Author: emma.grunnill

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Welcome
This leaflet is intended to help parents with information about the school. Please keep it safe so that you can refer to it throughout the academic year 2019/20.
Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust –SAST
St Mary’s is part of the Sherborne Area Schools’ Multi Academy Trust. We work collaboratively with other local schools to provide many different opportunities for our children.
Rights Respecting School
St Mary’s gained Rights Respecting Schools’ status in 2012. The Rights Respecting Schools Award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers / adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils. At the start of every year, all the children agree a class charter which sets out everyone’s rights and responsibilities!
Behaviour
We have very high expectations of behaviour at our school and as a result, behaviour is generally outstanding. We operate a positive behaviour policy which ‘catches children being good’ and celebrates success. We have clear guidelines for dealing with inappropriate behaviour. All children are taught about how to be a good friend, how to recognise the signs of bullying and what to do. If you suspect that your child is being bullied, please tell your child’s class teacher immediately. Our behaviour and anti-bullying policies are on the school website.
Uniform
We are very proud of our school uniform and expect all children to come to school smartly dressed, as follows: Winter uniform (from Autumn half term): Royal blue V-necked sweatshirt or cardigan, grey school trousers, skirt or pinafore, long or short sleeved white shirt with school tie, white or grey socks, black, navy or grey tights. Summer uniform (from Summer term until October half term if the weather is warm): blue and white checked or striped summer dress, grey school shorts, white or grey socks. Sensible shoes, predominantly black in colour to be worn all year. No fashion heels, sandals, trainers or boots. Book bags will be provided free when your child first joins the school. Uniform is ordered through http://kitzuk.co.uk/ Long hair should be tied back from the face for health and safety reasons and we ask that children do not wear fashion hair accessories. Stud earrings only to be worn.
PE kit for KS1: navy blue shorts and white round necked T-shirt (no designer labels). White socks, plimsolls or plain trainers preferably with Velcro fastening.
PE kit for KS2: as for KS1. Also plain black round necked sweatshirt and plain black jogging bottoms for outdoor sports in Winter.

Football boots, shin pads and black/navy football socks. Football kit may not be worn in other lessons.
Swimming: plain swimming costume or trunks, hat and towel in a waterproof bag. No long surf shorts or two piece costumes please.
Please ensure all your child’s clothing and property is named. The wearing of jewellery is not permitted for safety reasons. If your child has pierced ears, only stud earrings are permitted and these are best left at home on PE days. Otherwise they should be removed during exercise (compulsory for swimming) or taped over. Children need to be able to remove their own earrings if not being taped. Swimming takes place in the Summer term for Years 5 and 6 at the local pool. Please ensure the children have their swimming kit on their swimming days.
PE
PE is part of the National Curriculum and all children are expected to take part. Please ensure that they have the full school PE kit. All children have PE lessons twice a week.
Snacks
KS1 currently have free fruit under the government scheme. We only allow fruit or vegetables for a snack as we are a healthy school. KS2 pupils are welcome to bring in their own healthy snack for breaktimes. Milk is free to children who are not yet 5 years old. Once they reach five, you can then choose to pay for milk. This is a scheme run by Cool Milk and you need to contact them directly: www.coolmilk.com tel 0800 321248. Information is also available through the school office. Children in receipt of Free School Meals are entitled to free milk—if you think this applies to your child, please see the office.
Water breaks
It is important that the children drink plenty of water. There is strong evidence to suggest that it helps their learning as well as keeping them healthy. Children should bring a named water bottle every day. Staff will encourage them to drink this throughout the day. Children can only have water in these bottles.
Lunches
Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 are entitled to a FREE school meal. Children in Key Stage 2 can also have a meal which costs £2.50 a day. Lunches are ordered online and paid for through Parentpay and are provided by Thornford School Meals Association which is our longstanding provider. Alternatively children can bring a packed lunch.
We actively encourage a healthy balanced diet. Please ensure that drinks (not fizzy) are in plastic bottles or cartons. We are a ‘no-nut’ school as we have pupils with serious allergies to them. Please do not send in sweets or chocolate bars (anything that can be found in the confectionary section of the supermarket) to school. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Clubs
A schedule of clubs is produced each term and parents are asked to give permission for their children to attend. Please let staff know if children are unable to attend for any reason. There may be a charge for materials for some clubs. Some clubs are run by private providers and you have to sign up and pay for these online. Please collect your children promptly as our staff also have commitments after clubs.
After school childcare
Parents are signposted to Lower Covey at Yetminster who run an after school childcare facility. Staff from Lower Covey will collect the children from our school and take them to the centre a few miles away.
Breakfast club
The school runs a breakfast club from 8am in the school hall. Sessions are £3.50 with or without breakfast and bookable on ParentPay.
Parking
There is no parking on the school site. Parents are asked to park respectfully in the village, mindful of our neighbours and not to park, even for a minute, on the yellow zig zag lines outside the school.
Church School
St Mary’s is a Church of England School and as such, we have close links with St Mary’s Church. Our aims and values are set upon Christian principles. Children have collective worship or assemblies daily from staff members and visitors. The Vicar is also a frequent visitor and we make good use of the Church for services.
Sending Money and Slips into School
We are now a cashless school. Parents are asked to use Parent Pay to pay for trips and lunches. We have also changed the way we seek permission for trips and some events. For paid trips, we will be asking parents to consent online via our Parent Pay system. We will continue to email letters home for reference but we will not be sending out paper copies. Sports fixtures and club letters will still come home as a paper copy. All slips should go to the class teacher in the morning.
Safeguarding
We are committed to ensuring all children are safe during their time with us at school. All staff and adults at school are DBS cleared. The Headteacher is the Designated Safeguarding Lead and is also responsible for Health and Safety procedures. Mr Simpson and Mrs Middleton are responsible for child protection matters in the Head’s absence.
Medicine and Illness
If a child is injured during the school day then first aid will be applied and appropriate action taken in line with the school Policy. If your child is sick or unfit for school during the day, you or the named contact will be telephoned. Please keep us up to date with changes of address and telephone numbers. Please note that children with sickness or diarrhoea must remain away from school for 48 hours after the last bout.

Staff are happy to administer medicine to your child although it is worth noting that this is not statutory but voluntary and staff cannot be held accountable if medicine is forgotten. Parents are asked to bring medicine into school in the original container with prescription label and complete a medicines form through the office. More information about illness and administering medicines can be found on our website.
Working with parents
We encourage parents to come and talk to class teachers about concerns at any time, although the end of the day is usually more convenient than before school. We like to encourage independence and would respectfully ask that you allow the children to enter class by themselves and organise themselves for the day. Staff are on hand to talk to you at the door.
In October, parents are invited in to talk about how well the children have settled into their new classes. In February/March, parents are invited to look at their children’s work and discuss progress with the teacher. In July, you will receive a comprehensive written report about progress and attainment. Parents and children are invited to give written feedback on the past year.
Parents are invited to class assemblies every year. There are also some information meetings held throughout the year such as Phonics for Year 1, SATs for Year 6 and E-safety. Curriculum leaflets are sent out at the beginning of each term outlining what your child will be learning and are posted on our website.
We value our parent helpers who help us to achieve lots of additional activities. If you would like to help regularly in school, please speak to the Headteacher as you will require a DBS check.
Absence
Please try to avoid absence from school wherever possible—children cannot learn effectively if their attendance is poor. If your child is ill, please ring and let the office know by 9.30am. If we do not have a reason for absence, it will be marked as unauthorised and we will contact you. If you know your child is going to be absent, please let us have a note for our records. Please try and organise Doctor and Dental appointments out of school time. Term time leave is no longer authorised except in very exceptional circumstances.
If you do have to collect your child from school during the day, please phone ahead and let us know. You will need to sign your child out of school in the orange book by the Office and in again, on their return.
Punctuality is also very important. Children are often unsettled and miss important instructions or learning if they are late to school. Classrooms are open from 8.45am and it is expected that all children are in class for 8.55am for the register. School finishes at 3.20pm when we expect all children to be collected promptly.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THE LOWER ENTRANCE GATE DURING SCHOOL RUN TIMES—PLEASE USE THE TOP PLAYGROUND GATE ONLY.

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Special Educational Needs and Accessibility
St Mary’s is committed to equal opportunities. All pupils are fully included in all aspects of school life and have an equal opportunity to experience the curriculum regardless of race, gender, background, specific difficulty or physical ability. Our SEND information is available on our website. A child is termed as having Special Educational Needs if they have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or have a disability that prevents him or her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools. If you are concerned that your child may have Special Educational Needs, please talk to the class teacher initially or the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCO); Mr Simpson.
Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
All parents are automatically members of the PTA! The PTA raises a large amount of money every year to supplement the learning resources of our children. The committee regularly meet to plan its fundraising events and are always looking for the support of parents so why not come along to committee meetings or events and make some new friends!
Making a Complaint
If you are anxious at any time about your child then please speak to your child’s class teacher. If you do not think the matter has been resolved, please seek the attention of the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher although you may need to make an appointment. This approach usually solves most concerns. If you are still unhappy, you should follow the school complaints procedure which is available on our website. Please do not post concerns or complaints on our social media platforms as this does not help—the school will not respond in this way and will remind you to follow the formal complaints procedure. Legal advice may also be taken.
Keeping you informed
Parents are sent a monthly newsletter which details events, dates and news. This is sent home via email and paper copy and is posted on our website. Our website is regularly updated and is an excellent source of information. The School also has a Facebook page which is a free and easy way of contacting parents and a Twitter account. The School has a Texting system which is very useful in the rare event that the school may have to close or more usually, clubs being cancelled; please ensure we have up to date mobile phone numbers so you receive important information. There are noticeboards around the school with news items and of course, we ask parents to check book bags daily for notes, letters, etc.

Attainment and Achievement
Our SATs results are published on our web site each year and a copy of our most recent OFSTED and Church Inspection reports are also available on the website. Our academic attainment over time is generally above other schools nationally of which we are very proud.
Term Dates 2019/20
School day: 8.55am—3.20pm.
Autumn Term: Monday 2nd September 2019 – Friday 20th December 2019 Christmas Holidays: Monday 23rd December 2019 – Friday 3rd January 2020 Spring Term: Monday 6th January 2020 – Friday 3rd April 2020 Easter Holiday: Monday 6th April 2020 – Friday 17th April 2020 Summer Term: Monday 20th April 2020 – Monday 20th July 2020 Summer Holidays: Tuesday 21st July 2020 - TBA
HALF TERM HOLIDAYS
Autumn Term: Monday 28th October 2019 – Friday 1st November 2019 Spring Term: Monday 17th February 2020 – Friday 21st February 2020 Summer Term: Monday 25th May 2020 – Friday 29th May 2020
INSET DAYS:
Monday 2nd September 2019, Tuesday 3rd September 2019, Friday 25th October 2019, Friday 20th December 2019, Friday 26th June 2020, Monday 20th July 2020
Headteacher: Miss Emma Grunnill
Deputy Headteacher/SENDCO: Mr Graham Simpson

The roots to grow,

The wings to fly.

Information for Parents 2019/20

School Aims:
To provide a secure Christian environment in which consideration and respect for self and others, including the wider community, can be fostered;
To encourage and support each child to achieve the highest standards of which he or she is capable in all areas of academic and personal development;
To foster a positive and responsible attitude in children towards their
environment.

Mill Lane, Bradford Abbas, Sherborne, Dorset DT96RH Email: office@bradfordabbas.dorset.sch.uk 01935 476515 www.bradfordabbasprimary.co.uk