Fairlop Primary School

What time does school start?
Gates open at 8.50am and children can enter the school building from 8.55am. The school day begins at 9.00am.

What time does school finish?
School finishes at 3.30pm

Where do I drop off my reception child?
Reception children are dropped off outside the pencil fence at the bottom of the playground. At 8.55am the children can walk into their classroom - they will be supported by the Reception staff.

Where do I collect my reception child at the end of the day?
At 3.30pm the pencil fence is opened by a member of staff and the reception children are collected from their classrooms. Parents wait outside the classroom and children are called by the class teacher. Please let the school office or class teacher know if your child is being collected by someone else.

Do children wear uniform?

Yes, we expect all children to wear school uniform. If you have any diffulties with getting school uniform, please contact our Parent Support Adviser, Jo Dawson, via the school office. We also have some 'nearly new' school uniform that parents can purchase for a small donation.

What uniform do the children need to wear?
Full details can be found on our School Uniform page.
Red jumpers/cardigans
Grey trousers/shorts/skirts/pinafores
Red and white summer school dresses/playsuits
Red or White polo shirts
Black or Grey or White tights or socks
Black school shoes/trainers

Where can I buy school uniform?
Uniform can be bought from any shop or supermarket.
If you would like to buy jumpers or cardigans with the Fairlop Primary School logo, they can be bought online from …
https://www.tesco.com/direct/fairlop-primary-school/5295.school
http://carolinaschooloutfitters.co.uk/fairlop-primary-school-79-c.asp
or purchased at Unistat –153 High Rd Barkingside: 020 8550 2119
You DO-NOT need to buy a logo jumper, a plain red jumper or cardigan is perfectly acceptable.

Does my child need a book bag?
Yes, these can be purchased from the school office for £5

When does my child need their book bag?
Children should bring their book bag into school on their first day and every day. 

Does my child need a water bottle in school?
Yes, children should bring to school their own named water bottle.

Does my child need wellington boots (wellies) in school?
Yes, they should be brought into school on your child’s first day and left in school. We will let you know if they get too small.

When does my child need their PE kit?
You will be told what day your child will be doing PE. They can come into school wearing their PE kit on this day each week.

Does the school follow a curriculum for reception children?
Yes, we use the Development Matters curriculum to plan activities and to assess your child against the age related milestones.

Should my child be a certain level when they come into reception?
No, there is no expectation about what you child should be able to do.
However basic skills such as toileting, dressing, putting on shoes and being able to recognise their own name are valuable skills to have when joining reception. A ‘Getting Ready for Reception’ help sheet is available.

How is the school day organised?

• Children come into school via the pencil fence
• Register, lunch orders are taken and *special day child is announced (*see below)
• Phonics is taught using the ‘Letter and sounds’ programme.
• Children are taught in small groups, these are called focus activities.
• These activities include: speaking and listening, reading, writing, maths, art and design and all areas of learning from the Development Matters curriculum.
• Children will have access to the EYFS garden and child-initiated activities within the classroom.
• Whole class maths session
• Lunchtime
• Register
• Whole class taught activity i.e., circle time, handwriting, shared reading, shared writing, philosophy.
• Focus activities
• Whole class activity i.e., story time, music, role play etc.

What is special day?
Special day is when a child is chosen and they get to take the register to the office, sit on a special chair, stand at the front of the line and take home Barnaby Bear. Barnaby Bear comes with a diary and the children or parents write in the diary telling the rest of the class what Barnaby did when he visited your house. Barnaby Bear and the diary then return to school the next day and the diary is read out to the class.

What other activities will my child do during the week?
The children will do PE in the hall, visit the library and take out a library book, visit the environmental area, ride bikes in the infant playground and visit the Computer suite (summer term).

Will my child receive homework?
Yes, your child will take home 2 reading books each week to read with you. A reading diary will accompany the books and parents are asked to write a short comment about how their child read that day. Key persons will read the comments in the diary and may comment if necessary.
Children will receive 4 sounds and 4-5 high frequency words to learn each week. Children will be tested on these and given new sounds and words when they are secure in their understanding. Children may be asked to write words into a sentence.
In the spring and summer term, a weekly maths activity will be sent home to reinforce what they have been learning that week or to prepare them for what they will be learning the following week.

When can I talk to my child’s key person to find out how well they are doing?
There are 2 parents’ evenings each year, 1 in the autumn term and 1 in the spring term. You will be asked to make an appointment online and between the times of 4pm-8pm. You will meet with your child’s key person and talk about the progress your child has made and what targets they will be working on next.

If you need to speak to your child’s key person or class teacher at other times in the school year, email or telephone the school office and they will arrange an appointment for you. Staff are not available to speak to parents at the beginning of the school day. If you need to pass on a message i.e., 'Jack had a tummy ache last night' then you can tell the staff member on the gate and they will pass the message on.

Your child's key person will speak to you at the end of the day if there are any issues.