Information for parents 2024-2025

Dear parent/carers,

A very warm welcome to you all as we embark on another fantastic year at Yeoford Primary School, building on all of the success from last year!

Now that we’re starting to find our feet again after the summer holidays, it’s important that we get into the swing of things as quick as possible and start as we mean to go on. I apologise for what will be a slightly lengthy email, but I hope by providing the following information it should answer any start-of-term questions and avoid confusion:

 Drop off and pick-up:

The school site partially opens at 8am for those that have signed up for breakfast club or 8.30am Early Morning Drop-off. If your child isn’t attending the breakfast clubs, they will need to be dropped off at school between 8:45am – 8:55am. Register is taken at 9am and any arrivals after this will be marked as late. Arriving promptly allows the children to start their day smoothly. The children then need to be collected from school at 3:30pm unless they are using the after-school club provision; children attending after-school club need to be collected by 5:30pm.

 In line with our school and the Link Academy Trust policy for the safe collection of children, we will allow children from Owl Class to travel to and from school independently, but children younger than this must be accompanied by someone over the age of 16. If this person isn’t known by the school, contact will need to be made in advance so that we know we’re letting them leave with the right person. Equally, if your child is going home with another parent, please let the office or their teacher know in advance.

Attendance:

 You might be aware that attendance is a huge focus for all schools this year and really under the microscope from the new government.

It is important to note that absences fall into the categories of authorised absence and unauthorised absence please see our attendance page for examples.

 Unauthorised absences contribute to the overall attendance figures for a child but are treated slightly differently. Unauthorised absences such as those mentioned above are treated slightly differently.

Please see the following poster that should clear up exactly what the most up-to-date rules and regulations means for parents. On this topic, I’m fully aware that certain scenarios will always be a divisive and often controversial topic, such as arguments for the benefits of holidays that wouldn’t be possible at other times of the year due to excessive costs etc. However, these are simply the rules that the government have set for all schools at present and ones we have to adhere to. It should also be noted, while there are many ways for children to grow and learn, there’s no disputing that more time in school will raise your child’s attainment.

 Something that isn’t made clear on the poster is that instances of being late to school can also be considered as an unauthorised session and contribute towards the overall 10 session cut-off. As a school, we must report all absences and late arrivals to Devon County Council. All penalty notices are issued by Devon County Council, not school.

 There are the rules/trigger points and responses that I have been told to follow in conjunction with the Link Academy Policy regarding absences, both authorised and unauthorised combined. This is worth making a note of, so any emails/calls aren’t a surprise.

Staff structure for this year:

As you might remember, at the end of last year, we were holding interviews in order to find a temporary replacement for Mrs Skinner while she’s off enjoying having her second baby! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to appoint on this occasion.

However, with some careful consideration and creative timetabling we have now found a solution that we believe will work superbly for the school and children while also reducing costs on ever-stretched school finances.

Looking specifically at the days that Mrs Skinner was teaching, on a Thursday morning, the Bumblebee children will have a combination/rotation of Mr Luxa for PE and Mr Chudley. In the afternoon on a Thursday, Mrs Martin will be returning from her Trust-wide safeguarding role to teach the remainder of the day.

On the Friday, I will be stepping in to teach the Bumblebee children alongside Mr Chudley.

With that all in consideration, the staffing for a standard week can be seen below:

Toys from home:

Occasionally, toys are helpful in order to encourage children back to school after a long break and particularly as they move into new classes. However, our agreed rule at Yeoford Primary is that children don’t bring any toys from home into school. Toys get lost or broken and this often causes unnecessary squabbles and upset. If your child has a particular item for comfort that has been agreed with the teacher and SEN lead or is listed on their EHCP then that is permitted.

 Food and drink:

We believe strongly in the importance of eating healthily which is why we ask that you send you children with healthy snacks only. Children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 are provided with a fruit or veg snack at break times. If you would like to send your child in with extra fruit or veg to keep themselves full of energy then please feel free. 

Children in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 are not provided with any fruit or veg but we would welcome them bringing some from home.

Please can all children bring a labelled refillable drinks bottle so they can drink throughout the day. In order to support the things we learn about keeping healthy, alongside advice from the NHS, we would ask that your children bring just water in these bottles. If absolutely necessary, a very weak squash is acceptable.

Free school meals are provided for all of the children in Reception, Year 1 and 2. There are a range of choices including hot, main meals and jacket potatoes which can be found on ParentPay - please choose weekly in advance for your child, as it helps the kitchen plan accordingly and avoid food waste. We would encourage all children to take up this option, but you are welcome to send in a packed-lunch if your child would prefer. 

 Hot meals are also available to the rest of the children at a cost of £2.60 which can also be booked & paid for via ParentPay.

Clothing:

 The Great British weather is even more unpredictable than ever so we would ask that your children bring a coat into school everyday so we can get out and about no matter what. Please can you also continue to apply sun cream on warm days.  

 Our school uniform: 

• School embroidered sweatshirt/cardigan or plain royal blue jumper/cardigan.
• Grey or black trousers (not jogging bottoms)/tailored shorts/pinafore dress/skirt.
• White or royal blue polo shirt.
• White, grey or black socks or tights. Black shoes (all black trainers permitted) or boots.

In the summer, royal blue and white checked school dresses may be worn.

 PE uniform is:

Children currently arrive in their P.E. kit on their allocated P.E. days.

The basic P.E. kit is a school embroidered royal blue T-shirt and plain black sports shorts or leggings & trainers.

In the winter you may wish to add plain black jogging bottoms, a plain royal blue fleece, hat and gloves.

In the summer we recommend adding a sun hat.

  We would also strongly suggest, for the purposes of hygiene and to avoid distraction in the class, that hair which is long enough to be tied back, is done so. Preferably in a plaits.

 Please could all items of school uniform be clearly labelled with your child’s name, so that lost property can be returned to its owner. 

We also request that, for health and safety reasons, rings, necklaces and earrings (other than stud earrings) should not be worn to school. Any stud earrings will need to be removed or taped for PE.

 Embroidered School Uniform can be bought from Mole Avon in Crediton or Stitch2Print, Exeter.

 The school office has limited supplies of Logo'd Fleeces, jumpers, cardigans, polo shirts and t-shirts for purchase. Please contact Mrs Maynard in the office for further details.

 Yeoford PTA also sell quality second-hand uniform items and can be contacted via their Facebook page or by emailing yeofordschoolpta@gmail.com. 

 Please do let us know if there are any other barriers getting in the way of your being able to comply with our uniform code.

 Please note, we have high expectations around uniform and both anticipate and appreciate your support with this. Of course, there may be a rare occasion where a child is waiting for new shoes to arrive or something of that nature; if that’s the case, please let a member of staff know. If your child is persistently not dressed according to our uniform policy, please expect a conversation regarding this so we can resolve any issues.

 The following are the days on which your children’s classes are participating in their PE lessons. Please can they come into school on these days in their PE uniform:

Bumblebees: Thursday and Friday

Foxes: Wednesday and Thursday       

Owls: Wednesday and Thursday

Behaviour at school:

 Over the past year, we have worked extremely hard to ensure that school is a safe and enjoyable place for children to learn. Part of this involved developing rules and procedures that we stick to rigorously with consistency. We have worked hard to instil our core values and recognise and reward children for demonstrating the good behaviour and values we expect of them, becoming role-models for each other. In order to continue this, we will be sending home a home-school agreement that highlights exactly what we expect from our students.

 Communication:

 Please note, the majority of general communications will be in the school newsletter and often supplemented by emails, so please do read the newsletter which has now been moved to fortnightly as a result of overall agreement in the parent questionnaire. This will be sent out via eSchools as both a ‘Sway’ and PDF document  and posted on the school website as well as Facebook. Equally, any important dates will also feature on our website on the school calendar.

 One of the positives about a small, community primary school is that the staff easy to locate and speak to! However, If you would like to make contact with any member of staff during the school day or out of hours it is our policy that you don’t email staff directly and that all communications go via the office; please do this by emailing the school office: adminyeoford@thelink.academy or calling us on 01363 84234.

Thank you for you support and cooperation in providing a safe and happy place for your children to learn.

Any questions, please do get in touch.

Chris Martin – Academy Head

Yeoford Community Primary School

Link Academy Trust