Expectations and General Information

Communication Flowchart

This flowchart has been created to as a guide to support our families in who to direct diffrent enquiries to. The office team continue to be happy to support you in who you should speak to if you are ever unsure.

Communication Flowchart - Downloadable Version

Start of the Day

The gates are opened at 8:40am and close at 8:45am.

Reception, Year 1, 2, 3 and 4 enter the school via the Garden Gate (to the left of the main office). Reception children may be accompanied to the classroom, by their parents, but we ask that all other children walk through the gate and enter the building independently. Any messages for the class teacher can be given to the member of staff on the gate.

Year 5 and 6 children are to be brought to the Back Gate (to the right of the main office) where they will be greeted by a member of staff. They walk through the gate and enter the building independently. Their class teachers will be waiting to greet them in the classroom. Any messages for the class teacher can be given to the member of staff on the gate.

Any children arriving after 8:45am should enter the school via the main office and be signed in by their parents.

End of the Day

School finishes at 3:15pm. Reception, Year 3 and Year 4 are collected from the external door by their classroom. Year 1 are collected from an external door from the school hall and Year 2 are collected from an external door that leads to the KS1 playground. Parents/carers enter the site via the ‘green garden gate’.

Year 5 and Year 6 parents may enter via the back gate to collect if they are not collecting from other year groups. We run a one-way system at the end of the day, so parents and children make their way round and leave by the back gate.

Class teachers or another member of staff is present with the class to handover children to their parent or carer. On entry to the school, families are asked to communicate who will be regularly collecting children and the school asks for any changes to be communicated via the school office.

Year 6 children may walk home on their own if there is a form on record at school signed by their parents (link to form below). If they are attending events which finish after 4pm, parents will be required to collect.

Children in KS2 may be collected by an older teenage sibling if there is a form on record at school signed by their parents (link to form below).

Year 6 Walking to School Permission Form

Sibling Collection Permission Form

Wrap Around Care

Breakfast and after-school club is provided at 'The Bridge' which is run by the school. We offer wraparound care from 7:30am - 5:45pm. Further information can be found here: The Bridge

Mobile Phones and Smart Watches

Only Year 6 children are permitted to bring mobile phones to school; these must be non-smartphones or 'feature phones' which have no ability to access the internet or Apps. If children choose to bring a phone to school, these must be handed into the office at the start of the day and they will be returned to them as they leave the school site at the end of the school day or after a club.

Children are not allowed to wear smart watches into school which have access to the internet or the ability to take photos.

Parents/Carers are not permitted to use their mobile phones on the school site or during school trips. We ask that mobile phones are put away at all times whilst parents/carers are on the school site to role model healthy habits to the children within our community.

Dogs

Dogs are not permitted on our school site.

Attending Worships, Performances and Events

We welcome parents, carers and other relatives to attend some of our whole school worshisp, such as Harvest Festival, performances and other events. During these, we ask that parents/carers with younger siblings accompanying them do their best to avoid siblings causing a distraction by making a lot of noise. Please remove them from the hall if needed so that children can be heard clearly and to avoid disrupting the performance.

For nativity, we offer one performance where younger siblings are welcome and one for adults only. We ask that parents respect this and do not attend the adults only performance with younger siblings.

Sports day takes place in the summer term. For Reception and Year 1 we hold the 'Sports Festival' which takes place on the school site. Parents/Carers will be invited to an hour long sesson during which they can accompany their child within a small group around a carousel of activities.

For Year 2, we hold a 'Races Event' on the Hollyfield School sports field on Somerset Avenue. This gives the parents/carers and the children an insight into what the main sports day is like. Parents/Carers are invited to an hour long session during which the children will all take part in a variety of races.

For Year 3 - Year 6, we hold a 'Sports Day' event which sees the children taking part in a carousel of field events along with a variety of races. Parents/Carers are invited for the whole morning and there will also be a chance for parents/carers to take part in an obstacle relay race.

Please note: Parents/Carers are not allowed to take photos or videos at any of our school events in line with our safeguarding policy. We look at ways in which we can share images of the children taking part in these events with their families - such as Nativity Portraits taken by Mrs Evans - but ask that all parents/carers respect the request to not take any photos/videos of their own.

Home-School Agreement

We ask parents to sign the Home-School Agreement (see link below) at the start of their child’s time at St Paul’s. This outlines the expectations for parents alongside the commitment that we make as a school.

Home-School Agreement - 2025-26

St Paul's Positive Relationships (formally Behaviour) Policy

Our behaviour policy outlines the positive learning behaviours that we are expecting from pupils each day and the different ways in which these may be recognised. It also outlines the consequences for different types of negative behaviour, who will deal with these and how it will be approached. When signing our home school agreement, parents agree to support this policy.

Click here for Visual Positive Relationships Policy Document

No Nut Policy

Like many schools, we have adopted a ‘no nut policy’ in order to lower the risk for all members of our community. This means that we expect all breaktime snacks and lunchtime foods to be free from nuts – this includes products such as Nutella, which is often used in sandwiches. This policy is also followed by the provider of our lunchtime meals.

Swimming

Swimming is part of our school curriculum. Years 1 - 6 have swimming lessons for half of every term which are compulsory. Reception class has swimming lesson throughout the summer term only. If a parent/carer wishes their child to be excused from a swimming lesson, they must provide a written note to school. Children will only be excused from lessons for medical reasons. If a parent/carer requests for their child to miss more than one swimming lesson during a half-term, their parent/carer will be asked to meet with the Headteacher to discuss this further. Children must wear swimming hats and verruca socks must be provided by parent/carer if needed (this is not seen as an acceptable reason to miss a lesson). September 2025 update: As Hook Swim School is no loner open, the school is making plans to ensure that statutory expectations are met and will share these with the classes that these impact once they are finalised.