Your journey to starting
Early Years
It is with pleasure that we welcome you and your child as they start their educational journey with us. Staff are committed to ensure that children have a positive, successful transition into school. We strive to achieve our motto of “where young minds grow” from the moment they first walk through our doors.
This webpage has lots of important information to support you both into our Early Years setting. For further information please contact Miss Raybone (EYFS Leader)
Starting School
Starting school is the next big change in the life of your child. It is important that we support children to settle into school as smoothly as possible. Initially, you will want to ensure that your child is happy as they enter and there may be occasions when your child is upset and reluctant to leave you.
The staff may suggest leaving your child once they have entered school so they can settle on their own. If such an occasion arises, please be guided by staff, as they are experienced in handling such situations. Children often calm themselves after only a few minutes. Our dedicated and caring staff will support you and your child every step of the way.
Collecting Your Child
We operate a photograph and password system to safeguard children on collection. This information will be provided by you at the beginning of term. If you need another adult to collect your child, please inform school before the end of the school day, they will need to have your password and be recorded on our list of trusted adults.
We ask that you collect your child promptly to avoid your child becoming upset. Parents with older children are asked to collect their reception child first. If you are delayed, please phone the school to let us know.
THE SCHOOL MUST BE MADE AWARE OF ANY ADULT WHO IS NOT ABLE TO COLLECT A CHILD.
Lunchtime Information
Children in reception are entitled to a free hot meal provided by school as part of a government initiative. You have the option of providing a packed lunch for your child if you prefer.
School dinners encourage social interactions, as well as fine motor skills. Children really enjoy the lunches and extra time they have for free play with their friends.
All children in our nursery and reception classes are provided with a carton of milk and a piece of fruit free of charge. Please inform us if your child has any allergies.
Lunch menus and information regarding Free School Meals can be found here.
Please provide your child with a named water bottle for them to keep in school and to drink throughout the day.
Uniform.
We like the children to look and feel smart in their school uniform. Our uniform consists of a white polo shirt, grey skirt/trousers, green cardigan/jumper and sensible plain black shoes. To encourage the children’s independence, we ask that their shoes have Velcro fasteners to enable them to take them on and off. A full list of school uniform can be found on our school website.
Your child will need to come to school dressed in their PE kit on their allocated PE day. The kit includes black joggers, a house coloured T–Shirt, a black zip up top or hoodie and black Velcro trainers. (Please do not send your child in with shoes with laces).
We will let you know the day your child will be doing PE when they start in September. For safety precaution we ask that you remove earrings on PE days.
Young children often have toileting accidents when they first start school as they get used to new adults and new surroundings. From time to time, they may also get wet from water play and creative activities. We would therefore appreciate it if you could send in a supply of spare named clothes in a bag which we can keep on your child’s coat peg.
Uniform can be expensive to replace if it gets lost. We do our very best to locate missing items and return them to their owners. In supporting with this, please label all items with your child’s name. We do not encourage toys being brought in from home, as they can get lost or broken.
Please ensure that all uniform, coats, hats, gloves etc are clearly marked with your child’s name. With the exception of plain stud earrings, please leave all jewellery at home.
What will your child learn?
Children in nursery and reception will learn by playing and exploring, being active and through critical thinking, which will take place both indoors and outdoors. Children will learn through a mix of adult-led taught sessions and through the activities that they choose to access. During play, your child’s teacher/teaching assistant will support your child to apply the new learning they have completed during carpet sessions.
Children will be taught and assessed through several areas of learning:
Prime Areas
- Personal, Social and Emotional Development
- Physical Development
- Communication and Language.
Specific Areas
- Literacy
- Maths
- Understanding of the World
- Expressive Arts and Design
Your child will have a learning journey where evidence (including written notes and photographs) will be gathered to show the progress they have made. This evidence will be used to judge where your child is in their learning.
At the end of reception, the children are expected to have met the Early Learning Goals (ELG). Your child’s class teacher will give further information on this. If you have any further questions, please speak to your child’s teacher.
Absence & Medical
If your child is unwell or unable to attend school for any other reason, please inform the school on the first day of absence. The school office will then pass the message onto your child’s teacher.
If your child contracts an infectious illness, in fairness to the other children, they must remain at home.
Please be aware that if your child has any sickness or diarrhoea they must remain off school until they have been clear of symptoms for 48 hours.
Medical Conditions
If your child has a medical concern/allergy, please inform the staff at your induction meeting. Parents are always contacted if there is a health concern.
Chronic Medical Conditions
These include asthma, diabetes and epilepsy. If you child has any of these medical conditions, please let us know using the supplied form in your starter pack.
Prescribed medication must be marked with the child’s name and dosage. A medical consent form must also be completed. These are available from the school office.
Emergency Contact Information
We require a minimum of three contact telephone numbers in the event of an emergency. Please ensure that if your contact numbers change, you update these with the school office. If your child is taken ill or has an accident, you will be contacted immediately via your contact number.
Safeguarding
Our safeguarding policy is as follows:
- The school has a duty of care to all children and follows local authority guidelines on all safeguarding issues.
- Children identified as vulnerable through child protection issues are monitored with the appropriate agencies.
- Persistent absences are treated seriously with appropriate steps taken to protect the child.
- All staff in this school are subject to safer recruitment procedures on employment and receive continual child protection updates.
Raising a concern
If parents have a concern, firstly discuss this with the class teacher. If this is unresolved, please make an appointment with the Assistant Headteacher. A further appointment can be made with the headteacher if necessary.
The schools complaints policy can be viewed on our website.
