Kindness, Leadership & Prep Developments

Dear Felsted families,

Grignon took the lead this week during our chapel service. They spoke of kindness to one another and shared an incredibly powerful story of a man named Sir Nicholas Winton.

His heroic actions saved 669 children during the Second World War, and his story inspires us all to act with compassion and kindness. Thank you to our Grignon team for their leadership this week. In the words of Sir Winton:

“I have a motto that if something isn’t blatantly impossible, then there must be a way of doing it.”

Famously, he appeared on That’s Life, at the time, one of the most watched programmes in the UK, and presented by Esther Rantzen. If you have never seen it before, I would recommend watching this - Sir Nicholas Winton - BBC Programme "That's Life" aired in 1988.

Please do take time to read his story, which is also beautifully depicted in the recent film, ‘One Life.’ It speaks of leadership and heroism that seeks no reward.

Across the school, we see leadership daily in our pupils, our team, and of course, our parents. We held our latest Parent Representative meeting on Monday evening, and it was wonderful to look ahead to the future of the Prep School alongside sharing and celebrating key updates together.

First and foremost, we would like to extend a huge thank you to all of our dedicated Class Reps. Your time, insights, and collaborative spirit are incredibly valuable. The feedback you bring to these meetings bridges communication between home and school, helping us to continually refine and enhance the experience for every child at Felsted. We truly appreciate your ongoing partnership.

For this week’s newsletter, I would like to take the opportunity to give you all a brief summary of the key updates, operational developments, and exciting strategic changes shared during the meeting:

• End-of-Term Celebrations: Our main end-of-term Celebration Events are fast approaching, kicking off on Monday, 1 June at 8:20 AM.
• Next Academic Year Transitions: For those interested in joining our Class Rep team for the 2026/27 academic year, look out for an official letter on 12 June, followed by a coffee drop-in morning on 22 June at 8:30 AM.
• Catering: Following feedback from our Food Committee, new Summer Menus have been very well received.  
• Teaching Teams: We will be introducing new team members after the half-term break ahead of meeting our class teachers and tutors for the next academic year. 
• The New iSAMS Cloud Portal: Please note that the old iSAMS App has been discontinued. Parent access has officially migrated to our new, web-based cloud portal, and full guidance on how to access this is now available on the website.
• Pre-Reception Success: Thanks to a busy schedule of individual tours, Open Days, and 'Stay and Play' sessions, recruitment for our new Pre-Reception class has been a resounding success.
• Junior Prep Structure (Years 3–6): Following a successful year of unifying our curriculum themes, Years 3–6 will be structured together as a cohesive Key Stage next year. This will feature a modified shape of the day optimized for active learning, alongside the continued expansion of our Specialist teaching team.
• Saturday Morning Academies: We are thrilled to be developing a new 10-week Saturday Academy Programme (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM). While final details are being polished, options may include: STEM, Creative Futures, Future Leaders, Cooking, and Sports Academies.
• Pastoral Cafe: Parents are warmly invited to a 'Pastoral Cafe' coffee morning at 8:30 AM on the Friday immediately following half-term (5 June). 
• Relationships and Sex Education (RSE): The school is integrating the latest 2026 government updates to tackle modern issues like AI literacy, personal safety, and bereavement support. Upcoming PSHE parent drop-ins for Years 2–4 will focus on proper biological terms and building a culture of consent, while sessions for Years 5–8 will cover puberty and growing up.
   

With the weather set to definite sunshine, I look forward to tomorrow’s sports events for our Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 and leave you with a ‘hat and sunscreen’ reminder and look forward to seeing you at the sidelines cheering on our young athletes!

With warm wishes for the half term,

Miranda Norris