We hope that the following information will be helpful for parents and children at the Infant School. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the School Office staff who will be happy to help.
Absence: Please inform the school as soon as possible if your child will not be in school, giving the reason for the absence. Email the school at InfantOffice@CSGVillageSchool.org, or call the office on 01494 872160. If no-one answers, please leave a message on the answer phone which will be picked up by the office staff before school begins. The school will phone parents of children who are not in school and for whom we have not received a reason for absence to check that they are safe. If your child is off school for subsequent days please continue to inform us of their absence.
Break: At morning break time the children are encouraged to eat fruit and vegetables provided by the school. If you do not wish your child to participate in this scheme you may send in alternative snacks but please do not allow your child to bring anything apart from fruit and/or vegetables. We encourage the children to drink water regularly. They should bring a named drinks bottle containing plain water in their book bag to which they will have access throughout the day.
Collective Worship: There is a daily assembly in school. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday have varied assembly themes. Singing assembly takes place on a Tuesday; this is a longer assembly and the children practise singing a wide range of songs relating to seasonal themes. Our Friday praise assembly takes place at 9:00am. During the spring and summer terms, each class takes a turn to present an assembly on a Friday to the rest of the school and their parents are invited to attend for that session.
Class Parent Representatives: Each class has a volunteer parent who acts as a liaison point between the teacher and parents on general issues. Class parents compile contact lists of the children and parents in each year, arrange social gatherings and muster voluntary help when needed, eg, on school trips. They also provide the focal point for quick communication to all parents, eg, if the school were to be closed due to snow and will manage a communication cascade process so that all parents are informed as quickly as possible. If you have specific concerns or issues you wish to raise please do not do so through your Class Representative as this is not part of their role. Please contact the class teacher or the School Office directly.
Clubs - After School and Lunchtime: Clubs are held during lunchtimes and after school during the year. The clubs may vary from year to year and current details can be obtained from the school office. Clubs may include football, short tennis, tag-rugby, science, Spanish.
Discipline: Day to day discipline is the responsibility of the class teacher. The school has a behaviour policy, which forms part of the school rules (the children know these as ‘The Golden Rules’). These are discussed with the children several times during the academic year. The behaviour policy includes anti-bullying and anti-racism policies. You are welcome to read this and any other school policy (On the Key Information section of the website or copies are available from the school office).
Hair: Pupils with long hair, regardless of gender, should use elasticated ties or ‘alice bands’ (not hard hair clips) to tie their hair back in school. Hair should not be unnaturally styled with gel or other products.
Holidays and Other Absences in Term Time: Taking children out of class for holidays or day visits in term time is discouraged - a copy of our Attendance Policy is available here on the website. Requests for leave of absence must be made to the Headteacher at least one month beforehand as requests have to be approved by the school governors. Absence request forms are available from the School Office or on the Parents - Forms section on this website.
Home/School Communication: In order to help you, the teachers come into the playground at 8:50 am and are available to briefly discuss any concerns that you may have each day. If you have any concerns or wish to discuss any matter with the class teacher or another member of staff, please call the office to make an appointment. Appointments will be made as soon as possible. Please avoid going into classrooms without an appointment. It is important for security reasons that entry to school is managed appropriately and it is vital that important matters are given a sensible time for discussion which is convenient to all parties and does not interrupt teaching duties. If your child has forgotten something that they will need to take into school that day, please take it to the school office so that it can be taken to your child.
Home School Agreement: we ask all of our children and parents to sign a copy of this when a child joins the school. A copy is available on the school website - Forms page under Parents heading or click here.
Homework: We set a variety of homework activities. These activities may include:
Teachers in Foundation Stage 1 (Nursery):
Teachers in Foundation Stage 2 (Reception):
Teachers in Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2):
Further information is available under the Learning heading of this website.
Jewellery: Wristwatches are the only acceptable form of jewellery. No bracelets or necklaces etc. are permitted unless prior arrangements have been agreed for religious reasons. Earrings are not allowed to be worn in school under any circumstances. If ears are to be pierced please ensure this is done at the start of the summer holidays so they have a chance to heal before school starts. Any child wearing earrings into school will be asked to remove them.
Labelling: All items of uniform and kit, including coats, bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc should all be clearly labelled with your child's name (initials will not suffice).
Library: The school library is run by parent volunteers and each class will usually visit weekly to enable pupils to choose a book to borrow. We ask that all library books are returned before the end of the academic year in July.
Lost property: There is a school lost property box situated in the Year 2 cloakroom. Please look here for any lost items. Clearly labelled items will be returned to their owner when possible.
Lunchtime: The children have the option of hot school meals or packed lunches which are usually eaten in the Memorial Hall. The children take turns to go into the hall for first and second sitting. This rotates on a weekly basis.
Make up and Nails: Nails should be kept short to avoid injury to others, particularly during PE and games lessons. No make up including nail varnish is allowed.
Meals – Hot School Meals: Our hot meal service is available each day. These meals are cooked for us at St. Joseph’s Junior School in Chalfont St Peter and delivered fresh every day. There is usually a choice of two or three main meals with cooked vegetables, or salad and a choice of pudding or fresh fruit. The menu is very varied and the food is excellent quality. Menus are sent home half termly . Menu information is available elsewhere on the School Meals section of this website - under the Parents heading. Please note that Universal Free School Meals have been introduced at the Infant School from September 2014 - see School Meals section of our website for further details. There is now no cost for school meals to Infant pupils.
Meals - Packed Lunches: Trolleys for packed lunches are situated in the playground at the beginning of the day; there is one trolley per year group. Please ensure that your child’s lunchbox is clearly labelled on the outside. We do not allow sweets or chocolate.As we currently have children in school who have food allergies, we would remind you that children are not allowed to bring nuts or products containing nuts into school (Updated 25th Nov 2012). You should already have signed a letter regarding this and returned it to school.
Medicines in School: Medicines should only be brought into school when essential. A medicine administration form for prescribed medicines is available from the School Office and must be completed before any medicine can be administered by school staff. Medicines should always be provided in the original container with the prescriber’s instructions for administration and dosage. Any medicines should be handed in to the School Office and not be carried around by the child. If you have any queries about what medicines we can dispense to children, please contact the office.
Numeracy Groups: During the autumn term, Year 1 and 2 classes will be organised across their year group into two, or three, ability groups. This is to enable the subject matter and learning goals to be targeted more precisely at the needs of individual pupils. Groupings are reviewed regularly and changes made where appropriate.
Open Door: Parents are welcome to come into school each Friday morning from 8:45 to 8:55am to read with your child and look at their books so that you are clear about what they have been doing in the week. If you have any concerns or questions about your child's learning we are happy to talk with you either by phone or before or after school. We believe that one of the keys to successful and all round education is the partnership with parents.
Paper Copies: Requests for paper copies of documents. To request paper copies of Policies and Documents please email the school office on InfantOffice@csgvillageschool.org stating which document you require and for what purpose. There will be NO charge for any documents requested.
Parental Help in School: If you have any specific skills to offer or are just interested in helping in any way you can, please let us know what you are able to do and when you are available. Please speak with your child’s class teacher in the first instance prior to contacting the office to arrange a DBS check.
ParentPay: We use the ParentPay online system to enable parents to make direct and secure payments for school meals, trips and visits. The parent of each child is given a userid and login when they start at the school. If you have any problems using ParentPay there are help sections on the ParentPay website www.parentpay.com or contact the School Office. If you do not wish to use the online system you can request a PayPoint card from the School Office which will enable you to pay for school meals or trips etc at local shops.
Parents’ Forums: The Headteacher holds an open meeting once a term which all parents are welcome to attend. The purpose of this meeting is to inform parents of matters affecting the school and to gain feedback on any issues of general concern. Letters are sent out to all parents inviting them to attend the Forum and allow parents to put forward items for the agenda.
Phones and Electrical Devices: Children are not permitted to have phones or electrical devices such as iPods etc in school. Can all volunteer helpers please ensure that they do not use their mobile phones whilst they are in school. If you have any questions regarding this please contact Mrs Peal.
PTA (Parent Teacher Association) Committee: This hard-working group of volunteers organise a number of fund-raising events throughout the year and provide support to the school in many other ways. Representatives can be contacted via the School Office, via a letter in their post box in the main reception area or by email.
Reading Scheme: Reading books in our reading scheme are colour coded and the class teacher will tell your child from which level they should select a book. They are expected to read at home with an adult each day and this should be recorded in the reading record along with comments about their progress with the book. They have the responsibility of changing their reading book when it is finished and many do so at the start of the school day. Parent helpers regularly come into school to read with the children.
Reports: On a more formal basis, the school holds two Parents’ Consultation Evenings a year, in the Autumn and Spring terms when parents can discuss their child’s progress with their class teacher. During the Summer term, the school holds an open evening where parents are welcomed into school to look at the work the children have covered through the year. The children are able to show their parents around the school at this time.
School Council: Early in the Autumn term each class votes on a boy and a girl to represent them on the School Council. The School Council meets once every half-term with the Deputy Head and provides a direct means for pupils to express their views about the school and to suggest improvements.
School Financial Support: The school manages its budget carefully and we rely on fund-raising from the PTA to supply many additional extras such as lunchtime play equipment. We also ask parents to consider making a regular contribution to school funds. The Charitable Trust Fund, into which this money is paid, enables us to budget for long term costs such as additional teaching staff not funded by County, helping provide both specialist teaching and smaller groups. More information about the Trust can be obtained from the School Business Manager.
Snow Closures: In the case of severe weather we shall be using the class snow trees to advise of school closures etc. Should the school be closed/ closing, information will be included in the update banner on the school website - www.csgvillageschool.org. The Buckinghamshire County Council school status website will also be updated. See Snow Procedures page of this website under Parents heading.
Targets: The children are given targets from the Reception class onwards. These are displayed in the classrooms and given to parents at each parents evening so that they can support their child’s learning. The children may also receive further targets which will highlight a specific area of learning that a child needs to concentrate on and develop. Targets for learning and development will also be indicated on the children’s reports and identified by the children on their end of year evaluations.
Timetable: The weekly timetable is structured with daily Numeracy and Literacy lessons plus on certain days Topic lessons, PE (Physical Education), ICT (Information & Communication Technology). We try to teach as many foundation subjects as we can through topics. Literacy is largely linked to our topics and we link Numeracy and Science where we can. This helps the children to see where their learning in different subjects fits together. Where subjects do not fit into a topic they are taught discretely. Some lessons are not taught by the class teacher but by other teachers providing internal cover for teachers’ Planning, Preparation and Assessment time.
Uniform: Children attending the school should wear school uniform. The school colours are green, grey and white.
Nursery
Infant School
PE Kit Children must wear appropriate clothing for PE:
School logo green T-shirt #
Black shorts (no cycling shorts)
Slip-on plimsolls
Black jogging bottoms, no leggings
Bottle green hooded top #
PE bag marked with child’s name #
Caps for summer and wool hats for winter are also available.
# Items to be obtained directly School Trends website
Please provide a painting apron to protect uniform when working with art materials. This can be purchased from the Nursery or School Office.