New parents

starting school booklet.

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Welcome to SS Philip and James. The information in this

booklet will help prepare your child for their first year at

school. Our aim is to work together in partnership to

make this transition to school a smooth, pleasant and

happy experience for you and your child.

Meet the staff

Ms Sarah Awuye - Head Teacher and Designated

Safeguarding Lead

Miss Jo Reeder – Deputy Head

Miss Sandra Cheang – EYFS lead & EYC class teacher

Mrs Tiffany Ponsonby – EYP class teacher

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Miss Carola Fiorentino – EYC key worker

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School Times

1. EYFS cloakroo

Your child will then be gradually encouraged and supported to independently, put

their book bag away, hang up their coat, and if appropriate put their lunch box in

the correct place and then start their school day.

Please try and help your child at the beginning of the day by being in plenty of

time, so there is a smooth, anxiety-free start to the day. Similarly, please let your

child and your class teacher know;

Who is meeting them (if it is different from the person who brought

them to school) or if they are attending After School Club later on in the

term.

Please inform the school office of any changes to who will be picking up

your child at the end of the day.

Your child’s teacher will open the class

door at 8.45am. When the teacher opens

the door, she will greet your child and you

can bring your child into the cloakroom

and help them with their belongings during

their first few weeks.

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Parents access to Early Years and After School Club

Beginning of school day

The class door is opened at 8.45am

End of school day

The class door is opened at 3.00pm

Lunchtime

Please help your child by not being late, but if

you are late in the morning, then please take your

child to the school office, so they can be signed

in. If your child is ill, please telephone and leave

a message with the school office on the first

morning of illness.

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Lunchtime is between 11.30 – 1.00pm

School Meals

Children may have a cooked school meal, or a

packed lunch prepared at home.

Since September 2014, all children in EYFS receive

a free school meal.

For eligibility for free school meals see

the Oxfordshire County Council for details. It is important that you apply even if

your child is in EYFS, as we receive extra funding (currently £1,300 per year), for

any child entitled to a free school meal. This funding is spent directly on raising

attainment and achievement e.g. subsidising residential trips, paying for sports

activities and one to one tuition.

The menu for our school meals may be viewed on the school website.

Packed Lunches

At SS Philip and James, we promote healthy eating. All children should have

water with their packed lunch or they may bring a bottle of 100% fruit

juice/smoothie. We also ask for support in not providing your child with sweets,

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chocolate, fizzy drinks. We recommend that you include at least 1 piece of fruit

in their lunch box. We encourage your child to return all uneaten food in their

lunch box, so you can monitor what they have eaten.

To ensure the safety of children in the school with nut allergies, please do

not include any food that may contain nuts in packed lunches.

PE Kit

At SS Philip and James, we do not have a school

uniform, we do however have a PE kit which

consists of - blue t-shirt, white shorts and plimsols

or trainers to be kept in school in a PE bag.

Please label all items of clothing with your

child’s name – It is helpful to put their name on

the hanging label as this helps children/adult to identify items of clothing

quickly.

A SS Philip and James book bag is available to buy from the school office. We

encourage children to bring their book bag to school each day to carry their

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reading books, reading journals or any letters that need to be passed between

school to home.

Useful hints

It is helpful if your child wears clothes that are easy for them to put on and

take off, and shoes that do not have laces.

Please label all items of clothing with your child’s full name, and show your

child where their name is on their clothes. Remember there will be 59 other

children who may have similar items of clothing.

School Readiness

It would also be helpful if your child can do these things before starting school.

Dress and undress him/herself take off their hats and

coats

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use a tissue or handkerchief

use a knife and fork

wash hands and dry carefully

tidy toys

share toys and take turns

use toilet paper properly and use the toilet independently

say their name

recognize their own name when it is written down

have experience of holding and using child scissors

Steps to starting school

Induction period

Settling into school

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We feel strongly that it is vital for children in their first year at school to be

happy and safe and to develop very positive attitudes about learning, through

experiences of success and fulfilment.

It is a time when they develop so much and meet so many new challenges and

they need to be guided through these with sensitivity, consideration and

carefully planned activities.

As well as learning through the curriculum, young children need to separate

comfortably from their parents, learn to be part of a social group and to

establish and maintain friendships and to express themselves as individuals.

Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum

In Reception, your child will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

curriculum. This sets the standards for the learning, development and care of your

child. The things your child will learn in Reception have been organized into;

three prime areas of learning:

Communication and Language

Physical Development

Personal and Social Development

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and four specific areas of learning:

Literacy

Mathematics

Understanding the World

Expressive Arts and Design

In EYFS, play is a very important part of your child’s

development and most learning will be introduced

through a mixture of carefully planned opportunities

for play and some adult-led focused activities. There

will also be opportunities for your child to choose activities that appeal to them,

following their own particular interests.

Assessment

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Throughout your child’s time at school, they will be assessed regularly. This is to

check their progress and identify the next steps in their learning. The school may

carry out a baseline assessment when your child starts to find out what they can

do already. This is nothing to worry about – it isn’t a test and it’s unlikely your

child will even know it’s happening.

At the end of Reception, your child’s teacher will assess again and it is likely they

will complete an EYFS Profile. This assessment is carried out by the Reception

teacher and is based on what they, and other staff caring for your child, have

observed over a period of time. All of the information collected is then used to

assess where your child is currently in the seven areas of learning. The school will

give you a report of your child’s progress, including information from their EYFS

Profile.

Parental Involvement.

We understand the importance of valuing the activities and experiences children

share with their families outside of school. The impact of which becomes visible

in the classroom through their learning and playing.

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We strive to develop strong positive relationships between school and home as

we are aware of the influence it can have on creating confident, independent

learners.

Parents are asked to support their child’s learning through focused activities at

home.

These may include sharing and reading with your child, phonic games, math

activities and mark making or writing opportunities.

Throughout the year we hold parent workshops, providing useful information

and support about our approach to reading, writing, phonics and mathematics.

Tapestry

At SS Philip and James, we document children’s learning and development using

a ‘Learning Journey’. A Learning Journey contains photographs, videos, written

observations and any other evidence of your child’s learning. We use this

evidence to support our judgements of your child’s progress and development.

The online observation tool that we use is called Tapestry. It is an easy-to-use

online learning journal, that helps both teachers and parents to record, track and

celebrate children's progress in early years’ education.

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This unique journal is shared online with parents, who are able to see special

moments and view their child's progress. Parents are also to add their own

pictures and notes about their child’s achievements outside of school too.

Tapestry website information

Included in this pack is a permission slip and more information about Tapestry.

Please sign the consent form and return it to the school so that we can set up

your access to your child’s Learning Journal.

Useful websites.

‘What to Expect When’, a parent’s guide to the EYFS. The purpose of this booklet

is to help parents and carers find out more about how their child is learning and

developing during their first five years in relation to the EYFS

https://www.foundationyears.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/what-to-

expect-when-1.pdf

Read write inc phonics video showing how to pronounce pure sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYx1CyDMZSc

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Excellent site built around the 7 areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation

Stage. You can access a free 7 day trial but you need to subscribe after this

period to access the content – various subscription packages available.

www.busythings.co.uk

We will do our best to ensure that your child has a happy and positive start to

school life. If he/she does appear to be unhappy about anything to do with

school please discuss this with the class teacher, or with another relevant

member of staff, so that problems can be sorted out quickly.

We look forward to meeting you,

The Foundation Stage Team.