The Start of the Day

It is very important that our school day starts on time and is as orderly as possible for our pupils. A good, clear start can establish a beneficial working atmosphere for the whole day. It is very important, therefore, that we get it right. In an effort to improve things it was a matter of discussion at a recent governor committee meeting.

I should like parents’ help in making sure we have a good beginning to every day. The number of pupils arriving late has grown since September with some children arriving after the registers have closed. The Wake Up Shake Up routine, while a really good thing to do, has made the start of the day less clearly marked. Some children seem reluctant to join in and have made themselves late as a result. Therefore, I have put the morning ‘Wake Up Shake Up’ routine on hold. We shall return to it again later in the year.

I have also asked teachers to go on duty at 8.50. You may have noticed that all the teachers have been out on the playground at this time last week. This will continue, at least for a while. It means that everyone knows when the day is due to start and children can line up and go into classes without delay. We shall be able to monitor lateness more easily. I think this will be a big improvement.

Although all teachers will be out on the playground, I need to stress that they are on duty. Their most important task is to supervise the children on site and see that they are safe. They cannot do this if they are talking to parents. I have asked them all to concentrate on the pupils and to do this they may have to send you to the office if you have a message you want to give at the beginning of the day.

It is also difficult to see the children clearly and thus ensure their safety because our playground is getting crowded with parents waiting. On some occasions the pathways are blocked with adults in groups talking. I can understand why you might want to wait if your child is an infant but we would like parents of junior aged children to leave them to play. This will both encourage independence and reduce the number of parents on the playground making it easier for teachers to see the children. Please do not block paths. Wet morning arrangements are unaffected.

It is a matter of security that parents do not wander in and out of the school buildings. Please do not go into classrooms or cloakrooms without permission. If you need to visit the school, to drop something off for your child or to visit the Star Work board for instance, please report to the office to let us know you are here.

We have a lot of parents sifting through our lost property (and actually very few children!). To encourage children to take responsibility for their own things we are insisting that only children look in lost property from Monday to Thursday. Each Friday parents will be welcome to have a look. Hopefully, you won’t need to because your son or daughter will already have found that missing sweatshirt!

The governors and I are keen to maintain the positive relationship we have with parents but we do not want to jeopardise the security of our children. For this reason I trust you will support the arrangements detailed in this letter and summarised below. Then we can be sure that the start of the day is as smooth as possible and everyone is safe.

Summary of Points:

1. School starts promptly at 8.57am. Lateness will be monitored.

2. Wake Up Shake Up will resume later in the year but will not take place for

the immediate future.

3. Duty teacher or teachers need to supervise children and are not available to

talk to parents.

4. Important messages need to be given to the office for passing to teachers.

Otherwise messages should wait until after school.

5. Parents of junior aged children are encouraged to leave them on the

playground.

6. Parents should not wander into classrooms or cloakrooms.

7. Lost Property is open to children only from Monday to Thursday. Parents can

view lost property each Friday.

Yours sincerely,

Roger Whitewick

Headteacher