Welcome Pack Booklet - Reception Starters 2024-25

This booklet is designed to support parents and carers working in partnership with our Early Years Team to ensure your child’s start in their Reception class is a positive and pleasurable experience that will give them the best of starts on their journey through school with us.

WELCOME PACK

WHITE ROCK

PRIMARY SCHOOL

EXPLORERS NURSERY

AND

Reception Starters

INSPIRING LEARNING

Togeth�

WELCOME TO EARLY YEARS

AT WHITE ROCK...

Mrs Lucie Holloway is the Reception Lead Teacher.

The time is fast approaching for your child to take their next step on their

learning journey and start their first class at White Rock Primary School. This

is an exciting time for both your child and yourself and we recognise the

importance of children’s first experiences of school being positive ones.

This booklet is designed to support parents and carers working in

partnership with our Early Years Team to ensure your child’s start in their

Reception class is a positive and pleasurable experience that will give

them the best of starts on their journey through school with us.

There are three classes, each with a class teacher

Supporting Learning

DUCKLINGS

In addition to our teaching staff, children within the Early Years unit will be

supported by a team of Learning Support Assistants. Some of these

support individual children and some support across the team.

GOSLINGS

CYGNETS

TERM DATES

2024 - 2025

THIS YEAR’S

TERM DATES

PLEASE LOOK AT TERM DATES

CAREFULLY BEFORE BOOKING

ANY HOLIDAYS

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE:

www.whiterockprimaryschool.co.uk/term-dates/

SCHOOL DAY TIMINGS

START OF THE SCHOOL DAY

The doors into school for the Reception classes open at 8:45am. To

keep all of our children safe we ask that children do not arrive before

this time and are supervised by an adult at all times until they are

welcomed into their classrooms. Access into and out of the

Reception classrooms are solely through the doors from the

undercover outside space. We ask parents to come in through these

doors only and to leave the same way.

This year the arrangements are that all children will start

full time from Monday 9th September

We have an experienced team who are skilled in supporting our

youngest learners in this huge step of joining ‘big school’ and are

looking forward to working with your child on the start of their school

journey!

Whilst this will suit the majority of our children, you as parents and families

are obviously the people who know your child best. If you have any

concerns at all about your child starting full time, please speak to a

member of the team at the taster sessions. We are keen to personalise

the transition experience to meet the needs of all of our individual

children and families.

END OF THE SCHOOL DAY

School finishes at 3:05pm.

At the end of the school day children will be released from their

classrooms via the doors onto the undercover outside space. We will

do this one at a time, as we see parents, in order to ensure that

everyone is safe.

We cannot emphasise how important it is to share any

concerns you may have with one of our team, no

matter how small they may seem. We really believe

that with little children the little things are the big things

and we take all parental concerns seriously.

INFORMATION SHARING

If you have any messages for us, please speak to any member of the Early

Years team or the main admin office and they will ensure these are passed on.

Teachers are always happy to discuss your child’s learning and progress with

you, but to ensure we are able to give you the time you deserve, please

arrange to meet with teachers at the end of the day. You can also email or call.

Your teacher’s email address will be available on our school website under

class pages at the start of the new academic year. If you would like to call you

may do this on 01803 577940. Please be aware teachers will be unable to talk

during the day due to being in class, however if you feel it is urgent, please ask

to speak to a member of the leadership team and they will be able to help.

HOW YOU CAN SHARE INFORMATION WITH THE SCHOOL?

MESSAGES

HOW THE SCHOOL SHARES INFORMATION WITH YOU

If we have any messages to share with parents, one of the Early Years team will do

so as we send children out. If we need to chat to you about anything from the day

we may ask you to hang on until we have released the rest of the children, in order

to make sure everyone has gone home safely and also to give you our full attention.

Likewise, if you need to speak with the teachers, we ask that you are patient with us

and wait until the rest of the children have been handed over to parents.

If you have any messages to share with us, such as:

· A change of details (address, phone number etc)

· Someone else is due to pick up your child

· Your child is absent

· You may be late for collection

Please always inform the main front office via our school gateway app, calling us on

01803 577940 or in person.

IMPORTANT FOR KEEPING

YOU INFORMED

WHAT DOES THIS INCLUDE?

· Receive important text messages

from school keeping you

updated.

· Book & pay for school meals

· Report your child’s absence

· Pay for school trips

· Easy communication

· User friendly

· Quick

· Reliable

DOWNLOAD

You will be able to use your school gateway account within

the first week of your child starting school.

ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT BY SIMPLY:

Downloading the app , click new user and put in your details, a text/email

will be sent to your device with your log in details, put in your login details

and then enjoy the school gateway app to help you keep up to date with

all school information and so much more.

ATTENDANCE

We do our best to provide a welcoming, caring environment,

whereby each member of the community feels secure and at

home. Your child should attend school everyday unless there is an

unavoidable cause such as illness. Excellent attendance at school

is important to allow a child or young person to fulfil their potential.

WHY ATTEND SCHOOL EVERYDAY?

Good attendance gives your child the best

opportunity of success and helps develop

skills for life. Evidence shows there is a clear

link between attendance and their success.

Missing school damages pupils’ learning,

disrupts routines for themselves and their

classmates and can make them feel

isolated from their peers.

If your child arrives after 8.55 am, they will be

classed as late and need to be signed in

through the school office. If your children are

late, they are missing the valuable start to

the day.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY CHILD IS OFF

SCHOOL?

Send a message via the School Gateway

App or email/phone the Attendance officer

by 9am on each day of their absence so

that we know your child is safe at home.

Please make any medical, dental or other

appointments out of school time. However,

we understand that this can sometimes be

unavoidable. Please let the school office

know in advance of any appointments they

need to attend and provide evidence of

the appointment, so that we can update

our records.

CONTACT OUR ATTENDANCE OFFICER

Call 01803 577940 (Option 1) or email:

attendance@whiterockprimaryschool.co.uk

ABSENCE IN TERM TIME

Holiday during term time is not allowed due

to Government regulations. Permission for

any planned absence from school must be

sought from the Headteacher.

A request must be made using our Absence

Request Form which can be downloaded

from our website. This must be submitted

before time off is required.

PENALTY NOTICE

Parent/carers commit an offence if their

child doesn’t attend school regularly and

the absence has not been authorised. In

these cases a penalty notice may be issued

and be paid in 28 days otherwise you may

face the possibility of a prosecution. The

government stipulates that the Headteacher

may grant permission to take time off during

term time only in exceptional circumstances.

Taking time off without permission will be

counted as unauthorised and 10 sessions or

more unauthorised absences can lead to a

penalty notice and a fine being issued.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I’M HAVING

DIFFICULTIES WITH ATTENDANCE?

It’s important you come and speak to us

straight away. Remember parents / carers

have a legal responsibility to make sure their

child attends school. Please contact us and

we can support you.

REPORT

MY CHILD’S SCHOOL

AND

Reporting a Child Absent or Late Arrival

If your child is going to be absent from school please let us know by 8:55am. You

can do this by sending us a message via the school gateway app or calling 01803

577940 - choose option 1 to leave a message, you will need to confirm your child’s

name, class and reason for absence. Alternatively if you would prefer to talk to a

member of staff you can call the school office from 8.30am.

If your child arrives after 8.55am they will need to report to the school office

where they will be signed in.

If your child has a medical appointment please let a member of the admin team

know the date and time, they will inform the class teacher on your behalf.

Should you need to collect or return your child during the school day please

report to the school office to sign your child in or out.

Thank you for your co-opera�on with the above procedures,

it helps us to keep your children safe.

WHERE POSSIBLE, PLEASE BRING WITH YOU YOUR CHILD’S MEDICAL LETTER/

APPOINTMENT CARD, THE ADMIN TEAM WILL TAKE A COPY FOR YOUR CHILD’S FILE.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE RECEPTION TEAM ARE AWARE THAT YOUR CHILD HAS

ARRIVED IN SCHOOL FOR FIRE SAFETY/SAFEGUARDING REASONS.

DON’T

FORGET...

...ABOUT OUR SCHOOLGATEWAY

APP! YOU CAN USE YOUR APP TO

REPORT ABSENCES VIA THE

MESSAGING SYSTEM.

SCHOOL

DINNERS

Lunch�mes are an important part of the school day. Healthy, nutri�ous, balanced school

lunches can lead to be�er health and a be�er academic performance. Our on-site Catering

Team are passionate about providing healthy delicious meals for our children.

A NEW MENU IS

CREATED EVERY

TERM WITH A

VARIETY OF

DELICIOUS

FOOD CHOICES.

RECEPTION &

KEY STAGE 1

CHILDREN ARE

ENTITLED TO

UNIVERSAL FREE

SCHOOL MEALS!

DID YOU KNOW...

We source seasonal and local food

where we can

Our meals are freshly prepared on

site

We serve at least two por�ons of fruit

and veg a day

Our school food meets the School

Food Standards criteria

ALLERGENS...

Please inform us of your child’s allergy so

our catering team can prepare the correct

meal. We oﬀer gluten free and diary free

alterna�ves, please see all allergens listed

on our website.

AVAILABLE DAILY…

Water, freshly baked bread, yoghurt, fresh

fruit and Salad Bar.

Ea�ng a vegetarian diet can help with climate change by reducing carbon emissions

and help reduce global warming. They are really tasty too! On Monday’s we will help

save our planet by oﬀering delicious meat-free meals, now known as ‘Planet Monday’.

Our planet friendly meals, packed with veggies and proteins, will keep your li�le

superheros fuelled all day. Did you know that by choosing to go meat-free for one day

a week, you can reduce your annual carbon footprint by as much as not driving your

car for a whole month!

PLANET

MONDAY

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