School Routines

Special Arrangements For The First Day

Your daughter will need to bring her school bag containing her pencil case for the first day in the Senior School and Junior School.

Arriving On The First Day Junior School

Please bring your daughter to the Terrace at the back of the School via the side gate to the left of the Junior School entrance. The teaching staff will be on the Terrace at 8.30am to collect their classes and take them to their classrooms.

Senior School

If your daughter is new to the Senior School, please bring her to the Senior School reception by 8.20am. She will be met by her form buddies and her Head of Year and taken to her form room.

Sixth Form

Sixth Form students should come to reception where they will be met by the Head of Sixth Form.

Leaving On The First Day Junior School

At the end of the day, students should be collected from the Terrace at 4.00pm. Students will wait on the Terrace with their teacher until collected by a parent/guardian.

Senior School and Sixth Form

Students should leave the site, using the appropriate exit for their year group.

Years 7 and 8 should use the middle gates beside Sixth Form House. Years 9-11 use the tennis court exit.

Sixth Formers may choose to use these gates or the exit door opposite the Sixth Form Common Room.

Catching The Bus

Junior School

Students going home by bus are sent to the Randle Hall at approximately 3.30pm on the first day. They are then grouped according to their bus route. Where possible, they will be paired up with a student who already uses the same bus service. They are then accompanied by a member of staff to the bus collection point. These arrangements remain in place until your daughter is confident about the end of the school day routine.

Senior School

Students will be guided by members of staff who remain on Cardington Road until everyone has been collected and help those students who are catching buses.

iPads

All students are allocated an iPad, these belong to the student and the student is expected to look after the devise.

All Junior School iPads remain at school. Senior School and Sixth Form iPads can be used outside of school to assist with home learning and collaborative work.

Senior School Lockers

All Senior School students will be allocated a locker on the first day of the school year. All new students will be given a padlock, if needed, (some lockers have integrated locking systems) when they arrive in school. If they lose or damage their padlocks, replacements will be supplied and the cost (approximately £6) will be added to the end of term bill.

Timetables

All student timetables are published on to the student’s iPad.

School after that time should be via the front entrance. If your daughter arrives after 8.40am, she should go straight to reception to register.

Senior School

Your daughter is expected to be in School for 8.30am, ready for her first lesson at 8.40am. When she arrives she should go to her locker to hang up her coat and store any equipment or items not needed for morning lessons. She should then go to her form room or to Breakfast Club. Students can visit their lockers to collect books and equipment at morning break and lunchtime only.

All students should be in the right classroom for Lesson One ready to start the class by 8.40am. If your daughter arrives after 8.40am, she must sign in at reception and then go quickly and quietly to Lesson One.

Sixth Form

Arriving At School

Junior School

Your daughter is expected to arrive by 8.30am, ready for registration in her classroom at 8.40am. Once she arrives, she should make her way to the Terrace and play area through the side gate. The gate is open from 8.00am and the areas are supervised by staff from 8.00am until 8.30am when the students enter the classrooms to be ready to start lessons at 8.40am.

On extremely cold or wet mornings, they can go straight to the Randle Hall in the Junior School where they will be supervised until the start of the school day. Your daughter should not go to her classroom unless permission has been given by a member of staff on duty. The side gate will be closed at 8.30am and entry to the Junior

All Sixth Form students must be in school by 8.40am, even if they do not have a lesson P1. They may, at designated times, leave the School during the day if they have no lessons or other commitments, but they must sign out using the QR code before they leave.

Breakfast Club

From 7.30am to 8.25am, the Breakfast Club is available for Junior and Senior School students in the Hospitality Suite in the Senior School. Hot chocolate, milk, smoothies, orange juice, cereals, sausage and bacon rolls, pain au chocolat, muffins, flapjacks, toast, homemade yoghurt and fresh cut fruit are available with payment by cash or card. Junior School students who attend Breakfast Club will be escorted to the Junior School at 8.25am. We suggest Junior School families discuss the Breakfast Club arrangements with the Junior School office if you wish to use this service. Parents may join their daughters for breakfast; entering and leaving School only through the Bursary Gates.

Registration

Registration takes place at 8.40am at the start of Lesson One. If, for any reason, your daughter arrives after 8.40am she must report to reception and sign in before proceeding to Lesson One. If you know in advance that she is likely to be late, please telephone the school office and leave a message stating when you expect her to arrive. (Remember she is expected to arrive promptly for the start of any lesson or activity). Medical and dental appointments should be made outside school hours, unless in an emergency. If your daughter must leave School at any time during the day, please provide a note or email stating exactly why she will be absent and when she will leave and address this to your daughter’s form tutor in advance of her absence. All students must be collected by a parent or chaperone from reception and will be asked to sign out and sign back in at reception.

Assemblies

We aim to teach our students to be life long learners who are always open to understanding the perspectives of others. One aspect is the development of personal beliefs, including an understanding of a variety of religious and cultural beliefs which reflect the whole of our community. All students attend assemblies each week which take into account the different religious or non religious backgrounds of our community. The assemblies are reflective and may include a hymn and prayers although staff who lead assemblies have their own style.

Break Time And Snacks

We are a nut free school, products with nuts must not be brought into School.

Junior School

Your daughter may bring a snack to eat at break time. It must be healthy and nut free. Please do not send in chocolate bars or crisps (we will allow baked crisp snacks). Please do not send any fizzy drinks into school. We recommend snacks such as fruit, bread sticks, or stuffed pitta breads.

All students should bring a water bottle into School.

Senior School

Snacks must be eaten in the Dining Hall, the Green Room or outside. Food and drink should not be consumed in classrooms or hallways. In the Senior School, a ‘tuck shop’ is open in the Dining Hall. Items on sale include hot homemade filled rolls, snacks, cupcakes and fruit as well as a small choice of confectionery.

We encourage everyone to drink plenty of water; if this is brought into School, it should be in a suitable reusable bottle.

Lunches

School lunches are available every day in the Green Kitchen. We are committed to providing a nutritious menu. Fresh fruit and salad are available; this underlines and reflects our commitment to healthy eating.

Students are given the choice between a packed lunch from home or a hot school lunch. The weekly menus can be found on our website. Our Catering Manager is willing to discuss special dietary requirements. Allergen information on all food is available on the Parent Area and is printed out daily and displayed in the Dining Hall. We will automatically charge you for your daughter to have a hot school lunch.

The termly cost for school meals is added to the tuition fee account sent to you at the beginning of each term. The daily charge for lunch is currently (2022-2023) £4.67.

In the Senior School lunch passes will be handed out at the start of term. If your daughter forgets her lunch pass, she will be able to arrange to have a temporary card. Students who usually bring a packed lunch will be able to have a school meal if they forget to bring their food; the cost will be added to their end of term school fees.

Sixth Form Lunch And Chequers Caf

Sixth Form students may eat in Chequers, the Sixth Form café, or they may opt to have school lunches in the Dining Hall. Sixth Form students are allowed out of school during lunch after signing out.

Packed Lunches

If you wish your daughter to bring a packed lunch, please email the school on lunches@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk to avoid incurring the school lunch charge. Please note that at least half a term’s notice is required for any change in your daughter’s lunch arrangements to take effect from the beginning of each term.

END OF SCHOOL DAY Junior School

The school day finishes at 4.00pm. If your daughter is not being collected from the Terrace at 4.00pm or catching one of the school buses, she should go to the Late Care which meets on the Terrace, at the end of the school day.

The Junior School Late Care is available every day from 4.00pm until 6.00pm and is supervised by three members of staff. Once your daughter has registered her attendance, she has a short break outside, weather permitting, before coming in to the Junior School Library. They can complete their homework and take part in activities. Should your daughter still be in Late Care after 6pm she will be escorted to the Senior School Late Care (in the LRC) where she can wait until 7pm.

It is not necessary to pre-book this facility; your daughter should inform her class teacher during morning registration whether she will be attending the Late Care. It is always helpful if a message confirming your daughter’s attendance is written in your daughter’s diary/planner. You may of course contact the School during the school day to inform the Junior School office that your daughter is to attend Late Care and the message will be relayed to her and her class teacher. The Junior School Late Care mobile is 07721 938105 should you have any last minute queries or concerns.

Senior School

The School day finishes at 4.00pm. Unless she is involved in supervised activities, she should collect her belongings by 4.10pm, go to the cloakroom and leave the premises quickly.

All students waiting for school buses should wait in the supervised bus shelter at the edge of the astro pitches.

Late Care

Late Care will be supervised from 4.10pm onwards. All students attending Late Care are expected to have signed into the LRC by 4.15pm. It is expected that all students are collected from Late Care by 7.00pm at the latest. If you need to make contact with the member of staff on duty, please call the main School number until 5pm, after which please call the Late Care mobile number 07810 857859. If you should need to ring after this time please, call the Senior Leadership Team emergency mobile 07432 674386.

Students who intend to use Late Care, should not go off the site between the end of the day and going into Late Care, unless authorised by a member of staff. Students can attend after school co-curricular activities and then go to Late Care.

A healthy, nut free snack can be taken to eat in Senior School Late Care, or they may purchase a snack from the Chequers Café before 5.00pm.

There is no charge for your daughter to attend Senior School Late Care and you do not need to inform us in advance.

Parents, or authorised adults, should ring the Late Care doorbell at the main reception and students will be sent to meet their parent.

School Office

The School offices in the Junior and Senior Schools are open from 8.00am-5.00pm each day. An answerphone machine will take messages outside these hours and they will be dealt with promptly. If you need to get a message to your daughter, please be aware that her mobile phone will be switched off during lessons and activities. You may prefer to contact her via the School office by telephone or email.

Absences

We are required to maintain accurate records of any absences on a day-to-day basis.

If your daughter is unable to attend School, please telephone the Junior or Senior School office as early as possible on the first day of absence to let us know the reason for her absence and the likely date of her return. Please continue to inform us on each subsequent day of absence. Please ensure you call or email before 8.30am, to avoid the need for school staff to contact you. Outside of school office hours (8.00am - 5.00pm), a telephone answering service is available. On the day of your daughter’s return to school, please confirm the dates of her absence and please email the Senior School at absence@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk, for the Junior School juniorschool@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk or by letter (via your daughter). This information will be kept on file. Please ensure your daughter’s name, form and the date are clearly marked on the letter or email.

External Appointments Durng The School Day

If your daughter needs to leave for an appointment during the school day, the School must be informed in advance, via absence@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk. All students (Years 3-11) must be collected by a parent or pre-arranged chaperone from school reception. They are required to sign out and to sign back in at reception.

We will contact parents if we have concerns about your daughter’s absences.

Authorised Absences

Any leave of absence, other than for illness, may be detrimental to your daughter’s progress and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances (family holidays are unlikely to be deemed as exceptional). If you wish for a request to be considered you must email the Headmistress, in good time, for prior approval via: absence@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk.

Retrospective requests will not be authorised.

Money And Valuables

Your daughter should not bring large amounts of money or expensive personal possessions into school. The School does not accept responsibility for personal possessions.

Junior School,

Any money brought into School should be carried in a named purse or envelope and handed to the form teacher for safe keeping. Money must never be left in a school bag or cloakroom.

Senior School

Small amounts should always be kept on her person or locked in her locker.

Mobile Phones

Junior

School

Students are responsible for their mobile phones. They should place them in the classroom trays for safekeeping. Phones are not allowed to be used during the day, unless they have permission from a member of staff. All phones should be named.

Senior School

Mobile phones should not be used in lessons, form times, or in corridors, assemblies or any other learning activity, unless directed to do so by a member of staff. Mobile phones may not be used in the Dining Hall. Sixth Formers can also use their phones in the Common Room during study periods. The School does not accept responsibility for loss of or damage to mobile phones.

Road Safety

Junior School students are only permitted to cross Cardington Road under the supervision of a member of staff during the school day. The pedestrian crossing situated on Cardington Road is always used as the crossing point.

Senior School students are required to use the pedestrian crossing whenever crossing the road.

Transport To And From School

As part of a policy to improve its environmental impact, Bedford Girls’ School encourages pupils and parents to choose eco-friendly ways to travel to and from school. Class teachers and form tutors should be informed of a students travel arrangements at the beginning of term. Please notify the school of any changes during the term.

Drop Off and Pick Up

Parents may use the “drop and go” point in front or the Senior School in the morning. Parents may only park in the astro car park on Cardington Road to pick up their daughters. Parking in other school car parks is not permitted.

Walking and Cycling to School

We encourage students to walk or cycle to School where possible.

Every student who cycles to School is expected to wear a cycle helmet and to know and apply the rules of the Highway Code. Bicycle racks are provided in the Senior and Junior Schools and all bicycles must be padlocked during the school day. There should be no cycling within the grounds of the school.

Transport by Coaches

There is an extensive network of coaches which have been arranged by parents for those students who live outside of Bedford. It is important that, if necessary, you contact the transport providers as soon as possible as places are limited and most buses run for all Harpur Trust schools. Details of routes and contacts can be found on the school website.

Students must wait for the coaches in the designated supervised area. Junior School students will be taken to the area; Senior School students should leave School and go directly to the waiting area.

Please note, the School does not run coach or bus services. They are privately organised.

Sixth Form Car Parking

There is limited parking for Upper Sixth students in the astro car park. Students apply for and display a parking permit, which are allocated on first come, first served basis.