Policies
If you wish to see a policy and you cannot find it here or you have any questions please contact the school office.
School Meals
- The children are well supervised during the lunch time period. We expect good manners and social behaviour during lunch times, and appreciate your support in promoting this. If a child repeatedly causes problems during the lunch hour, they may be asked to go home for their lunch for a number of days.
- Cooked meals are prepared by Scolarest, and the menu for the day will be displayed in the dining room. The meals are well balanced, nutritious, and made on the premises from fresh. Children have a choice of main courses, vegetables, salad and pudding. Dinner money should be sent to school in a sealed envelope, clearly marked with your child’s name and class. Please have the correct amount of money as change is not always available. Cheques are accepted and should be made payable to Scolarest.
- Alternatively, children may bring a packed lunch to school and these should be in a named container. Only cold drinks are allowed, and they should be brought in a carton or plastic bottle. No sweets or chewing gum should be included.
- Parents/carers who received Family Income Support are entitled to claim for free school meals, and should apply to Leeds City Council, Benefits Office, Great George Street, Leeds.
- Please note – two weeks notice is required in writing should you wish your child to change from a school meal to a packed lunch and visa versa.
- Lunchtime staff in the dining room try to encourage children to eat their lunch. Packed lunches are asked to take their sandwiches home if they have not eaten them so parents can see what they are eating and what they are not eating. If a member of staff is concerned that a child is constantly not eating their lunch, they will contact the parent/carer and inform them of their concerns.
Admissions & Transfers
Our policy is to admit in September all children who will be five years old during the current academic year. The children will be brought into school gradually over the first two weeks to allow them to settle.
Children are admitted into the Nursery during the term after their third birthday if a place is available. It is important to register your child’s details at the school so we can contact you when it is appropriate.
The parents of children entering our Nursery or Reception classes are invited to attend a meeting prior to their children starting school.
Parents will receive information from Leeds Education Authority during Year Six about selection of High Schools. Children and parents/carers will be invited to visit the High Schools and preference forms must be returned promptly to indicate your choice of school.
Attendance
Regular and full time attendance is essential if children and young people are to benefit fully from their school life. It is also important that children learn the importance of being punctual as part of their preparations for adult life. The school and parents must work together in order to achieve high standards of attendance and punctuality.
Holidays
A list of current year holidays is given in the School Hand Book. Parents wishing to take their children on holiday outside these dates are asked to request the permission of the Head Teacher at the earliest possible time and fill in a holiday leave form. Could you please note that the regulations in the Education Act 1980 state that children should not take more than two weeks family holiday in any school year. If a child is absent for more than two weeks on holiday, the school is allowed to take them off role and parents/carers would then have to re-apply through Allocations Department at Merrion House. Please refer to Parents Guide to Attendance for further details.
Uniform
We have a school uniform, which all children are encouraged to wear. This is based on the colours red, white and grey. Clothing, including shoes, should be sensible, comfortable and especially for young children, easy to change for P.E. Many children wear red sweatshirts on which is embroidered the name of the school. These can be ordered through the school office.
Please can all clothing be marked with the child’s name and checked regularly to ensure it can still be read. This applies especially to coats, pumps, gloves, wellingtons, shoes and P.E. Clothing.
If you are in receipt of Family Income Support you may be entitled to a school uniform grant, which can be obtained from Leeds City Council, Welfare Office, Great George Street (please take your F.I.S. book with you).
Hair Styles
We recognise that children like to wear modern styles, however, extreme examples are not acceptable especially those with words shaved in them.
Jewellery
We ask that you do not send your child to school wearing jewellery in case of any possible loss or damage. If a child has pierced ears, then only small studs should be worn. We recognise that certain items of jewellery may be worn for religious reasons – please see the class teacher about this. We will NOT accept responsibility for any jewellery or personal items that go missing.
P.E. Equipment
Children will require P.E. clothing to change into:
- For indoor lessons, a plain white ‘T-shirt’ and red shorts.
- For outdoors (Key Stage 2) warmer clothes in winter, possibly a tracksuit.
- Year 4 & 5 go swimming, so they will need a costume or trunks and a towel.
- Some girls for religious reasons may wish to wear leggings.
- It is essential that all clothing is clearly named. We discourage ‘T-shirts’ with slogans and designer sports wear or professional sports strips.
Sporting Aims and Provision for Sport
P.E. is taught on a regular basis to encourage a healthy mind and body. We aim to develop an awareness of the benefits of exercise for a healthy and active lifestyle. Children have the opportunity to take part in dance, gym, games, swimming and athletics. Older children also have the opportunity to take part in after-school sports clubs. We are very fortunate to have the use of a large gym, and playground.
Special Education Needs
We believe that a child with ‘Special Educational Needs’ is a child who requires additional help or resources in order to address a particular difficulty or special ability. This may be a temporary need at a particular time in a child’s development, or something that will need to be addressed throughout the child’s education.
It is important that all staff are aware of early learning difficulties, and that concerns are discussed with parents. There is a formal procedure, laid down by the Local Education Authority, for assessing the needs of individual children. Parents play a valuable role in their child’s education, and we ensure that they are kept informed and consulted on all stages of the assessment procedure.
The range of needs will vary from those children with a statement of special educational needs to those who have difficulties of a more moderate or temporary kind.
A copy of our Special Educational Needs Policy is available in school for download.
Our Special Needs Co-ordinator is Miss F. Brown. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact her.
Personal, Health, Social and Citizenship Education (PHSCE)
Our P.H.S.C.E and Sex Education teaching follows the guidelines given by the D.F.E.S, and Leeds Education Authority. We believe that the personal and social development of our pupils is extremely important, and that many of the skills and knowledge that children need to develop, and their understanding of themselves and others can be covered in the school curriculum, along with our family of schools we are developing a series of lesson plans, which begin in Nursery and go through school to Year Six to give our children a solid foundation for later life.
School Visits
Whenever possible we try to extend the work which is taking place in the classroom by taking children out on appropriate visits. This first-hand experience is often the starting point for a topic and forms the basis for work in various curriculum areas.
We take the older children on residential visits. We see these visits as a very valuable contribution to children’s social and intellectual development. All visits are dependent on the support of parents for funding. We ask for voluntary contributions and if there are sufficient of these, the visit can go ahead.
Children’s Medication
Sometimes it may be necessary for school to give your child medication. School will only give a child medication if it has been prescribed by a doctor and a medical form is filled in and signed by parent/carer. If your child needs medication three times a day, this can be given at home before school, at home after school and at bedtime, if however, your child needs medication four times a day, then school will help by administering it. If your child suffers from asthma and requires an inhaler, please ask your doctor to prescribe two, one to be left at school with his/her class teacher and one to be left at home. If you are unsure what to do, please ask at the school office. Please note that ALL medication should be clearly marked with your child’s name on.
Religious Education and Collective Worship
Through Religious Education we try to help children to understand about religions without giving instruction in a specific religion or belief. We follow the Leeds Agreed Syllabus, which is available in school.
We celebrate good work, birthdays, Christian and other Faiths and Festivals. Children listen to stories, which encourage them to think about moral values, home, family, friends and the world about them.
Children who are not of the Christian faith are entitled to withdraw from specific Christian Religious Education and/or acts of worship, at the request of their parents. However, we encourage all children to participate in assemblies, which consider general moral issues or which acknowledge the presence of other faiths in the school and community.
School Clubs
School offers a variety of extra curricular activities, which take place at lunchtime or after school. Children may be given the opportunity to take part in:
- Football
- Netball
- Rounders
- Skipping
- Let’s Learn Club
- Read-it
- Athletics
- Music
We believe that good behaviour is necessary for the safety and well being of everyone in school. Promoting positive behaviour is a responsibility of all the staff.
We operate on the minimum of school rules. Our prime aims are always to encourage good behaviour and with this in mind, we will usually contact parents at an early stage if we feel a child’s actions are going beyond the bounds of acceptability.
We work with parents for the maintenance of good behaviour in school. We feel that your support is vital in maintaining a well-ordered, happy atmosphere in school.
We try to promote and enhance positive behaviour, teaching by example with acts of courtesy, kindness and consideration for others. Praise is awarded not only for good work, but for acts of thoughtfulness and care within school and the community.