Starting school in September 2024

Welcome from Mrs. Frounks, the Headteacher

Dear Parent and carers,

Welcome to St Andrew’s Church School and thank you for choosing our school in what has been one of your most difficult decisions in parenthood so far.

This is an exciting time for your family as your child begins their school life here. We pride ourselves on being ‘A family school at the heart of the community’ so not only will your child become part of our school family, but you will too. This enables us to work closely with all the people who are important to your child and ensure that they have a smooth and successful transition throughout our school.

We want to provide your child with the best possible start in life. We see each child as an individual in their own right and we work towards helping them grow to their own strengths, so they can feel like they are succeeding. We aspire to provide our children with as many different opportunities as possible to learn, develop, contribute, and share. Everything we do is inspired by the words of Jesus in the Bible:

“But I have come that they may have life in all its fullness” John 10:10

We hope that your child will be very happy and enjoy many achievements while they are here, and we look forward to sharing their successes with you.

We would like to invite you to join us in a Parent Meeting on Wednesday 5^th June 6pm -7.30pm in the school hall where you will meet the early years team, SLT and other members of the school.

The meeting will be in two parts. The first section for all parents will outline the admissions procedure and our transition arrangements for starting school in September. After the introductory talk we will invite all parents to visit the classroom and talk with the staff about any questions you may have. Refreshments will be served during this time. Please note this is a meeting for parents only.

The QR will take you to our School Starter Pack, we are asking all parents and carers to complete these online forms by our Parents Information evening on Wednesday 5^th June. If you have any problems accessing the forms or would prefer a paper copy, please contact the school office (office@standrews.bwmat.org ).

We will be inviting children to a ‘Stay and Play’ session in school on Tuesday 2^nd July group 1 from 9.15am until 10.15am and group 2 from 10.30am until 11.30am. Parents will need to stay with their children. Children will be allocated their groups on the Parents information evening.

Starting school is an exciting time for young children and their parents. It can be an anxious time too as there are a lot of changes ahead.

Parents often ask us how they can help their child get ready for school, it would be very helpful if your child is confident with and has experience of the following:

Dressing/Undressing themselves (easy fastenings please)
Asking for the toilet and being able to cope with this alone!
Washing his/her hands
Sitting at the table to eat
Tidying away toys etc. after use
Changing into PE clothes and shoes
Listening to stories and joining in nursery rhymes
Handling books appropriately
Using scissors
Helping with everyday situations, eg cooking, shopping, washing up
Identifying colours
Recognising their name

For more information on our school please visit our school website: www.standrewsbwmat.org If you have any questions regarding the information in this letter, please speak to a member of the school office team.

We look forward to meeting you all very soon.

Yours sincerely,

Kaye Frounks

Headteacher

Fox Classroom

Starting school is an exciting time in your child's journey. Here are some useful resources you might like to use when helping your child prepare for the next steps in their journey.