The School Day
- School begins at 8:55am
- Lunch break is from 12:15pm - 13:15pm
- School closes at 3:20pm
Children should not be on school premises before 8:45am. They wait in the the play-grounds but are able to come directly into school in wet weather.
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The School Year
The school year is based on a calendar of 195 days.
Five of the 195 days are to be used for staff professional development, which means that schools will open to receive pupils for the legal minimum of 190 days. Parents will be advised when staff ‘In-Service’ days are to be held.
Details of arrangements for each term, with dates of holidays and events, are circulated in newsletters which you should receive at regular intervals, approximately every week. |
School meals
Children are offered a choice of food prepared in our school kitchen and served in cafeteria style. Children may bring packed lunches if they wish and these should be brought in a box bearing the child’s name. Should your child have any special dietary need, please contact school.
Children whose parents are in receipt of Income Support are entitled to free school meals.
Children are requested to bring fruit for their mid-morning break. NO crisps, sweets or chocolates please. They are also permitted a drink in a carton or plastic container, if desired. No fizzy drinks.
There is a school tuck-shop operated by children from Class 6 which sells healthy items during the morning break at the cost of 20p each.
Children should not bring more than 40p per day. Profits go towards the purchase of books for our new school library.
Chew Stoke achieved this standard in 2004. It is a jointly funded initiative by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Health (DH). It is part of the government's drive to reduce health inequalities, promote social inclusion and raise educational standards.
The overall aim is to help schools to become healthier.
School dress & Lost property
The children wear school uniform which comprises grey skirt or grey or black trousers, with white or blue polo shirts and black ‘school’ shoes, i.e. not trainers. Royal blue sweatshirts, cardigans and polo shirts with an embroidered school logo can be ordered from the P.T.A. They also sell cotton dresses, baseball caps and legionnaire hats for the summer.
Jeans and other fashion clothes/shoes are not considered suitable dress for school.
Children should have in school a change of clothing and plimsolls for P.E. and Games. School T-shirts and shorts are available through the P.T.A. These items should be named and kept in school in a named draw-string bag, also available from the P.T.A.
Blue tracksuits may be worn in cold weather for games and swimming, although children are discouraged from wearing tracksuits all day. School teams are supplied with kit for their matches.
For health & safety reasons, items of jewellery have to be removed for all P.E. activities.
Please note that we strongly discourage any jewellery being worn in school and do not consider them to be appropriate or acceptable items of school dress.
PLEASE LABEL ALL ITEMS OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR WITH YOUR CHILD’S NAME
Please encourage children to leave toys and articles of value at home, as so much distress is caused if things are lost or broken.
Found property should be handed in to the school office. If it is unlabelled, it will then be stored in the lost property box.
Activities & clubs
In addition to the normal school curriculum, a variety of extra curricular activities are available to the children, depending on the interests of the teaching staff and the time available. Many of these clubs are also led by parents to whom we are indebted for their time and commitment.
Recent extra curricular activities have included:
From Year 4 children have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument, currently woodwind, strings, percussion or keyboard.
Some clubs take place during lunchtimes and are led by Year 6 boys and girls. Others are “After School”. When children stay beyond 3.20 p.m., parents are asked to ensure that arrangements are made for their children’s safety when going home.
Drama, Music, School Plays and Concerts give children enjoyable and valuable experiences. In addition, educational visits are arranged both in and out of school time, for which your written consent is required.
The school also organises three residential visits each year.
Charges for school activities
The Governors, in complying with the Education Reform Act, have adopted the following policy on charging for school trips and activities.
Where an out of school activity involves a cost that has to be met by the parents, the school will seek a donation from each of the parents involved to offset the costs. This donation shall be set at such a level that all the reasonable expenses are covered.
When parents are notified of a school visit there must be included an explanation of the implications of the Education Reform Act and the school’s policy concerning contributions from parents. This will emphasise that this is a voluntary donation and a child cannot be excluded from a school trip because their parent has declined to make a donation. If, however, donations are insufficient to cover the costs, the activity will almost certainly be cancelled.
For further details please refer to “Charging for Schools Activities” policy, which is held in school office.
Residential visits
Three residential visits are planned for the year as follows:
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A five day activity based visit to the YMCA National Centre at Botley, near Southampton, for Class 6
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A four day centre based visit for Class 5 to Welsh Bicknor Youth Hostel in the beautiful Wye Valley
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A three day visit centred around Slimbridge Youth Hostel during the Spring Term for Year 4 and Year 3 children.
Residential visits have become an integral part of the school's philosophy. Preparation is thorough and the work is integrated into the curriculum.
Currently typical costs for camps are approx. as follows: £160 (Class 6), £125 (Class 5) and £70 (Class 4 & Y3 Class 3). As costs can be high, especially if two siblings are involved, it is suggested that payments are staged. It is also encouraged that where financial difficulties are expected, early discussions with the Headteacher are sought. The PTA consciously promote fund raising to subsidise costs and ensure all children have the opportunity to enjoy these experiences.
The LEA does not insure children while on the school premises or on educational visits, but the school, through the approved LEA insurers, will take out cover for any educational or residential visits.
Personal Accident Benefits
The County Council is not responsible for, and does not provide, Personal Accident benefits for pupils. Parents who require such provision should make their own arrangements. It may be of interest that a scheme has been arranged by the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations. Mention of this scheme is for information only and parents should satisfy themselves that adequate cover for their children's needs is taken out.
Physical Education
We aim to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles in accordance with the National Curriculum. This means each year Key Stage 1 children are taught three areas of activity - Games, Gymnastics and Dance, and Key Stage 2 children also cover Swimming, Athletic activities and Outdoor/adventure activities.
The school has a large hall for indoor activities, a playing field adjacent to the building and access to larger playing fields which we share with the local community.
By the last year the older children have had the opportunity to play many team games, including Football, Cricket, Rounders, Hockey and Touch Rugby, as well as taking part in the Chew Valley Dance Festival production (Classes 1, 3 & 6), performing both traditional and contemporary dance. The school has active Football and Netball teams competing with local schools in friendly matches.
N.B. There are many opportunities now developing to work with staff from Chew Valley School due to its recent Performing Arts Status and Sports College links.
Road safety
School Lane is a very narrow road which twice daily can become very congested. In order to reduce the dangers to our children and address the concerns of our neighbours, we urge parents who live out of the village to park their cars in the Stoke Inn car park, or Pilgrims Way, and walk up to school with their children. The more parents willing to walk up School Lane, the fewer the cars and consequently the dangers to all our children will be reduced. View the map.
The ten minutes before and twenty after school 8.45 - 8.55am and 3.20 - 3.40pm has been designated as a Car Free Zone by parents - to allow all children and parents to walk to school safely. .
If for any unavoidable reason you do have to park in School Lane, please:
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leave at least a car's length on either side of the school drive
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avoid parking in the area from the gate of School Farm to level with the school building, this being the narrowest section of the lane.
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turn in Home Orchard before stopping to drop children, facing down School Lane, and park close to the wall/bank.
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Please also notice the zig zag lines beside the ford, below the school pedestrian gate, and do not park or turn in the ford.
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Access - please enter the school grounds through the pedestrian gate beside the ford. Access up the school drive is being discouraged due to the danger caused by traffic approaching school by this route and lorries
Your co-operation in these matters is much appreciated.
Our School Travel Plan was awarded in May 2004 and we are recognised as participating in the Safer Routes to School campaign.
Travel Plan Aims
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To make it easier and safer for children to walk or cycle to school within the village and in particular up School Lane itself.
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To establish a 'Safe Route to School' within the village.
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To train the children in pedestrian safety via the 'Practical Pedestrian Training Course' offered by the B&NES Road Safety Team.
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To raise awareness of the impact of children walking to school upon their fitness, health and ability to learn.
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To eliminate the need for parental parking on School Lane.
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To reduce the impact of parents' cars within the village by encouraging safe parking in the car park of the nearby Stoke Inn.
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To foster good relations within the village via a good parking policy.
Homework
Our homework policy is one of the means by which we aim to create an effective working partnership between home and school for the benefit of the child's learning.
When a child first starts at this school we encourage and hope that parents will spend approximately 10 minutes nightly sharing a book with their child. We use a Parent/Teacher Reading Comment Book from this point onwards as an important means of communication - one that is sustained and developed as the child progresses through the school.
In due course, in line with developing literacy and numeracy skills, we introduce spellings to learn at home and follow-up maths activities. In the four junior years (Key Stage 2) a homework diary will be used to set out, at regular intervals, work that is expected to be done at home and which parents will be expected to sign. Teachers will share with parents how the homework will be marked.
We believe that a high level of parental involvement has a large impact on standards and the quality of children’s learning. We also believe that a child cannot achieve his/her full potential without the active involvement of parents in their learning.
Pastoral care
There are many support services available for children in school, e.g. school doctor, nurse, audiometrician. Undiagnosed sight and hearing problems can affect a child's progress.
The following are available for children with learning difficulties:
The Education Welfare Officer visits the school on a regular basis and is:
Fiona Hayman, Riverside, Temple Street, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 1LA Telephone: 01225 394241 |