Sherwood Foundation School

Weekly Newsletter

Sherwood Hill Campus

News from Leadership Team

This week we have enjoyed celebrating International Dot Day which is a celebration of art and creativity. Students across the school created artwork with different implements to make dots! This also helps our young people to understand that all their marks matter. We have also been looking at recycling across the campus with a particular focus on Post 16 where they have been exploring our local recycling centre.

This week we have also seen the return of Music Therapy which will be rotated across the campus over the year, and we have started a new sports club on Friday afternoons with our Wellbeing Practitioner, Julius.

Sherwood Hill Autumn Term Events

Lower School News

Pupil under umbrella with scarfs This week in Mint Class, we have continued exploring rain through sensory retelling of the nursery rhyme Incy Wincy Spider and listening to rice falling onto hard surfaces to create the pitter-patter sound of raindrops as part of our Weird Weather and Sensational Seasons topic. In Music, students explored a range of instruments and engaged in a dance lesson with silky scarves using our senses. Our assembly celebrated International Dot Day, followed by lots of creative arts and crafts using polka dots and opportunities to spend time with children from other classes.

Olive Class enjoyed their first swimming session at Park Campus this week. The students loved exploring the water toys, splashing and making bubbles in the pool. In RHE, they explored a range of fruits, particularly enjoying tasting the sour lemon, before using the fruit to create prints and some wonderful masterpieces.

Lime Class have had a busy week of fun, exploration and learning. In Maths, students explored transferring materials between containers through practical sensory play, with the children scooping, pouring and moving different materials while developing their understanding of capacity and fine motor skills. In Literacy, the class explored The Three Little Pigs and investigated cause and effect by pushing and blowing to make the houses fall down. We also enjoyed a walk to Stanley Park, where the children had the opportunity to explore the outdoors and their surroundings.

Teal Class have enjoyed lots of activities this week, including swimming for the first time and vising the park. Student also explored the Gingerbread Man in “traditional tales” numeracy and the whole class really enjoyed making the dough and the gingerbread man!

Middle School News

Ocean Class had a fantastic week and enjoyed an outing to the park. The students enjoyed exploring the outdoors together and discovering their surroundings. Back in the classroom, they explored hot and cold sensations as part of their Science lesson.

Sapphire Class have enjoyed developing connections and relationships through a range of sensory experiences. A favourite this week was interactive bubble blowing and popping, providing opportunities for shared attention, anticipation and engagement as students watched the bubbles float before reaching out to touch and pop them.

Indigo Class have had a great week. In Healthy Eating, we focused on kitchen safety and identified appliances and objects that become hot. The students practised using oven gloves to safely carry trays of the biscuits they had made, taking great care as they moved them.

Capri Class have had a busy and exciting week of learning. In Science, students investigated temperature by freezing toy superheroes in blocks of ice and experimented with different techniques to rescue them. The students enjoyed the sensory experience of handling the ice, exploring the concept of cold and watching it melt. In Literacy, students created superhero storyboards, choosing characters, planning the action and using speech bubbles and exciting words such as “POW!” and “ZAP!” to bring the stories to life.

Iris Class have had a super week! We celebrated a class birthday with a party, and the students enjoyed dancing and wearing party hats. Everyone also loved their first swimming session and enjoyed exploring a range of instruments during music therapy.

Upper School News

Thistle Class have had another brilliant week! Students enjoyed getting out and about, with visits to the shops, library and swimming. We celebrated International Dot Day with a range of creative activities, including making bookmarks and a mural for the classroom wall. As part of Recycling Week, we also visited the recycling bins during our Friday outing and explored which items belong in each one.

In Art, Lavender Class chose their favourite colours to paint autumn leaves before pressing them onto paper to create prints. During Cooking, students made delicious dairy-free oat biscuits, with the students engaging well in measuring and mixing the ingredients. We also marked Recycling Week by sorting plastic and paper into the correct recycling bins.

Lilac Class have had a busy and exciting week as they began their community outings, including visits to local shops and swimming. It has been wonderful to see the students developing their confidence, independence and communication skills while taking part in activities in the wider community. As part of Recycling Week students enjoyed practical and interactive activities to help develop their understanding of how to help look after the environment.

Violet Class have had a great second week of term, with everyone becoming settled into their new class. Swimming sessions have started, with many pupils thoroughly enjoying their time at Waddon and Sherwood Park pools. Our main themes this week have been sequencing and road safety, including making zebra crossings and preparing for community visits. We have also been exploring new flavours, with a range of fruits and sweet peppers proving popular with the class.

Stars of the Week

Mint: Ben for his wide variety of engagement in activities and his positive ‘can do’ attitude to starting school.

Olive: Ethan for confidently using the core board to communicate his needs and wants.

Teal: Kyla-Rae for spending more time in class and having a fantastic park trip on Thursday.

Lime: Rocco for his wonderful engagement in circle time and showing lots of enjoyment and enthusiasm during activities.

Indigo: Harrison for building positive relationships with different staff, engaging consistently with learning tasks and using his new AAC device.

Iris: Zac for fantastic engagement across a range of lessons, including his writing.

Sapphire: Fionn for his fantastic engagement and focus on learning activities this week.

Capri: Ibrahim for great engagement in lessons, particularly enjoying the Science experiment with frozen toy superheroes, and for making good progress with his AAC device to communicate.

Ocean: Sean for spending more time in class and joining his classmates in the Life skills room for their cooking lesson.

Thistle: Oliver for forming new relationships with his classmates and staff, settling in really well, attending well to a range of lessons and working hard to communicate.

Violet: Charlie for his excellent engagement with classwork and communication with his classmates.

Lilac: Matthew for his hard work on place value, particularly enjoying interactive games to develop his understanding of numbers, and for showing great engagement and perseverance in Numeracy.

Lavender: Ethan for his brilliant engagement in lessons and for going swimming in a group.

Wellbeing: Tobey for making positive progress in managing situations that would previously have been challenging for him, while growing in confidence and independence.

Therapy: Kiki for a fantastic start at Sherwood Hill, settling in so well and confidently sharing her ideas with others, including using her core board and spoken language to communicate during a park trip.

Sherwood Park Campus

News from the Leadership Team

It has been another busy and positive week at the Park Campus, and it has been lovely to see our students continuing to settle into their new classes and becoming more familiar with new routines. One of the nicest parts of each morning is seeing so many smiling faces arriving at school, ready for the day ahead. We know that change and new routines can sometimes take time, so it has been particularly encouraging to see pupils growing in confidence and becoming increasingly comfortable in their new classes.

A huge thank you, as always, to our staff team for their continued hard work, patience and commitment. There is a great deal that goes on behind the scenes each day, and we really appreciate everything staff are doing to support our students and help make the start of the new school year such a positive one.

Sherwood Park Campus Events

Lower School News

All pupils in Lower School had a very good week starting to follow their new timetables for this term and the theme of Knights and Castles.

In Sunflower class, students have had a busy week exploring different places and spaces around the school. They have enjoyed playing football outdoors, sharing a book in the library, exploring sensory lights in Sam’s Space and the dark room, and swimming in the school pool. Students rounded off the week with a physical education session in the school hall.

In Bluebell Class, students started to explore their theme through cooking, making medieval snacks using cornflakes, raisins and chocolate to make cookies. In Maths, they focused on buying and selling fruit and vegetables at a Medieval market, and in Science they started to explore how to build a castle. On Friday students are dressing up and exploring medieval wardrobes in drama.

Orchid Class has also settled into the routine of the new school term and have started to follow their timetable. Students have enjoyed being outside in the playgrounds and exploring the autumnal changes around us. They explored the colours and textures of leaves, felt the wind and smelled the autumnal air.

Hebe class joined in with the theme by painting some mediaeval battle pictures and some expressive felt tip drawings of what a mediaeval banquet might look like!

Middle School News

Middle School has had a fantastic week!

Poppy Class begun exploring objects they would find at home or at school. They also really enjoyed exploring the work of Leonardo Da Vinci by making paper aeroplanes and seeing how they would fly when attached by a balloon.

Daffodil Class have continued to develop familiar relationships. through activities such as our core word of the week 'more', and our regulation strategy, 'pull and push'.

Tulip Class has been working on recognising the letters of their names and students have been practising writing their names.

Upper School News

Daisy Class have been busy cooking and made some lovely oat cookies. Students particularly enjoyed smelling and tasting all the different ingredients. The class also had our first work experience session where students explored different jobs including builder, shop assistants and doctor. We also enjoyed getting out in the community to look for some new shelves in IKEA.

Peony Class have had a busy and exciting week, taking part in a range of activities and lessons. Students have been focusing on travel training, learning how to use public buses and developing our road safety skills, including finding safe places to cross and using pedestrian crossings. The students particularly enjoyed looking out for buses and pressing the bell to request a stop. The Class also travelled to Waddon for swimming and visited Wallington to buy ingredients for cooking, to create delicious chicken wraps.

Marigold Class have had a lovely week. It has been wonderful starting to explore our topic, Climate Change and experiencing related stories. Students are looking forward to starting our work experience and spending time litter picking in the community next week.

In Dahlia class we have had a great week! We have enjoyed learning about Brazil and developing our own sensory adventure through this fantastic country! We have been out and about in our local community a lot this week – trips have included: Beddington Park, Sainsburys (shopping for our class enterprise) and IKEA. Students are looking forward to a restful weekend after such a busy week in School!

Stars of the Week

Orchid: Ian for settling brilliantly into his new class and engaging enthusiastically with switch activities and showing a clear preference for his favourite interactive toy - a panda.

Hebe: Chloe for settling so well into school and engaging with the learning environment.

Bluebell: Shona for fantastic engagement in class sessions and developing her independence.

Lily: Kyryl for working hard in physiotherapy activities, getting used to his new standing frame and developing new friendships through social play activities.

Sunflower: Aaron for settling into the Park Campus and exploring different areas of the school, including engaging with the lights and movement in Sam’s Space.

Marigold: Elsey for working exceptionally hard and increasing the amount of time she engages in her learning. She has also made great progress with her overall regulation, enabling her to explore a wider range of activities.

Tulip: Mila for becoming increasingly independent and developing her self-care, using proactive communication to request what she needs.

Daffodil: Diana for a positive and engaging swimming session, frequently requesting her favourite social games.

Poppy: Romari for his amazing effort in preparing lesson resources, finding superhero books, welcoming new friends and supporting a friend when they needed an ice pack.

Daisy: Emmanuella for settling beautifully into school, making new friends, enjoying new lessons and activities, and making great progress with using her new wheelchair for longer periods.

Peony: Alfie for painting stunning and accurate sea slug pictures, which have been framed and proudly displayed on the class art wall.

Dahlia: Deyar for completing our student register on our smart screen every morning to let us know who is in school.

Therapy: Ayaan.C for adjusting to the school routine and getting to know his classmates and staff. He worked hard on his transitions around the classroom and the school.

Wellbeing: Raihaan for working really hard this week with staff from the Wellbeing Team and transitioning to new places around the school.

Sherwood Manor Campus

News from the Leadership Team

This week at Sherwood Manor the students and staff have been busy building routines and making friends. Students have enjoyed shared interests at break and lunch time, with football and sensory circuits being favourites.

In literacy, students have followed our topic with some classes reading ‘Clean Up’, which is about the amazing Rocket, saving the Caribbean Island from plastic pollution. Other classes have been learning about Aboriginal Cultures in History.

Our topic assembly was about International Dot Day, a way of celebrating creativity and collaboration. The day is based around the story The Dot, written by Peter Reynolds. The book celebrates a teacher encouraging a pupil to start small and see where her art goes. The message is that no matter how small or insignificant we might feel, our contribution can still be impactful and significant. A great message for all of us.

Our students have been very helpful in following directions to stay safe while we have had deliveries this week. The installation of our three new regulation spaces is almost complete and the subject-specific furniture for the Science and Art rooms has arrived. Well done to all the students this week!

Sherwood Manor Autumn Term Events

*Stars of the Week*

Albatross: Lola-Rose for her amazing start to the new term, transitioning to her new class, participating in lessons and making lots of new friends.

Robin: Tyler for settling into school so well, taking part in a range of activities and making friends across the school.

Cardinal: Eleanor for settling well into her new class and engaging positively in a range of regulation activities.

Kingfisher: Alfie for showing resilience in literacy, excellent engagement in art and adapting his regulation strategies to his new setting.

Kite: Ike for fantastic engagement in class, embracing new regulation strategies and therapeutic listening music.

Hawk: Raaga for settling into her new school setting so well, showing kindness to her friends and being a fantastic help to her teachers.

Kestrel: Harley for settling well into Kestrel Class and engagement in his learning.

Falcon: Fareeha for showing a fantastic readiness to learn, respect for her classmates and enthusiasm for every aspect of school life.

Goshawk: Becky for showing great effort during class tasks and adapting so well to the new classroom environment and schedule.

Therapy: Ellie for exploring her new environment, building relationships with others and using gestures and short phrases to confidently engage in social play.

Wellbeing: Benji for an amazing first week, growing in confidence, building beautiful relationships and making significant progress with his transitions.

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Education Wellbeing Service

You can access information from this service on our website:

Early Years Webinar schedule 26/27

Primary Webinar schedule 26/27

Secondary Webinar schedule 26/27

Sutton Secondary self care newsletter

More information and bookings can be found Events & Bookings | Sutton Libraries and searching ‘Preparation for Adulthood’.

Sutton Mencap Parent Carer Forum

Sutton Mencap is seeking parents and carers of children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND to help establish Sutton's new independent SEND Parent Carer Forum by joining its steering group.

To submit your application for membership of the steering group, please click here. Please note that applications close on 8 October 2026.

If you are a parent or carer who may be interested, or if you work with SEND families, please take a moment to read the information in the original email below and share this opportunity with anyone who may wish to get involved.

Newsletters

Sherwood Foundation School Newsletter - 18th September