From September we will be using Arbor for all school payments.

Thank you for signing up to the Arbor Parent App.

PARENTPAY WILL BE CLOSED 

Any credit/debit balances will be transferred over to Arbor and once we return to school we will be looking to set up school dinners, trips, clubs and wraparound payments on Arbor.

In the meantime, please do not worry about making any payments.

We will write to you again when we are up and running.  Please be patient and kind, there are bound to be a few teething issues as there are with anything new but we will of course resolve these for you as promptly as we can.

SCHOOL SHOES

With a new school year, school shoes are on the top of many people’s shopping lists.  If you have recently bought new shoes, please drop off your old ones (if they still have wear in them) at the Drop & Swap Trolley in the office foyer.

If you need a bigger size, please help yourself to anything at the Drop & Swap station.

Additionally, anyone who needs any support with school uniform, for any reason, please drop us an email or speak in confidence to a member of the office staff and we will be able to support you as best we can.

Attendance at Coleham School is excellent.  To further help support school and families, the 3-18 Education Trust have developed a new policy on attendance, which brings a couple of important changes to procedures for reporting absences.

• Absences should be communicated to school by 9:30am on each day of absence.
• Please avoid leaving a phone message; instead inform school of the absence, and the reason, via email at: absence@col.318education.co.uk
• The reason for the absence should be specific – please give some details as we cannot record generic reasons such as ‘ill’.
• Because school is required by law to account for the whereabouts of every child when school is open as soon as possible in the school day, the school office will call you if we have not been informed of the absence, or the reason is not detailed.

There are other changes, including reasons for granting term-time leave, and we will soon write to you about this separately.

SCHOOL STREET (Greyfriars Rd)

• Greyfriar’s Rd outside school remains CLOSED to traffic from 8:30-9:00am and 3:00-3:30pm. This provides a safer, cleaner environment for families to congregate and drop off/collect children at school.
• By law, when the road is closed, only residents’ vehicles and emergency vehicles are allowed to use the road for access purposes. Deliveries to the local businesses are usually timed, but their vehicles will be escorted along the road if needed.
• Please DO NOT park outside school before the road is closed unless you are able to wait for the road to reopen. Please make sure that anyone else dropping off or collecting your children (grandparents, family friends etc.) are aware of this.  School staff will be outside monitoring the road and may ask you to wait.
• The school office can provide passes allowing you 30 mins free at St Julian’s car park, and ASDA remains free.
• Please do not block Salter’s Lane for the sake of our neighbours.
• Please remind your children to be aware that vehicles may be moving in the road, despite the closure, and to never run out into the road assuming it is safe before looking.

ROAD WORKS (Longden Coleham)

You will be aware that there are significant road works being undertaken on Longden Coleham.  Traffic is only currently flowing towards Coleham Head, so please bear this in mind when planning your journey to school.

Parents are able to claim a free 30min pass for St Julian’s Car Park (across the Greyfriars Bridge) and are also able to park for free at ASDA.

Nothing has changed from last year for each year group, but your child will most likely be lining up before school in a different spot, and be collected from a different spot, than they were last year!

All children and families can enter through any gate of their choosing, but each year group has an allocated area for drop off and collection.  Please be aware that your children’s drop off point may be different to their collection point.

DROP OFF (8:40am – 8:50am)

EYFS: Children do not line up.  They are greeted at their class’ gate by their teachers and enter the classroom independently, supported by staff members in the same way as they did on taster days.  You can enter across the field or through the main entrance if you have a pushchair or cannot use the stairs.

Year 1: Children line up in their classes on the Key Stage 1 playground (adjacent to Longden Coleham) by the blue canopy.

Year 2: Children line up in their classes on the Key Stage 1 playground outside the Year 2 classrooms.

Year 3: Children line up in their classes on the lower Key Stage 2 playground (playground adjacent to the car park) in front of the kitchen.

Year 4: Children line up in their classes outside the front of school to the right of the main entrance (towards Longden Coleham)

Year 5: Children line up in their classes on the Key Stage 2 lower playground where the picnic benches are located.

Year 6: Children line up in their classes outside the front of school to the left of the main entrance (towards Belle Vue)

COLLECTION

Please note the time of collection for your child’s year group.

EYFS (3:10pm): Children are released to their known adults on the playground outside the EYFS classes.

Year 1 (3:10pm): Children are released to their known adults on the Key Stage 1 playground by the blue canopy.

Year 2 (3:10pm): Children are released to known adults on the Key Stage 2 playground.  This playground is on the other side of the school hall from where they are dropped off in the mornings.

Year 3 (3:20pm): Children are released to known adults on the Key Stage 1 playground from the yellow brick wall.

Year 4 (3:20pm): Children are released to known adults on the lower Key Stage 2 playground from the yellow brick kitchen wall.

Year 5 (3:20pm): Children are released to known adults on the upper Key Stage 2 playground (netball court) from the green fence.

Year 6 (3:20pm): Year 6 children may walk home alone – we will in due course send out a forms link to collect parental consent for this.   Those being collected will be released from the upper Key Stage 2 playground (netball court).

Please make sure that children are collected by a known adult.  We cannot release children to persons under the age of 18.  If you are unsure, please speak to the school office.

School reopens for the Autumn Term on Tuesday 5th September for all children.  Nothing has changed from last year for each year group, but it is worth reminding yourselves of the various times gates are open and closed.

TIMINGS

Our school day is from 8:50am to 3:10pm (for EYFS and Years 1 & 2), and 8:50am to 3:20pm (for Years 3 to 6).

• 7:45am: Breakfast Club Arrival Time for those with spaces.
• 8:30am: Greyfriars Rd is closed to traffic.  Please do not attempt to drive past the cones or drop off at the cones.  If you are parked before the road is closed, you will need to wait until 9:00am when the road is reopened to leave.
• 8:30am: The corner gate (opposite the butcher’s) will be open at 8:30am for the Daily Dash ONLY.  Children must be supervised during the daily Dash.
• 8:40am: The remaining gates will be opened at 8:40am for drop off.  Children will be supervised by members of staff from 8:40am.  There is no need to stay beyond 8:40am, but you are more than welcome if you wish to wait.
• 8:50am: Teachers will bring their classes into the school building at 8:50am.  Please ensure that your child is dropped off by 8:50am as this is when our day begins.  Please be aware of the continuing road closure (School Street scheme) outside school.
• 8:55am: The school gates will begin to be closed.  If you arrive late (after your class has gone inside) you must enter through the main entrance through the office.  Children are able to sign in themselves with staff assistance.
• 9:00am: Greyfriars Rd is reopened to traffic.

Mrs Hilbert is outside the main front doors each morning if you have any enquiries for the School Office team.

• 3:00pm: Greyfriars Rd is closed for the end of the school day and school gates are opened.
• 3:10pm: EYFS, Years 1 & 2 are released.
• 3:20pm: Year 3 to 6 are released.
• 3:30pm: Greyfriars Rd is reopened to traffic and school gates are locked for the safety of after school clubs.
• 4:30pm, 5:00pm and 5:30pm onwards are pick up times for After School Club.  Children must be collected by 5:45pm.

Please clear the school site a soon as you are able so we can safely lock up.  After school clubs need to have the site secure for their safety.

Dear Parents and Carers,

I hope that you are all having a lovely summer break and are enjoying the last few days of the holiday.

We are really looking forward to welcoming the children back to school next week and have been working hard getting the classrooms ready for the children.  Hopefully everyone is very excited about starting in their new classes and we extend a special welcome to all our new EYFS children and their families, especially those families joining the Coleham School community for the first time.

This newsletter has some important information and reminders for the start of term about: school day timings; drop off and collection locations; the school street scheme; drop & swap; new attendance procedures and PE days.  Please take some time to have a read through and remind yourself of anything you need.

I and the whole school staff look forward seeing you all and welcoming you back to school on Tuesday 5th September.

Have a great rest of the week!

Yours sincerely,

Tom Larkham

Headteacher

PE Days for each year group are as follows:

EYFS: Thursdays and Fridays

Year 1: Tuesdays and Thursdays

Year 2: Tuesday and Thursdays

Year 3 (Turtles): Tuesdays and Thursdays

Year 3 (Starfish): Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Year 4: Mondays and Wednesdays

Year 5: Wednesdays and Fridays

Year 6: Mondays and Fridays

These days are listed on the school website in the classroom pages.

As always, Children will wear their PE Kit to school on PE Days.

Please note that these days are subject to change.  If the days change, your child’s teachers will be in touch via Class Dojo.

ParentPay will be closing and payments and communications will be made via Arbor from September 2023.

We will transfer any ParentPay credit/debit balances to Arbor.

Please do not worry about making payment for School Meals at this time or during the holidays.  Your child will still be able to receive a school meal when we return in September and payment can be made later when the system is up and running.  To have a school meal, your child simply lets their Class Teacher know if they would like a dinner or packed lunch during the morning register.

We know that Arbor is a really great system for schools and parents but there may be a few teething issues during the first few weeks-please bear with us!  The office staff will resolve any administration enquiries promptly but our absolute priority during the first week is making sure that children and families return to school happy and comfortable.