7th Book Fair collected 18th Feast of Saint Luke 19th Sharing the Learning - parents invited in from 2.30pm - thrive focus 19th Multiplication Table Check parent's info meeting 3.20pm 20th/21st Parents evening - 3:20 - 6:00pm 22nd END OF TERM 1 23rd INSET DAY (3 of 5)
11th September 2026
10th September 2026
We are in the news!! Well Done Reception class!
10th September 2026
Fabulous!!! Whole School Attendance today is 99% Well done everyone!!
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‘Every child at St Ethelbert’s is to fulfil their academic, social, behavioural and emotional potential in the surroundings of a Catholic community, and in which each individual shares or respects the Catholic Church and Christian way of Life.’