We fully appreciate that coming to school for the first time can be an anxious time for both children and parents.

We try very hard to make entry into school as happy, calm and peaceful as possible. Please be assured that children settle very quickly and happily into life at Barrowby School.

We like children to make two preliminary visits to the school during the Summer Term, so that they become familiar with their new school and its surroundings.

In September, we will gradually ease them into the life of the school and its routines.

It would be a great help if your child could:

• Dress themselves
• Cope with toilet needs
• Wash and dry hands
• Tie laces or fasten shoes
• Use a handkerchief
• Tidy up after themselves
• Enjoy having stories read to them

It helps if children are used to drawing, crayoning, cutting-out, painting and sticking, and enjoy such activities, as well as playing with bricks, Lego and other construction toys. Using their hands practically, and talking to your children about their activities and experiences is a good preparation for many tasks which are important in the early years of school.

If they want to, encourage them. Be positive, children will learn when they are ready.

Reading   

The best preparation for reading is the regular enjoyment of a story in a warm, comfortable atmosphere. Talking with and listening to children to find out their ideas, views, interests and feelings will also help their desire to learn at school.

Writing

Writing often begins with scribbled patterns (emergent writing). Some children, but not all, will want to learn to write their name.

Initially, at school we use mostly ‘lower case’ letters, not capitals; if you help your child to write their name, the first letter should be a capital, and the rest lower case, e.g.  Mark, Emma.

It would be helpful if you could use a similar style to ours, in the formation of letters.

When your child joins our school, in the year they turn 5, they will typically start in their Reception year and complete the Foundation Stage.

This is the first stage of the National Curriculum.  It has been written specifically for children from birth until 5 years old, when children complete their first year of primary school, called Reception.

During their reception year children constantly encounter new experiences which they try to understand.  As this happens they explore the world around them, ask questions and develop their confidence to build on what they already know.  Play is integral to this process, that way, learning is both challenging and fun!

The Foundation Stage curriculum is split into seven areas of learning.  These are:

• Communication and Language;
• Physical Development;
• Personal, social and emotional development;
• Literacy;
• Mathematics;
• Understanding the world;
• Expressive arts and design.

Communication and Language

Children are given opportunities to experience a rich language environment that will give them the confidence and skills in expressing themselves well.  Through play in both the indoor and outdoor classroom and through other activities, children will use language to interact with adults and peers.

Physical Development

In our reception year children are given the opportunity to play on large and small play equipment and apparatus.  In the classroom they develop their fine motor skills through a range of activities including cutting and sticking, threading, pegging making and designing.

Personal, social and emotional development

Children are encouraged to think about the needs and feelings of themselves and others.  Children are given learning opportunities to become independent and feel confident in a range of contexts.

Literacy

Children are encouraged to read and write in a variety of contexts both formally and in their play.  They love to read and write and are encouraged to discuss their experiences in a supportive and happy environment.

Mathematics

Through play, and later more formal experiences, children learn how to count and write numbers.  They begin to solve mathematical problems in practical contexts and investigate shape and space!

Understanding the world

There is so much for children to see, experience and learn about where they live and the wider world.  They will develop their understanding of technology and how things change over time.

Expressive arts and design

The creative aspect of the curriculum allows children to use their imagination to paint, model and design for a range of purposes. The role play area and outdoor learning opportunities give our children the chance to indulge in creative and imaginative play of their choosing.

School starts at 8.55am and the school gates open at 8.45am.

When you bring your child/ren to school parents should arrive at school between 8.45 and 8.55am.  Please do not arrive any earlier than this.  

• Reception/Key Stage 1 parents and pupils queue on the Church path and use the gate at the side of the hall; and
• Key Stage 2 parents and pupils queue on the school's pedestrian path underneath the Willow tree.

When you bring your child/ren to school in their first week of school parents should arrive at school between 8.45 and 8.55am.  Please do not arrive any earlier than this.

If you are using the Breakfast Club you will have been advised of the appropriate start time and arrangements for your child. 

For those not using the Breakfast Club, please bring your child down the Church path which runs adjacent to the school and wait for the hall side gate to be opened, by a member of staff.

Once opened, a member of staff will be on-hand to direct you down the side of the Hall building to queue waiting to enter the Outdoor Classroom area, where either Mrs Banfield or Mrs Selby, their new class teacher will greet you. 

Once the gate is opened, you may bring your child down to their classroom’s Fire Exit door, located in the Outdoor Classroom.

Once you have dropped off your child we would ask that you follow the one-way system in place-walking through the school’s car park as you leave. 

When leaving or entering the school, we ask that parents/visitors walk on the clearly labelled yellow pedestrian path through the school car park. There will be members of staff on hand to direct you.

If you are late arriving in the morning, please accompany your child to the School Office.

If you take your child out of school or return them during the school day, please ensure that an absence request form is completed and returned to the School Office for their arrival/departure to be recorded. The absence request form is available through our school website under the Parents Tab: Forms.

If, on occasion, you are unavoidably delayed collecting your child, at the end of the school day, please telephone school to inform us.

Your child will be placed into the After-School Club where they will be supervised until you arrive.

Late collection is charged at £4 per hour or part thereof for any child collected after either 4.45pm or 6.00pm.

The aim of our school is to communicate in the most effective manner with our parents. We use a system called Arbor. It is vitally important parents check Arbor periodically. You will already have been registered for this if you have provided the school with an email address. If you have not, or you have any queries regarding this, please contact the school office.

We believe that communicating with parents is vitally important; ensuring our parents receive the correct information about all aspects of school life at the right time.

To this end, we use Arbor to send letters, newsletters and other communications home to parents/carers as well as posting letters on to our website, under the ‘Parents’ tab.

This system enables you to:

• Receive correspondence and newsletters via email
• To complete permissions for visits and school events
• Make payment using credit/debit cards for school visits and other events
• Book Parent/Teacher consultation appointments
• Book Breakfast and After-School Club places
• Complete stakeholder reviews/surveys
• Track your child's attendance
• Report absences

Our website www.barrowby.lincs.sch.uk is also a very useful tool for obtaining information about what is happening in our school and answers lots of questions that you may have.

Parents can view the whole school year via the calendar on the homepage.

If you do have any queries that cannot be answered by the website please do not hesitate to contact the school office who will be only too glad to help.

3.15pm. Please take a look at the School Life-Daily Routine section of the website for more information. 

In the first week, at the end of the school day parents may collect their Reception child from their respective classrooms at 3.00pm. 

From the second week onwards, parents are asked to queue on the Church path and children are brought to the Hall side gate, within the school grounds, where they are supervised by staff until they are collected by parents/carers.

Please tell the school office if a different person from usual is to collect your child.

Once children have been collected we ask that parents walk through the school car park, on the left hand side which is pedestrianised at this time.

If you use our After-School Club, the children will be collected by a member of staff and taken to the After-School-Club.  Parents should collect their child/ren from the After-School Club at the pre-arranged time.

The Club can be accessed via the yellow pedestrian path through the school’s car park and is clearly signposted for convenience.

At Barrowby CE Primary School, we have an 'open door' policy for parents. If you have a concern or query regarding your child then please arrange an appointment with your child's class teacher. This can be in person or a telephone appointment and can be arranged by contacting the school office either in person, by telephoning 01476 566121, or by emailing enquiries@barrowby.lincs.sch.uk

If you email regarding an arrangement for your child, we will respond as quickly as possible. However, if you are reporting a change to arrangements for the same day, we would advise you to telephone, if possible. If you don't get an acknowledgement of an email, please contact again, in case it has gone astray.

We aim to acknowledge letters/emails within three working days, however, depending on the nature of the enquiry, a full response may take a little longer.

School Term Dates

Yes.

Please put named labels on all your child’s clothes and shoes and bags, and encourage your child to recognise their own name labels and belongings.

These labels can be purchased from www.nameitlabels.co.uk . The link for this can be found on the FOBs page of our website under useful links. Please put name labels inside collars so that they can easily be seen at a glance.

A few children may be reluctant to come to school on some mornings, but very soon dry their tears once their parents are out of sight. It is usually better to put your child firmly in the classroom and go. Hesitation and worry on your part can convey stress to your child and create uneasiness. 

We will, of course, contact you should your child continue to be unhappy. Please let your child’s teacher know if anything happens at home which affects how your child is feeling.

Your child will be attended to, and if necessary you will be contacted and asked to collect your child from school. If your child has an accident at school, you will be contacted if it is serious. In the case of minor accidents – bumps or scrapes – a letter will be sent home via your child if it is felt you need to know about the accident.

All staff members, including lunchtime supervisory staff and Wrap Around Care staff are Paediatric First Aid trained. 

Medicines: Medication can only be administered by school staff after the completion of the relevant forms and health care plans. Administering medication in school forms can be downloaded from our school website: Parents Tab—Forms.

Finishing times vary - most extra-curricular times finish before the end of the school day.

Uniform 

We provide a breakfast club in school called 'The Old School Room Breakfast Club'. This is open daily from:

From 7.45 am - 8.45 am - £4.50 including breakfast
From 8.15 am - 8.45 am - £3.00 no breakfast

To learn more about this provision please click the link below:

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We also provide an After School Club based in the  ‘Old School Room’ open from 3.15 - 5.30pm.

Our After School club also has two choices of sessions:

 From 3.15 pm to 4.30 pm - £5.00 with a snack and drink.

 From 3.15 pm to 5.30 pm - £9.00 including a light meal and drink.

To learn more about this provision click here:

Wrap Around Care

Our provider is The Farm Kitchen. You can contact them on 01522 246424.

As a school we actively encourage our children to drink a range of healthy drinks e.g. water, milk:

• throughout the school day
• as part of a Hot School Meal
• as part of a Packed Lunch

Throughout the School Day

In accordance with our status as a Healthy School, children are actively encouraged to drink water, which is available throughout the school day. To support this, all children are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school. These bottles may only contain plain/unflavoured/uncoloured water. Drinking water is available in all classrooms.

We also have a school milk scheme, free to under 5s or children entitled to Free School Meals, and at a small cost to other children. Children having milk can drink it at playtime or at lunchtime, if they are having a packed lunch. 

At lunchtimes, parents can choose a hot school meal, provided through our supplier, or to send their child to school with a packed lunch.

Hot School Meals

Where a parent chooses a hot school meal for their child, this includes a drink of water or milk as part of that provision and service. No other drinks or food substitutes are permitted.

Packed Lunch

Parents do not need to provide their child with a drink as water is also freely available to children having a packed lunch. Alternatively, parents can send a drink as part of their child’s packed lunch. We would encourage these drinks to conform to the school’s Food In School Policy and the National School Food Standards.

Parking at the school is very limited and is restricted to staff only.  Please do not park on Church Street. If you have mobility issues then please contact the school office on 01476 566121 and we will endeavour to assist.

Please help us to keep all our children safe:
Parents/carers are requested to park in the village and walk to school. 

We very much hope that our parents/carers will support our efforts to promote safe and healthy journeys to and from school:

• Please do not  bring your car into Church Street, as this is dangerous for your children.
• Please do not obstruct driveways or paths.
• Please do not park or wait on the zig zag lines.
• Please do not leave your engine on whilst you wait in the car.
• Parents’/carers’ cars are not permitted in the school car park, for safety reasons.

Our core reading scheme is the Oxford Reading Tree which is supplemented by a selection of books from other commercial schemes and also a range of good quality paper backs and hard backed books.

We Essential Letters and Sounds.