Please inform the school of any problems concerning your child’s health. Minor accidents are dealt with in school but it is vital for us to have an up to date phone number in case we need to contact you in an emergency.

Please do not ask staff to administer medicines. This is a serious responsibility and even with the best of intentions, there is always the potential for mistakes to be made. If your child is taking prescribed medicine, you should either ask your G.P. to regulate the dose so that it can be taken out of school hours, or arrange to administer it personally. Inhalers may be left with the teacher, provided that they are clearly named, so that children can use them as required.

These rules, though sometimes inconvenient, do protect all children from the risk of an accident. We are sure you will understand.

Absences

If your child is absent for any reason, we ask you to let us know by phone followed by a letter of explanation on return. Please also notify us in writing of any medical/dental appointments that your child may have during school time. On these occasions, we do require that all children are collected from school.

We try not to encourage family holidays during term time because of the work the children will miss. It is always hard for them to catch up, particularly for older children. We recognise, however, that sometimes you have no choice. If this is the case, please ask the secretary for a holiday request form.

During 2001/2002 there were 268 pupils of compulsory school age on roll for at least one session. Pupil sessions missed though authorised absence was 4.85% and through unauthorised absence was 0.03% .

Behaviour and Discipline

We firmly believe in good discipline. Above all, we aim to develop self discipline and a genuine concern for others. Discipline problems are, thankfully, rare but when they do occur, they are dealt with as soon as possible. We try to be firm, fair and above all consistent.

Minor problems are dealt with in a variety of ways, but we never hesitate to involve parents when necessary. This reflects our belief that, in all matters, we have a shared responsibility for the moral and social development of our children.

Whilst we feel that there is not a serious bullying problem at St. Andrew’s, we do recognise that there will be incidents wherever groups of young people are gathered together. We are quite clear where we stand on this issue.

Bullying, both physical and verbal, will not be tolerated at this school and we believe it is everyone’s responsibility to prevent it happening. We try never to let incidents pass.

Copies of our behaviour and bullying policies are to be found at the back of this prospectus.

Sex Education

Our aim is to support the emotional, social and personal development of every child, so that they can make informed decisions and choices about their own lives and are able to enjoy relationships based on mutual respect and responsibility.

Sex Education is taught both formally and informally. We try to create a supportive climate for discussion within our classes in order to deal with questions which may be posed by individual children. Planned teaching takes place as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education programmes as well as through other subjects such as Science, English and Drama.

(Please note that a more detailed version of this, and all other school policies, is set out in the School Information File, a copy of which is available in each classroom.)

Field Trips

During Years 5 and 6, children have the opportunity to spend up to a week away with their class and teachers. These are educational visits and offer children the chance to learn to live and work together away from the school environment. These trips are great fun but also hard work! Later in the term, we stage an exhibition of work from all our visits during the week of our Parent’s Evenings.

Insurance

Basic cover is provided by the Authority when children are receiving education on or off County establishments. However, the school always takes out additional cover which includes medical cover, personal effects and money for all children going on day or residential field trips.

It is worth noting that the National Federation of Parent Associations recommend the advantages of your taking out more comprehensive cover for children during their school years.

Charging

Our policy here is that whilst no charge is made for general "in school" activities, there are a number of worthwhile activities which lie beyond our school budget. Educational visits, swimming and the purchase of certain more expensive materials rely on financial contributions from parents. No child will be excluded from any activities through inability to pay, but sadly, insufficient support for any venture will mean it is liable to be cancelled.

Day visits and residential field trips, which are an important aspect of National Curriculum rely heavily upon voluntary contributions. However, we will always try to keep expenses to a minimum.

Please ensure that younger children are delivered and collected from their own classroom entrance. If anybody unfamiliar is to collect your child, please let the class teacher know in advance, or telephone school in the case of an emergency. It would also be helpful to telephone if you will be more than a few minutes late collecting your child. Class teachers are always around at the end of school so your child will not be left unsupervised, however, it can be upsetting for children if they do not know that someone is on their way!

Class Fund

Each year, we ask for a voluntary donation of £5-00 per child towards the Class Fund. This is used to buy everyday items to support the requirements of the National Curriculum e.g. ingredients for a cookery lesson . We currently ask for donations from Years 5 and 6 in the Autumn Term, Years 3 and 4 in the Spring Term and Years R, 1 and 2 in the Summer Term.

NB. Please use the brown envelopes, available free from the secretary, when sending any money into school.

School Uniform

Our school uniform is set out below. Governors expect children to wear the uniform in school and ask parents to support this expectation.

Summer: Boys  As above, with a choice of mid grey shorts

                 Girls  As above, with the choice of blue and white check dresses

Order forms for items of uniform are provided at Admissions Evenings and are also available from the School Office. School sweatshirts, cardigans, polo shirts and book bags can all be ordered via school.

Your child will need suitable, well fitting shoes, fastened with laces, buckles or Velcro, without pointed toes or high heels. Children must also bring a pair of indoor shoes into which they can change. This really helps to keep our school clean in times of bad weather.

P.E. Kit

Children need shorts, a plain T-shirt and plimsolls /trainers for outdoor activities, all kept in a named bag. (Not too large please, some cloakrooms are very small.) For Health and Safety reasons we cannot allow children to join in P.E. sessions without appropriate, well fitting footwear. Heavy trainers are NOT suitable for physical education activities. Please make sure that P.E. kit is available in school each day.

Please also provide in your child’s P.E. bag, a painting overall (an old shirt with the sleeve length trimmed to size serves very well) for protecting clothes during art sessions.

Children need book bags which can be obtained from school along with items of school uniform. These bags are invaluable for transporting not only books to and from school but also letters, money envelopes and Reading/Homework diaries.

Jewellery

Jewellery should not be worn to school for safety reasons. However, small stud earrings are permissible for children who have just had their ears pierced.

Toys

Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school. They are so often lost or broken that it upsets the children and causes us a real headache!

Lost Property

Please name your child’s clothes!
Many items of clothing are lost during the year, and it is often only possible to return them to their owners if the clothes are clearly labelled. There is a lost property box in the school office and after a year, any unclaimed clothes are donated to charity.

School Dinners

Meals are cooked on the premises. There is always a choice of both main course and pudding. Sandwiches may be brought, and water is always available. We ask you not to include sweets as part of the packed lunch or for a snack at playtime. However, children are very welcome to bring fruit or a healthy snack to eat at playtime.

Children are supervised at lunchtime by staff appointed for the purpose. Please remember that the responsibility undertaken by lunchtime supervisors is often underestimated. They deputise directly for the teachers, and have equal authority. Children are expected to treat all adults working in school with equal respect. Your help in reinforcing this principle would be greatly appreciated.