Welcome to the New Starters page!

Here you will find all the information you need to prepare your child for starting school in September 2024.

There's also lots of information in the school brochure which will be sent out soon to all parents of children due to start in September.

In the brochure are the forms we need parents to complete and send back to school. The forms are on pale green paper within the brochure.

Copies of the forms can also be found further down this page for you to print off at home if you need to.

Please note the school office will also need a copy of your child's birth certificate and that this will need to be brought in to school.

Kind regards

Miss Liggins 

Deputy Head Teacher

Starting school in September 2024

Our Reception children will start school for half day sessions on Tuesday 3rd of September. Letters will be sent out via email to let you know if your child will attend mornings or afternoons until they start full time on Monday 9th of September.

Timings for the half day sessions are

Morning session 9am until 11.45am

Afternoon sessions 12.40pm until 3.25pm

During this time the class teachers will assess the children and let them settle in to make new friendships. Once the children have started on full days, they will be put into classes depending on where we feel the children will learn best. Class names will be RT for Miss Tann’s class and RS for Mrs Suffield's class.

The Reception gates will open at 8:45am for the children to arrive ready for a 9am start to lessons. The school day finishes at 3:25pm but we open our Reception gate from 3:20pm to ensure parents have enough time to collect siblings within school. 

The Reception Team

Miss Liggins Deputy Head Teacher 

Mrs Barford - Head of Infant Department and Year1/2 Class Teacher

Mrs Suffield, Miss Dobson, Miss Tann - Class Teachers

Miss Thompson, Miss Alston -Teaching Assistants

Mrs Hardacre, Miss Darbyshire, Mrs Howell  - Teaching Assistants

Mrs Johnson Towers, Mrs Hope - Family Support Workers

Mrs Hewerdine School (SENDCO) and Miss Clay PPA Cover

How we Learn The Foundation Stage Curriculum

The Foundation Stage curriculum promotes teaching and learning to give the children a broad range of knowledge and skills. It ensures a high quality, consistent approach to learning so that every child makes good progress and where lessons are planned around the needs and interests of the children. Through this we hope our children will become independent, capable, confident and resilient learners who make positive relationships with others.

 There are seven areas of learning and development which shape the curriculum for our foundation stage children. 

The prime areas of learning

Communication and language

Physical development

Personal, social and emotional

development

The specific areas of learning

Literacy

Maths

Understanding the world

Expressive arts and design

Children will be given opportunities to learn through planned purposeful play, some of which will be led by adults and some child initiated. Children will explore, learn actively, think critically and creatively.

For more information on what a typical school day in Reception looks like, please click the link below which will take you to our current Reception class learning page. 

Assessment

Children will be assessed on an ongoing basis in the Foundation Stage. Staff will observe children to understand their level of achievement, interest and learning styles. Parents will be kept up to date with their child’s progress during Parent’s Evenings and any necessary informal meetings.

In the final term of the Foundation Stage year the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile must be completed by teachers for each child. Teachers will indicate whether each child has met the expected levels of development, exceeded them or not yet reached the levels required for each of the Early Learning Goals. Children's results are then shared with parents and the staff working in Year 1 in school, as well as the local authority.

Reading and Writing in the Foundation Stage.

To help children learn to read and write, they learn phonic sounds and key words. They will be given a reading book to practice at home and a set of tricky words which link to phonics. We have recently changed all our reading books and now use many different reading schemes which follow our phonics scheme. The books are both fiction and non fiction and give a wide breadth of topics and themes to entice the children as well as providing enjoyment.

In our everyday phonics sessions children are taught all the letter sounds and how to blend sounds to read words, and segment sounds in words to spell.

The handwriting scheme we use in school focuses on the introduction of long ladder letters, one-armed robot letters, zig-zag letters, curly caterpillar letters and capital letters.  We teach handwriting alongside phonics. In reception we begin teaching the children precursive handwriting, this is the introduction of leading lines, ready for them to join their handwriting in year 2. 

The Outdoor Area

The outdoor area is an extension of the provision inside. We use the outdoor area every day to support our learning and have all-in-one suits and wellies so the children can play in all weathers! We have new mark making areas, a water wall, a mud kitchen, den building equipment and a music station, which have enhanced our outdoor area further. We also have a new undercover area which the children can play in, which has new writing, sand and water areas.  Please ensure children are suitably dressed for outdoor weather each day.

School Uniform

Our school uniform is a white or pale blue polo shirt, grey trousers or a skirt and a blue jumper or cardigan.

These items can all be bought in most supermarkets and school uniform shops. We do sell our own Padiham Primary jumpers and cardigans with the school badge on at our school office.

Children will also need a coat and suitable school shoes that they can put on and fasten by themselves.

Children will also need a book bag or school bag. Again book bags can be bought from school but any suitable school bag will do.

In case of any toileting accidents we also ask parents to put spare underwear and socks in their child’s book bag.

All items of clothing and bags need to be clearly labelled with your child’s full name.

Breakfast Club

We have a breakfast club, The Wide Awake club, which opens in school at 7:30 am in the morning for any parents who need before school supervision for their children.

The cost of the breakfast club is £3.50 per day. Children can attend on the morning, or book a place for any day of the school week.

We have two members of staff who supervise the children. They make breakfast, organise activities and then take the children to their class ready for the start of the school day.

Pastoral Support

Our aim is to identify any concerns or issues at the earliest possible opportunity and remove any barriers to learning which may be preventing our pupils from reaching their potential. We pride ourselves in knowing our young people well and working alongside the teaching and support staff in the school. We aim to develop positive relationships with the children and their families to foster trust and respect for the duration of their time at Padiham Primary School. We respond as quickly as possible to any issues and ensure that difficulties are discussed and resolved in the best possible way.

The Pastoral Support Team at Padiham Primary School commonly offers help and support in the following areas:

• Emotional help
• Behaviour support
• Peer support
• Attendance and punctuality
• Links to external agencies when needed

Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance at school is crucial and we place great emphasis on children being here and making the most of their day. Awards are given out every week for the best class attendance in school and at the end of every term for individual children who have 100% attendance.

If your child has to miss school please phone the school office between 8.30am and 9.00am to let us know on:

01282 772496

School starts promptly at 9am every morning but children can arrive at school any time after 8.45 as we open the doors to allow children to come straight in as they arrive.

Children in Foundation Stage will go in their own entrance at the front of the school.

School ends at 3.25pm. Again parents need to collect their child on time from the Foundation Stage doors. If on a rare occasion you will be late to collect your child please phone the school office.

We are bound by Government regulations and work to Lancashire County Council guidelines with regard to attendance policy. Children are marked as late if they arrive after registration

Unauthorised absence can lead to fixed penalty notices issued by Lancashire County Council. Leave during term time is only authorised under exceptional circumstances and must be agreed in advance. Mrs Hope and Mrs Johnson Towers will help where there are barriers to regular punctual school attendance. Please refer to our school Attendance Policy online for more details.

Behaviour in school

Behaviour for learning in school is promoted through a system of rewards, sanctions, referrals to outside agencies and careful monitoring.

All staff in the infant Reception team are experienced professionals with skills and knowledge to promote positive behaviour choices from children. Staff know what behaviours are age appropriate for children in the Reception class, are alert to changes in behaviours and know what strategies to put into place if there are concerns about a child's behaviour. 

Good communication between home and school is crucial to establishing positive relationships around behaviour and being able to discuss a child's day in school.

We are well used to children who, for many different reasons, may struggle with their behaviour at times in school and support can be found by talking to staff, including Miss Liggins Assistant Head Teacher, Mrs Hewerdine our school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and Mrs Johnson Towers or Mrs Hope our two school Family support Workers.

For further information please see the school behaviour policy which outlines what we do proactively in school to monitor behaviour.

Safeguarding

The children’s safety is of huge importance to us and we have a responsibility to consider the wellbeing of all children who attend this school. This means we are vigilant regarding things we see and hear from the children themselves, the adults who work here and also information received from other sources that indicate to us that a child may be at risk of harm. In most situations, any matter of concern that is identified will usually be discussed with the parent/carer of the child. We recognise these can be difficult conversations to have but we will, nevertheless, raise any matters of concern as we know the wellbeing and safety of every child is important. In the best interests of your child we would hope that we can have an open and honest conversation, should the situation arise. Please refer to our school Safeguarding Policy online for more details.

Operation Encompass

Padiham Primary School is participating in Operation Encompass. Operation Encompass is a unique Police and Education early intervention safeguarding partnership which ensures that a child's school is informed, prior to the start of the next school day, that there has been an incident of Domestic Abuse to which the child or young person has been exposed, and which might then have an impact on them in school the following day.

Policies

Please go to the Information section of this website and scroll down to policies to find all the latest school policies.

I would draw your attention particularly to the policies for

• Attendance
• Behaviour
• Intimate Care
• Online Safety
• Safeguarding
• Administration of Medication

but there are also many others that you may wish to see.