Dear parents and carers,
A huge thank you to all our student helpers at the recent Perins Open Evening. The enthusiasm and maturity of our young people made the event one to be remembered by the visiting families. Our open days are primarily aimed at year 6 age, however, this year it was notable to meet a significant number of older students from local schools attending with their parents, with the result they have now put in applications to be on the waiting list for places at Perins.
Our Perins Professional Development Day (INSET) proved a worthwhile activity allowing self-review for individuals, departments, and senior leaders as we look to deliver against school targets moving forward.
As part of the day, the staff also undertook a third rehearsal of our lockdown procedure. It is a shame we must even contemplate such a policy, but it is a requirement for schools, and we are mindful that only last week a Hampshire school was forced to go into a lockdown, earlier in the year a Southampton school had to implement their procedures and in the news last night you will have been made aware of a west London school which had an incident. We will begin our lockdown training with students shortly, supported by assemblies which I will lead. If any children are stressed or upset by this required undertaking, please refer them to our pastoral team who will do their utmost to support.
You recently received a community skills survey. This sought to increase our team of volunteers willing to assist the school with clubs and activities to further broaden the Perins extracurricular offer. I was pleasantly surprised to receive sixty-eight returns on the first day and have one hundred and twenty-four in total so far. This exceeded my most optimistic expectations and reading the responses the diversity within the skillset of our parent body is astonishing. Your time and assistance will lead to an increased offer of activities for our students. With such an overwhelming response, we ask for your patience while we analyse and respond. Thank you.
Perins School has established a new tradition that I hope will continue long past my time at the helm. We have recently presented our first Long-term Service Staff Awards. The inaugural awards were presented to staff who have been working at Perins for more than 25 years and whose names will be familiar to many of you! – Mr Whybro; Ms Billington; Ms Sautier; Ms Spreadbury. Also, those exceeding 20 years of service- Mr Lamprell; Mrs Exley; Mrs Skene; Mrs Key. We will extend this Award to recognise staff who have worked for Perins for more than 10 years. A commitment this long to one school is becoming rare more recently and is a testament to the attraction of both the school and its wider community.
Parents have contacted me regarding the use of WhatsApp, asking that I remind other parents that the minimum age for registration with the app is 13 years. This was changed from 16 in April 2024 and many agencies have yet to amend their advice to reflect this, we still recommend a cautious approach with younger children. The UK Safer Internet Centre and the NSPCC website still show the app rated 16+ yet do include some excellent online safety advice. Accessing such a service carries a responsibility and a need for maturity.
It has been several years since we have had cycle sheds at Perins, but I am now pleased to be able to tell you we have had a batch of ‘Cycle Pods’ donated to the school by Associated British Ports. If your child is interested in cycling to school, please share an expression of interest by emailing school@perins.hants.sch.uk.
Following the completion of the relevant consultation, I am now pleased to be able to publish the dates for next year’s autumn half-term. This will be the two weeks from Monday 20th October to Friday 31st October. Students return to school on Monday 3rd November. An agreement has been made with our Perins MAT partner Sun Hill Junior School to assist parents with children at both our schools to plan and potentially take advantage of booking the first (potentially cheaper holiday) week. We hope this will eliminate the perceived need for holidays to be taken in term time thus reducing the impact of absence on learning as well as avoiding the now increased level of penalty fine from Hampshire County Council.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Nevola
Head of School, Perins
