Parent Handbook

Essential school information

THE FIVE PRECEPTS

We encourage you and your child to practice the five precepts of Buddhist teaching, adapted for our school community:

  • I will look after other people, animals and plants and care for them in a way I would like to be cared for myself.
  • I will respect things that belong to others, remember to ask when borrowing, and try to share when appropriate.
  • I will try to be caring towards my friends and be respectful at all times even to those who are not my friends.
  • I will try to say things that are honest and truthful, and be mindful in my speech and voice.
  • I will try to keep my body fit and healthy and my mind calm and clear by following that which brings health and happiness

School Times

  • Sunflower session times 9.00am – 12.00pm & 12.45pm – 3.15pm
  • Dragonfly, Mountain, Ocean and Lotus 9.00.am – 3.15pm.
  • We request that all children are dropped off promptly for class to start at 9.00am.
  • There is after school supervision until 3.30pm, although we would ask parents to take responsibility for their children at 3.15pm. Children who wish to play in the grounds after school must be supervised by a parent. Children without supervision will be taken inside to wait.
  • The school gate should be locked at all times. The entry code to the gate will be sent out via text to all parents and we try to change this code on an annual annual basis. Please keep the code safe and if someone other than yourself is collecting your child/children then they will need to be buzzed in. For those individuals who collect on a regular basis e.g. au pairs/relatives, then please share the code with them. As a community we all share a responsibility of ensuring the safety of our children at drop off and pick up times, therefore please ensure the main gate is locked and the inner gate closed when entering and leaving the premises.
  • After school /clubs care 3.15pm – 5.00pm. Some clubs only run until 4.30pm, please contact the office.
  • All children taking after school activities/care must be registered. Registration forms are in the office.

Personal Welfare

  • Registration takes place in the morning at 9.10am and again in the afternoon at 1.10pm.
  • Please notify the School of absences by 9.30am.
  • In the case of planned absence (i.e. holidays, dental appointments etc.) please inform the School in advance through the office. This is particularly important for parents claiming Early Years funding as this may affect the funding received.
  • Parents of children absent through activities such as modelling, film or theatre work must provide the school with a copy of the relevant Child Performance Licence.
  • In the event of a fire alarm, everyone must evacuate the building in a quiet and orderly fashion and follow the teacher’s instructions.
  • If someone unknown to the School is picking up your child then please inform the class teacher/office.

School trips

  • On occasions permission slips will be sent home for school outings etc., and we request that these be returned swiftly.
  • On occasions parent may be asked if they can offer lifts, if you are able to help plase inform the school.

Illness

  • If your child contracts a contagious illness (e.g. chickenpox), please inform the School immediately. If your child has sickness or diarrhoea and you do not know the cause we kindly request that you child remains at home until there has been no vomiting or diarrhoea for 48 hours. We are aware that this advice is sometimes hard to follow due to the pressure of work and difficulties with childcare arrangements. However if all parents can help the school and its community by following this advice, other children and families will benefit. And overall the spread of infection we be less throughout the school.

  • On admission children with particular medical needs will have a health plan drawn up. These health plans are reviewed annually.

  • Any medication must be provided by parents with name of the child clearly written on the label/pack.
  • If children require medication please complete a permission form in the office.

Head lice

  • Head lice are a common problem, which can affect anyone, but are most prevalent amongst children. Regular checking of children’s heads is important. For the prevention of head lice, it is recommended that “wet combing” (i.e. washing and conditioning hair before combing through with a fine toothed comb) is carried out at least once a week.

Food

  • We encourage healthy eating, so ask that parents are mindful of including chocolate and sweets in lunch boxes. If you choose to do so we request that it is done in moderation.
  • We request that products containing peanuts/peanut butter are not brought into the school or grounds as some children in the school have severe nut allergies. The trustees reserve the right to extend this ban should a child with a medically verified allergy to another type of nut, join the school.

  • Please also try to re-use containers and avoid excess packaging in lunch boxes where possible.

  • If on occasions e.g. birthdays, you may wish to bring in a cake or treat for the class to share. Please notify the class teacher a few days in advance. This will enable the teacher to consult with the parents of those children with allergies giving them the opportunity to provide an alternative. We can provide recipes if you want to bake something specially, although you will need to be aware of all the various allergies within your child’s class.

Respect and awareness of others

  • As basic guidelines in support of our school ethos we ask all children and our adult community to abide by the Five Precepts outlined in the Acceptance form and the Discipline Policy, and at the start of this document. These Precepts are adapted from Buddhist precepts to assist in morally appropriate behaviour. By including the community it also recognises our joint commitment to reinforce helpful values and standards.
  • Pupils are expected to be aware of the rights and needs of other members of the School community. We strongly work against bullying of any kind and resolution procedures are acted upon as soon as an issue is identified.
  • We request that pupils behave in an orderly manner particularly in the hallway and on the stairs.
  • Pupils are expected to be helpful and polite and welcoming to anyone visiting the school.

Parental Involvement

  • The parent community plays an important role within the school. Parental input and views are valued. Each class has a parent representative to whom parents can go with ideas or issues that they may have, as well as school staff. We value contributions and feedback. Community social events are held every half term or term and everyone is welcome. In addition the school holds a Community meeting as least once a term.

  • Parents and friends help with our fund raising events such as craft fairs, music concerts, dances, meditation retreats, and school fairs. This support and contribution of parents and friends help fulfil the practical needs and strengthens the community and spiritual aspect of the school.

  • Every Friday at 9.00am there is also a chance for parents and community to come together for a whole school puja. All community members are welcome to attend.

Parent/Teacher interviews

  • Parent/teacher interviews are held twice during the school year. However, if there is something you want to talk over with your child’s teacher, a specific member of staff or head teacher then an appointment can be promptly arranged.

Clothes

  • Children’s’ clothes should be comfortable, practical and enable pupils to participate in all school activities. Outdoor shoes should be suitable for running and firmly secured.
  • Outer garments such as coats, jackets, fleeces and jumpers should be clearly marked with your child’s name.
  • On days when there are specific sports activities it is important that children have loose clothing and appropriate shoes.
  • Children are not allowed to take off their tops during school hours.

  • We ask that indoor slippers or slip-on plimsolls are worn indoors at all times, and stored neatly when not in use. Slippers need to be sensible - huge fluffy animals can cause accidents on the stairs!

  • Unless it is pouring with rain, children go out to play in all weather all year round, so please ensure that they have the necessary warm clothing and appropriate footwear.

  • We regularly use the local park as an extra facility and during the winter months both the park and the playground can become quite muddy so a change of clothes is useful. An extra set of clothes is particularly good for children in the younger classes.

  • Within the ethos of the school is the practise of non-violence, accordingly we discourage the wearing of military clothes or clothing that bear slogans that others might find offensive.

  • We ask that parents check the Lost Property box regularly. At the end of each term clothes that have not been claimed will go to charity.

Sun protection

  • In sunny weather we ask that sun screen is applied to children in Early Years on arrival. We will request your permission to re-apply sun screen during the day.

  • If your child suffers with an allergy or your have a preferred sunscreen product we would ask that you provide us with the product clearly labeled with your child’s name.

  • Please also ensure that you provide your child with a hat. The best sun protection for heads is the legionnaire - type hat – a good size peak to shade the face and eyes and a back flap to protect the neck. A loose slip-on T- shirt is also advisable.

  • Older children can apply their own sun screen.

Supporting the School Ethos

  • We believe television and films and, more particularly in recent years, computer games and web sites have strongly influenced children’s interest and how they spend their time. We also believe early exposure to such media negatively affects children’s consciousness. To support our school ethos we request that all families comply with censorship age guidelines for all media

  • We would also request that toys such as guns, swords and objects associated with killing and war are not brought into school for playground activities.

EARLY YEARS

Things your child will need:

  • A named water bottle which you take home, wash and re-fill each day.
  • A named packed lunch box or bag. We encourage healthy eating, so ask that parents are mindful of including chocolate and sweets in lunch boxes. If you choose to do so we request that it is done in moderation. Please also try to re-use containers and avoid excess packaging where possible.
  • Clothes and footwear appropriate for the outside weather conditions. We do outdoor activities in (almost!) all weather conditions, so a raincoat and wellies are important for wet weather, and warm clothes if it’s cold. We also do a lot of messy, creative activities so old clothes are best.
  • Slippers. Children change into these for indoors as the garden gets quite muddy when its wet. It helps if shoes are easy for the children to put on and take off themselves.
  • A bag of spare clothes, to keep on their peg, which your child can change into when needed.

EARLY YEARS FUNDING

  • If your child misses a few regular free sessions because of illness or another reason, extra hours cannot be claimed to make up the time.
  • Children are expected to attend at least 80% of the free hours they have been given unless there is a particular reason e.g. long term illness (20% absence equates to approximately 2 weeks per term). If they do not attend on a regular basis there is the risk the funding will be taken away for the time missed and then you would be expected to pay for these hours.

  • As the EY places are funded by the government they wish children to attend as regularly as possible and to discourage parents from taking children away on holidays during term time.

  • Please be assured that we will not report every absence, but please be aware that we are obliged to inform the finance department if a child’s attendance drops significantly during the term.

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