Attendance and Punctuality

For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly and be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Pupils must attend every day, unless there are exceptional circumstances and it is the Headteacher, who can authorise the absence. Please take a moment to read our Attendance and Absence reporting procedures on our school website under School Day Information & Forms where you will find more information concerning pupil absences.

Illness

If your child is absent from school, please call the school office before 9am clearly stating your child’s name and the reason for their absence. A call must then be made on each subsequent day. If we believe the absence may be due to a reason other than illness, this could result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised. If your child has been vomiting or is suffering from diarrhoea, then the recommended period to be absent from school is 48 hours from the last episode of illness. In all cases of illness please call the school office before 9am on each day your child is ill. If your child is unwell during the school day and needs to be collected from school, please go directly to the school office where arrangements will be made for you.

Health and Safety - Visitors and Interruptions

The school site is secured during school hours, and we would like to highlight that visitors are not permitted on site without pre-existing appointments. Parents and carers are kindly reminded not to enter the reception area without prior arrangement with the school office. All permitted visitors must announce their arrival on the school intercom at the school gate to obtain entry. Please help by maintaining a quiet presence around the school.

Forgotten items

Often, delivery of forgotten items during the school day is not necessary. If your child forgets an item, such as but not limited to; snack, reading packet, water bottle, lunch, you may telephone or email the school office so that a message can be passed on or we can advise accordingly. The only exception being the delivery of urgent medical items.

Snacks Reception

A healthy mid-morning snack is provided at the cost of £2.50 per term, payable via ParentPay for children in Reception. This consists of a piece of fruit, a rice cake or breadstick and a drink of either milk or water. Please note, children may not bring in alternative drinks or snacks unless there is a medical reason. KS1: Fresh fruit is provided every day for children in years 1 & 2. KS2: Please provide your child with a healthy snack to enjoy during break-time.

Healthy Snacks

As part of our Healthy School status and commitment to teaching children about the importance of eating, please be reminded that snacks brought into school to be eaten during the morning break must be healthy. A healthy snack is a piece/combination of fruit/vegetables, plain popcorn or plain breadsticks. Cereal bars (often high in sugar), pastries or dairy items such as cheese strings (due to children with allergies) are not to be brought into school to be eaten at break times. Children are encouraged to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables as part of their five a day. By eating fruits and vegetables in different colours, we can be sure that they are consuming different vitamins and minerals. Children should also bring a reusable water bottle filled with fresh water (no juice please). Please note: no kiwi or nuts, including Nutella should be brought in to school and cherry tomatoes/grapes should be cut in half.

Lunch items

We also follow the same policy for packed lunches from home. A healthy home packed lunch should consist of a variety of foods from all food groups. As a Healthy School, please refrain from sending any sweet or sugary items into school. Treat day is Friday, so you may wish to include one treat item such as a piece of cake, chocolate biscuit or some crisps. Please do not send in sweets. For reasons of safety, glass bottles and cans must not be brought into school. Grapes and tomatoes to be cut in half lengthways.

Bringing food items into school

Please be aware of the needs of other children if you are sending food into school. St. Peter’s school strictly operates a no nuts or kiwi policy due to the increased number of children who suffer allergic reactions.

Often pupils bring sweets on their birthday as a class treat. Normally, these are given out at the end of the day. Ideal birthday treats are individual bags of Haribo’s. Please avoid sending chocolate or lollipops.

Free School Meals

Since September 2014 all children in Reception, Years 1 and 2 have an automatic qualification to receive a free meal regardless of income, in line with the Government’s Universal Infant Free School Meals initiative. School meals may be booked via Parentpay three days in advance of their requirement. Your child may, of course, bring in a healthy packed lunch from home instead. The Government has also introduced the Pupil Premium Grant (“PPG”) to help children from lower income families reach their full potential and to achieve higher academic grades at school. Under this funding arrangement, infant schools receive £1,345 for every pupil who meets the eligibility criteria for ‘PPG’ so it is really important to us to make sure every child that meets the criteria is actually registered. If you believe your child may be eligible, please contact the school office to complete relevant forms. This will be dealt with the strictest confidence.

Online payments to school with ParentPay

We do not accept cash and cheque payments, making the school a cash-free environment. Parentpay is a secure system which parents at St Peter’s use to conveniently make payments for school meals and other school items such as trips and snacks online. Your help is appreciated to make payments on time.

Messages Sent Home

In place of sending letters and forms home, we use a system called Arbor to communicate with parents. It is imperative that parents check their emails regularly to keep up to date with notifications from the school.

Going home arrangements

Please ensure that your child’s teacher is aware of their normal going home arrangements by completing a ‘Travelling Home Arrangements’ form which can be found on the school website under ‘Key Information - Useful Documents’ and return it to your child’s class teacher. If you have an urgent change to your child’s normal going home arrangements, please telephone the school office.

Jewellery

Earrings and jewellery are not permitted to be worn in school. Watches must be analogue – Smart watches including Fitbits and Apple watches are NOT permitted in school.

Earrings - New ear piercings should take place at the start of the summer holidays. If necessary, tape may be worn over new piercings for the first week of Autumn term. After this date, all earrings must be removed.

Assemblies & Celebrations

Parents and carers are invited to their child’s class assemblies and celebrations. Please check the newsletter and school website calendar for dates and times of these events.

Safety at the end of the day

All staff place great importance on orderly dismissal at the end of the day. Your child will be reminded to take all their items and head for home/car safely. Once pupils are dismissed, they are not allowed to return except for an emergency reason e.g. to telephone a late parent, to collect forgotten medicine or spectacles. Pupils are not allowed to return for forgotten personal items, books, instruments etc. Parents are asked to keep walkway routes clear so as to allow staff to see pupils leaving safely. Pupils are not allowed to alter their method of returning home without the express written permission from the parent.

Driving around school

Please remember:

• Children come first. Their safety is paramount, and we all must drive slowly and carefully
• Be patient at all times and be considerate of others
• Keep the area around our school “road rage” free
• Do not park across the zigzag markings
• Do not block or restrict access to residents’ driveways

Valuables

Valuable items such as jewellery or phones should not be brought to school. Please discourage your child from keeping money on their person or in bags or coats.

Label everything

Please label every item of your child’s school uniform. Any containers or water bottles should also be marked with your child's name. If your child attends a club, please ensure all home clothes are also labelled clearly.