No! We have welcomed pupils from all backgrounds to our school, including pupils with no nursery background and those who have attended local nurseries. We work with all nursery provisions to ensure a smooth transition for our future pupils. Our Early Years team will visit your child’s nursery, share records and meet the children to ensure they are happy and secure when starting school.

The gates are unlocked at 8.30am and parents are able to wait with their children on the playground if they choose to. Between 8.40 and 8.50 please follow the one-way system to your child’s classroom where they will be met by their class teacher and settled to a learning activity.  The gates will shut at 8.50am which is when our register closes.  If you arrive after this time then your child will need to come to the School Office.  At 3.10pm the gates will be unlocked and pupils can then be collected from their classroom.  The school week is 32.5 hours.  Staff will be on hand to help you find where you need to go. If your child is attending Active8Minds after school club a member of their staff will collect your child.

All children need to bring their PE kit at the start of the year. We will keep it in school until the end of each half term when it will be sent home to be washed. The children have PE twice a week – the days will be indicated on your child’s ‘Learning Letter’ they will bring home each week. Your child will also need to bring their bookbag and a water bottle each day, as well as a pair of wellington boots to keep in school. We do not require the children to have branded items of uniform. Our PTFA run a second hand uniform shop on a fortnightly basis.

Our primary duty is to care for your child in all aspects of their life, including their health. Our Special Needs Coordinator (Mrs Brownlie), the Early Years Team and Mrs Jerram will liaise with you to put together an Individual Healthcare Plan plan for your child and any prescribed medication will be administered as directed by yourself and your child’s doctor.

This would form part of an Individual Healthcare Plan which would state your child’s allergy and how a reaction is managed. Information about informing our catering company of an allergy is contained in your new starter information and linked in the question below. We are an allergy aware setting and do not allow peanuts or nut products on site, in lunchboxes, donations or as gifts.

The school has made the decision to ask the staff, visitors, and parents to respect that the school is an allergy aware environment. It is the responsibility of all adults who attend the school to ensure that they do not intentionally bring or send any products or food on the school site that contains nuts or peanuts.  Information about the allergy aware environment specifically related to nuts and peanuts will be shared regularly in newsletters, placed on the school website, referenced in posters around the site, including the staffroom. This approach will be agreed with the parents of children who have such allergies. In addition to no nut and peanut products in lunch boxes, parents should not send in presents to staff and food donations that contains nuts.

Awareness is across all stakeholders that any foods that come through accidentally on to the school site will be dealt with as soon as the school/staff become aware.
It is the collective responsibility of the school and school community to fully embrace an
“allergy aware environment” including nut allergies. The leadership, staff, and Governors will encourage stakeholders to work together to make the school “allergy aware”.

We are fortunate to have an on site cook, Mrs Coulter, who is able to offer two hot dinner choices daily (one featuring meat and the other vegetarian). We also have vegetables and bread available on the tables during the lunch hour. We also welcome home packed lunches if you would prefer to send one in.  The lunch choices can be found at HC3S Catering.   You are welcome to discuss these choices with your child prior to them coming into school, where they will move their name onto a picture of their lunch choice, with support from their teacher.  If your child requires a special diet menu then an application can be made at HC3S Catering Special Diets .

We have cups available in every year group if your child forgets their bottle on occasion. The pupils are given regular opportunities to drink water throughout the school day and time to refill their bottles. We do ask that your child not bring in juice or squash in their bottle.

Key Stage 1 have a 15 minute playtime in the morning and lunch is an hour long. Reception has a transition period over the course of the year so they join in with Key Stage 1 at playtimes and lunchtimes by the end of the Summer term.

You can purchase school uniform from Skoolkit, which is located at 31, The Meridian Centre, Elm Lane, Havant, PO91UN. Alternatively you can purchase through their website here.

Our uniform is white and blue. Please see the pictures below for examples. We do not require children to have branded items of uniform and all uniform is accepted year-round. Our PTFA have generously funded each child to have a school bookbag and water bottle as they start school. The PTFA also run a second hand uniform shop on a fortnightly basis.

Yes, we ask all of our children to read each day and support this through a badge system – for every 25 days the children read, they can earn a special jewel-themed badge, including ruby, emerald and diamond! We also send home a suggested ‘chat, play and read’ activity on the children’s Learning Letter as well as their weekly spellings.

We are here to support yourselves and your children through any difficult times you may have. Please speak to your child’s class teacher whenever it is convenient for you to do so or make an appointment at the school office – Mrs Ford and Mrs Tighe are also happy to support you at any point. We have an experienced team who have supported children through bereavements, family separation and many other situations – please just let us know how we can help your family.

The majority of our pupils transition to Mill Rythe Junior School, though some do choose to attend other schools, on or off the island. All our Year 2 parents are supported through the Year 3 application process and although we have strong transition links with MRJS we will of course support you and your child in transitioning to their new school, wherever you choose.