The School Day

Start of day procedure

Any children who arrive before 8.30am (i.e. before the school gates are open) should wait in the carpark unless they are Reception whom enter through the Reception gates.  We ask that children do not wait in the reception/office area before school unless there is a specific need to report something or a particular exception applies.

If a child is late we ask them to report to the school office to sign in.

Breakfast Club children will be taken to their classes if they are in Key Stage 1 and will be sent off independently in Key Stage 2 at 8.45am.

End of day procedure

The gates will be opened five or ten minutes before the end of the school day.

Reception

Children exit through the classroom doors and are given directly to a responsible adult.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

Year 1 & 2 children are taken to the raised area to be collected by a responsible adult.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6) 

Children in Years 4 to 6 exit directly on to the main playground, while those in Year 3 exit on to the area of playground directly outside their respective classrooms. All KS2 children are free to find their parents or carers, or to go to an after school club, independently although we encourage Year 3 parents to be within the teacher's vision to support a smooth handover at least for the first part of the year.

Children in Year 5 & 6 who are going home independently will be pre marked on the register after we have received written permission from those with parental responsibility.

Late collection

Children whose responsible adult is late to collect them will be taken to the school office and they wait there. Please note if you have not arrived by 3:35pm your child will be sent to After School Club and a charge will be added to your ParentPay account. They will then need to be collected from the external hall doors.

After School Care Club

Any Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 children booked into our After School Care Club in the hall will be taken to the hall where they will be handed over to a member of staff. Children in Years 3 to 6 will be allowed to walk through the school to the club. The club starts with a register so all children are quickly accounted for. 

Parents arriving to collect their child from the After School Care Club should go to the external hall door, accessible by the gate nearest the rectory.

School Closure 

Any change to school start/end of day or school closure due to bad weather will be communicated to parents/carers in the following way:

The Headteacher will update the BANES school closure website with the status of the school.

The Headteacher will send an email and text message via parentpay to every parent who has this facility, generally by 7.30am at the latest. 

The Headteacher will also ‘tweet’ a message via our account @StStephensPri . This is possibly the most effective method for ensuring quick communication as the Parentpay system can become overloaded at peak times and the message may be delayed.

If for whatever reason neither system will reach you, please can you make arrangements with a parent who is reachable.

Along with contacting staff, this process can take a few minutes so please bear with us.

Playtime

Children of all ages use the field, and the path that runs around it means that parts of it are accessible all year round. We like our children free-range, so please ensure your child has appropriate shoes for outdoor play and a waterproof coat in school at all times - keeping the children inside for a wet play is an absolute last resort! Sometimes it is necessary to divide the children and to make use of the raised tarmac area outside Class 7 to enable Year 1 and 2 children to have a dedicated space. Reception children make use of their own playground directly outside their classrooms although as their first year goes on they are given increasing opportunities to enjoy our full grounds.

You can find out more about our approach to creative, 'edgy' play and our involvement with OPAL here.

Assembly 

The school meets together twice a week as a whole community. On Monday we have Whole School Collective Worship to welcome the week, typically led by the Headteacher or Reverend Hawthorn. Collective worship builds a real sense of family and community in the school. This is a time when we gather together as a whole school or Key Stage to consider a variety of themes and stories – moral, social, multicultural or biblical. A time for reflection and quiet, an opportunity to celebrate together and share learning with one another.

On Tuesday we have Singing Assembly to sing and be joyful together. On Wednesday we have Collective Worship in the classroom, and on Thursdays we have assembly in phases.

On Friday we have a Whole School Celebration Assembly to close the week and to celebrate all the many achievements that the week has held. There is always a range of achievements - both in and out of school - to celebrate, and the weekly class by class awarding of “Golden Moment of the Week”. It is a fun weekly event and a regular space to reconnect with our values and our purpose.

PPA Days (Wonderful Wednesdays)

We have a statutory duty to provide all teaching staff with 10 per cent of their normal class contact time as non-contact time to engage in Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA). This would mean that a full-time teacher is planning, preparing and assessing away from their class for half a day per week.

At St Stephen’s, our solution is to make this one full day every two weeks; this means that one Phase at a time has PPA Day on alternate Wednesdays.

We are joined on Wednesdays by PE coaches from EdSupport and Get Sported. EdSupport also provides our music specialist and forest school specialist. We also a specialist Spanish teacher.

Running throughout the day is a sense of exploration and enjoyment, hopefully making these days full of wonder. We also use Wonderful Wednesdays to dedicate time to specific aspects of the PHSE curriculum such as anti-bullying and e-safety as and when appropriate.