First Day

We look forward to welcoming you and your child to St Paul's. The following information will hopefully help you to ensure that this transition will be as easy and stress-free as possible.

Before Your Child Starts at St Paul’s

At St Paul’s we believe that every child is unique.  We try to learn as much as possible about your child before they start at our school.  We make contact and visit many of the nurseries and pre-school settings to meet the children and to discuss with the staff their important friends, their favourite activities and any support your child may need. For older children joining us, we will contact their previous school to find out as much information as possible about them.

Preparing Your Child for School

Many children are excited about the first day at a new school whilst others are more nervous of change;  please be positive about this new adventure.

Make sure everything is ready in plenty of time and that their uniform, PE kit, coats, bookbags, etc. are clearly named.  Informtation regarding our uniform can be found by clicking on the 'Uniform' link on the left hand side.

Your Child's First Day

In the Foundation Stage we stagger the entry of children into school to allow each group to settle before the next one starts. You are invited to bring your child into the class at 8.50am and stay with them to settle them until 9.00am.  At this point we will encourage you to leave.  We usually find that the tears come from the parents rather than the children!  If your child is upset, we will still ask you to leave, and then contact you when they have settled.  It is very distressing for children to see their parents leave, then return to the class, so we ask that you are brave and go.

Older children will come to the front office on their first day at 8.50am.  Usual procedure is that they can enter school from 8.40am and make their way to class - school starts at 8.50am.

We ask that children do not bring toys from home into school. 

To make the exit from school as easy as possible we stagger the times slightly. Please collect your children on time, as they do get upset if they can’t see you at the end of their school day. We ask that you wait for them in the playground outside their classroom.

Communication

Good communication between school and parents is vitally important.  If you have the use of a computer, please join our School Gateway scheme; details are available from the school office.  All newsletters are posted on this website under the Newsletters section on the Information tab.  We also have an active Facebook Page where we post notices.

We look forward to getting to know you and your child during the coming months.  Children enter the school from 8.40am.  If you wish to pass a message on to your class teacher an adult will be available at the door where your child enters.  Teachers are available briefly at the end of the day or you can make an appointment to see them.