THE SCHOOL DAY

Our school day starts promptly at 8.50am when the bell is rung.
Please aim for your child to be in the school playground between 8.40 and 8.50am.
Children who arrive after the start of the school day are marked as late in the attendance register.

Junior children need to come in through the Junior School building and report to the School Office.

Infant children arriving after the gate has closed but before 9:30am need to go the Infant gate and ring the buzzer. Infant children who arrive after 9:30am will need to come in through the Junior School building and report to the School Office, they will then be taken across to the Infant School by a staff member.

Any children who are not collected by 3.25pm will be taken to the school office and parents/carers contacted.

In the mornings for drop off: please enter through the main infant pedestrian gate or the main junior gate and exit via the top junior gate onto the lane or via the Infant pedestrian gate.
In the afternoons please enter through the top junior gate from the lane or via the Infant pedestrian gate and exit via the main junior gate or Infant pedestrian gate.

School Day – Timings

Start of School   8:50am

End of School     3:15pm

SCHOOL OFFICE OPENING TIMES
ELMLEA INFANT SCHOOL OFFICE – 8:30am – 3:15pm

Please note the Infant School entrance is closed during the school day. We have made this decision for safeguarding reasons as anyone coming through the Infant gate then has access to our whole site.
Therefore, after 9:30am any infant child leaving or returning from any appointments should use the Junior School Office entrance, accessed via The Dell.

Please advise school by email or if very short notice by phone of your intention to collect your child and the reason for doing so. This allows us to have your child ready for you. Please telephone the Infant School Office on 0117 377 2352 or email on info@elmleaschoolstrust.com

Collection for sick infant children will continue to be from the Infant Gate.

Please note that the Office is NOT able to accept forgotten items, so please get into the routine of ensuring your child has everything they need when they arrive at school each morning.

ELMLEA JUNIOR SCHOOL OFFICE is open from 8:30am – 4.00pm every day

Collecting children during the school day from the Junior School.
Please advise school by email or if very short notice by telephone of your intention to collect your child and the reason for doing so. This allows us to have your child ready for you. When you arrive at the school gate please telephone the Junior School Office on 0117 377 2266 to advise us that you are on site and we will bring your child out to you in the car park.
Returning children to school during the school day.
Please bring your child to the Junior School Office when you return to school.

If you have any paperwork that needs returned to school, please drop into the Junior School Office.
For any other queries it is best to email the Junior School Office on info@elmleaschoolstrust.com

Contacting the school office Please continue to use email as the main form of communication with the office and if essential please do not come to the school office until after 9.30am as office staff complete all safeguarding checks regarding child absence prior to this time.

ABSENCE REPORTING
If your child is absent for any reason, a message should be left on the school answerphone by 9.15am. Please call each day of absence. On the child’s return, an explanatory note or e-mail should be forwarded to the school office.

ATTENDANCE AND PLANNED ABSENCES

It is the aim of Elmlea Schools’ Trust that pupils should enjoy learning, experience success and realise their full potential. The aim of our Pupil Attendance Policy is to reflect this and recognises that regular attendance has a positive effect on the motivation and attainment of pupils. Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence may seriously affect their learning. The Department for Education (DfE) defines a pupil as ‘persistent absentee’ when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year, for whatever reason.

Our trust aims to meet its obligations with regard to school attendance by promoting good attendance; ensuring every pupil has access to the full-time education to which they are entitled and acting early to address patterns of absence.

Our policy sets out our Trust’s position on attendance and details the procedures that all parents must follow to report their Childs’ absence from school.
It is vital that children develop regular attendance habits at an early age. Therefore, the Elmlea Schools’ Trust will encourage parents of all children including reception children, who are not yet compulsory school age, to send their children to every session that is available to them. If the child is unable to attend school for any reason, the parent should inform the school of the reason on the first day of absence.

We want our pupils to attend school every day unless they are really not well enough to. We believe that children who attend school regularly are more likely to feel settled in school, maintain friendships, keep up with their learning and gain the greatest benefit from their education. We want all our pupils to enjoy school, grow up to become emotionally resilient, confident and competent adults who are able to realise their full potential. Regular attendance and punctuality is essential in the workplace and children who are used to attending school on time, and on every occasion unless they are too unwell to attend, will be better prepared for the attendance expectations in the workplace.

The parent application form for Leave of Absence during Term Time can be downloaded using the link below . This should be completed for any planned absence (with the exception of medical appointments or secondary school visits) and submitted to the School Office at least 3 weeks in advance and you will be informed whether or not it has been authorised. Full details of pupil attendance and procedures can be found in our Trust Pupil Attendance Policy. Please note we cannot authorise term time absence for holidays except in exceptional circumstances such as families who are part of the armed forces etc.

It is very important that your children are in school every day. We take school attendance very seriously and have a team of people in school who monitor your child’s school attendance and, where needed, we also have the support of the educational welfare team from Bristol.  Please see the below School attendance leaflet for more information.

GETTING TO AND FROM SCHOOL

We are fortunate to have an extensive school site and wonderful facilities for children to enjoy and make use of during the school day. The following arrangements are in place to make sure that our school environment is as safe and secure as reasonably practicable for ALL the children in school. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with these principles.

VOLUNTARY ONE WAY SYSTEM
To make life easier and safer for you and your child, we operate a voluntary one-way system in the roads around the school to reduce traffic congestion.
We ask drivers to respect our one way system between:
8.30 – 9.00am and 3.00 – 3.30pm.
UP BRAINSFIELD (FROM REEDLEY ROAD TO THE DELL)
ALONG THE DELL AND ELMLEA AVENUE FROM BRAINSFIELD TOWARDS PARRY’S LANE AND NOT THE OTHER DIRECTION.

PARKING
A reminder that it is not only illegal to park or to stop and drop off children on the yellow zig zags and double yellow lines, but also endangers those children crossing the road at the school entrance.

STAFF CAR PARK
Access to the car park is restricted for safety. Parents are not permitted to drive into the car park or the driveway at any time.

BICYCLES, SCOOTERS AND SKATEBOARDS
Bicycles, scooters and skateboards are not to be ridden in the school grounds, including the driveway. Please make sure they are locked in the shelters and are clearly labelled with your child’s name. Scooters, bicycles and skateboards are left at the owner’s risk.

PEDESTRIAN ACCESS (DURING COVID PANDEMIC PLEASE REFER TO REVISED SCHOOL DAY ARRANGEMENTS)
To enable easier access at school drop off and collection times, an additional pedestrian access gate is opened by the junior school building. This is known as the “Top Gate” and is adjacent to the school house. This gate is open from 8.30am to 9.15am and from 3.00pm to 3.45pm (later if there is an after school club requirement).
When the top gate is open, the junior car park is closed. However, please always stick to this path around the car park and never cut across the car park. Pedestrians should always stick to the pathways, tempting as it may be to take a short cut!
Outside of the top gate opening times, pedestrian access is through the main junior pedestrian gate only and all visitors to both the Infant and Junior Schools must report to the junior school office.

DROP OFF AND COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTS (DURING COVID PANDEMIC PLEASE REFER TO REVISED SCHOOL DAY ARRANGEMENTS)
In the mornings, when the bell is rung at 8.50am, pupils in Years 3, 4 and 5 line up outside their classroom doors. Year 6 pupils are collected from outside the Playground Doors, by their teachers. At the end of the school day, pupils leave the school building in the same way.
Parents/carers are requested to stay outside the class and not to enter the building in order to minimise disruption at these busy times. For health and safety reasons, all access into school by adults must be through the School Office, so that we can keep track of who is in the building.
If parents/carers wish to speak with the class teacher, unless it is a quick message, it would be appreciated if they arranged an after school meeting either directly with the teacher or via the School Office.
The Copse, Adventure Trail and Quad (except for organised clubs) are strictly out of bounds before and after school. Parents/carers are requested to ensure their children do not use these areas.
However, a ball is provided by the school for Junior school children to play in the Junior Quad from 8.40am.

MEDICAL INFORMATION and MEDICATION

Medication
Only prescribed medicine is allowed in school. Non-prescribed medicine is not allowed. Please do not send your child into school with any medication to take themselves.
For all medication held in school the School Office must have either

TEMPORARY PRESCRIBED MEDICINES
Prescribed medicine requiring three doses a day or less must be administered by parents at home. In exceptional circumstances, prescribed medicines that need to be taken four times per day, one dose can be administered, by trained staff. Your request must be supported with a completed ‘Administration of Temporary Medication’ form.

REGULAR PRESCRIBED MEDICATION
To develop their independence and life skills, children should carry their own asthma inhalers or at least have them nearby in the classroom, either in their school tray or PE bag. Named Epi-pens are kept in the classroom. A spare epi-pen must be provided to be stored in the School Office medical cupboard in case of emergency and to be taken on trips. The School has several Asthma Emergency kits which are stored in the Office and are taken on trips. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to ensure medication is named and kept up to date. All medication, including inhalers, must be labelled with the ‘prescription label’, in the box ensuring that the manufacturer’s leaflet is enclosed. (The pharmacist will label the inhaler, rather than the box if asked.)
If your child has asthma, the school needs a copy of the latest asthma plan provided at their annual review appointment. This document needs to be signed by your Doctor or Nurse.

Link to our policy and procedure for supporting pupils at school with medical needs