​Dear Parent/Guardian,
 
I write with regards to the changes to children’s eligibility for Free School Meals which are taking effect from September 2026.
 
Since April 2018, the Department for Education have provided a Transitional Protection to make sure that children would not lose their eligibility for Free School Meals when parents are transferred from other benefits to Universal Credit. The Transitional Protection will be closed by the Department for Education at the end of the Summer Term so all parents will need to re-apply for Free School Meals (FSM) before the start of the Autumn term in September if you would like your eligibility to continue.
 
Going forward there will be two categories of eligibility, Targeted and Expanded.
 
Parents in receipt of the following benefits will be entitled to FSM for their children under the Targeted category -

• Universal Credit and the household income is below £7400 per year as assessed by HMRC
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• Income Based Employment and Support Allowance
• Guarantee Element of State Pension Credit
• Families eligible under the No Recourse to Public Funds criteria (NRPF)

 
Children eligible through the Targeted category will be entitled to Free School Meals, be included in funding provided to schools for the Deprivation Pupil Premium and will be eligible for Holiday Access Fund vouchers (while the scheme is provided). This may also help with eligibility for Free School Transport. The additional support would also be available for children who would receive a free school meal due to being taught in the Reception, 1 and 2 year groups if their parents were receiving one of the qualifying benefits and made a claim.
 
Parents in receipt of the following benefits will be entitled to FSM under the Expanded category -

• Universal Credit and the household income is above £7400 per year as assessed by HMRC

 
Children eligible through the Expanded category will be entitled to Free School Meals only. No other additional support is available through this category of eligibility.
 
Claims need to be made at the school(s) your child(ren) attend, so if you have children at more than one school, please make sure that you apply for each child at their relevant school (the secondary school if your child is moving up to Year 7 next year). 
 
For both types of eligibility, we will need to recheck your claim(s) once per school year as children will only be eligible for the support explained above while their parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits. If you find that your circumstances change over the course of the school year and you feel that your children’s eligibility needs to be re-checked, please let us know.
 
If your child moves to a new school over the course of the school year and they were eligible while attending this school, please let the new school know and they can contact us for details.
 
In order to apply for Free School Meals for your child(ren) for September you will need to complete the online application form below or download a paper copy and bring it to the school office.

For parents with No Recourse to Public Funds, please contact us for information about how to apply.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Digweed

Urgent: School Early Closures Due to Red Warning of Extreme Heat 

Dear Parents and Carers, 

Due to the Met Office issuing a red warning of extreme heat and in the interest of the safety of our pupils and staff, I am writing to inform you that Iver Village Junior School will be closing early on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. This decision has been jointly made with other local schools. 

Key details: 
Early Closure Time: 
Children will be dismissed at 1pm. 

Reason for Closure: 
We have taken this decision to ensure everyone’s safety as much as possible, as the temperature is expected to rise throughout the afternoon. 

Remote Learning: 
Children have access to the Century.tech website and can log on during each afternoon. 
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the school office.   
 
Lunchtime/Packed Lunch: 
Children will have an early lunch in school. 

Further Updates: 
If the weather forecast changes, we will return to our normal timetable, otherwise we anticipate being open as usual on Friday 26th June. 
We apologise for any disruption this may cause and thank you for your cooperation and understanding in ensuring everyone’s safety. 

Sports Day: 
Unfortunately, even though temperatures will drop on Friday we are still seeing very high temperatures forecast so therefore we are going to move Sports Day to 10th July at 9am.   ​

Please see the information video and letter below from Buckinghamshire council regarding the Buckinghamshire 11+ Transfer Test and deadlines for admissions to secondary schools. 
Please note, the Transfer Tests referred to below are for Buckinghamshire schools only. For Grammar Schools that aren't in Buckinghamshire, please contact the relevant grammar school to ask which council you need to register with for their equivalent test.
If you feel your child needs access arrangements to sit the 11+, please contact us by Friday 5th June.

​As a school, we follow the Buckinghamshire Council School’s Attendance policy very closely. You will be able to find the full policy on our attendance page but here are answers to a few of the most frequent questions we get!

Attendance
 
Will I get fined if book a holiday in term time?
Probably! We report all holidays to the County Attendance Team who are responsible for issuing fines. We (and they!) understand that there can sometimes be exceptional circumstances however it is down to the council to decide if the reasons would qualify as an acceptable reason for an absence and whether or not to issue a fine.
 
My child is ill, how will this affect their attendance?
An absence is classed as a child who is not is school or another approved educational setting. This means illness is classed as an authorised absence. It still counts towards their overall attendance percentage. We understand children get ill and in many cases like vomiting or fever, all you can do is rest and recuperate at home however we would suggest that getting a doctors note when you have more than a day or two off because any prolonged absences without ‘evidence’ will be seen as irregular attendance and can also trigger a fine!
 
Why do IVJS send out 5 week letters and what are they?
We monitor attendance weekly and anyone with attendance that drops beneath 90% over the previous 5 week period, this is equivalent to over 2.5 days absence. This will trigger a Buckinghamshire Council’s Attendance Team’s standard format letter to be generated and sent out. This means that we as a school will be monitoring your child’s next 3 week’s attendance. Generally, when children have a bug/illness, they are off, they recover and are back in school as normal which will be reflected. Although we send you a letter to inform you that we are monitoring your child’s attendance, this type of monitoring is designed to track regular and persistent ‘odd day here and there’ absences, not target children who are genuinely ill!

​If you have any other questions, let us know!

​Dear Parents/Guardians,

National Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)

As many of you will be aware, the National Curriculum states that all children should be confident with all times tables up to 12x12 by the end of Y4. In Year 4, all pupils’ times table knowledge will be assessed by the National Multiplication Check (MTC). The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will help schools to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided. Rapid recall of these times tables really gives all children an excellent foundation on which they can build a wide variety of mathematical skills.

The pupils currently in Year 4 will do the multiplication check in school in small groups on iPads during the national testing window and will take about five minutes to do. The national testing window runs between Monday, June 1st and Friday, June 12th. As a school, we aim to give pupils the best possible opportunity to be successful in the multiplication check and will choose the most appropriate time for them to sit the check during this window. The outcome of the check should inform both us as a school and you as parents as to where each child is in terms of times tables. We can then celebrate their successes and work together to identify and address any gaps. You will be informed of the outcome for your child alongside their end of year report.

As it is a key part of the Year 4 curriculum, your child’s class teacher is already supporting them in developing their times table fluency at school and ensuring they will feel prepared for the multiplication check when the time comes. However, we ask that you encourage your child to use their online Times Table Rockstars account as regularly as possible – it has an excellent track record for improving times table recall and is great fun! Children can earn coins and create an online Rockstar avatar by battling one another and taking part in arena tours. One of the excellent features of Times Table Rockstars is the ‘Sound Check’. This is an online game set up in the same way as the MTC. Practising via ‘Sound Check’ will help children to prepare for the MTC.

Below is guidance and information for parents about the multiplication check, please click on the image to download the pdf leaflet. If you have any further questions about the MTC or how best to support your child, please contact their class teacher.

Yours sincerely,
 
Mrs Punny and Mrs Wick

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

We are writing to inform you of an upcoming Year 5 trip that will provide your child with the opportunity to visit Science Oxford as part of the science curriculum. This trip is scheduled for Friday 22nd May 2026.

The main objective of the trip is to explore different working scientifically skills through workshops and different activities, which will support the children’s learning of science at school and deepen their knowledge and understanding. The activities will be led by staff at Science Oxford, assisted by IVJS staff.

Pupils will need to arrive at school by 8:30am and they will travel to Science Oxford by coach. They will leave Science Oxford at 2:15pm and should be back at school for collection at 3:15pm. The children will be wearing their school uniform and will need to bring a packed lunch. Please be aware the children will be required to walk for 5-10 minutes from where the coach will drop us off to the centre and may need a coat depending on the weather.

The cost of the trip per pupil will be £15, if you are happy to contribute, you can make a payment on your School Money account.

Please confirm on the paper copy of the slip sent home whether you would be happy for your child to participate in this trip. Should you have any questions or concerns about the trip, please do not hesitate to contact the Year 5 team.

Yours sincerely,
Miss Marshall and Miss Tomlinson

​Dear Year 5 Parent/Guardian,

Year 5 have been taking part in the Schools Across the Ocean programme. This is where The British Council and the University of Exeter have partnered our Year 5 classes with classes from schools in Brazil for 6 weeks, giving Year 5 the chance to explore climate and ocean literacy through storytelling, art, poetry, and film. 

In previous years, they have also brought children’s SATO work together into some really powerful collaborative outputs. These have included books, images, and films shared at COP climate conferences - such as their We Are the Ocean book. These collective pieces allow the SATO programme to showcase children’s work on a global stage, ensuring their powerful voices are heard by decision-makers.

They are looking at sharing images/videos from us at IVJS on the below platforms:

• To use images in their evaluation reports to their funders
• To share selected images via  University of Exeter and British Council Social Media
• To share images via traditional media (newspaper and television)
• To approach CBBC Newsround in the UK for a follow up report which would include children's videos
• To use children's words to create collaborative poetry and stories

Please complete the form below the legal information at the bottom of this page by Thursday 7th May to let us know if you are happy your child's image to be used in pictures and videos by the SATO programme.

Please see the full legal information from the SATO consent form:

Legal information Project: SATO team and partners (in partnership with the University of Exeter the British Council and Mare Deciencia, Brazil)
Who will use the information?
The SATO team, the University of Exeter,  will act as data controllers for the purposes described below.
What information will be used?
Depending on your choices, this may include:

• Still images created by children (e.g. artwork, writing or digital content but no photos)
• Photographs or video recordings in which children may be identifiable

How will the information be used?
The materials may be used for:


- Educational and creative outputs, for sharing children's voice
- Project reporting and evaluation, we will select images for use in our reports
- Publicity, including use in print media, websites, and social media platforms 
Lawful basis for processing
We rely on your consent under Article 6(1)(a) and, where applicable, Article 9(2)(a) of the UK GDPR.
Use of names
Children’s names will not be used alongside any images or video.
Storage and retention
Materials will be stored securely and retained only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined above.
Your rights
You have the right to:
Withdraw consent at any time
Request access to the data held
Request erasure or restriction of processing
To exercise these rights, please contact the project team [email protected]
Withdrawal of consent
If you withdraw consent, no further use will be made of the material. Reasonable steps will be taken to remove it from future publications; however, content already published (e.g. in print or on social media) may not be fully retractable.

Dear Parents/Guardians, 
 
Key Stage 2 SATs week starts Monday 11th May 2026. Detailed below is the timetable of tests for the week: 
 
Monday 11th May – English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling, Paper 1 - Short answer questions and Paper 2 - Spelling. 
Tuesday 12th May – English Reading test. 
Wednesday 13th May – Maths, Paper 1 – Arithmetic and Paper 2 - Reasoning. 
Thursday 14th May - Maths Paper 3 - Reasoning. 
 
It is vital that your child attends school every day that week. Tests will begin at 9am and therefore they need to be in school no later than 8:45am. In order to help them perform to the best of their abilities, we are inviting every child to have breakfast at school that week (Monday to Thursday) from 8:15am. We will be serving a choice of brioches, cereal bars or fruit and a glass of juice.  There will be no cost for the breakfast. 
 
This is the perfect opportunity for your child to settle into school each day, please complete the online form below to let us know if your child will be attending. If your child will be attending Early Birds breakfast club, we will take them round to the SATs breakfast at 8.15am.
 
Yours sincerely, 
  
Mr Clifford, Miss Short and Miss Hammond