Useful Information For Parents

 

School Session Times

The hours spent on teaching in the normal school week is as follows:

Key Stage 1 22 hrs 55 mm.
Key Stage 2 23 hrs 45 mm

NB. This does not include acts of collective worship, registration periods and break times.

School begins                                   9:00am
Morning Break                               10:45am to 11am
Lunch Break                                   12noon to 1:10pm
Afternoon Break    Key Stage 1       2:30pm to 2:45pm
School Ends                                    3:30pm

Children should arrive on school premises between 8:45am and 9:00am.

Please ensure that your child is punctual.

The Headteacher and staff are normally available to see parents briefly on any school day between 8:30am and 8:50am and at the end of the afternoon session. For a longer discussion, it would be appreciated if you would ask for an appointment.

We hope you will come into school, whether to share any problems which may be affecting your child, or to offer your help. A number of parents are already involved in the daily life of the school.

You are automatically a member of the P.T.F.A., which meets for social
and school-based events. We hope you will come along.


Arrangements for Children During the School Day
Before School
We are happy for children to arrive after 8:45am. They will be supervised by staff from 8:45. No football is allowed in the playground at this time due to parents, younger children, etc. constantly arriving and walking across the playground.

A member of staff will ring the bell at 9:00am.

The register is taken between 9:00am and 9:05am.

Playtime
One member of staff is on duty each day. The bell is rung at the end each playtime and all the children line up in the classes by the ICT suite.

Lunchtime
All lunches (sandwiches and cooked) are eaten in the main school buildings. ‘Grace’ is said by a member of staff before the children begin their meal. Mealtime Assistants are in charge at lunch time, but will refer to the relevant class teacher or Headteacher if a problem arises. The children again line up in classes by the ICT suite when the bell is rung at 1:10pm. The children then lead directly into their classes.

At End of School Day
At the end of the school day the children go directly out of their classrooms, either to their parents who are waiting by the playground gate or they walk sensibly through the churchyard to their parents who are waiting in the car park. We ask parents of Early Years children to come to the school gate to collect their children, then if they are not collected for any reason, the teachers can bring them back into school for safety. Older children usually walk up to the car park and the rule is that if they are not collected within ten minutes or everybody else has gone, they come back to school. If parents of Early Year children want to remain in the car park because they have older children in school, the older children must collect the Infants from the Infant classroom. We also ask, that if for any reason, you are going to be late or there is a change of collection arrangements, then please let the class teacher know as soon as possible.

If children are not collected by 3:50pm then the class teacher will begin phoning the contact numbers.

Children who are staying for school clubs go directly to those.

We require that all parents park in the car park when delivering and taking home their children.  This arrangement is regularly reviewed by the School Governors, Parish Council and Police.  We ask you and the children to treat the car park and church grounds with respect and we ask you not to let children play and run down the bank in the front of the car park. This is for very good safety reasons.

Information from the Office
From Mrs Val Harding - Administrator

I work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 8:30am to 12 noon.
On Wednesday’s from 8:30 - lOam.
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 1pm - 4pm.

Please ensure all paperwork comes back to me and to ensure that you do not have to wait to hand anything in, a basket will be placed on top of the bookcase in the lobby each morning for you to place anything in. The basket will be on my desk if I am not working.

It would be helpful when you are handing in money if this could be put into an envelope with who it is from, and for what, on the outside.

If paying for school meals or uniform please make any cheques payable to 'Devon County Council’. Other payments for things such as swimming, book clubs, etc can be made payable to 'Kilmington Primary School’.

I offer the choice of how you receive the majority of information from the school, you can choose from ‘child post’ or e-mail, If you would like to use e-mail could I ask you to e-mail me at admin@kilminqton-primarv.devon.sch.uk and I will put you on my list.

Menus are sent out on a Wednesday, for return by Friday am, and the main newsletter on a Friday.

Preparation for School
To be ready for school, your child should:

a) be confident when separated from you for several hours.
b) be able to play and share with other children.
c) have confidence to talk to adults and to understand and obey simple instructions.
d) have established sleeping habits.
e) be able to use a knife and fork.

In addition, please remember that play is of the utmost importance to your child. Through play, children explore, learn and grow in competence and confidence. If you can regularly play with your child, talk and listen to your child, share books with your child and let your child help you and take part in every day activities, you will build a sound foundation for further learning.

Motor control will be developed by scribbling with thick brushes on large sheets of paper (wrapping paper is inexpensive and suitable). Cutting out pictures from magazines with a small pair of scissors is also a useful activity. If your child is naturally left-handed, do not attempt to change this.



Lunches
School lunches are cooked on the premises under the supervision of our resident kitchen manager.

Children may have a school meal or may bring a packed lunch or may go home for a meal. Menus are sent out on a Wednesday prior to the coming week and we ask parents to help their children choose what they would like each day and the form is then returned to us on the Friday. Children can choose to have a cooked meal on one day and bring sandwiches at other times, etc.

We promote Healthy Eating in school and therefore children are not allowed to eat sweets or crisps at playtime. We ask that sweets are not put into their packed lunches and crisps, etc are kept to a minimum. Chewing gum is not allowed at any time.

We have a Healthy Tuck Shop that operates at morning break and is run as a small business enterprise by our Year 6 pupils.

School meals cost £1.85 a day, and you are asked to send the correct amount of money at the beginning of each week. If your child is absent, meals will be credited for the following week. Cheques are accepted if made out to “Devon County Council”.

Free School meals are available to children whose parents are in receipt of Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance only. Details can be obtained from the school office or the Area Education Office.

Packed Lunch Policy
Policy Statement on Packed Lunches (click here to read)

Uniform
Policy Statement on Code of Dress (click here to read it)

The school uniform is as follows:
Shirts/blouses         -          White tailored style or white polo shirts
Trousers/skirts        -          Grey or black
Sweatshirts              -          Royal blue (with embroidered school name are available                                             from the school office)
Summer Dresses       -          Royal blue gingham

P.E.                          -          Black shorts and a royal blue T-shirt (also available                                                  from the school office)

All children should have trainers for indoor PE as well as for outdoor PE and a draw-string bag in which to keep them.

A man’s old shirt makes a very good overall for Art and Craft.



Health
Every school has the services of a trained School Nursing Sister. She is supported by a School Doctor who is a member of the specialist paediatric service based at the Royal Devon and Exeter (Wonford).

The School Health Service provides advice on the health of children as it relates to their educational needs. The School Nurse offers health interviews to all parents at school entry and there is a height and weight check at transfer to secondary education. She will refer children to the School Doctor when necessary.

In all the above the School Health Service works closely with General Practitioners and other health professions. It also supports teachers in those parts of the school curriculum concerned with health education.

Simple injuries in school are dealt with in the first instance by the schools first aiders who have the support of the School Health Service so far as advice and training are concerned.

The School Nursing Sister is your point of contact with the School Health Service. Parents and children are encouraged to contact her if they have any concerns regarding their health at school.

As part of our Sex Education lessons, Mrs Quick talks to the older children, during the summer term, about growing and menstruation. Parents will be written to prior to the lessons giving them the chance to withdraw their children, if they so wish, and to view the resources that will be used.

Prevention and treatment of head lice is treated seriously and as part of school’s policy parents are requested to check their children’s hair and treat as necessary before entry to school each day. If head lice are detected parents are requested to collect their child and begin treatment. A general notice of an infestation is then sent out to all parents.


Illness And Absence
If your child is absent, the school requests that you telephone the office before 9am giving the reason. This is to ensure that we fulfil our responsibilities in regard to pupil’s safety. If no call is received then the school administrator will telephone the parents concerned. When your child returns to school a letter explaining the reason for absence must be sent to the relevant teacher. If your child is going to be absent for any reason, then an official absence request form must be collected from the office, completed and returned to the headteacher.

We must be able to contact you if your child is taken ill at school. Please ensure that we have a telephone number where you can be reached during the day,and also another number of a relative or friend who will act on your behalf if we cannot contact you.

If you move or change your telephone number, please do not forget to let us know.



Medicines
Some children may need to take medicine during the day. If you wish a teacher to administer medicine, you must complete an Administration of Medicine form, as required by Devon County Council. These forms are available at school. Alternatively, you may come into school to administer the medicine yourself if you wish. Any such medicine must have been prescribed by a doctor. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES may children themselves bring medicine to school (this includes cough and throat lozenges.)

Accidents
All accidents at school are logged in our accident book and any that cause concern are noted to parents. Any head wound is recorded and reported in a written note and in more serious cases, verbally.

Before your child starts school, could we please ask you to fill in and return to the school secretary the form which can be downloaded here.

Holidays in Term Time
Holidays during term time are strongly discouraged. In exceptional circumstances the Headteacher may authorise a maximum of 10 days absence during term time to enable pupils to go away on holiday with their parent(s). Each case will be decided on its own merits. Attendance record, achievement and the proximity of important exams will all be taken into account. Approval is not automatic.

The duration of the absence and the date of return should be agreed with the Headteacher before making any arrangements.

Any absences over ten (10) days will be deemed unauthorised and the Education Welfare Department will be notified.

Please, wherever possible, you should take your holidays during school holidays.

If the school refuses a request for term time leave and the child is still taken out of school this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and you may receive a £50 fine for each child.

Parents are requested to ensure all medical and dental appointments are for outside school hours. It is accepted that this may not always be possible but appointments during the school day should be the exception rather than the norm.

Parents should note that absences of more than ten consecutive days for medical reasons must be supported by a note from the child's doctor.

Homework
There is a changing emphasis/expectation as the child progresses through the school. A few children will need a special programme of homework which will be individually organised by the teacher/parent/child concerned.

Infants
Parents are encouraged to hear their children read at home. The reading record is taken home and is used as a two-way communication between the teacher and parents about the progress of an individual child.

The older infants take home spellings to be learnt. Words are given based on spelling ability, which includes phonics, key words, words met in their week’s work, etc.

As part of the National Numeracy Strategy, Maths homework will be set for all infants.

Juniors
Spellings are given on a weekly basis and tested. Spelling groups are according to spelling ability. Words are based on phonics, word patterns and words met in their written work over the week.

Multiplication Tables are tested regularly in ability groups. Some children need to practice instant recall regularly for a few minutes per night.

Each child has a Homework Folder and set homework is taken home two to three times a week. All homework will be practice/reinforcement of skills/concepts learnt during the week or preparation work ready for forthcoming lessons. Homework will be at the level the children are working at within their class ability groups or year groups.

Homework should take between 20-30 minutes per night.

Reading at home is still encouraged in the Junior class. In addition, children throughout the school can borrow books from our libraries.

Reading at Home

1. When he/she brings his/her reading books home from school, do not expect your child to know all the words.

2. Let reading time be short, enjoyable and completely free from stress for both you and your child.

3. Let your child use any pictures/illustrations to help him/her guess what the words say. Often an illustration acts as a prompt, reminding him/her of
what happens in the story at a particular point.

4. Do not be disappointed (or obviously bored!) if you child wants to read the same story more than once, or even over and over again. The familiarity of a well-loved story ensures success and increasing confidence. Share in his/her pleasure and try to extend it to other books without neglecting old favourites.

5. Do not spell or sound out words phonetically. Simply say any unknown word. It will then stay in context and be more likely to be remembered.

6. Unless your child is eager to read individual words and phrases by picking them out of the story as a whole, do not encourage or demand, that he/she does so. It is tempting to want ‘proof of his/her reading skills by isolating words for testing but remember that he/she is learning to read and understand what he is reading at the same time; it is unfair to break up the sense, pattern and rhythm of the text. There are plenty of other opportunities for recognising individual words - on cereal packets, advertisements, road signs, birthday cards, letters, buses, shops, and so on. The written word is everywhere: help your child to see it.

7. Continue the bedtime story session for as long as your child enjoys it. There is no better way of sustaining happy relationships than through the sharing of books; as time goes on both you and your children can experience the pleasure of reading not merely short stories but full length novels, a chapter or two a night.

8. ‘Do your own thing’. Read your own books and magazines and show your child what reading means to you. Get the message across that reading is a valuable and enjoyable activity for everyone.

Behaviour
We aim to have a caring attitude in school and children are encouraged to have concern for other people, and also to take care of books and other property.

If a child’s behaviour is unacceptable, this will be explained to him or her, and a reprimand may be given, or a privilege temporarily withdrawn if it is considered necessary. Should there ever be a prolonged or more serious cause for concern, the matter will be discussed with the child’s parents.  

A full copy of out Discipline Policy can be found in the Policy Folder that
is available from the office.

Complaints
Should you at any time have a concern or a query over your child’s education, please discuss it with the teacher or the Headteacher. Often a problem can be solved quite easily if we know about it promptly and we all act together.

If at any time you feel the problem is more serious or the problem has not
been resolved to your satisfaction, then you have the opportunity to formally write to the Governors of the school asking them to investigate.

All parents have the right to forward their concerns to the L.E.A. should the procedures laid out above fail to satisfy you.

A full copy of the complaints procedure can be found in the school office.

Kilmington Pre-School Group
We have a thriving pre-school group which meets in the Village Hall on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings between 9:15am and 12 noon. The sessions are run by a qualified playgroup leader together with assistants and volunteers. A variety of activities are accessible to the children and there is emphasis on learning through structured play. Strong links have been forged with Kilmington Primary School and during the year a number of joint events and activities are held. Contact with this group may be made through the school. Please contact Mrs Caroline Lambert on 01297 34513 for further information

Pupil Images Information
Occasionally, we may take photographs, video recordings or webcam recordings of the pupils at our school for ‘educational use’. This could include displaying or using the images on project boards, school newsletters, at school conferences, in school projects or taking pictures of pupils for historical purposes, such as class photographs.

There are times when our school is visited by the media who will take photographs or video footage of a visiting dignitary or a high profile event. Pupils will often appear in these images, which may be published in local or national newspapers, or televised programmes.

The images that the school takes of its pupils may also be used as ‘promotional material’ for the school and could be published on leaflets, in our prospectus or on our website.

Conditions of Use
Please find below our condition for using your child’s image(s):

• The consent you provide for the use of your child’s images for promotional purposes will be valid for the period of time your child attends this school and will not be used once your child has left.
• We will only use the minimum amount of personal information about your child in any publication (such as names, school name and possibly year group) and will never reveal personal email addresses, home telephone numbers or home addresses or identify individual children in a group photograph.
• We will not use your child’s image for any purpose if it would prejudice the interests of your child.
• We will only use images of pupils who are suitably dressed, e.g. in a school uniform or track suit and will avoid taking pictures or video recordings of pupils in swimming costumes, except in appropriate circumstances, e.g. a swimming performance revue.
• We will not use your child’s image for any reason other that that/those stated, unless we have a legal obligation/legal power or have received further consent from you.
• We will keep your child’s images and personal information secure and will destroy individual images when your child leaves the school or give them to you.

Devon School Child-Care Link Scheme

Kilmington Primary School is in partnership with the Devon School Child-Care Link Scheme. The scheme is a way of linking schools with local ofsted registered childcare providers. This means that parents can find out about good local childcare through their local schools.

The following contact information and website link will provide you with the contact details you need if you are looking for childcare before or after normal school session times. Also available is information about holiday clubs and schemes, pre-schools and playgroups, parent and toddler groups, information on parenting support groups, courses, help and advice centres and much more.

Click on poster to take you to the site