Symondsbury 
Reach Out
One of our 6 Rs is ‘Reaching’ and although that can be about trying your best, it is also about reaching out to others. Times are tough at the moment with increasing prices and the cost of living and I know that we support many of our families with food hampers, food vouchers and occasional bags of groceries from local charities.
We currently have 16% of our children who are eligible to claim ‘Pupil Premium’
Click the following link for more information. Symondsbury Church of England VA Primary School - Pupil Premium Miss Sherrin and Mrs Teasdale in the School Office can help if you think that this may apply to you so please reach out and ask.
I also know that we have families who, for whatever reason, are finding times tough and, as I have said before in newsletters and services – we are here to help. Our whole school vision ‘You, Me, Us, Everyone’ means parents, carers and families too!
So – I am setting up this section on the website under ‘Parents’ called ‘Reach Out’ and if you feel the need to do so, there will be a growing range of websites, organisations etc that can help. But, remember that we are here and come talk to us.
Financial Support
Dorset Family matters has a wealth of information and links to answer questions you may have about financial support. Click on the link for more information:
Children and family benefits - Dorset Council
#Help and Kindness for Dorset can help with links to the various foodbanks and support centres
Welcome to #HelpAndKindness for Dorset
Bridport Food Matters can help with links to various places locally to support with food
Food Access Help - Bridport Food Matters
Family Support
Dorset families matter provide support for families with children from babies to teenagers
Parenting support courses - Dorset Council
The Family Counselling Trust can provide support for families and children
Family Counselling Trust | Childrens Mental Health Charity | South England
The Family Advice Communication Education (FACE) can give parents tools to support their children
Dorset Council RUOK? Campaign
Asking for help with mental health can seem particularly daunting for young people so as part of Children's Mental Health Week 2023 the RUOK? campaign has just launched with a mission to make access to mental health support easy. Here are some important contacts and we will add some of the information to our ‘Reach Out’ section of the website.
As a school, we have always tried to make the world a better place – it is part of our school vision after all.
One of things we can do is look for the positives in all we do and share some of that happiness around – even with a smile! A few years ago, the staff did a workshop with ‘Dr of Happiness’, Andy Cope and some of his work was really transformational. He talked about 7 second hugs and positive pants! He also talked about how the average person lives 4000 weeks – 4000! We’re already on newsletter number 20 this term! If we don’t like Mondays, that’s 1/7 of our 4000 weeks so let’s love Mondays! It was really thought-provoking and inspiring so, this week I thought I would share a link to ‘The Art of happiness’ website and there are some videos and links that I hope you will find inspiring too… These ones are mainly for the grown-ups but that is important too. After all – you can’t pour from an empty cup and your wellbeing is important too!
Dr Andy Cope introduces one of the videos from 'Brilliant Schools' - YouTube
We always teach the children that a smile is contagious and the children have enjoyed sharing random acts of kindness both in school and in the community. With that in mind, have you ever read ‘The Pig of Happiness’? It’s a great book that we have shared with the children in the past and will share in our celebration assembly today too. Here’s the link so that you can watch it with your child at home…
The Pig of Happiness - YouTube
