The School Day

The SchoolDay

Early Drop-Off

Children may be dropped at school at 8am where a duty teacher will be ready to welcome them. No day pupils should arrive on the school site before 8am, unless by prior arrangement with the School Reception, or your child’s form teacher. Breakfast can be booked if needed. Please book in with reception the day before breakfast is required. Breakfast is in the dining hall from 8am. The school day officially begins with registration in form rooms at 8:20am. In the event of a child arriving late (after the registration period) they must report to the School Reception to be marked present. Please note that persistent lateness will be brought to the attention of the Head. Lessons commence after registration or whole school assembly.

Morning Break

During morning break children are supervised as they play in our outdoor spaces. If the weather is wet, the children are undercover or indoors. Children are provided with a snack. Children are encouraged to have water throughout the school day. There are cold water stations around school for pupils to access.

Lunchtime

School lunches are provided for all children and they are expected to have lunch in school. All pupils have their lunch cooked, prepared and served in one of the two school dining rooms. The school provides healthy food, which is all cooked on site. A vegetarian option, salad and fruit are always available. Menus are displayed in the School Reception three weeks in advance, on the school website and are available on request. Please note that we are a nut free school. We value eating together and high priority is given to the development of good table manners. During the lunch break children are free to play, if they do not have clubs.

Special Dietary Requirements

If your child requires any special dietary provision, please let us have the information in writing and we will cater for their needs.

The End of the Day

Afternoon lessons end at 4.15pm and then there is afternoon registration till 4.30pm when form tutors will dismiss the children. If there are any children who have not been picked up they will join late stay. A child will only be allowed to go with someone other than their parent or guardian, if their form tutor has been notified in writing beforehand, stating the name of the ‘collector’ and who they are. If you know you are going to be late to collect your child please telephone or email the School Reception to let staff know. If you can foresee a problem for a particular day, please let us know as soon as possible. With advance warning, we can make arrangements to help. Children are welcome to stay on after school and do their prep or after school activities under the supervision of duty staff, who provide cover until 5:30pm. There are also a number of clubs that your child can sign up to at the start of each term. The school provides a drink and a small snack for any children who are staying late after school at 4:30pm. Should you wish, your child can join the boarders for their evening meal at 6:00pm. Please book this at the start of the day. An additional charge will be added to the end of term bill.

Arrival & departure

Pupils arriving at school by car must be dropped off in the school car park. Any child walking to and from school unaccompanied must inform the Head of Pastoral Care in writing.

Pupils are not permitted to leave the school grounds during the normal school day unless they are accompanied by a member of staff. The school boundary can be taken as the school walls and fences.

School Minibuses

The school runs a small fleet of minibuses daily (Monday to Friday) to and from St John’s. The exact routes are dependent upon demand and vary from time to time. To keep the timings reasonable, it may be necessary for pupils living in outlying areas to be taken to, and collected from, an agreed rendezvous point. To find out further details and to book places on the buses, please contact the School Reception. Minibus drivers are all equipped with mobile phones and their contact numbers are provided on request. Please be patient when trying to contact a driver as they may be on the road and not able to take your call until it is safe for them to pull off the road and bring the vehicle to a halt. Children travelling on buses are made aware of the conduct expected of them, and that failure to comply with the drivers’ instructions may endanger the lives of both themselves and others. Drivers are obliged to report instances of poor behaviour and any failure to comply with instructions on their buses. The school will take firm action if pupils persistently disregard the code of conduct. Food and drink are not allowed to be consumed on the minibuses.

Adverse Weather

The school will always be open regardless of the prevailing weather conditions as we have the boarders to care for. In the case of bad weather, children should continue to come to school if they can do so without being endangered. Parents who are unable to get their children to school should inform the school of their situation at their earliest convenience. In the case of the school minibuses, it may be necessary to suspend the service in the interests of safety. The drivers will make the decision as to whether the minibuses will run or not. Parents of children using buses will be informed of the decision to suspend the bus service.

Holidays & Exeats

The school sends parents an advance holiday date list and it would be appreciated if children were not taken on holiday during term time. Any request for leave of absence from school during term time should be made in writing to the Head. If children are taken out of school it means they are missing important lessons and assessments and although every effort will be made to see that they have the necessary information from missed lessons, this is not a substitute for them being present.

Minor Absences

Requests for minor absences during the day for medical or dental appointments should be made directly to the School Reception. If you have to take your child out of school during the day for any reason, it is essential that you sign out from the School Reception when you take your child and sign back in when you return. It is vital that the school is notified of the reason for a child’s absence, either in advance or on the day. Where the reason for a child’s absence is yet to be ascertained, the School Reception staff will endeavour to contact the home of the child. The School Reception staff will try to make contact before morning break of that day.