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PARENT AREA

REMOTE EDUCATION

NB Remote Education for Reception children will be provided via Tapestry.  

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THE SCHOOL DAY

 The Morning Routine

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In the morning the children can enter their classrooms from 8:35am. A member of staff will be at each entrance to welcome them. This allows the children time to come into the classroom, get organised and settled before the start of the school day. 

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It also provides parents with the opportunity to pass on any messages to staff if required. The school day starts at 8:55am. 

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Arriving Late

All children who arrive late to school must report to the school office.  Infant children will then be escorted to their classroom by a member of staff. 

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The Afternoon Routine

Following the Covid pandemic and the requirement to reduce the number of people in one space we implemented a split dismissal system. We noted a significant positive impact on children's safety due to the risks associated with the road outside our school, therefore a decision has been made by the governing body to continue a split dismissal for the academic year 2022-2023. 

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There are two dismissal slots. For Reception & Key Stage children (Year 1 and 2) ONLY and Key Stage 2 children (Years 2, 4, 5, 6) ONLY the dismissal slot is 3.05pm. If you have children in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, the dismissal slot is 3:20pm. All the children will be brought out and dismissed by a staff member. Please note all infant children must be collected by an adult familiar to the child.

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This means our total school hours are 30hours 50 minutes or 32 hours 5 minutes, dependent on your child's dismissal slot. In line with the expectation that all schools will provide 32 hours and 30 minutes from September 2023, the governing body will be reviewing the school day for the start of the 2023-2024 academic year. 

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Once finished, staff (unless running a club) are happy to talk to parents briefly or will arrange a time to meet.

Infant children accessing school transportation or The Lodge are escorted by a staff member, KS2 children are able to go independently to the waiting areas.

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Children who have not been collected are taken to the school office. If we are unable to determine collection arrangements the children will be placed in the after school club. Please note this is a chargeable resource.

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Lunchtime Routines

At lunchtime, the children are able to have a school meal or bring their own packed lunch. This is entirely at parents’ discretion but please be aware as of September 2014 all infant children will be entitled to a free school dinner.

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Mid-Morning Snacks 

Our general aim is to promote healthy lifestyles. Fruit/raw vegetables are allowed as a mid-morning snack and are supplied by the government free of charge for every infant child.

KS2 children are encouraged to bring a similar type of snack from home.

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If you do not wish your Infant child to receive free fruit please indicate on your induction form clearly or in  writing. Please also highlight any allergies so that we ensure your child is not offered an item of fruit inappropriately.

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Drinking Water

Throughout the year, children are allowed to bring water to school in a small, transparent, named bottle that can be drunk during the course of the day. Children will be able to drink water from the many water fountains in place around the site at appropriate times.

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School Milk

Up to their fifth birthday all Reception children will receive a free carton of milk each day. The ‘Cool Milk’ scheme allows the parents of all other KS1 & KS2 pupils to have the option of purchasing a carton of milk for their child as a mid-morning drink. Please contact the office for more information.

The School Day
Remote Eduation

REMOTE EDUCATION

We use Google classroom for home learning for most children. Remote Education for Reception children will be provided via Tapestry. In the event of a school closure, remote learning will be provided via these platforms.   

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PARENT HANDBOOK

THE SCHOOL DAY

 The Morning Routine

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In the morning the children can enter their classrooms from 8:35am. This allows the children time to come into the classroom, get organised and settled before the start of the school day. 

​

It also provides parents with the opportunity to pass on any messages to staff if required. The school day starts at 8:50am. 

​

Arriving Late

All children who arrive late to school must report to the school office.  Infant children will then be escorted to their classroom by a member of staff. 

​

The Afternoon Routine

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Children are dismissed from their classrooms at 3:20pm. This means our total school hours are 32 hours 30 minutes in line with government guidelines. 

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Once finished, staff (unless running a club) are happy to talk to parents briefly or will arrange a time to meet.

Infant children accessing school transportation or The Lodge are escorted by a staff member, KS2 children are able to go independently to the waiting areas.

​

Children who have not been collected are taken to the school office. If we are unable to determine collection arrangements the children will be placed in the after school club. Please note this is a chargeable resource.

​

Lunchtime Routines

At lunchtime, the children are able to have a school meal or bring their own packed lunch. This is entirely at parents’ discretion but please be aware as of September 2014 all infant children will be entitled to a free school dinner.

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Mid-Morning Fruit of Vegetable Snack

In Reception and Key Stage 1 the government provides a fruit (fresh or dried) or raw vegetable snack free of charge for every child. In Key Stage 2 the children are encouraged to bring in a snack that meets the same criteria.

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If you do not wish your Infant child to receive free fruit please indicate on your induction form clearly or in  writing. Please also highlight any allergies so that we ensure your child is not offered an item of fruit inappropriately.

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Drinking Water

Children are encouraged to bring water to school each day in a small, named bottle (no other drinks please). There are also several water fountains around the school. 

​

School Milk

Up to their fifth birthday all Reception children will receive a free carton of milk each day. The ‘Cool Milk’ scheme allows the parents of all other KS1 & KS2 pupils to have the option of purchasing a carton of milk for their child as a mid-morning drink. Please contact the office for more information.

Parent Handbook
Uniform
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ORDERING UNIFORM

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UNIFORM POLICY

SCHOOL DINNERS

At lunchtime, the children are able to have a school meal or bring their own packed lunch. This is entirely at parents’ discretion but please be aware as of September 2014 all Infant children will be entitled to a free school dinner.

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Our Catering Manager and her team provide an appetising and nourishing school lunch with a range of different options each day.  Our school council helps the catering staff evaluate menu choices and we are always trying to source our foodstuff locally where possible.

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The current menu for the school kitchen (3 week menu rotation) shows the daily options available. During morning registration the children are asked for their meal choice and provided with a coloured band. The meals are then cooked to order on site.

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During the summer term well-balanced, nourishing, meat and vegetarian picnic-style lunches are available as an additional alternative to the plated lunches and salads.

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The Catering Manager is always happy to discuss food arrangements with parents, especially if any child has a serious food allergy/specific need.

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The school operates a Breakfast Club and after school club (The Lodge) from 7.30-8.45 a.m. and from 3.20-5.30 or 6 p.m.

Autumn 2024 Menu 

Week 1 
Week 1 - allergens  
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Week 2
Week 2 - allergens
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Week 3 - allergens
Week 3 
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Menus continue on a 3 week rotation. 
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Known allergens for the menu; please note they are subject to change.
The allergens are provided to guide you/your child with meal selection when dealing with intolerances. If your child has any allergy, please advise us. Children with notified allergies will be offered alternatives where necessary.

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Daily, pupils are offered three hot meal options. For all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 lunches remain free. If your child is in KS2 the cost is £2.50 per day.

 

The three (winter) / five (summer) colour options are:-

Red:  Hot meat option

Green: Hot vegetarian option

Blue: Jacket potato option

Yellow: Cheese  baguette picnic (Summer only) 

Grey: Ham baguette picnic (Summer only)

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Each morning the children need to select their colour. It would be very helpful if your child knows which option they would like before they come to school. Once your child has chosen their meal for the day they will not be able to change their mind.

School Dinners
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TAPESTRY

Click here to log into your Tapestry Account.

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At Great Totham create individual ‘learning journeys’ for your Reception child through educational software called ‘Tapestry’.

By logging on with your secure username and password you can view all of your child’s observations, photographs and videos from their time in Reception. This is unique to children in Reception due to the specific nature of the curriculum in this phase of education.

In addition to viewing our contributions, we encourage you to add to it by uploading photos and comments about your child and their achievements at home. 

Here is a video showing you how to do this: 

Tapestry
Family Support Team

FAMILY SUPPORT TEAM

At Great Totham Primary School we understand how children can be affected by life's challenges and we strive to support our children, and their families, through these difficult times, giving them skills and advice that lasts much longer than the time they are with us. 

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Who are the Family Support Team?

Amanda Wilson: Family Support Worker

Lisa Cleghorn: Deputy Head Teacher

Liz Lawrence: SENCo

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What does the Family Support Team do?

THAT'S A HARD QUESTION - ANYTHING THAT COMES OUR WAY!

We don't profess to be magicians and we are not counsellors or therapists; we cannot solve everyone's problems but we can listen, talk things through with you and offer advice or signpost you to other services who can help. 

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As a team we are slowly but surely up skilling ourselves to be able to support a wider range of children and families using skills and techniques such as promoting positive mental well-being, using therapeutic art and stories, bereavement support activities and using talk time. 

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As a general overview, the Family Support Team can support you, your child and your family during bereavement, illness, times of emotional unrest, divorce, toileting issues, during transition to another school or at times when something isn't right and you don't know what it is. We can also help you to become more active in your child's learning and support you to improve your child's attendance. 

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If you or your child need support and you think we can help, please contact us. If there's something you're struggling with but don't think we can help, contact us - we might just surprise you. Sometimes just talking things through, with someone you can trust, can be the most helpful experience in dealing with life's challenges. 

 

Contact us to see what we can do for you:

01621 891091 and ask to speak to a member of the Family Support Team

or email us

Amanda Wilson: Family Support Worker

a.wilson@greattotham.essex.sch.uk

Lisa Cleghorn: Deputy Head Teacher

deputy@greattotham.essex.sch.uk

Liz Lawrence: SENCo

mrs.lawrence@greattotham.essex.sch.uk

Parent Mail & + Pay

PARENT MAIL &

+ PAY

Payment for School Meals

Payment should be made by +Pay on ParentMail2.  If in exceptional circumstances you need to pay by cheque, these should be made payable to ‘Great Totham Primary School’ and the name(s) of the child(ren) for whom the payment is made, written on the reverse side. 

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The cost of a school meal is £2.20 per day. Payment for meals should be made in advance, weekly or half termly. Many parents find it convenient to place some money on credit for their child’s dinners and then top this up as required.

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Please sign up for ParentMail +Pay, all school communication and transactions go through this system. 

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ParentMail now has a mobile App you can download FREE.

The App has been developed to make it easy for parents to see and respond to school requests. It will help you to keep on top of all your children’s activities, in and out of school, in the most accessible and convenient way. With the App you can:

  • Receive messages from the school and any other organisation that uses ParentMail

  • Pay for items

  • Top-up dinner money

  • Authorise trips

  • Keep up-to-date with the school calendar

  • View and organise calendars for each of your children and much more, all from your mobile phone.

PTFA

PTFA

The Great Totham Primary School PTFA is a charitable organisation. Its purpose is to work alongside the teaching staff to enhance the education of each and every child at the school.  The PTFA is dependent upon the support of the Parent Body for giving time and donations to make events a success.

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"One of the things I value most highly about our PTFA is the fantastic community spirit it generates."

Miss L Cleghorn, Deputy Head Teacher

WHY DO WE NEED A PTFA?

We work with the school and the Parent Body to arrange events through which we build a greater sense of community and raise money to be able to enrich the learning opportunities for the children. 

 

In recent years the PTFA has made a significant contribution to the school being able to fund site improvements and opportunities that all children across the school have benefited from. 

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We depend on you to help us to do this through support through a range of events such as 

  • Summer Fete

  • Christmas Market

  • Golf Day

  • Sponsored Walk

  • Bouncy Bonanza

  • School lottery (ask the office for more details)

  • Film Nights for the children 

  • Quiz and comedy nights 

Your support can be a personal or corporate donation, giving up your time to help on a stall or at an event or coming along to an event and having fun. 

 

The organisation of events is a key aspect of how the PTFA functions and without volunteers this could not happen. Let us know how you would like to be involved as Great Totham Primary School needs you!  Why not come along to a PTFA meeting or contact us via the school office?

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