Newsletter 11th Sept 2026

11th September 2026

Dear Parents / Carers

I hope you have enjoyed your children being back at school as much as we have loved having them with us. I have the pleasure of regularly standing at the front door, greeting pupils known and new. Most of the faces this week, were full of smiles when they saw their class staff. Monday nerves were soon waning and today the school was busy, productive, joyous and calm.

Due to the expansion into Seaton, we’ve never had such a large number of pupils joining at the start of the year so we have had lots of information to process. We've noticed that some school emails are finding their way into spam or junk folders. Please remember to check these folders regularly for our latest updates and invitations.

We are now a two site school, having finally been able to finally welcome pupils to our Seaton Site. Some information will be pertinent only to the new site, but in general we are one school, one leadership team and we will be inspected as one school by Ofsted. 

The building project at Seaton saw many unexpected and disappointing delays, but we welcomed pupils into the building on Thursday. This was a big team effort from the back office staff all through the summer: so thank you to everyone that was involved and thank you to parents for your continued patience at a very uncertain time.

In the next few newsletters I will be introducing you to Mill Water’s leadership team and key staff starting with myself:

Sarah Pickering
 I have been Head Teacher at Mill Water for nearly 13 years. I have worked in SEND education since 1998 and have specialisms in ASC, trauma and attachment. I am part of the safeguarding team and am part of the executive leadership team for the Trust.

I think we have the best staff and children at any school I’ve had the pleasure to work in. It’s important to me that families feel heard, and that Mill Water is working “with” you. Over the academic year there will be coffee mornings, information sessions, stay and plays plus other seasonal events. I hope to meet as many of you as possible. 

A great first week back

What a fantastic first week! All classes have settled in so well, and it has been truly wonderful to welcome both our new Mill Water pupils and our current pupils back for another great year.

Pupils in Peach Class have had a fantastic start to the school year! They have kicked off our new topic by sharing their holiday news, using Google Maps to discover where they have been, and listening to their friends’ adventures. The children have enjoyed playing games such as Snakes and Ladders, as well as joining in with fun running and chasing games. They have also enjoyed creating colourful self-portraits and talking about ways they are the same as and different from others.

Orange class have had a great first week back to school. They have a new class teaching team, so this week has been spent getting to know each other and gently settling into some new routines. They’ve all had lots of fun with messy play, music & songs, Attention All, sensory play and stories.  So many lovely smiles and lots of excitement this week.  A huge well done to everyone in Orange Class for such a wonderful start to the school year.

Finally, all pupils in Red class have been enjoying their stay and plays, getting used to their new environment. Some of our red class pupils have never been away from families before so this is a significant milestone for them.

☕ Parent/Carer Coffee Morning at Mill Water School ☕

Join us for a friendly chat over tea/coffee and a biscuit on Friday 2nd October 2026 from 10 – 11am

This is a great opportunity to meet other parents, share experiences, gather information, and connect with the school community.

To confirm your attendance, please email: earlyhelp@millwater.devon.sch.uk

I hope you can all make it.

Contact details

Just a quick reminder, can all parents and carers ensure their contact details are up to date by editing on your parent Arbor app or call into Reception. It is essential we are able to contact you in a timely fashion. We need at least 2 emergency contacts for your child.