SSq Newsletter - 28th January 2026

Dear Families,

What a brilliant and packed week it’s been at SSQ!

Last Monday, we were proud to welcome over 40 education leaders from across India, followed by a delegation from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. Both groups came to see why Surrey Square is so special – and they left inspired. We shared how we focus on the whole child, with relational practice and belonging at the heart of what we do.

Here’s some of the wonderful feedback we received:

“Everyone spoke very highly of the welcoming atmosphere, the professionalism of your staff, and the excellent practice we observed. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to hear about your approach, explore the learning spaces, and engage in such thoughtful and meaningful discussions. The visit was both informative and motivating, and provided valuable insights to share with our own schools.”

On Wednesday, we also welcomed leaders from Southwark Council and our community partners to celebrate the renewal of our School of Sanctuary award. Our school choir performed, our Prime Minister and Equalities Minister gave a welcome speech, Year 6 children shared their changemaker projects, and some of our families shared their own stories. The visitors were blown away by the children’s confidence and the strength of our community.

Read more about our School of Sanctuary award below.

We’ve also had a huge number of incredible trips and experiences happening this term already.

Year 5 went to the West End to see a pantomime, followed by a STEM day at Reed’s School for the Launch Car Challenge
Year 2 visited both the London Metropolitan Archives (for their topic on the Great Fire of London) and the National Gallery
Year 3 had a brilliant visit to the British Museum linked to their history learning

See below for more information about some of these.

And there are even more trips planned for other year groups over the coming weeks. These opportunities are a key part of our wider curriculum, bringing learning to life in exciting and meaningful ways.

We also officially launched our brand new school library last week! It’s a beautiful, homely space created by Helen and Netra, our Literacy Leaders – huge thanks to both of them. Thanks to generous donations and careful curation, the space is now full of high-quality books and has its own borrowing system set up. Most importantly, it’s a space dedicated purely to reading for pleasure. The children are already loving spending time in it.

In assembly this week, we explored Safer Internet Day, which takes place on 10th February. The theme this year is the safe use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We discussed the benefits and potential risks of this technology, and reminded the children of the 3 key messages when online:

Be kind
Stop if you’re unsure
Tell an adult

We also want to say a big thank you to everyone who attended TLC Day this week. These conversations between home and school are such an important part of your child’s learning journey, and we really appreciate your time and support.

Matt

NEWS – School of Sanctuary Award Ceremony

We were delighted to welcome some visitors last week to present us with our School of Sanctuary award! We were re-accredited as a School of Sanctuary last summer, and the Leader of the Council Sarah King, Deputy Leader Jasmine Ali and Borough of Sanctuary Lead Pamela Abdel-Baset all came to help us celebrate. They were joined by our friends and partners, Felicia Boshorin who runs Spring Community Hub and Pauline Nandoo, who runs Southwark Day Center for Asylum Seekers. Without the help of organisations like theirs, we wouldn't be able to offer the support that lots of our families need. The School of Sanctuary award recognises our commitment to inclusion and belonging, ensuring that wherever someone is from or however they arrived in the UK, they are welcome here. Our wonderful choir welcomed the visitors by singing "Power in Me", followed by our school cabinet talking about why democracy is so important, and explaining about our Change Maker projects. Then we heard from pupils, ex-pupils and parents about how the school has been a sanctuary for them.

NEWS – SSq, lend us your ears!

Year 4 kicked off their Shakespeare project on Monday with a workshop led by Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation. Joe from Coram showed the children a variety of drama-orientated warm ups and games before looking at the opening scene from their play ‘Julius Caesar’ which some children will perform at The Albany Theatre in Deptford in March. Hopefully you will all see some of it when it is performed back here at SSq as part of Night At The Museum.

NEWS – Year 2 step inside the picture!

Last week, Year 2 visited the National Gallery ahead of Foundation Week to explore some paintings in a guided workshop with the theme 'Art and Emotion'. The children were encouraged to 'step inside the picture' and explore the characters, objects and emotions. We were all really impressed with our engaging tour guides. Many children and parent helpers are excited to visit the gallery one weekend soon as it's free to visit.

NEWS – Allergy Awareness at SSq

We wanted to let you know that Surrey Square Primary School has been awarded a place on the Schools Allergy Register.

This means that we have been assessed as meeting best practice in managing allergies, as set out in the Schools Allergy Code (a resource recommended by the Department for Education).

The assessment was carried out by The Allergy Team, who continue to support
us and have awarded us the Schools Allergy Register trust mark.
A great deal of work has gone into achieving this standard, including:

Training our staff to support pupils with allergies and to recognise and treat allergic reactions.
Buying spare adrenaline pens for the school
Running an anaphylaxis emergency response drill.
Creating our Allergy and Anaphylaxis Policy
Working to embed a whole-school approach to managing allergies so that our whole school community has better awareness.
Appointing a Designated Allergy Lead for the school. This is Kelly Rowles and their email is [email protected]

To maintain our place on the Register it is important that we all continue to
work together to support people with allergies in our school community, this
means taking steps to reduce the risk of allergic reactions happening, knowing
how to respond to an allergic reaction incident and ensuring students with
allergies are included safely in activities and events.

NEWS – PUBLIC CONSULTATION: BIG EDUCATION TRUST – PROPOSAL TO MERGE WITH OASIS COMMUNITY LEARNING

Please read more about this here. Your feedback is important to us. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey and share your thoughts on the proposed merger: please fill in this form to do so.

Dear Parents and Carers,

The government has recently passed a new housing act called “Awaab’s Law”. Awaab's Law is a new rule for social landlords (like the council or housing associations). It was created after the tragic death of a two-year-old boy, Awaab Ishak, who died because of severe mould in his home that his landlord ignored. The main point of the law is to force landlords to fix serious problems in your home very quickly and stop them from ignoring dangerous issues like persistent damp and mould. If you report an emergency, like a leak, the landlord has 24 hours to investigate and start fixing the issue. If you report a significant hazard like severe damp and mould, they have to begin the repair within 5 working days and investigate within 10 working days. If you are experiencing any of these issues, please email [email protected] or [email protected] mentioning Awaab’s Law – feel free to copy me in [email protected]

We have had a partnership with the charity Place 2 Be for over 25 years – they provide school-based emotional support for children, and also support parents with parenting issues. If you are finding your child’s behaviour a challenge and would like some support and advice, please sign up for a free online parenting course run by Place 2 Be by 12th January via the link below:

https://www.place2be.org.uk/our-services/parents-and-carers/support-for-families-in-place2be-schools/parenting-smart-online-course/

Certain families in Southwark with a child who is under 5 years of age until August 2026 can apply for Rose Vouchers, giving them access to free fruit and veg. You have to be on certain benefits, or have No Recourse to Public Funds or if you are seeking asylum. Please use this link to register https://www.1stplace.uk.com/rosevouchers

More information here https://www.1stplace.uk.com/rosevouchers

I’ve been made aware that some Health Care companies are having their licenses to sponsor overseas workers revoked, which means that people in the care sector on sponsorships might lose their jobs. If this applies to you, please see this website https://hub.goodworkselondon.co.uk/international-recruitment and let me know if you’d like to discuss this further. The government also has this website for support https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-offer-to-international-asc-workers-whose-employers-sponsor-licence-has-been-revoked/support-offer-to-international-asc-workers-whose-employers-sponsor-licence-has-been-revoked

London South Bank University (LSBU) provides a free legal advice service for a range of issues. Please see this website for more information about how to access support https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/our-colleges/law-and-education/study/subjects/law/legal-advice-clinic

Please can you let me know if you currently live on the Aylesbury Estate. We know that conditions in some of these blocks are very poor right now, and we would like to support you if possible.

Please do remember to let me know if you are in Temporary Accommodation or are renting privately, and would like support with any housing problems. We have a great partnership with a housing advocacy organisation called Kineara, who can support our parents with questions they might have about living in TA or in the private-rented sector. Please come and collect a referral form from me if you would like to book an appointment.

Please keep an eye on this information page outlining information from me about various issues.