"The atmosphere is one of energy, commitment and respect - with undercurrents of humour and individuality.
Parent quote
New Parents
SCHOOL ROUTINE
- The school session times are 8.45 am until 12 noon and 1.05 pm until 3.15 pm. The school operates for 32.5 hours per week.
- Children will not be admitted to the site before 8.35am unless they are using breakfast club. The school gate and classroom doors will open at 8.35am for the children to come in.
- All Key Stage 1 children are entitled to a Free School Meal under the Government scheme but meals must be ordered by the deadline date using our online ordering system otherwise we will assume that parents will be sending in a packed lunch. Thornford School Meals' Association provide our hot lunches - please click here for more information.
- When collecting your child/children, parents are asked to do so from inside the school gates to minimise the risk of accidents on the road - unless they are in Year 5 or 6. If you travel to and from school by car, please park safely and well away from the entrances to ensure the safety of all children, parents and staff. The forecourt area outside the village hall MUST be kept clear, as this is the main pedestrian entrance - the yellow zigzag lines are a NO STOPPING ZONE, not even to drop off a child. The school carpark is for staff only.
- The gates are locked just after registration in the morning and unlocked before the end of the day to safeguard our pupils. Please do not use the office entrance for the school run as the gate will be locked. If you need to visit the school during the day, you can use this entrance and buzz the intercom to speak to the office. However unless you have a pre-arranged appointment, you will not be allowed entry.
- If you are going to be late to collect your children, please telephone the office and leave a message. Staff will pick up any answer phone messages in the event that the office is not supervised.
- Please do not write emails during the day enquiring whether clubs are running* as emails may not be read until after school. The best thing to do is to phone the office directly and leave a message. A member of staff will contact you as soon as possble if your call is not answered.
- The school has a breakfast club from 8-8.35 which can be booked online. We also run an after school childcer provision on site. There are two sessions - 3.15-4.15pm for £4 and 3.15-5pm for £7.50. Parents are signposted to Lower Covey Nursery in Yetminster, which some of our children attend, if they require longer sessions. Please visit: http://www.lowercovey.co.uk; email: info@lowercovey.co.uk or phone: 01935-872544 for more details.
- Being a parent is a wonderful but sometimes a difficult and time consuming job and your relationship with the school is key. We try our very best to keep parents updated with everything that is happening at school in good time. In turn, we respectfully ask that parents check children's book bags every night and read and respond promptly to emails and letters that are sent home. The school runs a text message system to communicate with parents. Please ensure we always have an up to date mobile number.
NOTE: If parents need to collect pupils during the day for medical appointments, we ask that school is informed beforehand by phone or note. A member of staff will sign the child out of school and then bring them to the gate. The admin officer will sign them back in on their return. This satisfies our fire regulations and safeguarding procedures.
ABSENCES
The Education (Schools and Further Education) Regulations require us to complete an annual return giving information about absence from school. In order to fill this in correctly, we need your help! We therefore ask parents to contact us on the first day of absence for safety reasons, so that we know the whereabouts of any child not in school, and then to contact us on each subsequent day of absence until the child returns to school, unless a definite return date can be given at any point. The school will contact YOU if no contact has been received by 9.15am whenever possible.
Authorised absence includes sickness, medical or dental treatment or being educated off-site. As from September 2013, the Government removed the Headteacher's power to authorise holiday in term time unless it is under exceptional circumstances. If parents take their children on holiday in term time it will be classed as an unauthorised absence and may result in a fine. Please see our flier here.
PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
If your child is well enough to come to school they are expected to take part in all activities but if through illness (eg cold or ear infection) you wish your child to miss a swimming or physical education lesson then please write a letter. If the child is to be excused such lessons for any length of time, a doctor’s certificate should be produced. It should be stressed that school is a very demanding place and it is not equipped to care for children who are not fully fit. It is important, therefore, to ensure that children are able to be involved in a full school day’s activities before returning them to school after illness.