The School Day

Our school day is currently 8.40am to 3.10pm daily, a total of 32.5 hours per week.

School timetable

Classes

Children in Foundation Stage are in either Foxes or Squirrels class. In Year 1 we have Parrots and Turtles, in Year 2 Dolphins and Sharks. A complete list of our teaching and support staff is available here. Classes are arranged to facilitate the best combination of children, bearing in mind age and social adjustment and to allow the most efficient deployment of staff available.

Arriving

Our doors open at 8.40am and learning begins as soon as the children step into the classroom. The doors are closed again promptly at 8.50am by which time all children should be in their classrooms.  Late arrivals should report to the school office.

We encourage children to enter school on their own – both to avoid congestion and to help develop their independence. Naturally we make an exception to this rule during the first week for our Foundation Stage starters.  Our staff greet the children on arrival at school each morning, take non-urgent messages and also assist parents with their children’s needs.

Children should bring their book bag, a bottle of water, and 2 snacks with them every day. We suggest fresh/dried fruit or vegetables, plus a savoury snack such as breadsticks. When they arrive at school in the morning they will hang up their coat, place their water bottle and snack on the shelf and put their book bag in their tray.

Going home

At the end of the school day, Year 2 children are collected from the playground door nearest the hall, Year 1 from the door nearest Squirrels class and Foundation Stage exit via their garden. Please call the school office if you may be late collecting your children, or if your child will be collected by someone else.

Attendance

Good attendance and punctuality are very important to the school. Both are closely monitored and followed up where necessary. We believe there is a strong link between a pupil’s attendance and their attainment, and that attitudes towards attendance and punctuality are formed in a child’s early years’ experiences. Therefore we have both a legal and moral responsibility to ensure all pupils attend school regularly.

All schools must keep a record of authorised and unauthorised absences. Please notify the school on the first day of absence. Prior warnings of any medical appointments is much appreciated.

Absence during term time

Parents requesting leave of absence during term time must complete a leave of absence application form. Please note that taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to their educational progress. THERE IS NO ENTITLEMENT to parents / carers to take a child out of school during term time, however you may apply to the school for leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. At Writtle Infant School ‘exceptional circumstances’ will be interpreted as being of unique and significant emotional, educational or spiritual value to the child which outweighs the loss of teaching time (as determined by the headteacher). The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are events that are “rare, significant, unavoidable and short”. By ‘unavoidable’ we mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time, outside of school term time.

Appointments during the school day

Please report to the school office when you take your children out of school – e.g. to a medical appointment – and when you deliver them back to school. Not only do we have to record reasons for absence in the register, we also have to quickly account for all children in an emergency. If your children will be arriving late to school because of an appointment, please let the office know whether or not they will be there for school dinner/packed lunch.  Wherever possible please try to book appointments outside the school day.