Parent information

A Parent/Carer Guide Of

“What To Expect As Part of Team Reedley”

A copy of this guide can be found on the school website www.reedley.lancs.sch.uk at the bottom of the homepage.

Whether you are new to our school, or have been with us for a while, I thought it was worth running through some of the main answers to regular questions that we get asked. It is quite lengthy so I suggest you find a quiet time to sit and read through it! I would suggest keeping hold of it to refer to throughout the school year.

Please let me know if you need clarification on any of the points below.

You can usually find me at the school gate at the start and end of the school day.

Mrs Bell

Headteacher

Uniform

We expect all children to wear full school uniform every day.

Shoes - This includes plain black school shoes/boots with a sensible heel, not trainers and no logos. If children have a problem with their usual school shoes, they wear their black school pumps whilst in school.

Where to buy uniform - Uniform can be purchased from school. Please See Mrs Iqbal.

Jumpers purchased from school have the school badge on but there is no need to do so. Clothing purchased from other shops, and without the badge is also acceptable.

Names - Please ensure that all items of clothing are named – then they be returned to your child if the items become lost.

Jewellery - Jewellery is not allowed in school expect for a small pair of stud earrings and a watch. For PE lessons, the earrings must be covered over with plasters (provided by the parent) or removed. For swimming lessons earrings must be removed. The children must be able to remove them themselves. Please keep all other jewellery at home at all times for safety purposes. If it has to be taken from a child, it could get lost in school.

Headscarves – girls can choose to wear a headscarf if they wish to. These should be plain black, blue or white and should have no decorations, and must not be fastened by pins. Ideally they should not be longer than shoulder length. These must be removed for PE.

Uniform

Boys - Black or grey trousers, white polo shirt and a blue sweatshirt

Girls – Black or navy dress or skirt, white polo shirt, blue checked dress, blue sweatshirt or cardigan. Girls can wear leggings or trousers.

PE Kits

The children all need to have a school PE kit which consists of a red t-shirt, black shorts and black plimsoll pumps. Girls can wear plain black leggings.

This kit is brought into school on the first day of a term and goes home at the end of the term, remaining in school so that the children always have the required kit for their lessons.

Children who take part in after-school sport club need to bring in additional kit for this purpose and should not be using their school PE kit, otherwise the kit can get muddy or left at home.

If a child does not have a PE kit, parents will receive reminders on a regular basis, until a kit is provided.

Book Bags

We ask that the children all have a school bookbag – not a rucksack as we do not have the space to store these in the day. They need to bring this to school every day.

Communication

Our main way of communicating with you is via text. You need to register via the school website for this. Please see Mrs Iqbal if you need help registering. We also use the school app for booking parent evening appointments, so it is really important that you have access to the School Spider app.

Photographs of Children

We like to share our successes in school with others. This can be on our school website or in the local paper. The large majority of parents have already given permission and this remains on file. You do not have to re-sign this each year. Just let us know if you change your preferences.

Whilst we fully understand that you wish to photograph your children in any shows or school events, we would ask that you do not take photographs of other children and do not place photographs of your own children on social media, if another child can be identified in the background.

School Photographs

The school photographer comes into school annually to take photos of the children individually, with siblings and also in family groups. We will inform you of the dates, so please check the letters all newsletters.

Attendance

Parents/Cares are encouraged to use the Studybugs app to report pupil absence.

It is important for your child’s success that they attend school as much as possible. Whilst they are absent from school, they may miss crucial parts of their education. 95% attendance is the equivalent, over a year, of 9 days of school missed (nearly two weeks). 90% attendance is the equivalent of 19 days of school missed (nearly four weeks).

Obviously there are occasions when children are poorly, and under these circumstances, they need to stay at home. Parents/carers must inform us of the absence and keep in regular contact during the absence, if it is to be recorded as authorised. Please call the school to report the absence as soon as you are aware that they are going to miss school.

Family holidays MUST NOT be taken during term time and will not be authorised.

If a child has an unauthorised absence for five school days or more, then Lancashire County Council will issue a Fixed Penalty Fine. Further details can be found in our Attendance Policy on our website.

The fine is currently £160 per parent for each child, although this is halved if paid within 21 days.

Failure to pay the fine, would result in a court summons.

The money does not come to the school and we have no powers to cancel the fine once issued.

If your child will miss school for any reason, you must discuss this with us prior to the event but again, it is likely to be unauthorised and therefore you will have to pay a fine. This includes if you need to visit poorly relatives, as this is not an authorised reason to miss school.

Parents are informed of their child’s attendance each half term on a traffic light sheet.

At the end of the year, children with at least 96% attendance for the whole year are also rewarded with an attendance award.

Punctuality

Similarly, it is vital that the children are in school on time every day. The pedestrian gate is unlocked at 8.40am and locked at 8.50am when the school day starts. Children arriving after this time need to enter school via the School Office and must be dropped off at the blue buzzer gate by an adult.

Our lessons start promptly at 8.50am so children arriving after this time often miss instructions and demonstrations from the teacher and children say that it is embarrassing walking in late to lessons. Five minutes of lateness everyday is the equivalent of 20 lessons missed over the year.

The pedestrian gate will be opened again at 3.25pm and locked at 3.35pm. Children need to be collected, no later than 3.30pm. Parents/carers arriving after this time will need to collect children from the blue buzzer gate. Children often get distressed when not collected on time.

If you know that you will be late collecting your child, please phone ahead to let us know, otherwise all children need to be collected by 3.30pm promptly. Children from Y4 upwards are able to walk home (with parental permission), all other children need to be collected from the playground. It is not safe for children to wait by the roadside to be collected.

After-school Clubs

We offer a range of clubs throughout the year. Please see the letters that come home and sign up as soon as the letters come home.

You will be informed of any clubs via a letter home and asked to give permission for your child to attend.

Before School Club

Breakfast club starts at 7:30am until 8:40am at a charge of £4.50. Children will receive a healthy breakfast and can take part in sporting activities initially, although other activities will be added to the programme as the term goes on.

Children can arrive any time throughout the session, but the full charge will be incurred. For example, your child can arrive at 8.25am, but you will be charged £4.50 for the session.

You must use the pedestrian footprint path and not walk up the school driveway as staff members will be arriving at this time.

Parking

Parking outside Reedley School is very tight. Please do not park on the pavements, on or opposite the yellow zig-zags or where you may be blocking someone’s driveway. School staff sympathise about the lack of parking, which is typical of schools in residential areas. Please do not jeopardise the safety of our pupils by parking where you shouldn’t, or by allowing your children to get out of the car whilst it is in the middle of the road.

Cars parked illegally often restrict pupil’s view of oncoming traffic. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to get all of the children in and out of school safely.

It only takes one mistake for a tragedy to occur. We will pass details to the police if we see illegal activity or driving or parking which puts our children’s lives at risk.

Medicines In School

Medicine: There is no legal duty on non-medical staff to administer medicines or to supervise a child taking it. However, staff at Reedley have volunteered to do so, for the benefit of pupils.

In cases where medication should be administered three times a day, this should be done before school, immediately after school and at bedtime. We recognise that there are exceptions to this, and in such circumstances, the following guidelines will be followed:

Prescribed medicines, labelled with the child’s name can be administered and so can medicines recommended by a pharmacist such as Calpol. Parents/carers may choose to administer the medicines themselves within the school day and can come to school to do so. Each item of medication must be delivered to the School Office, not handed to other staff members or sent into school with the child. The parent/carer needs to complete and sign a form giving details of the medication. If this procedure is not followed, then the medicine cannot be given.

Inhalers or EpiPens: If your child is on our medical register as requiring medication such as an Epipen or Inhaler, they should not come to school unless we have a supply of the medicine – as your child’s life could be in danger without the required medication. Staff check the medicines that we have in school regularly and will inform you if we do not have enough or if it is going out of date. You must ensure that further supplies are sent into school.

If your child no longer requires the medicine, you must inform us in writing and come into school to collect any remaining supplies. These cannot be sent home with the children.

You will be asked to complete a medical care plan every 12 months, to ensure that the information that we hold is accurate.

Behaviour

We expect high standards of behaviour from our pupils at all times and, on the whole, they do not let us down. The children of Team Reedley have very good manners and know how to behave well. However, if there are instances where children have broken rules, there will be consequences which may include a verbal warning, missing all or part of a playtime, time out of class and often the parent receiving a phone call home or being asked to meet with the classteacher or Phase Leader. Parents and pupils need to be aware that if a serious incident occurs, the child may not be able an upcoming club or trip, as we need to ensure that they are capable of, and willing to, abide by the school rules before they partake in a situation which relies on good behaviour. You will be informed if this is the case.

Academic Success

There is information on the school website detailing what the children are learning in each year group.

See ‘Curriculum Provision’ on our website. There are also links to some examples of the assessments that the children take in Y2 and Y6.

Within all the classes from Y1 to Y6, the teachers carry out regular assessments of the children based on the work that they carry out each day.

At the end of each term, the teacher makes a judgement based on each child’s learning in class, regarding your child’s current level of attainment is. Eg, a child working at national expectations in Year 1 would be ‘Year 1 Beginning’ at Christmas, ‘Year 1 Within’ at Easter and ‘Year 1 Secure at Summer’. However, not all children will be working at the national expectations. The work that children receive is monitored very closely in school. The most important factor is that children make progress whatever their current level of attainment is.

There will be opportunities for parents to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s progress at least twice in the school year and Parents/Carers can request a phone call or meeting with their child’s teacher at any point if they have concerns.

Statutory National Tests

Y6 will take their SATS tests in May.

Y1 and some Y2 pupils will take a phonics test in June.

Dressing Up Days

Our children are fantastic at rising to an occasions and love dressing up for a special event. Thank you all for supporting these ventures. We promise to give you as much notice as we can, so that you can be prepared.

We will always ask the children to dress up as a book character for World Book Day in March, to dress up to raise money for Children In Need and for other events as they occur.

Homework

We feel that homework is important for a number of reasons. It allows you to see what your child has been learning in school and to feel involved in the process. It also helps to get the children into a routine of completing homework and returning it on time – which is very important preparation for when they get to High School. It also helps to consolidate skills covered in class. New concepts are usually not set for homework. It is often work which the teacher has explained that needs extra consolidation or practice.

Homework will be sent home on a Thursday, to be completed by Tuesday. This should take no more than 30 minutes per week. Some online programmes may form part of this homework. If children haven’t completed the tasks in this time, they can stop. If they need additional help, they can ask in school on a Friday or MONDAY.

Reading – we ask children to read with an adult at home for around 10 minutes a day.

Other tasks – there are a number of safe online programmes which can be used in addition to the weekly homework and it would be for you to discuss appropriate time guidelines for using these. Not all children have access to all of these programmes. These include: Maths Whizz, Bug Club, Purple Mash, Time Table Rockstars, Nessy.

Rewards

Our staff constantly look to reward children who demonstrate excellent conduct in school. Children are able to achieve Team Points and individual stickers or certificates. In addition to this, each week two children will receive recognition for demonstrating the class value, eg determination, perseverance, honesty, integrity, cooperation etc. Two children will receive a certificate for this on a Friday.

Educational Visits and Visitors

We know that the children at Reedley really enjoy school trips and we aim to ensure that all classes have the opportunity to go on at least one trip during the school year, to enhance their learning experiences. We ask that you support us by returning any slips and payment promptly. Our school budget is very tight and we do need to receive money for the trips and experiences that we plan, otherwise we are not able to offer these experiences.

If you have any concerns or questions at any time, we are happy to chat to you. In the first instance, concerns should be raised with your child’s classteacher or Phase Leader.

Call Mrs Iqbal on 01282 693688 if you require an appointment.

Parental Code of Conduct

All children have the right to a good quality education that uses and develops their talents and abilities. Therefore the school encourages close links with parents/carers and visitors. We believe that pupils benefit when the relationship between home and school is a positive one.

There is a Code of Conduct for Parents, Carers and Visitors which aims to provide a reminder about the expected conduct. The full policy can be viewed on the school website.

All members of staff have the right to work without fear of violence and abuse. All parents and other visitors to the school are expected to behave in a reasonable way towards members of school staff. The policy outlines the steps that will be taken where behaviour is unacceptable.

Visitors, parents and carers are expected to:

Respect the caring ethos of Reedley School
Understand that both teachers and parents need to work together for the benefit of their children
Demonstrate that all members of the school community should be treated with respect and therefore set a good example in their own speech and behaviour
Seek to clarify a child’s version of events with the school’s view, in order to bring about a peaceful solution to any issue
Correct their own child’s behaviour especially in public and in school grounds where it could otherwise lead to conflict, aggressive or unsafe behaviour
Approach the school to help resolve any issues of concern
Avoid using staff as threats to admonish children’s behaviour

In order to support a peaceful and safe school environment, the following behaviours will not be tolerated:

Disruptive behaviour that interferes or threatens to interfere with the operation of a classroom, an employee’s office, office area or any other area of the school grounds
Using loud/or offensive language, swearing, cursing, using profane language or displaying temper
Threatening to do actual bodily harm to a member of school staff, Governor, visitor, fellow parent/carer or pupil regardless of whether or not the behaviour constitutes a criminal offence
The use of physical aggression towards another adult or child. This includes physical punishment against your own child on school premises
Physically intimidating a member of staff
Approaching someone else’s child in order to discuss or chastise them because of the actions of this child towards their own child. (Such an approach to a child may be seen to be an assault on that child and may have legal consequences).
Breaching the school’s security procedures
Damaging or destroying school property
Abusive or threatening e-mails or text/voicemail/phone messages or other written communication
Defamatory, offensive or derogatory comments regarding the school or any of the pupils/parent/staff, at the school on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram or other social media sites.
Smoking and consumption of alcohol or other drugs whilst on school property
Dogs being brought on to school premises