Handbook
Below are some of the main sections of the Primary school handbook. Click here for the primary handbook
Attendance & Punctuality
The school discourages absence from school unless absolutely necessary. Excused leave can be requested for; medical reasons, educational testing, representing a club, Bermuda or The School at events or family emergencies. In the case of excused absence teachers will provide work missed (or in advance if at all possible – with plenty of notice, of course). However, in the case of unexcused absence the responsibility will lie with the parents and pupil (in the case of older children) to catch up on work missed when they return. End of year assessments are only re-organised for children with excused absences. In all other cases final assessment levels will be calculated from ongoing class work assessments.
Arriving on time for the start of the school day is essential if your child is to make the most of their time with us. Activities begin as soon as children reach their rooms. Registration in the morning is used for assemblies, spelling tests, mathematics tests, reading work and Phonics teaching sessions. Your child’s late arrival not only gives them a bad start to the day, but can also impact negatively on others by disrupting the learning environment. Please ensure your child arrives at school between 8am and 8.25am each day.
Communication
A weekly Friday email is sent to all Primary parents. In this email major events coming up are mentioned along with general news and items of interest. This is only sent home electronically so it is essential that you have an email address that the school is able to use. It is equally essential that you inform us of any changes to your email address as soon as they happen. Increasingly communication between home and school is being done electronically.Class Teachers are happy to be communicated with via email – however this is not a way to send important/ urgent messages. Teaching the children has to take priority, so teachers are not able to monitor their email account at every point of every day. Sometimes teachers may only be able to spend time catching up with emails at the end of a day, when the children have left, so please do not expect immediate responses to emails. It is reasonable to expect a response within 24 hours. Any urgent messages should go to the Primary Office. For very urgent messages a phone call is the best way to ensure that the school has received information.
Positive Behaviour Management
The school philosophy on discipline is one of positive reinforcement. The discipline at primary level is firm but friendly. We work on the premise that if children are so busy concentrating on earning commendations, then they don’t have time for other behaviours! The system has been devised therefore to reward positive behaviour and to encourage the children to take ownership and eventually manage poor behaviours successfully. We use Jenny Moseley’s Golden Rules as a way to inform children of our expectations. These rules are:
We are gentle
We are kind and helpful
We are honest
We work hard
We listen
We look after property
Rewards
Below are some of the rewards we use in the Primary Department – for more details please refer to the Primary Handbook
Merit system/Commendations
Golden Time
Achievement and Citizenship Awards
Classroom Award schemes
Sanctions
Of course there is a need for children to understand that some actions have consequences and to help them with this we have a stepped sanction procedure. Below are some of the sanctions that may be used in the Primary Department – for more details please refer to the Primary Handbook
Verbal warnings
Time out
Loss of Golden Time at the end of the week
Demerits
Internal suspension from class – for more serious infringement of rules
Suspension from school – once again, for more serious infringement of rules
While the school makes every effort to encourage each child to exhibit positive behaviours, in the past, there have been some for whom this school has not been a good match. Should this be the case, the school will ask that the child be withdrawn. This is clearly stated in the contract.
Daily Report/Target Card
Should a child experience a prolonged problem with their behaviour at any time, teachers will inform the Head of Primary. Parents will be contacted with a view to involving them in the solution. This might take the form of a Daily Report/Target Card. The Daily Report/Target Card serves to monitor behaviour throughout the day, which is divided into “manageable segments”. For more details on this please refer to the Primary Handbook.
Reports and Assessment
Assessments
Primary children are assessed in the following ways.
Ongoing teacher assessment (for example cumulative assessments at the end of units)
Standardised Reading Tests (Y3 – Y6)
DIBELS assessment Y1 and up
End of year assessments (in May) for Y2 – Y6
In Year 1, the children are constantly monitored within the first seven weeks of the first term.This serves to identify children’s specific strengths and needs and helps to inform the educational planning. The teacher can also evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies over a period of time by continuous assessment. Within this period of time an Occupational Therapy assessment is also done on all pupils and parents are advised of further action should anything be picked up during this basic assessment. For more details on assessment please refer to the Primary Handbook.
Reporting to Parents
There are three formal reporting periods throughout the school year. One in each term. Reporting to parents is either verbal (through Parent Teacher Meetings), written, or a combination of both. For more details on reporting please refer to the Primary Handbook.
Primary Uniform and Appearance
Girls Uniform
Boys Uniform
No extreme hair styles are accepted (for example no patterns shaved into hair or ‘mohawk’ styles)
Boy’s hair should be kept short (above the ear, above the collar).
Hair ribbons/clips/bands must be white, blue, brown or black
Pierced earrings may be worn but small plain gold studs only please.
Ties must be worn to and from school at all times of the year.
Skirts must be worn no shorter than 2 inches measured from the centre of the knee.
Hats are mandatory (when summer uniform is mandatory) and may be purchased from the stock room and at times from The Primary Office.
