Communication
Attendance
Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children attend school regularly and on time. This is a legal requirement.
Absence from School
Children must attend school unless it is absolutely avoidable. If your child is absent from school, please contact the school informing us of his/her absence each day between 8.00 am and 8.40 am. If we do not receive notification, the absence will be followed up with a telephone call from the school office to the child’s parents. A written letter must be sent to the school on the child’s return. Parents should be aware that absence is authorised at the discretion of the Headteacher and the letter of explanation, in itself, does not authorise an absence. Absence may be authorised for the following reasons:
- Medical, either through illness, dental or hospital appointments etc.
- Religious observation by a religious body to which the parents belong.
- Exclusion by school.
If an absence does not fit into any of the above categories, then the absence has to be registered as unauthorised.
Late children
Registers are closed and sent to the office at 9.00am. Children who arrive after these times are deemed late. Children who are up to twenty minutes late after the close of the register are deemed absent for registration. They will be marked, therefore, as absent but with authorisation. Children who are over half an hour late will be marked with an unauthorised absence mark. Attendance is monitored by the Headteacher and the Education Social Welfare Officer. If lateness persists the Education Social Welfare Officer may contact parents. All late children must report to the office to register their arrival and to make lunchtime bookings for a school meal or a packed lunch.
Home dinner arrangements
Please note the procedure for children going home at lunchtime:
- We require a brief note addressed to the class teacher stating that your child will be having a home dinner and who will be collecting them.
- Whoever is collecting the child for home dinner needs to report to and collect the child from the school office (not the classroom or classroom exits).
- If any child in the middles or uppers has your permission to walk home by themselves, the child will need to have your written permission in the note you give the teacher, and sign in and out at the office in a special ‘pupil lunchtime book’.
Family Holidays
Family holidays are not permitted during term time unless in exceptional circumstances. As a school we follow the government’s guidance on family holidays, a copy of which can be obtained from the school office. If you have any queried about the ‘exceptional circumstances’ please make an appointment to see the Headteacher.
Communication
Fortnightly ‘newsletters’ are sent home on Friday with the children, outlining major events and developments that have or are about to occur, offering congratulations when applicable and asking for help when particular needs have arisen in the school. Letters are also sent home via the children giving information when changes to routine are necessary. At the beginning of each term you will receive a letter from your child’s class teacher in which details of the planned project, and homework and annual targets in English and Mathematics. In this letter there might also be requests for help or resources that link in with the project.
The school is registered with ParentMailã and parents are strongly urged to register with the service to receive all school communications via email. This removes any possibility of important information going missing between school and home. Information on how to register (at no cost) is available from the school.
Meetings with Parents
A formal consultation during the autumn and spring terms is organised for parents to meet with their child’s class teacher to discuss their child’s progress. These operate from late afternoon until early evening and all parents are given a ten-minute session. In addition to the above, if a teacher or parent has a particular concern about progress, behaviour or other factors affecting the child’s education then additional meetings may be arranged.
Home-School Agreement
This agreement details our aims and values and also outlines the responsibilities of you as parents and us as your child’s educators.This home-school agreement is part of the school’s wider policy on parental involvement/parents as co-educators and is reviewed every two years.
Reports
An annual report is sent home with your child in July. It is a detailed account of your child’s progress in all curriculum areas during the year. Targets are set in both curriculum and personal/social developments and discussed with parents at the summer term consultation.
Open Evening
All parents are invited to our annual opening evening in June/July to look around the school and to talk generally to children and staff.
Educational Evenings
These are held to discuss curriculum or new school initiatives.
Help in School
We are always delighted if any parents or grandparents offer to help in the classroom. Please get in touch with your child’s class teacher if you would like to help in any way. Similarly if you know of anyone in the village, even if he/she has no connection with the school, but who has an interest in working with children, please ask him/her to contact us. All volunteer helpers must sign a copy of our volunteer help policy which is available from class teachers. All volunteers must be CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checked prior to helping in school. Forms are available from the finance secretary.
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