WELCOME TO
BARRY PRIMARY SCHOOL
FOUNDATION STAGE
Reception - September 2015
Dear Parents
Welcome to Barry Primary School, I would like to introduce myself to you, my name is Anne Smith and I am proud to be the Headteacher at Barry Primary School. I have worked at Barry Primary School for 28 years and was the Deputy for 7 years before becoming Headteacher in September 2014.
Each year I look forward to working with my staff, governors, pupils and families to ensure our children make the best progress that they can and are happy and safe at our school. I will be supported by our management team which includes Mrs Nadine Neal as our Deputy Headteacher. She has a wealth of experience working in the Foundation Stage and is a recognised Lead Teacher in Northamptonshire. Another important person is Mrs Lynne Deady who is our Foundation Stage Co-ordinator.
We hope this information pack will help you and your child as you join our school. You may find it useful to refer to during your child’s first year. I am always happy to talk to parents and can be contacted through the school office.
Let’s look forward to a successful year together!
Kind regards
Mrs Anne Smith
Headteacher
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday 14th May
New Intake Evening - an evening for parents to meet staff, ask questions and go through routine administrative procedures.
June / July
Reception teachers will visit children in the nursery and children at other nurseries and pre-schools.
Non-nursery children can arrange to visit.
Nursery children will visit reception classes for story/play sessions.
Friday, 3rd July is the date of this year’s Summer Fayre extravaganza.
Monday 6th July
You will be invited to a drop in session to meet teachers and visit their classroom and make an appointment for a home visit from school staff.
Saturday 11th July from 11 – 1pm
You will receive an invitation to attend a Nursery/school/Friends Teddy Bears’ Picnic.
Tuesday 21st July
School closes for Summer break.
September
Home visits will be offered to all children at set times on 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th and 9th September 2015.
Children will start a staggered full-time entry from Thursday 10th September. You will be given a starting date and session in June.
THE RECEPTION YEAR ....
Our Aims
J We aim to offer a broad and balanced curriculum that caters for the needs of individual children and offers equal opportunities for all, regardless of culture, religion, gender or disability. We will also plan to national expectations for Reception provision through the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, working towards the Early Learning Goals.
J We aim to provide a happy, stimulating and caring environment in which all children and adults feel valued.
Our approach to learning emphasises the importance of play and talk. We plan a wide range of activities and materials that encourage children to explore and investigate, experiment, ask questions and discuss what they are doing, and why.
J Through play children discover and learn, consolidating their learning by practising and repeating ideas and skills in the Prime and Specific areas of Learning and Development as identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum.
PRIME AREAS Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Physical Development
Communication and Language
SPECIFIC AREAS Literacy
Mathematics
Understanding the World
Expressive Arts and Design
J The skills and ideas acquired during your child's year in Reception provide them with a firm foundation for their future development but it is also vitally important in itself.
J Children have the opportunity to play alone, alongside others or as part of a small or large group. Directed activities will usually take place in groups and the children will be encouraged to talk about the activities with other adults and children and to co-operate with others.
J We aim to promote positive images of the school within the community, developing and building on existing links between the school, parents and the wider community.
STARTING SCHOOL
Your child will start school on either 10th, 14th or 16th September 2015 and you will be given your child’s entry date in June. We are no longer doing a part-time entry into Reception and as soon as your child starts school they will attend full time.
THE SCHOOL DAY
Reception times are from 9.00 - 11.30am and 12.45 - 3.15pm.
We ask parents to accompany their child to the class teacher in the room at the beginning of the session. Reception children will only be given to the custodial parent at the end of the session unless previous arrangements have been made.
At the end of the session the Reception staff will bring the children out into our covered play area. We ask you to wait behind the fence and we will call your child and send them out when we see you.
If you arrive after the start of the session you will need to enter the school through the main door as the other doors will be locked for security and sign in at the office.
Reading Sessions 8.50 – 9.05 am every morning
Barry Primary School currently operates a whole school reading session. The school doors open at 8.50 and we welcome parents to join us for reading sessions until 9.05am. These times will vary as your child moves up through the school.
Reception reading sessions – during these sessions we aim to develop a calm, peaceful start to the school day and we fully appreciate your support in doing this. If you are not able to stay for reading time, please encourage your child to choose a book and sit quietly on the carpet.
A typical day at the start may be
· Introduction, self-registration and reading session
· Activity session including snack and outdoor play
· Story/Songs
LUNCH TIMES
When your child attends for a whole day we welcome Reception children to stay for lunch, but they can find a whole day tiring and the lunch hour is often a time when they could benefit from being at home. We encourage this if it is possible, if not dinner supervisors do provide a lunch hour cover. The children eat lunch in the school hall and play in the grounds until 12.30pm (indoors if wet).
Under the government’s new initiative of Universal Free School Meals, all children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 are now entitled to a meal from September. However, if you consider that you may be entitled to Free School Meals on an income basis, please complete an application form as this will provide additional levels of funding for your child as they go through the school. Please see the school office staff for more details.
SNACKS
We provide a morning snack for your child which consists of milk, juice and/or water and a healthy snack. The school supports the COOL MILK FOR SCHOOLS scheme. Milk is free for the under fives and will be charged for if required for the over fives. Cool Milk will contact you directly regarding milk. We also receive a free piece of fresh fruit per child each day as part of the Government’s National School Fruit scheme, this will be given out in the afternoons.
School snack contributions will be £1.50 per week. We ask that you add your contribution to the snack tin at the start of each week and tick the box next to your child’s name. You may prefer to pay half-termly in advance with cheques made payable to Barry Reception Snack Fund. We need to know in writing of any special dietary requirements and allergies please.
BARRY PRIMARY SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY
INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
It is the policy of the Governing Body of the school that all children should wear the school uniform. Therefore, please ensure that your child dresses appropriately whilst at school. Here are some guidelines to help you:
Our colours are jade / navy and white and the uniform is as follows:-
BOYS -
· navy sweatshirt, cardigan or fleece*
· white, jade or navy polo shirt or white shirt*
· navy or grey trousers
· sensible shoes (not trainers)
GIRLS -
· navy sweatshirt, cardigan or fleece*
· white, jade or navy polo shirt or white blouse*
· navy or grey skirt, trousers or pinafore dress
· blue or green gingham dresses may be worn in the summer term
· sensible shoes (not trainers)
For PEALL children need -
· white t-shirt
· black or navy PE shorts
· plimsolls / trainers and a tracksuit for outdoor P.E.
School uniform with the school badge can currently be purchased from:-
The Schoolwear Shop
40-42 Abington Square
Northampton NN1 4AA
Telephone: 01604 635828
There is no obligation to buy from here; any plain clothes in the school colours would be acceptable. All clothing and footwear should be clearly labelled with your child’s name.
The school welcomes children from all backgrounds and faith communities. If there are valid reasons, for example religious objections, where parents want their child to wear clothes that differ from the school uniform, the school will consider such requests. Similarly, should an item of school uniform prove problematic for a pupil with disabilities, parents are invited to advise the Headteacher.
It is the Governors’ responsibility to ensure that the school uniform meets all national regulations concerning equal opportunities, and that our school uniform policy is consistent with our policy on equal opportunities.
Jewellery is not allowed in school, apart from stud earrings. However, the wearing of earrings is not permitted during PE/Games lessons because of possible danger. If earrings cannot be removed, the child in question is not allowed to participate in any P.E. activity until such time as the earrings can be removed. Adults in school are not allowed to assist in the removal of such items of jewellery.
CLOTHING
All clothes must be named. Spare pants and socks kept at school are very useful in case of the occasional ‘accident'. In Reception we begin outdoor PE during the Summer term. From the Easter holidays, please ensure PE bags contain t-shirt, shorts and plimsolls or trainers and a sunhat. An outdoor coat or waterproof is needed at all times.
Please encourage your child to hang up their own coat when they arrive at school. During the summer, it is an ideal time to encourage your child to become more independent at dressing themselves. This will help them when they change for P.E. each week.
BASELINE ASSESSMENT
On entry to school all children are assessed, this year your child will be assessed as soon as they start and this will be done in an informal way. The assessments will provide class teachers with a clear understanding of where your child is in their learning and teachers will use this information to plan the next steps for your child.
END OF FOUNDATION STAGE ASSESSMENT
We are required by law to follow a nationwide approved assessment scheme at the end of your child’s year in Reception. This is done in accordance with the EYFS curriculum. Assessment will take place during normal classroom activities during the whole of the year. You will have the opportunity to discuss your child’s progress throughout the year.
TAPESTRY
We are very fortunate to have Tapestry, a computer package, to enable parents to view their child’s Learning Journey instantly on the Internet. Parents are able to add their own pages and can also respond to observations. Regular use of Tapestry is a great way to improve our home and school partnership. We strongly recommend all parents engage with this wonderful resource as soon as their child starts school.
Illness
Please ring the school office if your child is ill and cannot attend school. The telephone number is 01604 234574. If your child has vomited, your child needs to stay away from school for 24 hours. We are able to give children asthma inhalers but require you to complete a medical form, give written instructions and label your child’s inhaler clearly. All inhalers and Epi-pens are stored safely in reception.
BREAKFAST AND AFTER SCHOOL CLUB
Currently we have breakfast and after school provision provided by KidsStop, which is an independent company registered and inspected by Ofsted. The Club is open for Breakfast Club from 8am and After School Club from 3.15pm to 6.30 pm. (Insert phone number and website)
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHILDMINDING ASSOCIATION (NCA)
Childminders can offer before and after school care, delivering children to school in the morning and collecting them after school. They are Ofsted registered and are inspected against the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and Childcare Register – exactly the same as all other childcare providers. Their website is www.childmindingnorthants.org.uk
ADULTS IN SCHOOL
As well as the class teacher, children interact with a range of other adults – Early Years practitioners, classroom assistants, support teachers, students and parents.
Currently the staff in Reception consists of two class teachers, an early years professional and support from two classroom assistants. Children with a statement of Special Educational Needs or English as a second language may have individual or extra support. The teachers have some non-contact time for management, planning, preparation and assessment, this time is covered by another teacher. All staff are called by their full name i.e. Mrs/Mr/Miss Smith.
During the school year we also have students who undertake part of their training experience in the Reception base.
Another very important and beneficial part of your child’s learning is the help from parents and grandparents. If you are interested in helping out in class we will welcome this. Regular parent helpers must have current school DBS police clearance, please contact the school office for details.
If parents do not wish to help in the classroom situation then other very practical help is needed and is much appreciated. During the first half-term while the children are settling in, we prefer not to use parent help in the reception area, but after that any help is welcome!