Starting a new school can sometimes be a daunting experience and at St. Mary’s, we endeavour to work in partnership with our parents/carers to build relationships that enable children to flourish both at school and at home. This starts immediately when you are invited along to the admissions meeting.

Your first meeting prior to your child starting at St. Mary’s will be arranged by

Mrs Rowlingson, our Admissions Officer.  It is important that, wherever possible, you bring your child along to the initial induction meeting so they can have a tour of the school and visit their new class.

At the meeting she will inform you of key information including strategies and processes, introduce you to key members of staff where possible, as well as going through your paperwork. You will also be informed of outside agencies we can signpost you to and the information provided/resources available on our website i.e. upcoming events for parents, health and wellbeing resources etc.

The meeting will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the school and pass on any relevant information you would like us to know about your child/family. At the end of the meeting you will be informed your child’s new class and be given a start date.

Mrs Rowlingson will also support families who speak English as an additional language to ensure a smooth start and also assist with any concerns you may have and assist you in setting up our online communication platforms.

Once your child joins us, you will receive some links to the apps we use in school:

Magic Bookings: We use this website for parents to pay for KS2 school lunches, book and pay for school trips, school clubs and to book Parent Evening appointments during the year.  When you receive your link, you will need to press ‘reset’ and you will then be asked to sign up and then give consent to the questions asked on the page.  After that, you will then be able to book anything you need.

ParentMail: This is an app that you will download to your phone.  We use this to send out general information from the school – newsletters, etc. You will also use it to report your child’s absence, via the tab down the left-hand side of the home page.

Class Dojo: This is an app that you will download to your phone.  This is for the class teacher to correspond with you and for you to be able to contact the class teacher if you need to (like a texting service).  You will also be able to view your child’s Dojo points – these are reward points that children receive in school that are linked to the school’s values of Ambition, Belonging, Courage and Discovery.  You can read more about this and other key points about life at St. Mary’s School on our website: www.st-marysprittlewell.com

We aim to support you through every step and if you have any questions regarding the process please email our Attendance Officer, Mrs Rowlingson at:

pa@st-marysprittlewell.southend.sch.uk , or call (01702 354016) to speak with her. 

Mrs Rowlingson is currently based on our East Street site.