The School Day

Entering and Leaving the Premises

Times of the day

Start of the day 8.55am

Morning Break 10.25am to 10.40am

Lunchtime 12.00 noon to 1.00pm

Afternoon break (Key Stage 1) 2.00pm - 2.15pm

End of school 3.15pm

Children should not be at school in the morning before 8.45am unless attending Playworx.

The total hours spent on teaching, including religious education, but excluding the daily act of worship, registration and breaks are as follows :-

Infants: 22 hours 30 minutes

Juniors: 23 hours 45 minutes

At the start of the day;

We want the children to hang up their own coats and sort out their own lunch boxes and snacks. The focus will be on the children’s learning from the very start of each and every day.

Parents should leave their children at the entrance doorway or classroom door, where their teacher will be waiting to receive them.

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The Education Act states that parents have the primary responsibility for ensuring that children of compulsory school age receive a suitable education. We ask parents to support school in promoting good attendance by:

Ensuring that children attend school regularly and arrive on time.

All children should arrive at school at 8.55am ready for registration at 9.00am. Please ensure that your child arrives at school on time so that we can check registers and lunch numbers efficiently and so that s/he doesn't miss any of the first lesson. Children arriving after 9.00am will be marked 'late' in the register and after 9.30am this will be recorded as an unauthorised absence. If your child is going to be unavoidably late we would appreciate a phone call to this effect.

If your child is ill please contact the school on the first morning of absence. If a call has not been received by 9.30am, the school office staff will call, for safety reasons, to find out the reason for your child not being in school.

When your child returns to school ensure that a note is provided confirming the reason for absence.

Notes concerning dental, clinic, doctor or hospital appointments should be sent in the day before to inform the class teacher. Children will not be allowed to leave school unless collected by a designated adult, and the class teacher informed. Parents should sign their child in and out of school at the office if they have to be absent during the course of a day.

At Brookside we have a responsibility to work with the LA and the Education Welfare Service to ensure that children attend school. We are required to inform the LA if a pupil fails to attend or is late regularly and if no reason for absence is provided

FAMILY HOLIDAYS IN TERM TIME

Pupil absence during term time can seriously disrupt their continuity of learning.

Government guidance states that “Parents should not normally take pupils on holiday in term time” and “School can only agree to absence for a family holiday if they believe there are exceptional circumstances that warrant it”. The guidance also says that the availability of cheaper holidays in term time, or overlapping with the beginning or end of term are not good reasons for term holidays to be allowed.

If it is unavoidable for parents / carers to take a holiday they must complete a holiday request form BEFORE any booking is made and meet with the Headteacher to discuss the circumstances. It is rare for holidays to be authorised.

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Entering and leaving the premises

Children should enter and leave the school premises through the large green gates at the front of the school, not the car park gates. The car park can be a very dangerous area as many vehicles use this entrance and we ask parents to be particularly careful about supervising children near the car park gates.

If for any reason parents are delayed and unable to collect children from school on time, they should, if possible, contact school by telephone. Children are taught not to leave the school premises on their own. If no one arrives to collect them, children are instructed to return to the school office so that we can arrange for them to be supervised and contact parents if necessary.

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Car Parking

The school car park and approach road is restricted space and not available for parents to use when dropping of or collecting children, please keep clear at ALL times for access of emergency services, delivery vehicles and coaches. Parents are asked to park legally on local roads and drive slowly near school, please keep local residents' driveways clear.

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Playtime arrangements

Weather permitting, children go outside to play. One playground is restricted to junior children only, but there is mixing of ages on the second playground and on the field when it is in use. Members of staff are always outside with the children. Generally if a child is fit to be in school then they are expected to be outside at playtimes and lunch times.

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Lunchtime supervision

During the lunch break the children are cared for and supervised by a team of Midday Assistants. They supervise the children washing their hands, take them to the dining room, oversee the meals, and then supervise the children in the playground for the remainder of the lunch period.

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Arrangements for meals

Lunch is eaten in the hall between 12.00 and 1.00pm. Children eat together in a cafeteria type system but may either have a meal prepared on the premises or bring a packed lunch from home. Although we try to keep children's lunch boxes cool, we have no facilities for refrigeration so prepared meals should not contain food which will go sour or bad in warm conditions.

School meals are served on airline style trays and there is always a choice of two main courses and deserts. Salad, fresh fruit and jacket potatoes are always available. A ‘homemade’ meal is prepared daily. The children are encouraged to try new items and to leave clean trays but they are not forced to eat foods they dislike.

The cost of a school meals are reviewed annually, any increases taking effect from 1 April. Dinner money is paid in advance on Mondays. It should be sent in a sealed envelope marked with the child's name, class and the amount enclosed. If a child is absent for one or more days then credits are given and the amount for the missed meals deducted from the next payment. Cheques are accepted (payable to SMBC) but they must be for the correct amount. Parents with more than one child may send all the money in one envelope with the oldest child.

Parents who wish to change their child's dinner arrangements (e.g. from sandwiches to a cooked meal) are asked to give two weeks notice to the school secretary.

Parents in receipt of Income Support can apply for free school meals and should contact the Education Department at the Town Hall (0161 - 474 - 3878). When children become entitled to free meals the school is informed by letter and this is confidential. At lunchtime no distinction is made between children who pay and children who do not pay.

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School dress

The school colours are bottle green and grey and we prefer and encourage children at Brookside to wear school uniform as follows;
Grey/black trousers (Long or short as appropriate)
or Grey Skirt or Pinafore dress
or Green and white dress (Summer)
Bottle green sweater, cardigan or school sweatshirt
White or bottle green polo shirt or white shirt
White or grey socks
Shoes or sandals

School sweatshirts and polo shirts embroidered with the school logo can be purchased from the school office.

Make up is not allowed

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Clothing for PE and Games

All children need a change of clothing and footwear for physical activities. These should be clearly marked with the child's name and kept in a draw string bag and should include:

* White shorts and white vest or T-shirt for PE and Games
* A pair of pumps. Elastic tops are better than laces for young children although much indoor PE work is done in bare feet.
* A band for long hair so that it can be tied back.

All junior children attend swimming lessons for some part of each year. They need a costume or trunks (not Bermuda style shorts) and a towel. Goggles are not normally acceptable and long hair must be tied back or worn with a cap.

Games lessons for junior children take place outside unless the weather is particularly inclement. Substantial trainers will be needed for these lessons. These should be a separate item as after all games lessons children are expected to change back into their normal school footwear. In winter an old sweater and jogging bottom or an old tracksuit can be worn over games kit and a spare pair of socks is often needed.

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Jewellery

The wearing of jewellery is positively discouraged in the interests of safety and in accordance with our school safety policy. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings can easily be damaged or lost, causing distress, and can cause injury both to the wearer and to other children. Stud earrings, are the only jewellery permitted in school and these must be removed or covered during PE.

It is accepted that many children wear watches to school, but the school does not accept responsibility for loss or damage to these items.

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Lost property

The children are expected to take responsibility for their own belongings as a great deal of teaching time can be spent looking for lost items. Please help your child by making sure that clothes, pumps, lunch boxes etc. are clearly marked with the owner's name. A strong hanging loop in outdoor coats is a great help in keeping coats on the correct peg. Lost items that are clearly marked can be returned to their owners but unmarked items are put in the lost property box in the junior corridor.

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