It is very important that your child gets to school on time so that they have a calm, stress-free start to their day, do not miss the start of a lesson and so that we know your child is safe. School is open from 8:45 a.m. for children to go directly to their classrooms. Children will have the opportunity to complete short learning activities, make corrections to previous work or simply just read their book all under the supervision of their teacher, who will ensure they are ready to start their first lesson at 8:55 a.m.
The playground gates are closed at the compulsory start time for the school day at 8:55 a.m. Should you arrive after 8:55 a.m., please take your child to the school office to be signed in as a late arrival. Late arrivals will be monitored over time:
If your child misses 10 minutes of school each morning, by the end of the school year they will have missed over 30 hours of school.
Whilst an occasional late arrival may happen due to unforeseen circumstances, if you are finding that your child is late one or more times per week, you need to change your routine to ensure a successful start to your child’s day.
Here are a few suggestions that may help:
1) Pack school bags and lunchboxes the night before. The last thing you want to be doing as you are rushing out the door is trying to find lost library books or reading journals. Make sure everyone’s bags are ready to go and prepare packed lunches as much as you can. Also fill their water bottles ahead of time and store in the refrigerator.
2) Lay clothes out. Seems too simple to make a difference but hunting down matching socks or a clean jumper can be time consuming!
3) Set up a “last stop” area. Pick any available area near the door you typically leave through and put everything there for the day: school bags, coats and shoes.
4) If all else fails, wake up earlier. Not the most enjoyable solution perhaps, but sometimes, the only realistic measure that needs to be taken is to set your alarm a few minutes earlier each day.
The school day ends at 3:30 p.m. It is important that you collect your child promptly at the end of the school day as there is no after school provision available. The school gates close fifteen minutes after home time at 3:45 p.m. Any children who are not collected prior to the gates being locked, must be collected from the school office.
If you are going to be late, please let us know, so that we can inform your child and prevent them from unnecessary distress. We never allow children to leave the school premises unaccompanied by an appropriate adult until Year Six, where pupils whose parents, guardians or carers have provided written consent may walk home alone in preparation for their transition to secondary school.
We appreciate that from time to time, parents may need to collect their children at different times due to medical appointments. When this is necessary, parents should inform the school office by telephone or provide the class teacher with a written note. This will allow the necessary arrangements to be made so that your child can be collected from the school office in a timely manner.
