Shears Green Infant School

Growing together for the future

Shears Green Infant School Northfleet

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Shears Green Infant School Packham Road Northfleet Kent DA11 7JF Telephone/Fax No: 01474 566700 E-mail:

[email protected]

Website: www.shearsgreeninfantschool.co.uk

Headteacher

Mrs H Kotze

Chair of Governors

Mr G Reading

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CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4 The School Building ............................................................................................... 4 Admission to the School ......................................................................................... 5 Classes ..................................................................................................................... 6 Organisation of Classes ......................................................................................... 6 The School Day...................................................................................................... 6 Absences/Lateness ................................................................................................ 7 Meet the Teacher ................................................................................................... 7 Money .................................................................................................................... 7 Curriculum ................................................................................................................ 8 Recording Progress................................................................................................ 9 Sport....................................................................................................................... 9 Sex Education ........................................................................................................ 9 Religious Education................................................................................................ 9 Additional Needs .................................................................................................. 10 Educational Visitors and Visits ............................................................................. 10 Teachers, Governors and the Parent, Teacher & Friends Association ............. 11 Teaching Staff ...................................................................................................... 11 Supply Teachers .................................................................................................. 11 Staff 2013/2014 .................................................................................................... 12 Governing Body.................................................................................................... 13 Governors 2013/2014........................................................................................... 13 Parent, Teacher and Friends Association ............................................................ 13 Parents in School ................................................................................................. 13 Rules and Regulations .......................................................................................... 14 Code of Conduct .................................................................................................. 14 Home/School Agreement ..................................................................................... 14 School Uniform ..................................................................................................... 14 Jewellery .............................................................................................................. 14 Health & Safety Guidance for Parents.................................................................. 15 Health ...................................................................................................................... 16 Illness at School ................................................................................................... 16 Medicines ............................................................................................................. 16 General ................................................................................................................... 17 Complaints ........................................................................................................... 17 School Security .................................................................................................... 17 The Children Act 1991.......................................................................................... 17 School Finances ................................................................................................... 17 The Junior School ................................................................................................ 18 Pre Schools .......................................................................................................... 18

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INTRODUCTION Welcome to Shears Green Infant School. Everyone at Shears Green aims to create an environment in which your child can be safe, happy and able to learn. This booklet is intended to give you a broad outline of how we try to achieve this. More details, including our School Development Plan and policies are available on request. The School Building The school was built in 1954. It is a bright, airy building with a generous allowance of space. There are three corridors of classrooms (green, blue and yellow) leading off the Entrance Hall. Each corridor has its own entrance, cloakrooms and toilet block. There are cold water sinks in the classrooms and hot and cold washbasins in the cloakrooms. There are offices, stockrooms, staff room, an assembly hall, play hall and kitchen. The building has oil-fired central heating and our Caretaker – Mr Pepler - and his cleaning staff keep the whole building clean and tidy. The classrooms are well equipped with the educational apparatus for all the work required for the Foundation Stage and for National Curriculum Key Stage 1. Our Assembly Hall provides excellent facilities for Physical Education. We have a reference library and 45 laptops to cover the computing curriculum alongside other ICT equipment. We have a good range of audio-visual equipment including TVs, video conferencing and cameras, multi media computers, PCs and printers and CD/MP3 players. Each class has its own interactive whiteboard. The school has a digital piano and a wide selection of instruments and apparatus for musical work. At Shears Green we are lucky to have beautiful grounds. We have a games field, hard surface playground, grass areas and flowerbeds and an environmental garden. These areas provide the children with many practical curriculum activities connected with science and geography work. We have also been able to enlarge and landscape the playground so that it is a more attractive play area for the children. We have a Play Garden with a canopy and safety surface, which is well used by all our children. To encourage coordination and balance we have an adventure trail on our field. We are very proud of our site at Shears Green. We educate the children to be sensible with litter, to take care of the trees, shrubs and plants and to respect the school building, fences, walls, gates, etc so that future generations can enjoy the facilities we have now. We ask parents to co-operate with us to make sure the children take care of the school at all times.

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Admission to the School Shears Green Infant School provides education for children of the Foundation Stage and National Curriculum Key Stage 1 - that is 4 to 7 year olds. The Governors of the school admit children in accordance with the Kent County Council primary school admission policy. Children reach statutory school age at the beginning of the term following their fifth birthday. We currently admit all our children in September. The number of places available at our school is determined by the physical capacity of the building and is called the "standard number". At the moment our standard number is 120. Parents who want their child to come to us need to complete a Common Application Form (available online or from either Kent County Council or the school office). This must be returned to KCC or the school by a given date in the Spring Term in the school year before the child is due to start school. Parents are being encouraged by KCC to apply on-line. Many parents place their child's name on our waiting list very early. We are happy to do this and will then send you the appropriate paperwork nearer the time. School places are allocated in April/May in accordance with KCC admission criteria, taking into account:     

Children in care Children with a Statement of special needs if the school is named on the Statement Current family association (an older brother or sister already attending this school or the Junior school) Health reasons (for which a medical certificate may be needed) Nearness of the child's home and ease of access to school.

Once KCC has allocated places we will write to you and invite you to a new parents’ meeting. In the Summer Term we also invite our new children in to meet their teacher, teaching assistant and classmates and to enable them to become familiar with their classroom and the school. We are happy to arrange visits to the school at any time - please contact the school office.

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CLASSES Organisation of Classes This has to be flexible, since it varies according to the number of children in school and the budget available each year. We conform to statutory requirements to limit our class sizes to 30.The classes are usually arranged according to National Curriculum grouping, that is: Year R Year 1 Year 2

Age 4/5 (Reception/Foundation Stage) Age 5/6 Age 6/7

The children normally have a new class teacher each September. Sometimes it is necessary to rearrange the classes at the end of the Reception or Year 1. This ensures balanced age-range classes, this also helps the children to make a wide circle of friends. The School Day School sessions are as follows: Morning Afternoon

8.55am to 12.00 noon 1.10pm to 3.15pm for Reception 1.20pm to 3.20pm for Years 1 & 2

Children should arrive at their classroom ready to start the day by 8.55am. If the children arrive after this time, parents must report to the school office to sign their child in. We do not like to see children waiting around before school starts, particularly in bad weather. To avoid this, we open our doors to them at 8.45am. Please do not bring them to school before 8.45am as the Governors cannot take responsibility for their safety before this time. In the afternoon, children who go home to dinner should not come back until 12.30pm for Year R, 1.00pm for Year 1 and 1.20 for Year 2. BREAKFAST CLUB – Our very successful Breakfast Club is open to all our children. The club runs from 7.45am – 8.45am when the children are escorted to their classes. There is a daily charge for this facility to cover the costs of breakfast and staff. Please phone the school for further details. ASSEMBLY/ACT OF WORSHIP - The children take part in an Assembly and the Act of Worship every day with the whole school or within their own class or year group. PLAYTIMES - There is a mid morning playtime for 20 minutes for Year 1 and Year 2 children and reception children have regular access to the play garden. MID MORNING DRINKS and SNACKS - We belong to the Cool Milk scheme, which provides a carton of milk for the children to have mid morning. The scheme is free for children under 5; once your child reaches their th 5 birthday, it costs around £5.00 per term. Details of this scheme are included in your introductory pack or are available from the school office. We encourage all children to bring a bottle of plain water to school each day. Drinking water has been proven to improve concentration and well-being and the children are also encouraged to eat healthily. The government provides all Infant school children with a piece of fresh fruit or vegetable each day. DINNER TIMES - Children can go home for dinner, have a cooked school dinner or bring a packed lunch. . Although all infant children are now entitled to a Free School Meal (as of Sept 2014), we still ask parents to complete a Free School Meal application form if they meet the criteria as this affects the funding the school receives from the government (Pupil Premium). Any details about free school dinner children remain confidential. We have an excellent team of Dinner Supervisors to look after the children during the dinner time. We expect children to conform sensibly to dinnertime health & safety routines and rules. PLAYTIME CLOTHING - Your child needs to have a jumper and suitable coat at school each day. The playground and field are very open and exposed and they are often cold even in summer.

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HOME TIME – School finishes at 3.15pm for Reception and 3.20pm for Years 1 & 2, when the class teachers will supervise the children to their nearest exit door (these differ according to class). We do not permit the children to go home alone and tell them to come back to report to the teacher if they do not find their parent/carer as expected. If you are delayed in collecting your child please contact the school office as soon as possible to advise them - we will, of course, keep your child until you arrive. You should also let the office know if you have arranged for someone other than yourself to collect your child. Please note that children are not allowed to be brought to or collected from school by anybody under the age of 16. Absences/Lateness A list of our term dates can be found on the website. Please keep this carefully for reference during the year ahead. Although you may apply to the governors for permission to take your child out of school for up to 10 school days per school year, for exceptional circumstances, this is not a statutory right. The government initiative for no holidays in term time is followed at our school and monitored by the Early Intervention Help Team. National research and our own school records show that even two weeks absence for holidays can affect a child's progress. The curriculum is planned so that specific work is done in certain periods of the term, so an absent child has problems catching up. It is particularly important that Year 2 children do not miss term time. If they are absent in May they may miss the annual National Curriculum Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). Holidays taken may be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice and will be classed as unauthorised. Absences are carefully monitored by the school with support from the Early Intervention Help Team. Schools are given attendance targets – parents of children with less than 95% attendance may receive a letter from the school. Lateness is also closely monitored. We also send out information letters regarding attendance percentages following attendance sweeps. Please support your child and our school by ensuring regular attendance and prompt arrival at school. Meet the Teacher We have formal times for seeing the teachers. These are a Meet the Teacher Session in July and September, and parent/teacher consultations in the autumn and spring terms. There will also be an opportunity to discuss your child’s written report towards the end of the summer term. There may be other times when you need to see the teacher on a more informal basis. Please remember that when children arrive in the morning the teachers’ job is to welcome them – they cannot chat to you at this time. If you want a private talk about your child with the teacher please put any information messages for the teacher in writing and then an appointment can be arranged. On designated Thursday afternoons and celebration weeks during the term, the classrooms or main hall are open to parents after school so that they can see around the classroom, look at their own child's work and chat informally to the teacher if necessary. Details of these afternoon times or celebration days are included in our newsletters. There may be times when you have an urgent need to see the teacher, perhaps if there has been a family crisis. If this happens, please adopt the following procedure:   

send your child into school as normal; go to the school office and inform the secretary that you need to speak urgently to the teacher; the secretary will then arrange for the teacher to see you or telephone you as soon as is possible

Parents are always welcome to see the Headteacher or Family Liaison Officer if they have any worries, complaints or problems however trivial they may seem and all meetings will be treated in confidence. It is advisable to make an appointment, but if this is not possible, just come along to school. Money There are times when you will need to send money to school. Please put it in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, class, amount enclosed and purpose for the money.

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CURRICULUM Our curriculum is set by the National Curriculum of England & Wales and for the younger children, the Foundation Stage profile. The children work on core subjects in English, Mathematics, Science, ICT, P.E. and Religious Education. Our children also study other subjects - Art & Design, Design & Technology, History, Geography, Music and Personal Social Health Education and Citizenship. Most of these subjects are taught cross curricular through creative topics. Within the school week we expect to spend just over 22 hours in designated teaching time. The time allocation for the subjects is approximately as follows:

Mathematics (20%)

English (26%)

Music (6%)

PSHE&C (0.5%) PE (9%) Science (8%) ICT (5%) Geography (5%) History (5%)

Religious Education (5%) Art & Design (5%) Design & Technology (5%)

You can see the specific details of this timing by looking at your child's class classroom. Many subjects overlap, for example Geography may include ICT Social Health Education & Citizenship (PSHE&C) and British values are part of Similarly, planning for the child’s spiritual development is integrated

timetable, displayed in the work. Obviously Personal every aspect of school life. into everything we do.

Our aim is to give all our children an equal opportunity to develop their talents, however great or small, to the full. We encourage the children to work steadily, improving a little more each day. We emphasise effort with as much praise as possible. We place great importance on teaching Literacy and Numeracy, as these basic skills are essential to the rest of the curriculum. We ask parents to encourage their children with reading and each child has a home/school reading diary to keep parents and teacher in touch about reading progress. In addition to spending some time on reading regularly at home with your child, we will give other homework as appropriate to the weekly curriculum. The children in Year R work from The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum with the learning and development requirements being the focus. There are 3 prime areas:   

Language and communication Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development

The school has detailed Programmes of Study for each subject of the National Curriculum. These are available on request All Year 1 & 2 children have the opportunity to attend a variety of clubs. All the children have singing and percussion lessons as part of Planning, Preparation and Assessment time as well as French Tuition, Healthy living and exercise. Specific areas:  Literacy  Mathematics  Understanding of the World  Expressive Arts and Design.

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Recording Progress Your child’s progress will be carefully monitored, assessed and recorded. The Reception children will be assessed as they enter our school and then throughout. Teachers will share the assessment information with parents. Records are passed from teacher to teacher here, and on to Shears Green Junior School. All the records kept by the school about your child are open to you at parent/teacher meetings and annual reports on each child are issued in July. The teachers meet regularly to compare levels of achievement throughout the school and keep samples illustrating these levels. The teachers discuss teaching methods together, particularly how to assess class and individual progress. Some subjects, such as spelling or PE, are taught separately. Others are presented through a class or school topic theme, for example a topic on "Homes and Buildings" may include work on local geography and history. Parents often help us if they have specific knowledge about a particular topic. We will regularly suggest follow up activities for “homework”. During Year 2 the children take part in the National Curriculum Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). These show how well the children are progressing with their work. The average 7 year old should achieve Level 2B by the end of Key Stage 1. Many of our children are assessed as working above or well above average. In year 1, under the new curriculum, we have introduced classroom monitor to keep track of the children’s progress at emerging, expected and exceeded levels. In class, teaching may be with the whole class, groups, or on an individual basis, as appropriate. The children in each class are of mixed ability and will be grouped in different ways within the class according to their needs and the subject being followed. Currently the National Curriculum is set out in 10 levels of attainment. We expect Year R to have a range of Foundation Stage activities which will work towards National Curriculum Level 1. During Years 1 and 2 work is based on the content of Level 2 but, where appropriate, children have the opportunity to work on into Level 3 (above average). The Headteacher, with the Leadership Group and the Senior Management Team, monitors the work of all the classes, hearing children read, inspecting their workbooks regularly and sitting in on classes. Sport The school implements the National Curriculum for PE. The way the Government funding for P.E is spent at our school can be obtained from our website. All the children take part in Sports Day in the summer term. Sex Education Our Sex Education Policy sets out how this subject is approached in our school. There are no formal sex education lessons given but the children’s questions are answered honestly as they arise through other areas of the curriculum [e.g. life cycles in Science]. Religious Education Religious Education is given in class lessons and also during Assemblies and the Act of Worship. It is in accordance with the KCC Agreed Syllabus. It is on non-denominational lines and comprises bible stories, nature appreciation and celebrations of festivals such as Christmas and Easter. It includes educating on moral standards such as honesty, truthfulness, kindness, tolerance and sharing. The children study the customs of other cultures, in particular aspects of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and significant figures in Religion. All parents have the right (by law) to withdraw their child from religious education. Please contact the Headteacher to arrange this. If parents have a concern or complaint about the religious worship of the school, they should follow the procedure set out by KCC and adopted by the Governors. This procedure is explained in a leaflet "The Curriculum and Religious Worship in School - Arrangements for Considering Complaints".

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Additional Needs When a child shows exceptional ability in any area, or is having difficulties with work or fitting into the school community, the class teacher will discuss this with parents, our Inclusion Manager and Headteacher. Teaching techniques, equipment, work programmes, daily routine, etc. may be adapted to meet the child's special needs. In some cases this will be in the form of a Provision Plan. Where additional help is needed beyond the normal resources of the school, we can apply to various KCC Support Services for advice. We can also receive help from the School Health Services and the School Psychological Service. At all stages, parents must be informed about their child's special needs and no outside body may examine the child without written consent from parents. Ideally parents will be involved in the special help their child may need. More details of these arrangements for Additional Needs are given in our policy documents SEN, Inclusion and Behaviour. Our Inclusion Manager, Miss Sarah Ford, co-ordinates all this work. Disablement - When a child is physically disabled, the school will take appropriate advice on provision for that child. If a parent is a registered disabled cardholder, we will make appropriate arrangements to help them. Educational Visitors and Visits Throughout the year we arrange additional activities to stimulate the children's interest in their work. These may be visits by touring theatrical companies or puppeteers, expert speakers or special events such as Book Weeks or music demonstrations. There are local walks throughout the year to the library, church or park. Children go further afield for some environmental work. We need your written consent for all these activities. Sometimes these extra activities involve expenses for entrance fees or coach hire. If so, parents are asked to make a voluntary donation to cover these costs. This is in accordance with the Governors' Charging Policy, which is to make charges or seek voluntary contributions, where necessary, in accordance with the Education Reform Act. This policy is reviewed annually. If parents are suffering financial difficulties they should contact the school office in confidence.

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TEACHERS, GOVERNORS AND THE PARENT, TEACHER & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION Teaching Staff All our teachers have been trained according to DfE standards and the present team has chosen to specialise in Early Years Education. As well as their classroom responsibilities, the teachers share in the general running of the school with the Leadership Group and Senior Management Team taking particular duties for the management of the school. In addition to the teachers there are 46 support staff. This team includes office staff, teaching assistants, Family Liaison Officer, dinner ladies, Breakfast Club staff, caretaker and cleaners. Our teaching assistants play an important part in supporting teaching and learning. Both teachers and support staff keep their skills up to date by attending training courses within school and other accredited training institutions. We receive visits from KCC advisory staff to look at all aspects of the school's performance. In the Summer term 2013 we were inspected by OfSTED. The report can be seen on our website. For all the staff at Shears Green the most important aspect of their work is caring for your children, ensuring that they are safe and happy in school so that they can learn well. We all aim to take as good care of your child as you would yourself. Supply Teachers Inevitably there will be times when your child's teacher is absent, usually due to sickness or for training courses. In this case, a "supply" teacher is used. These are qualified teachers and we usually use teachers who know the school well already. There may be occasions when a qualified teaching assistant takes a class for a short time. Occasionally there are emergency situations, particularly sudden illness, when it is extremely difficult to find replacements. Where a replacement has to be made on a regular or long-term basis we will let you know.

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Staff 2014/2015 Leadership Group/Senior Management Team Mrs H Kotze Miss S Ford Mrs J Gibson Miss H Day Mrs C Holder Mrs A Andrew Mrs S Jacomb

Headteacher Assistant Headteacher / Inclusion Manager Assistant Headteacher / Curriculum and Assessment Lead. Assistant Headteacher/ Teaching and Language Foundation Stage Manager / Teacher / PSHE / RE Year 1 Manager / Art & DT / Teacher Year 2 Manager / Teacher / Geography

Teachers Mrs J Allen Miss L Cheshire Mrs N Gilbert Miss E Gordon Mrs E Higgins Miss F Khan Mrs C Robson Mrs R Sandhu Mrs J Sanger Miss V Smith Miss L Styles Mr D Watts Miss J Wells Mrs K Williams

Teacher Teacher / Science Teacher / Mathematics Teacher / History Music Teacher / PPA Cover Teacher / ICT Teacher Teacher / Literacy French Tutor Teacher Teacher Teacher / Music Teacher Teacher / Library

Office Staff School Business Manager Administrative Officer Receptionist/Clerical staff

Mrs A Harding Mrs C Nichols Mrs S Hawkins

Education Support Staff

Mrs C Burnett Mrs L England Mrs C Griggs Miss N Hughes Mrs H Keys Mrs L Linehan Miss S Maclean Mrs S Piner Miss T Preece Mrs L Reeves Mrs M Spokes

Family Liaison Officer

Mr A White

Caretaker

Mr T Pepler

Miss S Datlin Mrs D Fasham Miss J Hooker Mrs C Jeal Mrs L Konstantinov Mrs L Lynn Mrs S McShane Mrs R Pordage Mrs K Reading Mrs S Rook Mrs C Taylor

Senior Midday Supervisor Mrs S Collins

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Midday Supervisors

Miss M Canning Ms M Cseszlai Miss D Gardiner Mrs P Kinsey Miss T Preece

Miss J Cato Mrs S Duley Mrs J Grain Mrs S Lynds Miss M Yearsley

Breakfast Club Supervisor Assistant

Mrs L England Mrs J Kumar

Governing Body At the moment the Governors are made up of representatives of Kent County Council, parents, teachers, support staff and the local community Governors 2014/2015 LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVES Mr G Reading (Chair of Governors) Mrs G Christopher Mrs A Savill PARENT GOVERNOR REPRESENTATIVES Mr D Smith Mrs S Shoolbred Miss E Melvin HEADTEACHER Mrs H Kotze STAFF GOVERNORS Miss S Ford COMMUNITY GOVERNORS Mrs M Wessel Miss J Ventham Mrs C Walton CLERK TO THE GOVERNORS Mrs P Sandford ASSOCIATE GOVERNORS Mrs J Gibson

Parent, Teacher and Friends Association We have an active PTFA open to all parents and staff. A PTFA committee is elected every year to help organise social and educational events, as well as fundraising activities. Over the years, our PTFA has provided many "extras" for the children including PE equipment and computers and is involved in arranging outings, parties, etc. The committee members give up a lot of their own time to benefit all the children, so please give them lots of encouragement. If you are interested in joining the PTFA please contact the school office for more details. Parents in School Some parents are able to come into school to help the children with such activities as needlework, cookery, art and craft activities, computer work, playtimes, the book shop, etc. Parents supervise the children in activities already organised by the teacher. Other parents assist the staff with routine jobs such as sharpening pencils, book repairs, etc. If you have an hour or two to spare you will be most welcome in school. We now ask parents to help in classes different to that of their child. Any parent helping in school on a regular basis has to have an enhanced DBS disclosure. Again, please contact the school office for more details.

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RULES AND REGULATIONS Code of Conduct Children are always expected to do their best and to be considerate to others - adults or children. Sensible and considerate behaviour and good work are constantly rewarded, often with certificates and/or special stickers, or a mention in our "golden book". There is no corporal punishment and children are never kept in after school at 3.20pm. Inappropriate behaviour usually leads to withdrawal of approval or privilege, such as missing a playtime. If inappropriate behaviour necessitates more serious punishment, parents will be informed and asked to support the school in dealing with their child. Home/School Agreement The Governors have set out a Home/School Agreement as required by the DfE, a copy of which is included in your introductory pack. Please sign this and bring it with you when you come for your child's pre school interview. We are now required to have your permission to work with the children on the Internet, so please sign the form for this too. School Uniform All the children at Shears Green wear a uniform right from the beginning. It helps them feel grown up and part of the school. The school colours are royal blue, white and grey and all the items are standard to most of the local chain stores. Items of clothing with the school emblem are available to buy online via a link on the school website to Price & Buckland, or in Gravesend at Longfield Wools or The Sewing Shop. We do have a small stock of second hand items available to parents. Please enquire at the school office. SHOES - These should be slip on with elastic or Velcro fastenings - no laces please unless your child can manage these by themselves. Shoes should be sensible for everyday play outside i.e. no trainers, flip-flops, high heels or boots. PE - All children must change for PE. We ask you to provide a pair of shorts and a T-shirt for your child. Plimsolls should be the black slip-on type not lace up trainers. Your child also needs a named drawstring bag to keep their PE kit in. Please note that for some aspects of PE children work barefoot. Everything your child wears needs to be marked with her/his name, most especially plimsolls and jumpers. KCC does not accept responsibility for loss or damage to personal property of pupils or staff.

Girls Jumper /Cardigan - Royal Blue Polo Shirt - White or Royal Blue Skirt/pinafore – Grey Or Jogging bottoms – black (in Year R only) Long trousers – grey or black, regulation school style (in Years 1 & 2) Summer dress - blue and white or Short trousers - grey or black, regulation school style Black plimsolls – slip-on/Velcro fastenings only PE kit - old T shirt and shorts (no leotards) Plimsoll bag Wellingtons[all years], Jogging bottoms to go over own trousers, and showerproof jacket/cagoule for Play Garden sessions (Year R only)

Boys Jumper /Cardigan - Royal Blue Polo Shirt - White or Royal Blue Jogging bottoms – black (in Year R only) Long trousers – grey or black, regulation school style (in Years 1 & 2) Short trousers - grey or black, regulation school style Black plimsolls – slip-on/Velcro fastenings only PE kit - old T shirt and shorts Plimsoll bag Wellingtons [all years] Jogging bottoms to go over own trousers, and showerproof jacket/cagoule for Play Garden sessions (Year R only)

Jewellery Children must NOT wear items of jewellery, particularly earrings, to school. If your child does wear earrings and cannot remove them themselves, they will need to cover them at all times.

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Health & Safety Guidance for Parents The safety of your child before and after school, whilst they are on the school site, is your responsibility. Please remember these rules:  Report to the school office if you come into school for any reason during the day.  Park considerately and safely at all times.  Please follow all the parking restrictions and do not park on the yellow zigzag lines. 

Do not drive your car onto the school site unless previously arranged with the Headteacher.

 Please use the pedestrian gate not the electronic vehicle entrance. 

No dogs, except guide dogs, are permitted inside the school grounds.



The use of scooters, bicycles, skateboards or “heeleys” inside the school grounds is forbidden.



No smoking within the school site. Do not leave old matches, cigarette ends lying around.



Do not allow children to climb on gates, walls, fences, etc.

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Do not let children damage school property; this also includes plants and trees.

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Do not expect the teachers to chat to you whilst they are meant to be supervising the children, particularly at 8.45am. Pass messages by written note or by calling at the school office.

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No back packs please. If children want to bring things to school in a backpack parents should take these home again during the day. This is due to a lack of cloakroom space.

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HEALTH You may find that once your child starts school he or she gets very tired. This is natural as the children are working very hard, although they probably are not able to explain what they do all day. Your child may well need more sleep than before. Your child may also get more illnesses. Being with so many children, they will inevitably pick up infections before their body can build up immunity to them. When your child is away due to illness, you should contact the school office as soon as possible on the first day of absence. Please also send the teacher a note giving the cause of illness when your child returns to school. We are legally required to record reasons for absence. Any absence not covered by either a telephone call or a note of explanation is regarded as "unauthorised" absence and will be recorded on your child's annual report. We are required to publish details of the attendance/absence figures for the school. If your child has sickness and/or diarrhoea, please do not send him/her back to school for at least 48 hours after it has ceased, as per the guidelines laid down by the Health Protection Agency. Illness at School If your child becomes unwell or has an accident during the school day, we will contact you at once, as we have no facilities or staff to look after sick children properly. It is therefore essential that you supply us with up-to-date information about where you can be contacted during the day and an emergency contact in case you are unavailable. An emergency contact card is enclosed in your introductory pack. ACCIDENTS - Our staff are trained to carry out basic first aid for minor accidents. If this happens they will contact you or send a note home informing you of the accident and the treatment given. SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE – In Year R the children have a height and weight check. During Key Stage 1(usually in Year 1), your child will have a health screening by the School Health Service. We can also arrange for the local school nurse to advise on particular health problems. Medicines School staff do not normally administer medicines. If your child requires medicine during the school day for a temporary condition please speak to a member of the office team. If your child has an ongoing medical condition that requires medication or treatment, e.g. asthma, you will need to discuss this with the Headteacher.

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GENERAL Complaints As in any organisation, from time to time our good intentions fail! Please let us know when this happens so that we can put matters right as soon as possible. This is particularly important with accidents/incidents involving children, which have to be investigated, as they forget the details of what has happened very quickly. The Governors have set out a complaints procedure for formal complaints. This is available for parents from the office team. School Security On a large site such as ours, security is an important matter. Anyone coming into the school during the day must report to the office. Staff and visitors wear name badges. Everyone is always on the alert for strangers around the site. All staff and regular helpers are checked with the Disclosure and Barring Service. There are security locks on entrance/exit doors. Please keep your children with you when waiting before/after school. The Children Act 1991 This Act has two important implications for schools: Parental Responsibility 

The Act defines parental responsibility as " all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent has in relation to the child and his or her property."



Married parents automatically have equal responsibility for their children and do not lose it should they separate or divorce. This means school information and reports can be available to both parents. It also means that we cannot stop a child's mother/father collecting a child from school, unless we are shown a Court Order forbidding access.

Child Protection 

The Children Act makes the safety of the child paramount. If we believe that any child in our care is suffering harm or neglect we have to report that child to Social Services. Every effort will be made in such circumstances to work as closely as possible with the parent(s) of the child, and also with any other agencies which may be involved. The named Child Protection Officer in our school is the Headteacher, Mrs Kotze. A leaflet is available in the school office.

School Finances The school is funded by Kent County Council on the basis of numbers of children and school building/site size. Another source of income for the school is known as The Standards Fund or Standards Grant. These are monies given to us by the DFE for specific projects, such as staff training.

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The Junior School Children are transferred to the Junior School in the September following their 7th birthday. We make all the necessary arrangements, provided you have filled in an application form which can be done online at www.kent.gov.uk/OLA at the appropriate time or copies can be obtained from the Junior School and returned directly to them. The children are able to visit their junior classes and teachers before they leave us in July and Mrs Brown, the Headteacher, holds an introductory meeting for parents during the summer term prior to transfer. There is close co-operation between the schools so as to ensure a progression of work, with all the necessary records of the children's development being passed on when the children transfer. Pre Schools If you have a younger child, he or she will enjoy part time sessions with a pre-school. Some local pre schools are: Little Angels Owls Scallywags Sunflowers

01474 356115 01474 331777 01474 537194 01474 325947

The information in this book is correct now but will inevitably be subject to change during the course of the school year. If you have any further queries about the school or would like to visit the school and meet the Headteacher, Mrs Kotze, please telephone the school office (01474 566700) for an appointment.

March 2015

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