School Readiness

You can help your child at home in many different ways:

• Playing simple games such as snap, lotto and I spy.
• Singing songs and learning nursery rhymes.
• Explain how things work.
• Providing a variety of resources for making things e.g. cardboard boxes, tubes, variety of paper, shiny tops, old Christmas, birthday cards, magazines, glue, paint, scissors, sellotape.
• Encourage sorting into different groups by size shape and colour.
• Talk about the shapes of objects.
• Provide opportunities for counting.
• Provide opportunities for matching – socks, gloves, labels on tins.
• Play shops with different household items such as tins and packets. Exchange pennies supporting your child to count correctly.
• Thread beads, trace, paint, colour and do simple puzzles to develop muscles in fingers and thumbs to help with writing.
• Play ball games, kicking, throwing, catching and bouncing.
• Take your child out and about and talk about what they see or discover.

Most of all have fun with your child!

Starting school is an exciting new experience for you and your child and it helps to think ahead and be ready for the first day.

With this in mind it would really help your child and the school if your child:

• Can dress and undress all by themselves
• Can put on their own shoes and do them up without help
• Use the toilet on their own
• Can wash and dry their hands independently
• Recognise their own name
• Hold a pencil, crayon, paintbrush and scissors correctly
• Can sing and join in with simple songs and rhymes
• Knows how to look at books and hold them correctly
• Can put on their coat and do it up independently
• Can look after their own belonging carry them and hang them up

All children in the Three Saints Federation may attend full time in Year Reception from their first day at school,

As a parent, if you prefer to have a staged start, you may wish to consider the following timetable. In the children’s first week at school they may finish at 12:00. This would allow the children to settle in gently to their new surroundings and routine. The children should arrive at 8:45; this allows them 15 minutes to settle allowing them to get ready to start the day at 9:00. The children may finish the school day at 1:00, after lunch, during the second week and 3:15 thereafter.

Parents will be able to say goodbye at the school gate. It is much better to give your child a reassuring kiss and cuddle, a reminder of when you will be back to pick them up and leave promptly.

If you have any worries, then the class teacher or the teaching assistant will be more than happy to discuss them with you.

Please let them know in the morning if your child has been upset by anything at home that is likely to affect them coming into school. We get to know your child as an individual and will give them all the support they need.

Please let them know in the morning if your child has been upset by anything at home that is likely to affect them in school. We get to know your child as an individual and will give them all the support they need.

The Three Saints Federation use a synthetic phonics reading programme that is delivered daily. Through this scheme the children will:

• Learn sounds and matching letters/letter groups.
• Learn to blend sounds to read words.
• Read lots of specially written books.
• Talk a lot about what they have read to show they understand.
• Listen to and discuss other ideas to deepen understanding.

Your child will be given a book and reading record book to bring home once they have settled in school. They may not be able to read the words to begin with but it gives you and your child the opportunity to discuss the book. Talk about events in the story, the characters and encourage your child to predict what may happen next. Please keep a record of when you read with your child in their reading record book.

As your child begins to recognise some words they will bring books home that they can attempt to read. You can encourage your child to read by discussing the pictures, asking them what they think the words might be and by looking at the words carefully and ‘sounding out’ the letters. Doing a little reading each day can be a great benefit to your child.

Children should bring their reading book and reading record book to school in their named reading bag each day.

Please remember to name all items of uniform.

PE takes place twice a week. Please ensure that your child always has their PE kit named and in school in a drawstring bag. These items should be kept in school in a named drawstring bag on your child’s peg.

Fruit – Your child will be offered a piece of fruit during the morning in Yr R, Yr 1 and Yr 2.

Milk – Free milk is available for children under 5 years of age but milk can be provided at a small cost to parents for children over 5. Please register with Cool Milk (www.coolmilk.com) to order free and paid for milk.

School Lunches – Currently children up to the end of Key Stage 1/end of year 2 are entitled to Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). Menus are on a three weekly rolling programme with a meat option, vegetarian option or special diet option available to order.

Drink Bottles – Please send your child in with a drinks bottle for each day. School drinks bottles are available to order from the School Offices.