RSM Parent Handbook 2024-25

We are very much looking forward to the academic year 2024–25 as lots of exciting learning opportunities await the children.

I hope that returning parents and those joining RSM find the Parent Handbook a comprehensive source of information about all aspects of school life. There are details of routines and procedures that will be helpful in the first few weeks of term, and the handbook should also serve as a useful point of reference throughout the year. The school office is also very happy to help at any time.

Marcus Culverwell Headmaster

WHERE SITE MAP

SITE MAP

CEDAR HOUSE Green Shoots IT & Mac Suites Art Room

BEECH HOUSE Classrooms

BEECH

Classrooms SUNNYSIDE Main Entrance Classrooms Librar y Music Rooms Choir Room School Office Medical Room Wellbeing Room

To School Games Fields, Pavilion and Orchard Car Park (open at drop off and pick

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 (open at pick up and drop off) off Lesbourne Road, accessed via the lane opposite Gallery One Reigate. 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 (called the Pen – see p.18) at the front of the building or pupils can use the pedestrian entrance on Chart Lane. Both of these points are supervised by members of staff in the morning.

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.

RSM PARK & STRIDE OPTIONS

• Bell Street Car Park

• Bancroft Road Car Park

• RSM Orchard Car Park (open at pick up and drop off)

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

BIKES & SCOOTERS

There are two 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.

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 7.30am to 8.00am (available on SchoolsBuddy to parents who book sessions)

• Chorister Code – from 7.45am to 8.00am (given to choristers only)

• Parent Code – from 8.00am to 8.25am and from 3.30pm to 6.00pm (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.

There are no dogs allowed on site. There is a dog pound at the bottom of the staff car park where you can tie your dog whilst you drop off or pick up your children.

WHO

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM

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

Simon Williams Director of Digital Strategy

Andrea Gower Assistant Head (Pastoral)

Sam Selkirk Head of Lower School

Kate Gibb Assistant Head (Academic)

Pippa May Assistant Head (Lower School)

Marcus Culverwell Headteacher

Roisin Gibbs Ops Manager & Privacy Officer

SCHOOL GOVERNORS

The Chair of Governors is Mr Mark Elsey who can be contacted via Mrs Helena Briggs, 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.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Involving every pupil in the school, our School Council is the forum for pupils 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 children.

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.

WHO FORM REPS & 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.

HOBSON (Green)

Named after the first Headmaster of Reigate St Mary’s.

Head of House: Mrs George Graves 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 Dan Makroum 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 Phillipa 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

Twice 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 activities 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 & 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.

• Children enjoy coming to school and form happy and strong relationships, while enjoying excellence in academic, sporting and artistic achievement.

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

• We prepare children for an ever-changing technological landscape by fostering a culture of digital literacy, critical thinking and creativity.

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 have Matins twice a week, song practice weekly and an assembly every second week. Matins are traditional services held on Tuesday and Friday mornings in St Mary’s Church involving the RGS Godfrey Searle Choristers. The children are exposed to the highest quality of music and singing. Year groups take it in turn to do the readings and prayers. Assemblies are held every second Monday and are based on themes which support the school values. Song practice is held every Thursday and children enjoy singing, dancing and doing actions to modern worship songs.

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 rather than innate talent. Children are encouraged to regularly discuss and share things that they have persevered at. 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 STEAM (to inspire creativity, innovation and critical thinking), 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 Green Shoots 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 care home.

CHARITIES

Through their involvement in mufti days and the inter-house charity day, RSM pupils contribute to a variety of local, national and international charities. An optional charity donation is added to the Autumn term fee bill annually to cover fundraising events and mufti days for the whole of the academic year.

COMPASSION

Each year group sponsors the education of a child through the Compassion charity programme. 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. This is funded from the annual charity donation.

HOW

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SCHOOL & HOME

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.

WEEKLY OVERVIEWS (Lower School)

Contain information about the children’s learning for the following week. They are available on the Parent Portal every Friday.

EMAIL THE OFFICE

If you have any messages for teachers, please email the office at office@reigatestmarys.org

HOME & 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.

(Years 3 to 5)

Please use these to record reading, and also as a point of contact should you need to relay any messages to the teachers. It is checked daily.

(Year 6)

There is no reading record book in Year 6. Instead, messages can be emailed to the office.

IN PERSON

Please do not hesitate to speak to a teacher if you have any concerns. They are very happy to have a brief chat at drop off, but if you would like to talk for longer, you can make an appointment via the school office.

REPORTS & 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.

Upper School Parents’ Evenings for Years 3–6 focusing on how your child is settling in as well as English and maths with a form teacher comment.

SPRING TERM

Written reports for pupils in Years 3–6, in all subjects. These are published on and can be downloaded from the Parent Portal.

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

SUMMER TERM

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 all subjects. These are published on and can be downloaded from the Parent Portal.

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.

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.

Our wellbeing approach at Reigate St Mary’s is led by Mrs Samantha Selkirk (Head of Lower School) and Mrs Andrea Gower, Assistant Head (Pastoral). Further details can be found on the wellbeing pages of our website and our Wellbeing at RSM booklet.

The wellbeing rooms are a centre and focus for wellbeing within the school. They provide dedicated spaces for pastoral support groups to meet and places for children to spend time exploring self-awareness or talking about their anxieties or worries. They have 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 have received mindfulness training 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. We also have a Pets As Therapy dog (named Luna) who visits regularly and children are invited to spend time with Luna. 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. We also have a dedicated school counsellor.

For sensitive matters please email confidential@reigatestmarys.org

SAFEGUARDING TEAM

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL): Mrs Andrea Gower

Deputy DSLs:

Mrs Samantha Selkirk

Mrs Barbara Hopkins

Mrs Sarah Woodcock

Early Years and Lower School DSL: Miss Sarah Page

Our safeguarding policy can be found on the website.

WELLBEING

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS & 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 two wellbeing rooms as well as 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 two school counsellors (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 English and maths booster groups, handwriting interventions, fine-motor skills, writing intervention, study skills, touch typing, phonics and language skills groups. ELSA support.

Drawing, talking and Lego therapists are available.

WHAT (TO WEAR & BRING)

SCHOOL UNIFORM

School uniform can be bought from our uniform supplier: Ellis Scott Schoolwear, 24 Church St, Reigate RH2 0AN. The shop also has an online ordering system: www.ellisscott.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. Nearly new uniform sales are run in the playground at various occasions by FOSMA (the parents’ association). Dates of sales appear in the weekly Bulletin.

PE & GAMES KIT

Children in Upper School 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 or direct from Kukri: www.kukrisports.co.uk/reigate-st-marys

NAME EVERYTHING

Please remember to name all items of uniform and any other belongings brought into school.

LONG HAIR

Long hair must be tied back at all times with a red or navy hair band.

OLD OUTDOOR TRAINERS

May be brought into school to be worn during playtime on the bund from Year 3 upwards.

WATCHES

Children from Year 1 upwards may wear a watch to school (but these must not be fitbits or smart watches).

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. Parents must complete the Acceptable Use of Mobile Devices form.

EARLY YEARS PLAYTIME TOY

Children in Green Shoots, Kindergarten and Reception may bring one small toy to school. Pocket-sized please, not expensive/precious/ breakable/collectable.

PLEASE DO NOT BRING

Smart watches, fitbits or jewellery except small stud earrings, which must be removed by your child for swimming, PE, games and clubs.

WHAT (TO WEAR & BRING)

SNACKS & 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 and houmous): 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 containers rather than lunch boxes as they need to fit into a child’s tray.

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

√ Morning snack = Lower School – fresh or dried fruit or vegetables (please cut grapes in half lengthways). Upper School – fresh or dried fruit or vegetables or fruit loaf, rice cakes, bread sticks, simple sandwich, crackers, popcorn, smoothies, cereal bar.

√ Afternoon snack = Lower & Upper School –fresh or dried fruit or vegetables or fruit loaf, rice cakes, bread sticks, simple sandwich, crackers, popcorn, smoothies, cereal bar.

√ After-school snack = older children doing active clubs 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.

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. Please provide a set of small headphones that can be plugged into their iPad.

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. Please provide 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 iPad is taken home, please ensure it comes back to school the next day fully charged.

WHEN

THE PEN SYSTEM

The Pen is a fenced off area at the front of the school and is used to assist parents with dropping off and picking up their children by car. There is a one-way system in place to facilitate this. When the Pen is open, it is supervised by staff. Children must not be dropped off or collected from the Pen outside of the opening hours below:

Morning Drop Off (8.00–8.20am): Children from Green Shoots to Year 6 may be dropped off at the Pen in the morning and will be greeted by a member of staff. Green Shoots to Year 2 children are then accompanied either to early care or to the playground. Years 3 to 6 children walk around to the playground themselves.

Afternoon Pick Up (3.50–4.10pm): Children from Years 3 to 6 can walk to the Pen in the afternoon where a member of staff will ensure they are safely collected by car. At 4.10pm, any children who have not been collected will be sent to extended day.

THE SCHOOL DAY AT RSM

Morning bell sounds at 8.25am. 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 them 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 clubs or wraparound care back to the playground to be collected.

GREEN SHOOTS & KINDERGARTEN

7.30am Breakfast club (optional)

Early class (free, but children must arrive before 8.20am) – held in Green Shoots and Kindergarten

8.00am

If arriving after 8.20am, please wait with your child in the playground for the morning bell

8.25am Bell rings and the morning session begins

12 noon Morning session ends

12.00–1.00pm Lunch session

1.00pm Afternoon session begins

3.30pm Afternoon session ends

3.30–4.00pm

Sibling late care provision (optional) – for Lower School pupils with siblings in Upper School

3.30–6.00pm Extended day provision (optional)

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

RECEPTION – YEAR 1

7.30am Breakfast club (optional)

Early class (free, but children must arrive before 8.20am)

Reception – drop to the Reception classroom via the Reception playground gate (the Reception classroom rota is displayed on the window of RP)

8.00am

Year 1 – drop to a member of staff on the door at Beech House

If arriving after 8.20am, please wait with your child in the playground for the morning bell *

8.25am Bell is rung to line up for registration

3.30pm End of school

3.30–4.00pm Sibling late care provision (optional) – for Lower School pupils with siblings in Upper School

3.30–6.00pm Clubs (optional) / extended day provision (optional)

* From the second half of the Summer term in Year 1, children may be left on the playground under teacher supervision from 8.00am.

YEAR 2

7.30am Breakfast club (optional)

8.00am

Children may be dropped off at the playground, signed in by the member of staff on duty and left by parents, if they wish. Pupils may wait in the playground, where they will be supervised

8.25am Bell is rung to line up for registration

3.30pm End of school

3.30–4.00pm Sibling late care provision (optional) – for Lower School pupils with siblings in Upper School

3.30–6.00pm Clubs (optional) / extended day provision (optional)

YEAR 3 – YEAR 6

7.30am Breakfast club (optional)

8.00am Pupils may be dropped off at the playground, where they will be supervised

8.25am Bell is rung to line up for registration

8.35–9.10am Matins – Tuesdays and Fridays in St Mary’s Church (parents are welcome)

3.50pm Years 3 and 4 end of school

4.00pm Years 5 and 6 end of school

4.00–6.00pm 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.

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 and in the weekly Bulletin. 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. All allergies are catered for.

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.

SPORT

PE & Dance: Throughout the school, at least twice a week.

Games: Ball skills and team sports are introduced in the Lower School, progressing to two 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.

After-school clubs 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. Examples include Hever Castle, Brighton Sea Life Centre, Merrist Wood or Wisley Gardens.

RESIDENTIAL TRIPS

Starting in Year 4, children have the opportunity to take part in residential trips. 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.

TRIPS (COSTS & CONSENT)

The cost of day and residential trips is extra to the termly school fee. Consent forms are on SchoolsBuddy and the cost is added to the termly fee bill.

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 8.00am under teacher supervision until the bell rings at 8.25am.

SIBLING LATE CARE

(Lower/Upper School core day)

3.30pm – 3.50/4.00pm

Provided free of 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 siblings of Lower School children attending clubs. Children can go from here to Extended Day. Booked through SchoolsBuddy.

SIBLING LATE CARE

(sporting fixtures)

Provided free of 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

This is a paid for service for Green Shoots to Year 6. A hot tea is served between 5.00pm and 5.30pm 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 approximately 48 weeks of the year (excluding February and May half terms, bank holidays and inset days). Holiday clubs are either run by RSM staff and provided by us, or by our partner; Camp Beaumont. Camp Beaumont are experts in their field, providing high-quality Ofstedaccredited 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

RSM Holiday Club includes activities such as orienteering, discos, arts and craft, cookery, team games, swimming, bowling and farm visits. Holiday clubs are booked through SchoolsBuddy.

Green Shoots, Kindergarten and Reception 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.

CLUBS

A rich variety of pre-school, lunchtime and after-school activities known as clubs are offered, with options changing termly. Some are run by teachers and teaching assistants, and some by third-party specialists. (When necessary relevant information about the children will be shared with club leaders.) A list including timings, group sizes and prices is sent out before each new term and charges for clubs are added to the next fee bill. Clubs do not auto renew and parents have to book their children into clubs each term.

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

Year 6

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.

Daily reading and discussion of reading materials. English and maths set once each per week during the Autumn, Spring and the first half of the Summer term. In the second half of the Summer term, English homework continues as usual alongside an open-ended project instead of maths.

WWW SOCIAL MEDIA

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

Instagram @rsmprepschool

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.

SPORTS APP

The sports calendar, news and fixtures for Years 3 to 6 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.

SCHOOLSBUDDY

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

• Sign up for clubs.

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

• Consent for trips – the cost is added to the school fees account.

• 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.

FIREFLY

The remote learning platform, Firefly, is used to support the curriculum from Year 1 upwards. Homework tasks may be set and resources shared. Children receive an account when they join.

SCHOOL CLOUD

This is an online Parents’ Evening booking system.

PARENT PORTAL

Curriculum jigsaw maps, Lower School weekly sheets, menus and school reports are uploaded here. It can be accessed via the school website and new parents receive a log-in before the beginning of term.

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 are instructed on what to do in the event of a fire.

MEDICAL

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 medical officer 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.

CONTACT US

WHAT IF

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 (Upper School parents) or Head of Lower School (Lower School parents).

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 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. The school is unable to administer ibuprofen.

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.

School office: office@reigatestmarys.org, 01737 244880

Ops Manager & Privacy Officer: Mrs Roisin Gibbs rmg@reigatestmarys.org

Admissions Officer: Mrs Jenny Myddleton jmy@reigatestmarys.org

Headmaster: Mr Marcus Culverwell hmsec@reigatestmarys.org

SENCO: Mrs Lisa Masarati lmm@reigatestmarys.org