Starting School
Opening times
The School is open for Sunshine Club before School session from 7.45am. The official School day starts at 09.00 and finishes at 3.15. Sunshine Club after School session finishes at 5.45pm
New starters Stay and Play
We are delighted to be able to invite new children to our exclusive stay and play sessions that are specifically for children who will be starting Nursery. These sessions are held every 6 weeks the term before children are due to start with us and are a fantastic opportunity for networks to be established. Parents can meet other new parents, children can meet their new classmates and it is an opportunity for everyone to be introduced to the class teams and Leadership Team. Children can familiarise themselves with the building and the outdoor area and make new friends. The sessions are very informative and include a tour around the school and a chance to speak with the Head.
Each child will be provided with a book bag and CHIP (Children’s Information Pack) which provides photographs of their classroom, their teachers, the different areas of provision, the visual symbol that relates to their coat peg, milk label and self-registration card. It is something concrete for parents to share with children when they talk about starting school and the photographs help children actually see where they will be and the range of exciting things that there are to do.
"Getting to know you" sessions
It is vital that we form positive parental partnership and one way that we do this is to offer every child and their parent(s) and appointment to ‘get to know you’. This is an opportunity to share information about your child and to ask us any questions that you might have. We will complete forms such as ‘All about me’ where you can tell us all the wonderful things about your child, what they like doing, what they might need some help with and any particular interests that they have. This enables us to provide a personalised learning environment in which your child can thrive. This is also an opportunity to tell us about any medical needs, allergies or dietary requirements. We will talk to you about our inclusive ethos, the curriculum and the importance of learning through play. We will discuss our policies and procedures and are very happy to provide paper copies of any Policies that you require.
Inside and outside
Children love playing outside and learn a great deal from our totally enclosed outdoor environment. They have the chance to not only develop their physical skills but are developing knowledge and understanding across all areas of the curriculum. We make outdoor play available all year round and sometimes this can be very messy! We therefore ask you to send children in clothes that you don’t mind them getting dirty, and are appropriate for the weather. We often say “There’s no such thing as bad weather – only bad clothes.”
We also plan regular visits into the community throughout the year. These can include trips to Hirst Wood where we have the chance to use some Forrest School teaching strategies, Saltaire centre and the local park which provide opportunities for children to be contact with nature and experience seasonal changes such as wind, rain, sunshine and snow.
Lending Library
Children are encouraged to borrow books from our lending library to read at home. The lending library is located in the corridor opposite the kitchen. There is no formal recording system used –take a book, share it at home together, return it and swap it for another. Sharing books with your child is a fantastic way of supporting their learning and we encourage all parents and children to join.
When children join us they are provided with a book bag which is ideal for transporting books to and from home. We are pleased to let you know that we have now extended our lending library to include books for parents and carers to enjoy – take a book / donate a book.
We have also introduced a new maths lending library which is stocked with games, puzzles and jigsaws – enjoy.
Parents and carers, we have a lending library for you too - it's great for children to observer adults reading. Borrow a book, donate a book, swap a book ...
Uniform
The School does not have a uniform. Children wear their own clothes and as we encourage hands-on experiential learning this means that they could come into contact with mud, glue, paint, playdough etc., so please consider this when dressing your child for a day at School. Thank you.
Parents in nursery
Parents are welcome to attend our new starters stay and play sessions to introduce children to the setting and the staff. We also offer lots of community events that you will be invited to - look out for upcoming dates on the half termly newsletter. You may like to become more involved as a volunteer - please speak to a member of staff about our application process.
Your child’s progress
Each child will have a Record of Achievement via the EYLog APP which is a fantastic record of the time that they spend with us. It will contain lots of information such as pieces of work, photographs and observations made by teaching staff. These will show you what your child is learning, how they are developing and what type of experiences they particularly enjoy at school. We would also encourage parents and carers to contribute to this record – please let us know what you are doing at home – such as visits or outings and family celebrations. Please note that in order to be mindful of teacher workload and well-being, we focus our time on working with your child rather than uploading excessive amounts of observations on to the app. We offer parents communication calls twice per year, and provide baseline (on entry assessment) and summative (on exit assessment) data for you to review. You are welcome to speak to any member of staff at anytime should you have any questions or concerns.
Keeping children safe
Around the building there are photographs on visual forms that highlight who are our trained and designated Named Persons. These are the people to speak to should you have any concerns about a child. Please do not carry out investigations yourself.
We also display our Qualified First Aiders. Whilst we aim to keep your child safe in school but we have qualified First Aiders in case of accidents. In case of an emergency we would try to contact you immediately. During our home visits, or whilst settling in, please let us know if your child has particular health needs. We will discuss our Medication Policy with you before your child is admitted.
Inclusion
We aim to be an inclusive school in all that we do and discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. We hope that you will support us in respecting every member of our community.
Complaints and compliments
If you have a complaint please ask in the office for a copy of our Complaints Procedure. We would always encourage you to discuss any concerns – they are important to us and we will always make time to speak with you. We would also like to hear your compliments, so please let us know what you think that we do well. We always welcome feedback and are constantly trying to improve.