Daily Details

 Please find helpful information below regarding timings, registers, drop-off and pick-up, communication and volunteering. 

 A Typical Day at Forestdale 

Our gates open for the start of the school day at 8:35 a.m. From this time on, there are teachers on duty on each gate. Children must not arrive at school before 8.35 a.m, unless they have been specifically instructed to do so to attend booster classes or need to leave early for a learning visit, etc. 

The gates close promptly at 8.45am, and children should be registered in class by then, ready to start their learning. Children who arrive after this time must be taken by their parent/carer to the school office and signed in as late.

Reception Entrance

Infant Entrance

Junior entrance

Reception

Morning Session 8.45 am - 11.30am
Lunch 11.30am - 12.30am
Afternoon Session 12.30pm - 3.15 pm

Key Stage 1

Morning Session 8:45 am – 12:05 pm
Lunch 12:05 pm – 1:05 pm
Afternoon Session 1:05 pm – 3:15 pm

Key Stage 2

Morning Session 8:45 am – 12:15 pm
Lunch 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Afternoon Session 1:15 pm - 3:20 pm

In the morning the children have a daily Guided Reading, Maths and English session, and phonics in the Infants. The children are supported in the class by the teacher and the teaching assistant.

At 9.00 am all the children meet in the hall for an assembly led by either a member of staff or an outside agency. The assemblies are either topical, linked to one of the schools five STAR values or a celebration.

Infants and lower key stage 2 have break time at 10:30am and upper juniors at 10:45am. They are encouraged to eat a healthy snack and drink their milk.

At lunchtimes, the children are allowed on the playground or field to play. They are supervised by the mid-day supervisors. Toys are available for the children to play with.

In the afternoons, the children take part in non-core subjects such as Geography, P.E and Art.

The end of the school day is at 3:15 pm for Infants and 3:20 pm for Juniors. Children are not detained in school for any reason. However, occasionally a child may be asked to stay behind while a discussion takes place with the parent/carer.

Gates are opened for parents at 3:10pm.

During dismissal, the teachers will take the children to specific designated areas on the playground. Having designated areas reduces the amount of congestion on the playground.

Parents are asked not to take their children before they reach the designated area or before the teacher has dismissed them.  Safeguarding our children is paramount and teachers need to ensure that children go home with the correct adult.

Children may attend after school clubs which will finish at 4.15 pm for Infants and 4.20 pm for Juniors.

Attendance 

Ideally, children should be in school, on time, 100% of the time. We attach great importance to making a prompt start to the day so doors open from 8.35am for a punctual 8.45am start to the school day.

Lateness and absence affect all children’s learning, not just those directly involved.

Registration and Punctuality

Each day is divided into two sessions: morning registration is between 8.45 and 8.55am; afternoon registration is at 1.05pm for infants and 1.15pm for juniors.

Children arriving late, after 8.55 and up to 9.15 am, are unable to enter through the children’s entrance and must report to the office. They and will be marked in as ‘late’; after that, without a good reason, they will get an ‘unauthorised absence’ on their record. Similarly, in the afternoon children in the infants must be in the classroom for 1.05pm and juniors must be in the classroom by 1.15pm to receive an attendance mark from their class-teacher. Children arriving after 1.05pm in the infants and 1.15pm in the juniors will get an ‘unauthorised absence’ on their record.   

If a child is unwell or going to be unavoidably late the office must be notified as soon as possible, either in person or by telephone, otherwise the child’s absence will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’.

Register checks are undertaken every day and detailed monitoring of those whose attendance is poor.

If a child is not present and a parent or carer has not contacted the school, the school’s attendance officer will send a text to the parent/carer, which will then be followed up by a telephone call.

Parents/carers are expected to call the school on each day of the child’s absence.

Monitoring Individual Attendance

We closely monitor each child’s attendance. We reward our children for shining examples of attendance.

If a child’s attendance and / or punctuality presents a concern, school staff will investigate and support, ultimately supported by the team’s Educational Welfare Officer (EWO).  Sometimes a child can be reluctant to come to school  therefore the child’s class teacher should be told as soon as possible. We will always help support families with strategies to improve their child's attendance.     

Rewards and Incentives

Whole School Attendance

Attendance Policy              

For more information on attendance and punctuality, please click on the button below: 

Attendance Policy 

Communication

Volunteers