School Day

THE SCHOOL DAY

School Begins 8.55 am
Morning Break 10.40 - 10.55 am
Lunch 12.00 - 1.05 pm
Afternoon Break 2.35 - 2.50 pm
School Ends 3.35 pm

PLEASE BE ON TIME!

It is an important discipline for your child to arrive at school in good time to start work promptly. Your encouragement to achieve this would be appreciated as it leads to an ordered structured start to the day. Due to the need for supervision, could you also assist us by ensuring your child does not arrive at school before 8.40am unless prior arrangements have been made with the school.

Uniform

The School has a uniform which we strongly encourage the children to wear. It consists of a selection from the following:

School Sweatshirt
White or Grey Shirt or Blouse
Maroon or Grey Jumper or Cardigan
Yellow or White Polo Shirt
Grey or Black Trousers or Skirt
Red or Maroon Checked/Striped Summer Dress

P.E.Kit

White Plain T Shirt
White or Maroon Shorts
Plimsolls used only indoors
We do encourage the children to wear these colours

Outside games can be done in appropriate clothing and footwear. In cold weather tracksuit bottoms and warm tops are encouraged.

Jewellery

The children are not allowed to wear any jewellery in school except for sleepers or small studs for pierced ears. Even these must be removed for games and swimming. If you are planning to let your child have their ears pierced then you must remember that your child will not be able to do PE or Games until they can take the earrings out. It makes sense to have the ears pierced at the beginning of the Summer Holiday.

What is Homework ?

These are activities the children undertake outside lesson time.

Aims of our Homework Policy

a) To develop a good partnership between school and home to achieve the goals that we agree are in the best interests of the children’s development.

b) To develop a consistent approach throughout school towards homework.

c) To develop in school the clear expectation that all homework will be finished to a good standard in all classes.

d) To develop the idea that homework is a part of the progression of the learning that goes on in our classrooms. It is planned and structured.

e) To develop a culture of feedback to parents and children about homework tasks.

The Purpose of Homework

a) To extend learning that has taken place in school.

b) To consolidate and reinforce skills that have been learnt in school.

c) To use resources and expertise that are available at home.

d) To help the children to develop the discipline and self-confidence to undertake homework tasks to a good standard.

The Amount of Homework

Years 3 and 4 20 minutes per night

Reading every day for a minimum of ten minutes. (to be recorded in the Reading Record)
Learning Tables and Number Bonds once a week. (Tested in School once a week)
Spellings to learn each week. (Tested in school once a week)
Other tasks as set by the class teacher.

Year 5 and 6 30 minutes per night.

Reading every day for a minimum of twenty minutes. (to be recorded in the Reading Record)
Learning Tables and Number Bonds once a week.
Spellings to learn each week.
Work related to Topic, Science, Maths and English

This may involve :
Finding out information
Reading in preparation
Preparing a Presentation
Applying skills learnt in school.
Finishing work started in class.)

What Parents could do to help

a) Encourage your child to establish a routine for doing their homework.

b) Make sure your child has a quiet place and time to do their homework.

c) Show a positive interest in the work they are asked to do.

d) Contact school about homework issues you have. ( good and bad)

e) Encourage your child to take a pride in the presentation of homework.

* In the lead up to the Year 6 Standard Assessment Tasks in May, Year 6 children may be required to take home additional individual homework that will be kept to reasonable levels.

Click this button to go the homework pages

Absence

If your child is absent from school then you must contact the school by letter or telephone (694811). If you do not contact us with an explanation for the absence then legislation says we must record the absence as an unauthorised one. In any one school year only ten days can be authorised as a family holiday during school time. Anything above ten days must be recorded as an unauthorised absence.

Dinners

Children can choose between School Dinners or their own Packed Lunch if they wish to stay at school for dinner. From September School Dinners cost £1.40 per day, £7.00 per week. If you wish to pay by cheque, then could you please make the cheque payable to North East Lincolnshire Council. School Dinners are on a choice system where the child can choose between a number of main courses and puddings. The Local Authority has told us we must ask parents to provide a packed lunch if the school dinner money owed reaches £10.

Behaviour and Work

We believe at Signhills School that the large majority of children are very keen to work hard and behave well. The School positively looks for children who are doing this and rewards them for doing so with a whole range of certificates, team points, awards and stickers. The children are made aware of the way they must behave and work if they wish to win awards. We strongly believe this idea of looking for the positive encourages the children to develop good attitudes. If children consistently choose to break a small number of simple rules that apply for the good of all then a fair set of sanctions are applied. Signhills is a happy school and if you have any concerns over your child then please talk to their class teacher about them.

Bullying

The school works hard to create a positive atmosphere in which bullying will not occur. In instances where an issue does arise, it is treated seriously with a caring approach. The School has a formal Anti-Bullying Policy and it is available on request from the school.

Medicine

The school will not administer medicines unless they are prescribed by the doctor and accompanied by a signed letter from parents asking us to do this. These medicines must be clearly labelled with the child’s name, dosage and instructions for administration. These regulations are externally imposed on the school and we must comply with them.
All inhalers for asthma must be clearly labelled with the child’s name and class, and then given into the school.
We would welcome parents to contact us with any medical condition that is out of the ordinary.

Cycles

Children are only allowed to bring their cycle into school after applying in writing to the Head at the school. As there are limited places in the bike shed there must be a good reason for the child coming on their bike. The owner of the bike will have to take responsibility for securing the bike while it is in the shed and bikes must be left at the owners risk.

Parents

Parents are welcome to help in the Junior School. Research has shown that where there is close co-operation between parents and the school the education of the children benefits. We are, therefore, very keen to have parents helping in school. If you would like to help then please talk to your child’s class teacher or fill in the slip we always send out early in September. Parent helpers will be asked to fill in the usual clearance form and wear a helper’s badge for identification in school. These measures are to safeguard our children.

The most important way you can help your child is by spending a small but significant amount of time each night on the Literacy and Numeracy tasks we will send home. Just for an example we are proud to say that last year over 90% of our children read at home over five nights a week during the last school year.

The work we would like you to consolidate will be recorded in their School Folder each day.

Home School Association

We have a thriving and very supportive Home/School Association which organises a number of events each year to support the school and encourage social events for the school community. If you are interested in joining the Home/School Association or simply would be willing to help by working at one of the events then please contact the School Office (694811).

School Clubs

There are whole ranges of out of school activities that are available to the children at the school. During the year the staff run clubs and teams for:

1. Netball
2. Film Club
3. Orchestra
4. Drama
5. Soccer
6. Choir
7. Cricket
8. Athletics
9. Swimming