Welcome to South Green Infants

1. Welcome to South Green Infants Parents/ Carers Meeting for children joining Reception 2013

2. Things you might like to know • Their teachers and class • The routine for dropping off and picking up • When do they start in September? • How to help them settle quickly • Lunchtimes • Uniform • Attendance • What do they need to know before they come? • Social Expectations • How can I help them at home? • Who do I talk to if I am worried?

3. Classes and Teachers Orange Class Purple Class Mrs Bleach Mrs Body [& Mrs Wheddon] when she returns from maternity leave • Classes plan together and all Reception staff work as a team so children do mix at times. • Each class has full time Learning Support Assistant and a third LSA who works across both classes • Classrooms are colour coded • Both have access to the Foundation Stage Garden • Both classes have toilets in them

4. The beginning and end of the day • The day starts at 8.50am • It ends at 3.15pm. Children enter and exit via their external classroom door. Please wait until the classroom door opens at night before coming into the garden. • They are let out one by one once the teacher sees there is an adult to meet them • You must ring the school if: • Your child is going to be absent. You can leave a message on the answer phone too. • Someone else is going to be picking your child up and it is not the usual routine. PLEASE DO NOT BE LATE WHEN PICKING UP

5. When do they start in September? KS1 [ rest of school]children will return on 3rd Sept RECEPTION START ON 9th SEPTEMBER Week 1 – mornings only to 12.00 - Everyone Week 2 – Sept to April birthdays here all day May to August birthdays mornings only – 1.30pm [Please bring a packed lunch] Week 3 – All here full time

6. Tips to help them settle quickly • Make sure all references to school are positive. • Don’t keep reminding them that they will soon be starting school. • Be ‘matter of fact’ about it and avoid telling them how much you will miss them. • ‘Play down’ what you will be doing during the day especially if there are younger siblings. • Try not to say things like ‘you will have to behave when you get to school’. • If you are worried they will pick up on your mood and think there is something to be worried about.

7. On the first day • Don’t arrive too early so that you have to hang about. • Bring them to the external classroom door and staff will greet you and take care of your child. [Staying can be unsettling for the child]. • Go with a smile and without hesitation especially if you feel ‘wobbly’. • If children are upset leave quickly and then either:- • come round to the front office and wait, [we will make sure they are settled so that you are reassured] …or • Go home and we will ring you to let you know they are settled.

8. Whatever you do … DON’T • keep popping back or watching through the window • let them know you are upset • Tell them that you were just the same at school We will have lots of adults on standby to take care of the children so PLEASE DON’T WORRY. Staff are very experienced and have done it many times before. • It is much worse for you than the children.

9. Lunchtimes • Children can have packed lunches from home or hot dinners. • We follow the National Healthy School standards and so all our hot dinners are ‘home cooked’ and adhere to the nutritional standards required. • In order to help all our children stay healthy we ask that packed lunches comply with healthy guidelines too. Crisps, chocolate, sweets and fizzy drinks are a definite ‘no’ I am afraid. • We are a NUT FREE zone as some children are severely allergic to them. This includes peanut butter. • Please avoid chocolate spread in sandwiches as the high sugar content can cause poor behaviour.

10. Hot dinners • These are cooked at our partner Junior School and currently food is delivered to our hall at lunchtime. • You will be invited to sample a hot dinner in the first few weeks of term. It helps the children to be packed lunches for the first half term as eating in the hall can be rather daunting for some. • Children should be able to eat independently and use a knife and fork as help at lunchtime is very limited.

11. Packed Lunches Things you could include • A sandwich • A cake / biscuit • A piece of fruit • A yoghurt • A drink [ no fizzy drinks or glass containers] Remember they should be able to open yoghurts and drinks etc. without adult help. Please help them by putting them in accessible bags. Please do not put too much in as they will have had snack in school and often children struggle to eat it all.

12. Uniform • We do encourage everyone to wear school uniform. PLEASE NAME EVERYTHING It is available from ‘Emblem’ in Wickford High Street. You can also purchase on line; there is a delivery charge so it pays to get together with friends to order goods. P.E. Kit will be needed and we have a no jewellery policy in Essex Schools. Samples can be see on the tailors dummy. Please pick up a business card with the shop’s number. We ask for long hair to be tied back in school [both girls and boys if applicable] to help prevent HEAD LICE! [ It is a MUST for P.E sessions].

13. Attendance • It is very important that children attend every day. They should only be absent if they are ill. The expected level of attendance is 96% • They should also be on time. Being even a few minutes late means they miss valuable learning. It is also embarrassing for the child and disrupts the learning of others. • Term Time holidays and odd days cannot be authorised. Our curriculum is a practical one which cannot be ‘taken away on holiday’.

14. What do they need to know before they come to school? How to: • Use the toilet & wash hands. • Do up their coat • Dress themselves • Use a knife, fork and spoon Be able to: • play with their peers without aggression • Communicate effectively • Do what an adult asks without arguing • Listen and respond appropriately

15. Social Expectations From being one of the most important people in the family children have to adapt to being one of many where EVERYONE is special. • Saying please and thank you • Being able to share toys or friends Please avoid children bring own toys to school as this can cause problems • Being able to take turns lose a game graciously • Being able to listen when someone else is talking • Understanding that they cannot interrupt when others are in conversation or talk if the teacher is talking • Understanding that their actions have consequences –sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We promote self discipline across the school. We are all responsible for our own behaviour however young we are.

16. Academic Expectations [before starting school] • Recognise their name • Be able to recognise rhymes through enjoying the singing of Nursery Rhymes etc. • Repeating a clapping pattern • Recognise colours • Know how to look after books • Be able to re-tell a well loved story in sequence • Be able to make up a story from the pictures or in a game of role play • Count everyday objects for a reason – pegs for the washing, laying the table.

17. Who do I talk to if I am worried? If you have any concerns please talk to your child’s teacher first. They will be at the door morning and evening so please ask to make an appointment. They won’t be able to talk to you straight away in the morning as they have the class to look after but if you let them know they may well fit you in after school. You could also put a note in their reading diary to ask to talk to them. If the matter is a family issue that cannot wait and needs to be discussed urgently please see Mrs Ireland. This would generally be life changing problems that affect families occasionally.

18. What About The Learning? • Foundation Stage Curriculum • Play based WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS AS PER YOUR LETTER Covering: • How your children will learn • The things you can do to support them • Other agencies that are there to help BUT……PLEASE GET INTO THE HABIT OF READING EVERY NIGHT & WRITING IN THE READING DIARY.

19. EXTENDED SERVICES BREAKFAST CLUB – From 7.40am At the Junior School –Children are escorted back to Infants afterwards by 8.45am. To book - Junior School Office 01277 – 651897 AFTER SCHOOL CLUB – The Party House For children from 4 years old to 12 years old At the Infant School [Rainbow Room] 3.15pm – 6pm To book – 01277 621064 info@thepartyhousechildcare.co.uk We do not offer other ‘out of school’ activities to Reception children.

20. QUESTIONS