School Organisation and Routines

Staff Organisation

Our school has a large hall, used for assemblies, lunch and physical education and we have a library and shared resource areas.  There are five classrooms organised as follows:

Our school has a large hall, used for assemblies, lunch and physical education, a library and a resources room and six classrooms. Two of the classrooms are semi open plan, with several shared areas. This forms our Early Years Unit for the Reception children, and is also accessible to Y1 children. The school is set within large, attractive grounds that include three hard surfaced playgrounds, a large grassed area and a variety of environmental areas. The play area for the Reception children is fenced and very well equipped with play resources.  Each class has its own mid-day meals supervisor who is responsible for the children during the lunch hour and we have a senior mid-day meals supervisor who organises the lunch time cover in the hall and on the playground.  The infant and junior schools employ a premises officer for both sites and he supervises the team of cleaners for each school.

Top

Admissions

Our school can enrol up to 60 children – a maximum of 30 to a class – in each year. Parents of 4 year old children living in West Sussex will receive an application form from the Local Education Authority (LEA)  with our school prospectus in the month of September, one year before the child is due to start school.

Parents will be asked to complete this form, and write down up to three schools in order of preference and return this to the LEA or the school by the end of October. 

Parents of 4 year old children, living outside West Sussex will receive an application form from Hampshire LEA. If Southbourne Infant School is one of your preferences, you can state this on the application form, and send a copy to West Sussex LEA. Alternatively you can contact the school or ring the Education Office on 01903 839283 and you will be informed about what to do next.

Parents are very welcome to come and look round the school any time. Please telephone to make an appointment.

Our admission arrangements are in line with other local schools in our West Sussex family group as follows:

As you can see the younger children begin with part time sessions (mornings only) for the first term 

If your child’s birthday falls between 1^st January and 31^st August, you have the option to defer entry, until the term of your child’s 5^th birthday. 

For our youngest children, who are only just 4, a full school day can be very tiring and if the school staff feel a child will be unable to cope, we do reserve the right, following discussions with parents, to continue with a part time place for part or whole of the Spring term.

Top

Induction

Once we have confirmed our admission lists for pupils starting school, we then begin an induction programme to welcome and inform our new children and parents. 

In the summer term before the September start, parents of new entrants will receive a letter inviting them to an introductory meeting about the school.  At the end of the term, children and their parents will be given an opportunity to visit the school for the afternoon, to see the Reception classrooms and meet the teachers and classroom assistants. 

In September, we introduce the children into school gradually over a two week period.  This gives us time to plan several visits for the children, when they will be able to spend some quiet, quality time with their teacher in small groups of 8 or 10 and familiarise themselves with their surroundings.  There are also opportunities for teachers and classroom assistants to make initial home visits, so that children can meet their teachers in the security of their own environment.

The children will begin their full or part-time sessions in school shortly after the home visits and the small group visits have taken place, usually by the second or third weeks of September.

Top

Lunches and Snacks

Cooked meals are not available in West Sussex schools at lunchtime.

All children will need to have a packed lunch every day. Children who are entitled to free meals will receive a packed lunch which is delivered daily and all parents can opt to buy packed lunches for their children from the company contracted by the school. Details of the scheme are available from the school office.

Lunch boxes must be clearly labelled with the child’s name. Glass bottles, flasks and cans are not allowed. Plastic flasks or cartons are the most suitable drinks containers. Fizzy drinks are not permitted.

We have children in the school with severe nut allergies. For this reason no products containing nuts are permitted in school. Parents are asked to avoid any products containing nuts and the mid-day supervisors are asked to be vigilant also.

Children are encouraged to bring in a piece of fruit or a vegetable snack to eat during their mid-morning break or with their lunch. In addition all the children will receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every day, usually at mid morning, as part of a government scheme to encourage children to eat their daily 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. The children are not allowed to eat sweets or crisps during mid morning break.

All the children are encouraged to drink water and have access to fresh drinking water at all times.

Top

Children's Health and Wellbeing

Children with acute infections should not normally be in school until treatment is complete and the child recovered. Sometimes the child appears to have recovered before the medicine is finished and in such circumstances it is usually possible to arrange the dosage schedule so that the medication does not need to be given at school. In general, we are advised to handle as few medications as possible.

Children are not permitted to have medication of any form, including throat pastilles in their possession during the school day.

We are happy to assist with the administration of medication at school for children with special medical needs (for example asthma, nut allergies or similar conditions). Should your child require medication during the school day a permission form is available from the school office.

If your child needs an asthma inhaler, this should be clearly labelled and will be kept in the medical cupboard in the office.

Completed request forms and medications (clearly labelled with the CHILD’S NAME) should be handed in and collected from the school office.

We request that children who are sick or unwell during the night should remain at home for at least 24 hours: in our experience they are rarely well enough to cope with school. Infection may spread to other children and the staff. We appreciate that children enjoy school and want to come but please be firm and say “No”.

We do occasionally need to contact parents urgently and ask that we are informed of any changes of address, telephone number or place of work. Please ensure that we have an emergency contact number (friend, neighbour, grandparent) in case we are unable to contact you.

If your child has a minor accident in school, you will be informed of the incident by the class teacher and you will receive an accident notification slip.

All children are seen by the community Child Health Nurse at 5+ years for routine screening of height, weight, hearing and vision. Parents will not be invited to attend but will be informed if a child needs help.

If your child is selected for a Health Interview with the Nurse, parents will be invited to attend.

The school dentist checks the teeth of children in their first year of school. If treatment is necessary parents will be informed.

Top

Attendance and Absences

Children are usually only absent from school if they are unwell or have a medical appointment. Any other circumstances must by law be authorised by the headteacher. Children are allowed up to 10 days a year of authorised absence for holiday taken in term time.

If your child is sick or unwell, please telephone the school in the morning and give the reason. When s/he returns to school, please write a letter or complete an absence note to give to the teacher to explain the reason for absence. This note is kept in the registers and enables us to authorise the absence. Absence notes are available from the office or the classrooms.

If an absence is not authorised, it has to be recorded as an unauthorised absence. These are noted on your child’s annual report and all the attendance figures are sent to and checked by the DfES.

Obviously, regular attendance at school is of enormous benefit to the children in terms of continuity and progression, particularly as they get older. If you are able to avoid booking family holidays during the school term times it would be beneficial for your child, although we appreciate this may not always be possible.

It is particularly important for children in Y2 classes to attend school regularly as they need to complete units of work before taking their SATs in May. If you could avoid taking your Y2 children away on holiday between January and the end of May, it would be much appreciated.

Top

Behaviour

We have high standards of behaviour in school and the majority of our children conform to our expectations. However we also have agreed behaviour management procedures which are applied if necessary.

All staff are familiar with the school policy and code of practice regarding behaviour and discipline and all follow the agreed procedures. Children are made aware of school rules and expectations and in addition class teachers agree classroom rules with the children in their care. Where school rules are not strictly observed, we follow an agreed set of procedures and sanctions. If a child’s behaviour continues to cause concern, we always inform parents, so that we can work together to resolve a situation.

Bullying is not tolerated in school and if any serious incidents should occur, we would immediately investigate thoroughly, inform parents, and apply appropriate behaviour management procedures.

Top

School Trips

We believe that school trips are a valuable way of enhancing the quality of children’s learning, by offering them relevant and stimulating first-hand experiences.

All planned trips and visits are always linked to the topics that are being covered in the classes.

In September, all children in Reception classes will bring home a note for parents to sign giving us permission to take the children out on local walks and visits, under close supervision (eg a walk around the village, a visit to the library, etc). Parents of children who join the school later will also receive a permission slip for local trips.

The children may also be taken out on longer trips and visits to support their topic work, once or twice a year. Unfortunately, although these trips provide such a valuable experience for the children, they are becoming more expensive to organise each year, as fuel prices, entrance fees and tuition costs continue to rise.

In common with all schools, these trips are financed by voluntary contributions. We do not have alternative sources of funding for educational visits, though we do try to subsidise them to a limited extent if necessary. This means that, although parental contributions are voluntary, we do depend on them to make the visits financially viable. Parental support and generosity is vital and much appreciated.

Parents are very welcome to pay contributions in instalments, if this is easier, and we do try to support families who may be experiencing financial difficulties if they contact us.

Top