RSM Parent Handbook 2022-23

Welcome 3

WHERE 4–5

Site Map 4 Parking 5 Bikes and Scooters 5 Walking to School 5 RSM Park and Stride Options 5 Site Security 5

WHO 6–9

Senior Leadership Team 6 School Governors 7

Friends of Reigate St Mary’s School (FOSMA) 7

The St Mary’s Social Hub (SMaSH) 7 Smart School Council 7 Eco Committee 7 Form Reps and Classlist 8 Houses 8 House Competitions 9 House Meetings 9 House Mascots 9 House Tokens 9

HOW 10–13

The School’s Aims and Ethos 10 Assemblies 10

Termly Values & Thinking Skills 10 Growth Mindset 11

Positive Behaviour 11 Education for Social Responsibility (ESR) 11 A Broad Curriculum 11 Philosophy 4 Children (P4C) 11 Community Outreach 11 Compassion 11

Communication Between School & Home 12 Weekly Email Bulletin 12

iSAMS 12

Tapestry 12 Home & School Communication Books 12 Reading Record Books 12

Homework Diaries 12 Reports and Parents’ Evenings 13

WELLBEING 14–15

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision at RSM 15 Team 15 Rooms 15 Support 15

WHAT (TO WEAR AND BRING) 16–17

School Uniform 16 PE and Games Kits 16 Additional Items 16

Snacks and Water 17 Stationery 17 iPads 17

WHEN 18–23

The School Day at RSM 18 Break Times 20 Lunches 20 Choristers 20

Peripatetic Music Lessons 20 Sport 21 Day Trips 21 Residential Trips 21 Wraparound Care 22 Holiday Clubs 22 Electives 22 Homework 23

WWW 24

Social Media 24

Tapestry 24 Firefly 24 SchoolsBuddy 24 Sports App 24 Parent Portal 24

Termly Calendar 24 School Policies 24

WHAT IF 25 Fire Drill 25 Medical 25 Pupil Absence 25 Medicines 25 First Aid 25 Contact Us 25

Welcome to the academic year 2022–23 at Reigate St Mary’s.

Whether you are a returning parent or a family brand new to the school, this promises to be another exciting year of learning and development for your children, with lots of fun along the way.

The Parent Handbook provides comprehensive information about all aspects of life at RSM. I hope it provides a useful reference point, particularly in the first few weeks of the autumn term. The school office is also very happy to help at any time.

Marcus Culverwell Headmaster

MAP

WHERE

PARKING

Parking at Reigate St Mary’s School is very limited and as Chart Lane is a popular ‘cut through’ with commuters, it becomes congested at drop off and pick up times. We advise all parents who need to drive to school to park a little distance away, either in the surrounding roads or in the school’s own Orchard Car Park off Lesbourne Road, accessed via the lane opposite The Venture Inn. From here, there is a pretty pedestrianised path running along our playing fields and leading directly to the back entrance of the school. Please see map for further information.

Should you need to drive to the main school entrance there is a one way ‘drop and go’ system in place at the front of the building or pupils can use the pedestrian entrance on Chart Lane. Both these points are supervised by members of staff in the morning.

Parking is available in the staff car park for parents collecting children after 4.30pm. There is a permit system in the adjacent Church Hall Car Park for parents with very young children: please apply via the school office.

BIKES AND SCOOTERS

There are 2 scooter racks located inside the pupil entrance off Chart Lane and also a bike shelter just inside the main driveway available for those pupils who are able to scoot and cycle into school.

WALKING TO SCHOOL

The school promotes children walking to school whenever possible. This has health benefits for the children and also the added benefit of preventing parents from being delayed by the traffic issues on Chart Lane. Each year the pupils take part in the National ‘Golden Boot Challenge’: an event over a fixed period of time where all the pupils and staff are encouraged to take a more ‘green’ travel method to school.

RSM PARK AND STRIDE OPTIONS

• Bell Street Car Park

• Bancroft Road Car Park

• RSM Orchard Car Park

Road parking – links to footpaths through RSM playing fields and St Mary’s Church graveyard.

SITE SECURITY

The school is secured by coded gates, and parents should access the site at drop off and pick up times only. At all other times, please enter via the main entrance and report to the receptionist on duty.

There are three different gate codes given to parents:

• Breakfast Club Code – from 7:30 to 8.00 am (available on SchoolsBuddy to parents who book sessions)

• Chorister Code – from 7:30 to 8.00 am (given to choristers only)

• Parent Code – from 8.00 am to 8:25 am and from 3:30 pm to 6.00 pm (emailed to all families prior to the first day of term). The gates are also manned by members of staff in the morning.

To ensure the site is safe and secure:

• Do not give your child the gate code.

• Check the gates are not left open inadvertently when you are entering or leaving the site.

• Ensure unaccompanied children do not follow you in or out of the gates before the allotted times.

• Do not ask members of staff arriving at school in the morning to let you through the gates before the allotted times.

• When on the school site, please do not enter school buildings unaccompanied at any time.

Please be reminded that there are no dogs allowed on site.

WHO

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

To meet some of our teachers, please visit the news section of our website and read the #FridayFastFive profiles.

Marcus Culverwell Headteacher

Annette Wright Deputy Head

Simon Williams Director of Digital Strategy

Andrea Gower Assistant Head (Welfare)

Sam Selkirk Head of Lower School

Kate Gibb Assistant Head (Management)

Pippa May Assistant Head (Lower School)

Roisin Gibbs

Ops Manager & Privacy Officer

SCHOOL GOVERNORS

The Chair of Governors is Mr Mark Elsey who can be contacted via Mr Steve Douty, Bursar and Clerk to the Governors, Reigate Grammar School. E: bursar@reigategrammar.org, T: 01737 222231.

You can access a list of the full governing body and teaching and support staff on the school website or request a printed version from the school office.

FRIENDS OF REIGATE ST MARY’S SCHOOL (FOSMA)

The Friends of Reigate St Mary’s School (FOSMA) organise fun activities and events throughout the year, including our sensational fireworks display, resulting in fundraising for extra equipment within school. Membership of FOSMA is open to all parents. Volunteer helpers and new committee members are always welcome, and an AGM is held in the autumn term. Contact: fosma@outlook.com

THE ST MARY’S SOCIAL HUB (SMaSH)

SMaSH is open to all parents and carers linked to the school. They currently run a Dog (or no dog!) Walking Club, a Running Club and a Book Club, which can be found via the search feature on Classlist. Join the Classlist groups to receive updates and find out more or contact: smashclubs@outlook.com

SMART SCHOOL COUNCIL

Involving every pupil in the school, our SMART School Council is the forum for students to discuss issues that concern them, and to make suggestions for ways to improve pupil experience. We want every pupil to use their voice and develop their ideas and leadership skills, whether via class meetings or through membership of action or communication teams.

Areas where the School Council have affected change range from ensuring there are enough footballs to play with during break times, to considering how to make the playground a friendly place. From improving after-school provision, to giving feedback to the cooks and Bursar about school dinners, the School Council is the voice of the students.

ECO COMMITTEE

At Reigate St Mary’s, we believe that protecting our environment is extremely important. Therefore, we run an Eco Committee and children from Year 3 to Year 6 represent their classes, headed up by our Year 6 Green Leaders. Their job is to monitor our progress as an eco school with Green Flag status, ensuring that the school is run as efficiently as possible, keeping our carbon footprint down, recycling all that we can and embracing all eco-friendly best practice.

FORM REPS AND CLASSLIST

Parent representatives from each year group (usually one from each class) volunteer for the role of form rep and liaise with the school, organise volunteers for events, coordinate social gatherings and generally help parents within the same year group remain connected, informed and organised. Due to data protection controls, we cannot produce class lists with contact information for form reps to circulate. Instead, we encourage parents to register with www.classlist.com.

This secure web-based network enables parents to manage and update the information they wish to share with others in their own class and year group. Classlist is for parent-to-parent contact only and does not contain communication from the school to parents. To register, simply access the website, select ‘join now’ and follow the instructions. For security reasons, all parents’ registrations are verified and approved by the designated form rep.

HOUSES

The system of Houses helps foster a family atmosphere within the school, enabling children to be part of a school-wide team, rather than just within their age group, and fostering a healthy sense of competition. All children are allocated a House and siblings are kept in the same House where possible.

WHO HOBSON (Green)

Named after the first Headmaster of Reigate St Mary’s. Head of House: Mr Tim Austin Mascot: Serena (Williams)

OSMOND (Yellow)

Named after a former Governor. Head of House: Mr Simon Williams Mascot: Simone (Biles)

MALCOLMSON (Blue)

Named after the first Chairman of Governors of Reigate St Mary’s. Head of House: Mr Peter Alden Mascot: Mo (Farah)

SEARLE (Red)

Named after Godfrey Searle who owned the house and set up the trust to help support the education of the choristers. Head of House: Mrs Philippa Rushby Mascot: Jesse (Owens)

HOUSE COMPETITIONS

A variety of House competitions take place throughout the year. These include football, netball, cross-country, hockey, rugby, cricket, sports days, athletics, music and general knowledge quizzes. An annual Inter-House Charity Day is held at the end of the summer term. All pupils from Reception upwards are involved in House activities which add to the final House scores. The Godfrey Searle Cup is awarded at the end of each term for the most successful House in all of the combined Inter-House activities.

HOUSE MEETINGS

Two or three times a term there will be a House meeting, led by the Head of House, for pupils to focus attention on the House team, discussing forthcoming events, successes and possibly areas for improvement. These take place at normal school assembly time and often involve a story, activity and cross-age-group challenges.

HOUSE MASCOTS

Each House has a bear, who attends assemblies and events, as their House mascot. The children in each House voted on the name for their bear, looking at the essential shared school values of perseverance, dedication, resilience and believing in themselves, which were demonstrated by each of the famous role models.

HOUSE TOKENS

House point counters are awarded for individual work and behaviour and are collected and displayed in prominent colourful tubes in the foyer of Beech House. At the end of each term the totals are tallied and celebrated as a House effort in our end-of-term assemblies.

HOW

THE SCHOOL’S AIMS AND ETHOS

We are a community where:

• We seek to make every child feel valued and safe and provide an environment where they can be recognised for their individual strengths, talents, effort and progress.

• Children will develop emotionally and spiritually. They will be encouraged to develop a strong moral compass where academic excellence is balanced with an understanding of social responsibility and care for one another

• They will learn to work cooperatively and gain confidence in public speaking and performances.

• Excellence in academic, sporting and artistic achievement are abundant, but where children enjoy coming to school and form happy and strong relationships which will often endure for life

• Children experience a broad range of extracurricular opportunities to develop skills and try new and exciting activities which might become leisure activities for life .

OUR CHARTER OF VALUES

We treat other people as we would like to be treated.

We forgive.

We are always honest, truthful and fair.

We listen to each other.

We are kind and helpful. We do our best to be our best self.

ASSEMBLIES

At RSM our shared values are based on Christian principles, but we welcome families of all faiths and none, as everyone in the school community subscribes to our values of kindness, honesty and forgiveness.

Lower School – All children from Kindergarten to Year 2 have a weekly assembly in the sports hall led by Mrs Selkirk. Every second week, they have a Monday assembly led by either Mr Culverwell or Mrs Selkirk. The children come together to sing, to learn, to reflect and sometimes to pray together.

Upper School – Children from Years 3 to 6 attend a traditional Matins service twice a week on Tuesday and Friday mornings in St Mary’s Church. These are traditional cathedral-style services involving the RGS Godfrey Searle Choristers, and the children are exposed to the highest quality of music and singing. Year groups take it in turn to do the readings and prayers. However, the traditional is very much tempered with the modern and children enjoy singing, dancing and doing actions to modern worship songs in the Monday assemblies and Thursday song practices, along with themes to support our school values.

TERMLY VALUES & THINKING SKILLS

On a two-year rotation we promote a set of values and thinking skills which are discussed and taught in assemblies and integrated into the curriculum for all pupils throughout the year groups.

Values

Cycle 1: courage, trust and appreciation. Cycle 2: respect, freedom and patience.

Thinking Skills

Cycle 1: good judgement, risk taking and resilience. Cycle 2: empathy, collaboration and reflectiveness.

GROWTH MINDSET

Instilled across all ages and in all parts of the curriculum, a growth mindset celebrates hard work and effort not innate talent. Children are encouraged to regularly discuss and share things that they have perservered at, and at the end of the year, each form celebrates everyone’s hard work instead of a traditional prize giving. In focusing on the journey and in embracing mistakes and failure as part of improving, your child will build the resilience and risk-taking required to succeed.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Whole classes are rewarded marbles for excellent behaviour and, once sufficient have been collected, the children earn a ‘marble treat’ for their class. We have a restorative approach to behaviour management encouraging children to reflect on their actions and on how these impact others.

EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (ESR)

Education for Social Responsibility helps children to think about the core values that will lead to happy and fulfilled lives, within stable and caring communities while protecting the planet for the future.

A BROAD CURRICULUM

RSM provides a rich, broad and stimulating curriculum. This begins within the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (Green Shoots to Reception) and continues into Key Stages 1 & 2. The children cover STEM, computing, languages, science, philosophy, PSHE, the humanities (history, geography and religious studies), art, drama, music and sport as well as the core subjects of maths and English.

Committed staff are recruited for their desire to see children flourish and overcome hurdles, trained in the art of learning, focused on building relationships. When coupled with staff ratios that facilitate individual attention and the conversations that matter, real growth happens.

PHILOSOPHY 4 CHILDREN (P4C)

With an emphasis on lifelong learning, children from Reception upwards are part of a P4C programme that develops critical and abstract thinking. Your child learns to question, evaluate, decide and articulate. In listening to others, and building on their ideas, academic standards are lifted for everyone and your child develops important soft skills such as communication and teamwork.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Time is allocated within the curriculum to discuss the needs of others and think of ways to help them. Our dedicated community outreach coordinator helps the children to implement their suggestions. Initiatives include the Easter Project, an annual Water Walk and visits to a local old people’s home.

COMPASSION

Each year group sponsors the education of a child through the Compassion charity programme. This comprises both an annual, optional donation of £18 from parents and regular 20p donations from the pupils. The pupils from Reception to Year 6 learn about the life, culture and the life opportunities of their sponsored child and they write to them regularly.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND HOME

HOW WEEKLY EMAIL BULLETIN

Sent to all parents on a Friday containing news, photos and videos from the previous week as well as upcoming dates for your diary and important notices.

iSAMS

The school has an email and texting alert service system in place which uses the school database iSAMS. Please keep the school office up to date with any changes to your mobile phone, home or email address.

TAPESTRY

Teachers in Green Shoots, Kindergarten and Reception use a secure online learning journal called Tapestry to build a record of each child using photos, videos and diary entries. Parents can view their child’s progress and leave comments or upload their own files to the journal, so a complete picture of their development is built.

TERMLY YEAR GROUP UPDATES

Once a term, parents in each year group will have a collective update from class teachers and members of the senior leadership team. This takes place via Microsoft Teams and also provides an opportunity for parents to ask general questions.

HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION BOOKS

(Green Shoots and Kindergarten)

Please check the book on a daily basis as this is a vital means of sharing information with parents. Please also use this book to inform us if anyone else is collecting your child from school.

READING RECORD BOOKS

(Reception,Years 1 and 2)

Please record the reading completed at home. Please also use this record book to inform us if anyone else is collecting your child from school.

HOMEWORK DIARIES

(Upper School)

Please use these to note any specific feedback regarding your child’s homework, and to inform us if anyone else is collecting your child from school.

HOW

REPORTS AND PARENTS’ EVENINGS

Reporting includes both verbal and written feedback to parents about their child’s progress. This takes place at regular intervals throughout the year.

AUTUMN TERM

Lower School Parents’ Evening focusing on settling in and form teacher comments.

Middle and Upper School Parents’ Evenings for Years 3–6 focusing on English and maths with a form teacher comment.

SPRING TERM

Written reports for pupils in Years 3–6, in all subjects.

Lower School Parents’ Evening focusing on Early Years Foundation Stage or Key Stage 1 curriculum and form teacher comments.

SUMMER TERM

Middle and Upper School Parents’ Evenings for Years 3–6 focusing on English and maths with a form teacher comment.

Written reports for Lower School pupils.

In addition to receiving a written report and having verbal feedback on Parents’ Evenings, parents may ask to have a meeting with their child’s teachers to discuss progress at other times if they wish.

If you have any queries or concerns at any time, please speak either to the school office or to your child’s form teacher in the first instance. The office team or form teacher will alert the appropriate person to assist you. For sensitive matters please email confidential@reigatestmarys.org.

WELLBEING

OUR APPROACH

Like you, we want your child to feel loved and to know how to love others. Belonging and relating to others fosters self-esteem, brings happiness and makes a life worth living. Without these cornerstones of wellbeing, your child’s potential will never be fully realised: everything else hinges on it. We all want good outcomes, but we want these accompanied by good mental health, confidence and resilience.

Our wellbeing approach can be read on the wellbeing pages of our website.

Pastoral support at Reigate St Mary’s is led by Mrs Samantha Selkirk (Head of Lower School) and Mrs Andrea Gower (Assistant Head, Welfare), both of whom are also our Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) for their respective sections of the school. Please see the policies section of our website for our safeguarding policy.

Educating children about how and why to look after their mental and physical health and wellbeing is fundamental to the ethos, values and curriculum at Reigate St Mary’s. All children have access to a school counsellor one day a week.

The new wellbeing room is a centre and focus for wellbeing within the school. It provides a dedicated space for support groups to meet and a place for children to spend time exploring self-awareness or talking about their anxieties or worries. It has calming colours and comfortable and relaxing furniture, cushions and throws.

Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) is part of our curriculum and incorporates mindfulness into each session, each week. All staff received mindfulness training in 2019 and we have ‘mindful moments’ throughout the school day as and when we think necessary.

Children benefit from regular sessions with external experts including Learning Space and Christian organisation Spark Fish, who facilitate ‘Think Space’ experiences for our children. Parents have been invited to evening talks on the subject of mental health for all the family and all ages are encouraged to support and participate in events such as Mental Health Awareness Week.

Support is provided where needed by our own ELSA (Educational Literacy Support Assistants) team, and staff are also trained by the Rainbows charity to support children who have experienced bereavement.

For sensitive matters please email confidential@reigatestmarys.org

WELLBEING

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY (SEND) PROVISION AT RSM

TEAM

Lisa Masarati (SENCO), Jo Marshall (Assistant SENCO) and their team of specially trained staff provide a mixture of 1:1 and small group support and interventions.

ROOMS

We have designated ‘pods’ in the playground for 1:1 and 1:2 support lessons, small group sessions and occupational therapy support. The Treetops Office pod in the centre is the SENCO office and meeting room for parents.

SUPPORT

1:1 support (paid for additionally by parents) is available in a range of areas, and provided either by external practitioners or school staff.

We have two specialist dyslexia teachers, a weekly speech and language therapist, occupational therapist (two full days a week) and a school counsellor one day a week.

In-class 1:1 support may be provided at a high level (e.g. 15 hours per week) through to weekly or twice-weekly individual sessions to work on specific targets.

Group support intervention (provided by the school at no extra cost) includes maths booster groups, handwriting interventions, fine-motor group, social and emotional support group, writing intervention, study skills group, touch typing and phonics.

WHAT (TO WEAR AND BRING)

SCHOOL UNIFORM

School uniform can be bought from our uniform supplier in Church Street, Reigate. The shop also has an online ordering system: www.schooluniformsonline.co.uk. Uniform is reviewed on an annual basis to accommodate minor changes. A uniform list is available under the information section of our website or at the end of this booklet. A nearly new uniform shop is run in the playground at various occasions by FOSMA. Dates of sales appear in the weekly Bulletin and in the termly calendar.

PE AND GAMES KIT

Children need a Kukri tracksuit and specialist games kit for rugby, football, netball, hockey and cricket. All PE and games clothing and equipment, including for swimming, can be bought from our uniform suppliers: please see the uniform list on our website.

RSM LOGO NAVY RUCKSACK

See uniform list. Available from our uniform suppliers. Two sizes available: smaller size recommended until Year 3.

WATERPROOF TROUSERS

Green Shoots, Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

ART APRON

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

PLAYTIME TOY

Green Shoots, Kindergarten and Reception. Pocket-sized please, not expensive/precious/ breakable/collectable.

WELLIES

Green Shoots, Kindergarten, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

PLEASE DO NOT BRING

Smart watches and fitbits.

OLD OUTDOOR TRAINERS

For use during playtime on the bund from Year 3 upwards.

Mobile phones – in Years 5 and 6, if your child is walking to school and you would like them to have a phone, they may drop it off at the school office before school and collect it again after school.

WHAT (TO WEAR AND BRING)

SNACKS AND WATER

Hot, freshly cooked lunches are provided and dietary requirements are catered for. Parents are asked to provide two daily snacks for children, and a water bottle.

• Strictly no nuts or sesame (including peanut butter): we operate a nut-free policy as we have severe allergies in school.

• No chocolate, crisps or sweets allowed in school.

• Please don’t include items in need of refrigeration.

• Snacks should be sent in small container/s rather than lunch boxes as they need to fit into the child’s tray.

√ Water bottle filled with still water. Water fountains and dispensers available on site.

√ Morning snack = fresh or dried fruit or vegetables (please cut grapes in half lengthways for Lower School).

√ Afternoon snack = as above, or fruit loaf, rice cakes, bread sticks, simple sandwich, crackers, popcorn, smoothies, cereal bar.

√ After-school snack = older children doing active electives would benefit from some extra fuel at the end of the school day.

The Early Years pupils may have milk which is provided free of charge until the month of their fifth birthday (see separate consent form, if applicable).

STATIONERY – Everything clearly labelled, please!

Early Years (Green Shoots, Kindergarten & Reception): Provided by school, no additional requirements.

Years 1&2:

Small, single-layer pencil case containing writing pencils, colouring pencils, felt tips, glue stick, rubber, pencil sharpener, scissors and ruler.

Year 3:

Small, single-layer pencil case (it must fit into their tray) containing 3 HB pencils, rubber, sharpener, 15-cm ruler, 12 coloured pencils (max), scissors, glue stick. iPad provided by school, for use at school and at home.

Year 4:

Pencil case and contents as per Year 3 (the pencil case must fit into their tray), plus a fibre-tip Berol/Swash /Stabilo handwriting pen. iPad provided by school, for use at school and at home.

Years 5&6:

Pencil case and contents as per Year 3 (the pencil case must fit into their tray), with a 30-cm as well as 15-cm ruler, fibre-tip Berol/Swash/Stabilo handwriting pen, 2 to 3 highlighter pens, a pair of mathematical compasses, protractor (ideally coloured), basic (not scientific) calculator, a thesaurus and an English dictionary. iPad provided by school, for use at school and at home. A set of small headphones that can be plugged into their iPad.

iPADS

All pupils from Year 3–6 are issued with iPads, which are used throughout the school day and are taken home when required for further study. They have rigorous filters in place and children sign an iPad acceptable use policy.

WHEN

THE SCHOOL DAY AT RSM

Morning bell sounds at 8.25 am. All pupils, with the exception of Green Shoots and Kindergarten, line up with their form teachers in the main playground before going into their classroom, unless it is raining, when they will go straight inside on arrival. Parents are welcome to stay in the playground with their children until the bell rings, or to leave earlier than that, according to the age of the children. At the end of the day, teachers bring those members of their form not going on to electives or wraparound care back to the playground to be collected.

GREEN SHOOTS AND KINDERGARTEN

7.30 am

Breakfast club (optional)

8.00 am Early care (optional) – held in Green Shoots and Kindergarten

8.25 am

Bell rings and the morning session begins

12 noon Morning session ends

12.00 – 1.00 pm Lunch session

1.00 pm

3.30 pm

Afternoon session begins

Afternoon session ends

3.30 – 4.00 pm Sibling late care provision (optional)

4.00 – 6.00 pm Extended day provision (optional)

WHEN

Green Shoots and Kindergarten pupils do not line up in the playground before the bell rings, but should be taken directly to their classrooms where they will be greeted by one of their teachers. Pupils should also be collected from their teachers in their classrooms at the end of the day. Green Shoots and Kindergarten children leaving at midday or 1.00 pm are collected from the five-bar gate, accessed through the pedestrian gate on Chart Lane.

RECEPTION – YEAR 2

7.30 am Breakfast club (optional)

8.00 am Early care (optional) is available if arriving before 8.15 am, otherwise please wait with your child in the playground for the morning bell *

8.25 am Bell is rung to line up for registration

3.30 pm End of school

3.30 – 4.00 pm Sibling late care provision (optional)

3.30 – 6.00 pm Electives (clubs) (optional) / extended day provision (optional)

* From the summer term in Year 2 children may be left on the playground under teacher supervision from 8 am.

YEAR 3 YEAR 6

7.30 am Breakfast club (optional)

8.00 am Early care (optional) – pupils may wait in the playground under teacher supervision

8.25 am Bell is rung to line up for registration

8.35 – 9.10 am Matins – Tuesdays and Fridays in St Mary’s Church

3.50 pm Years 3 and 4 end of school

4.00 pm Years 5 and 6 end of school

4.00 – 6.00 pm Electives (clubs) (optional) / extended day provision (optional)

WHEN

BREAK TIMES

All pupils have a morning break of 25 minutes, a lunchtime break of approximately 1 hour, and an afternoon break of 10 minutes, unless they are in Years 3–6 and have games that afternoon.

LUNCHES

School lunches, which are provided for all pupils are freshly prepared and cooked each day on site by our caterers, Chartwells. A vegetarian option is available daily. Menus change weekly and rotate every three weeks. Menus can be found on the Parent Portal. The cost for lunches is included in the fees, and please note that no refund is made if a child does not take school lunches. Please complete a medical and/ or dietary form if your child has an allergy or specific dietary need.

CHORISTERS

Reigate St Mary’s is one of an elite group of fewer than 40 schools with full membership of the Choir School Association (CSA). Led by Reigate Grammar School’s Head of Choral Music, Mrs Tali Glynne-Jones, the choir sings regularly in school and church services and performs in concerts nationally.

Entrance is open to boys and girls from the age of eight, and is normally gained following a voice trial. Choral scholarships are offered by the RGS Godfrey Searle Choir Trust and details may be obtained from the RGS bursar’s office.

PERIPATETIC MUSIC LESSONS

In addition to weekly music lessons as part of the curriculum, individual vocal tuition or instrumental lessons can be arranged in piano, classical guitar, flute, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, drum kit, violin, cello, trumpet and recorder. If you would like your child to take music lessons, please contact the school office by email.

WHEN

SPORT

PE and dance: Throughout the school, at least twice a week. Games: Ball skills and team sports are introduced in the Lower School, progressing to two full afternoons each week for the Upper School dedicated to a variety of team sports including rugby, hockey, football, netball, cricket and athletics. Swimming: Reception pupils swim weekly all year round on a Friday. Year 1 and Year 2 swim on rotation during the three terms. Years 3 to 6 have swimming lessons on a rota with other PE activities. All lessons take place in the Reigate Grammar School pool. Electives enable children to develop their skills in specific sports or disciplines including dance and martial arts.

DAY TRIPS

Each year, pupils take part in educational day trips linked to their curriculum topic. The cost of these trips is extra to the termly school fee and payable in advance of the trip via SchoolsBuddy. Examples include Hever Castle, Brighton Sealife Centre, Merrist Wood or Wisley Gardens.

RESIDENTIAL TRIPS

Starting in Year 4, children have the opportunity to take part in residential trips. The cost of these trips is extra to the term’s fees. All pupils are strongly encouraged to attend the annual residential trip for their year group if they are able to. Our annual Year 6 trip to Snowdonia for four nights is a wonderful finale to prep school.

WHEN

WRAPAROUND CARE

Wraparound care should be pre-booked through SchoolsBuddy and is charged in 30-minute slots.

BREAKFAST CLUB

7.30am – 8.00am

This is a paid for service available for all pupils.

SUPERVISED EARLY CARE

8.00am – 8.25am

Free of charge. Green Shoots, Kindergarten, Reception and Year 1 are inside in a designated classroom, and Year 2 upwards stay on the playground from 8.00 am under teacher supervision until the bell rings at 8.25 am.

SIBLING LATE CARE

(Lower/Upper School core day) 3.30pm – 3.50/4.00pm

Provided without charge for children in Green Shoots to Year 2 (Early Years & Lower School) who have siblings in Years 3–6 (Upper School) and whose core school day therefore finishes later. NB: This does not apply in the case of younger siblings of Lower School children attending clubs. Children can go from here to Extended Day. Booked through SchoolsBuddy.

SIBLING LATE CARE

(sporting fixtures)

Provided without charge for children whose sibling is participating in an ‘away’ sporting fixture (includes RGS Hartswood) when the parent or carer is attending the fixture to support the team and is therefore not able to collect sibling(s). Booked via an email to the office.

EXTENDED DAY

3:30pm – 6:00pm

For Green Shoots to Year 6. A hot tea is served between 5:00 pm and 5:30 pm in the dining room.

HOLIDAY CLUBS

Reigate St Mary’s recognises that parents have busy lives and our holiday clubs ensure that all children from Green Shoots upwards can be looked after at school for 48 weeks of the year.

Holiday clubs are either run by RSM staff and provided by us, or by our partner; Camp Beaumont. RSM Holiday Club includes activities such as gymnastics, treasure hunts, swimming, bowling, roller discos, art and craft and visits off-site to Box Hill or Bocketts Farm.

Camp Beaumont are experts in their field, providing high-quality Ofsted-accredited day camps offering children the chance to try over 40 sports, games and creative activities on a daily timetable, all based on the RSM site. https://www.campbeaumont.co.uk

Green Shoots and Kindergarten have their own Early Years Holiday Club which runs alongside the main school’s but is designed for the youngest pupils. Based in the dedicated Green Shoots and Kindergarten areas, and run by familiar staff, it provides continuity for our youngest children, with activities designed especially for that age group.

Holiday clubs are booked through SchoolsBuddy.

ELECTIVES

A rich variety of pre-school, lunchtime and after-school activities known as electives are offered, with options changing termly. Some are run by teachers and teaching assistants, and some by third-party specialists. A list including timings, group sizes and prices is sent out before each new term and electives can be paid for via SchoolsBuddy.

HOMEWORK

Homework is set to support children in their learning. This is designed to be positive and should not be an onerous experience for either the child or parent. We aim to provide work that can, in most cases, be completed independently. All homework is thoroughly discussed in class by the teacher and each pupil should be able to complete homework without help, unless specified. (Children who receive SEND support in school may still need additional help at home, even with the differentiated work that is provided.) However, continuing to read each night to/with your child, and to discuss reading matter with them, is important for all ages and all areas of the curriculum. For children in Years 3 and 4, spelling and times tables are also a priority. As the pace of work accelerates from Year 3 to Year 6, self-organisation and responsibility are emphasised. Your child will benefit from a desk away from distractions if possible.

Homework reflects our core aims to support each individual child in developing good study habits and provide support where necessary. We ask that you encourage your child to always do their best, maintain a high standard of presentation and to take advantage of optional activities where they occur. The teacher may have suggested particular skills to improve or develop a given area.

Homework should be completed in a concentrated session. Therefore, we advise that you stop your child when they have completed the set amount of minutes of work, or if they are struggling. A short note to the relevant teacher explaining this would be helpful and save unnecessary worry on the part of your child. Homework is set and recorded either in a homework diary, on Firefly or on iPads according to your child’s year group.

Children at Reigate St Mary’s have a busy and stimulating day. After careful consideration the following guidelines have been set for homework:

Reception Daily reading at home (10 – 15 minutes). Phonics practice.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

15 minutes daily of reading aloud and the discussion of content in reading books. Weekly phonics challenge and supportive handwriting.

15 minutes daily of reading aloud and the discussion of content in reading books.

Weekly phonics homework and supportive handwriting. Weekly maths homework (from October half term).

Daily reading and discussion of reading material with an adult. Revision of spelling and times tables. English or maths task once per week, on alternate weeks.

Daily reading and discussion of reading materials. English and maths set once each per week.

Spelling/times tables set once per week. Occasional science homework.

Daily reading and discussion of reading materials. English and maths set once each per week. Occasional science or combined humanities homework is set to support or extend class work.

Year 6

Daily reading and discussion of reading materials. English and maths set once each per week during the autumn and spring terms. Extra work may be set at the discretion of English and maths teachers, as appropriate. Occasional science or combined humanities homework is set to support or extend class work. Project work set after assessments in the summer term instead of English and maths homework.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Do follow us for latest news, photos and stories from the classroom, trips and sports pitches: Instagram @rsm_prepschool

Facebook @reigatestmarys

Twitter @rsmprepschool

TAPESTRY

Early Years teachers use our secure online learning journal Tapestry (up to and including Reception) to build a record of each child’s learning journey, using photos, videos and diary entries. You will be provided with your log-in before the start of term and can not only view your child’s progress and snapshots of their time at school, but can also leave comments and upload your own files to the journal.

FIREFLY

The remote learning platform, Firelfly, is used to support the curriculum from Year 1, to deliver engaging lessons both remotely and in school, from setting tasks to sharing resources as well as enabling efficient communication. Children receive an account when they join the school.

SCHOOLSBUDDY

SchoolsBuddy is an online system that can be used on desktop or via the mobile app for:

• Payment for electives.

• Sign up for wraparound care including breakfast club, after-school care and RSM Holiday Clubs. Fees are added to the school fees account.

• The ability to pay by card or childcare vouchers, receive refunds and view your balance.

• View diary of confirmed events.

• Receive communications from us.

• Towards the start of term you will receive an activation email from SchoolsBuddy to set up your account.

SPORTS APP

The sports calendar, news and fixtures are found on our dedicated sports website: www.rsmsports.org/ which can be accessed and used as an app on your phone. The password to access fixture and team information will be emailed to you separately.

PARENT PORTAL

All letters and other information relating to trips, curriculum jigsaw maps, Lower School weekly overviews and other non-urgent documents are uploaded on our Parent Portal for which you will be given a username and password once you have joined the school.

TERMLY CALENDAR

Each term the school issues a printed termly calendar, which contains the major planned events for the term. This is also posted onto the school website and sent via the school email system.

SCHOOL POLICIES

School policies ranging from admissions to safeguarding and privacy can be found on the school website or are detailed in the school’s terms and conditions, available on request from the school office.

FIRE DRILL

Fire drills are held regularly and all pupils

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MEDICAL

event

If you have any concerns regarding your child’s medical needs, please contact the school office and we will arrange for you to meet our lead first aider and have an individual action plan drawn up if appropriate to do so.

PUPIL ABSENCE

The Department for Education requires that all absences must be explained in writing by the parent. Absence Due to Illness – If your child is unwell or unable to come to school, please report their absence by email to the school office as soon as possible (and on each morning that they will not be attending school if their absence is for longer than one day). A child who has vomited or has had diarrhoea must not return to school within 48 hours of the last episode occurring. Other Absences – The school discourages any absences for reasons other than sickness during term time as it is disruptive to the children’s learning.

This includes Green Shoots and Kindergarten. Permission must be sought from the Headmaster in advance. Please email the office for the attention of the Headmaster’s PA.

MEDICINES

All medicines must be taken to the school office. Staff will only administer medicine prescribed by a GP with written authorisation from the parents. Medication such as inhalers or epi-pens are kept either in the classroom (EYFS and Lower School) or held centrally in the school office. Children in Year 5 and 6 are encouraged to take responsibility for their inhalers and epi-pens and carry them with them.

Children who are prescribed an inhaler or an epi-pen may not leave the school site to attend a school trip or a match without their inhaler or epi-pen with them. The school has universal inhalers that may be used in case of emergency with parental permission.

FIRST AID

All staff hold a certificate in emergency first aid. Children who are unwell or injured are taken to the medical room. In addition to this the school have staff with specialist paediatric, sports and first aid at work qualifications.