“Curiosity is the engine of achievement” PRE-PREP PARENT HANDBOOK
TERRINGTON HALL SCHOOL VISION AND VALUES
OUR VALUES:
Kindness We act with kindness always. It is at the heart of everything we do. We show children the power of kindness, encouraging them to act with empathy for each other, their community and our planet.
Confidence As we take our children on a journey of discovery, we make learning fun and light a spark in hearts and minds. We show how with every small step, we learn and build confidence in our own unique abilities.
Courage It takes courage to do the right thing. We act with integrity, showing the value of honesty and good character. We show how with courage, we can take calculated risks and be willing to have a go without fear of failure.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
As the world around us evolves, so do we. We encourage children to expand their minds, life experiences and skills, to build confidence and effect change, and for the future.
WELCOME
We are looking forward to getting to know your child and hope that they and you will very quickly feel part of our community. We believe that working in partnership with parents is vital for giving the children the best possible chance of achieving their potential in every respect. This handbook contains information about the school and its procedures. We hope it will be helpful both now and for future reference.
Miss Rachel I’Anson Deputy Head Pastoral and Head of Pre-Prep
TERM DATES
2024—2025
Term dates for 2024 - 2025 are as follows:
Michaelmas term 2024
Term Begins Monday 2nd September
Exeat Friday 20th - Sunday 22nd September
Half Term Friday 18th October – Sunday 3rd November
Exeat Friday 22nd November – Sunday 24th November
Term Ends Thursday 12th December
Lent term 2025
Term Begins Tuesday 7th January
Exeat Friday 24th – Sunday 26th January
Half Term Friday 14th – Sunday 23rd February
Exeat Friday 14th – Sunday 16th March
Term Ends Friday 28th March
Summer term 2025
Term Begins Wednesday 23rd April
Bank Holiday Friday 2nd—Monday 5th May
Half Term Friday 23rd Sunday 31st May
Exeat Friday 13th – Sunday 15th June
Term Ends Wednesday 2nd July
Miss Rachel I’Anson rianson@terringtonhall.com
Deputy Head Pastoral and responsible for Pre-Prep
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Nicola Morrell nmorrell@terringtonhall.com
Year 2 Class teacher
Miss Ellie Atkin eatkin@terringtonhall.com
Year 1 Class teacher
Mrs Nikki Taylor ntaylor@terringtonhall.com
Reception Class teacher
Miss Claire Wainwright office@terringtonhall.com
School Office and Head’s PA
Mr Stuart Keens skeens@terringtonhall.com
Deputy Head Academic
Mr Huw Thomas hthomas@terringtonhall.com
Headmaster
COMMUNICATIONS
We have an genuine Open Door policy at Terrington Hall School and parents are welcome to talk informally to their teacher as and when needed. If a more formal discussion is required with the class teacher, Head of Pre-Prep or the Headmaster, a convenient appointment time may be made directly, via email. We do our best to accommodate any requests as soon as possible. To strengthen communication between school and home, a weekly newsletter ‘Terrington Trumpet’ is emailed to parents via the office every Friday giving news of the past week and reminders for the following week. All parents receive a school calendar at the beginning of each term. Dates of important school events and match fixtures, as well as term dates for the year ahead, are listed on it. Occasionally, amendments must be made, but parents will receive any changes via the weekly newsletter or directly from your child’s Form Tutor.
CONCERNS
In the event that a parent has a concern or complaint, the first line of contact is the child’s form tutor. If the Form Tutor cannot resolve the matter alone, The Head of Pre Prep/Deputy Head Pastoral will be consulted. In the event that the problem cannot be solved after speaking to the Head of Pre Prep, she will then arrange an appointment for you to speak with the Deputy Head Academic or Headmaster.
WHO TO APPROACH
Form Tutor – In the first instance this should be a parents’ first port of call for all academic and pastoral concerns.
Head of Pre-Prep– if parents are unable to resolve their concerns with form tutors, they should contact Miss I’Anson
Deputy Head Academic – Mr Keens should be contacted for all academic matters unresolved by the form tutor. For Senior School entry queries please contact Mr Keens.
Deputy Head Pastoral – Miss I’Anson should be contacted for all pastoral or Safeguarding matters that cannot be resolved by the form tutor.
DAILY ROUTUNE AND SITE MAP
THE SCHOOL DAY
Children may arrive in Pre-Prep between 8:15-8:30am. If arriving before 8:00am, children should join breakfast in the dining room. Parents are reminded to park at the front of the school or along the church wall when dropping off and collecting their children. Should you be running late, please contact Pre-Prep on 01653 648227 or email your child’s class teacher.
COLLECTING YOUR CHILD FROM SCHOOL
Parents or carers collecting at 3:30, 4:30 or 5:30pm should wait outside the Pre-Prep doors and your child will be brought to your by their class teacher or assistant.
Collection times should be marked in your child’s reading record book daily. Please ensure that your child holds your hand and does not run ahead of you into the carpark when leaving. If dropping or collecting your child early/late please report to the main office where we will bring your child or return them to class.
EXEAT WEEKENDS
Please note an EXEAT is when the school day finishes at 5.30pm on a Friday and remains closed until the Monday morning. The May EXEAT also includes the Bank Holiday Monday.
WINTER WEATHER
During periods of extreme winter weather such as snow and ice the school will endeavour to remain open with any changes to the school day being communicated to parents via email or text message.
PARKING AND TRAFFIC FLOW
Please note there is a 5mph speed limit within the school grounds. Parents are kindly requested to park on the front drive at drop off or collection times. Please ensure that the disabled bays next to the swimming pool are strictly reserved for Blue Badge holders only.
WRAP-AROUND CARE
BREAKFAST
Breakfast is available to all children. Your child may arrive from 7:30am and will have breakfast before the start of the school day. A member of staff has specific responsibility for looking after the children at breakfast and will take them to their classrooms afterwards. For catering purposes, breakfast should be booked in with office@terringtonhall.com with 24 hours notice. Breakfast is charged at £5.00
AFTER SCHOOL CARE
Our after school care for Nursery is held in the Pre-Prep building and is run by the Pre-Prep staff. We include a range of age-appropriate toys and activities, as well as much needed rest time. We take a child-led approach with a ‘home from home’ atmosphere to help them relax after their busy school day. During this time, children are offered a substantial snack. After School Care runs from 3:30-5:30pm and is charged at £6.20 per hour.
TEA
Parents requiring childcare beyond the school day can make use of the tea service where pupils are welcome to have a freshly prepared tea at 5:30pm to 6:00pm. For catering purposes, tea should be booked in with office@terringtonhall.com with 24 hours notice. Tea is charged at £5.00
NUT FREE
Although we recognise that this cannot be guaranteed, Terrington Hall aims to be a Nut-Free school. Measures in place are to reduce the risk to those children and adults who may suffer an anaphylactic reaction if exposed to nuts to which they are sensitive. The school aims to protect children who have allergies to nuts yet also help them, as they grow up, to take responsibility as to what foods they can eat and to be aware of where they may be put at risk. We do not allow nuts or nut products in school.
MINIBUSES
Pupils from Nursery can use the school’s daily transport if they are independent enough to manage. All of the transport routes use the school’s own minibus fleet and drivers, who are fully DBS checked and employed by the school. Pupils using the buses are dropped off in front of the Main School building on arrival and are collected from staff by the relevant driver before being escorted to their bus at the end of the day. Buses arrive in School at approximately 8.15am and depart at 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Transport is charged on a per trip basis. Full details of the bus service, times and costs are available on request from the school office.
SHAPE OF THE DAY
ABSENCE
If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, please inform your child’s class teacher and the school office to ensure that the correct mark is made to the register.
ILLNESS AT SCHOOL
Should your child be taken ill at school, he/she will be cared for and we will make every effort to contact you.
Should your child suffer from sickness or diarrhoea, it is school policy that they do not return to school for at least 48 hours after the last incident. It is very important for you to let us know if you have given your child Calpol or any other medication before coming into school.
If your child bumps their head, they will be checked over by a first aider and you will be notified of treatment given in addition to a bumped head note.
Accidents can happen. Small cuts and bruises will be dealt with directly at school by staff who all hold a current paediatric first aid qualification. In the event of a more serious accident which is likely to require advanced medical care, we shall endeavour to contact parents at work or home. If a parent or family friend (named contact) cannot be contacted, we shall arrange to have your child taken to a local doctor or hospital. In such cases, the child will be accompanied by a member of staff. In an emergency an ambulance will be called.
MEDICINES
Medicines should be administered at home unless there is a special reason why your child may need to take it through the school. Day. If this is the case, the medicine must be given to a member of the Pre-Prep staff on arrival to school and a medicine consent form signed. Prescription medicine should be in the original packaging with dispensary label attached.
INTIMATE CARE
Even children who are toilet trained may have the occasional accident when they are engrossed in their learning and play. A designated changing facility is located in Pre-Prep. All EYFS children are expected to keep spare underwear in school in the event of soiling. If wetting or soiling occurs frequently, the class teacher will arrange to meet with parents to discuss appropriate strategies to support the child and a ‘Personal Care Management Plan’ will be drawn up. Exchanging information with parents is essential through personal contact, telephone or correspondence. On the rare occasion that a child is soiled to a point where they are unable to clean themselves to a comfortable state, parents would be contacted so that the child could be taken home for bathing. Further details can be found on the schools intimate care policy.
SUN CREAM APPLICATION
During the summer months we like to spend as much time in our outdoor area. We feel that the children’s health is paramount and during the summer we ask that all children have sun cream applied before they attend their session at Nursery, allowing them to safely spend time in the sunshine. Parents will be asked to sign a permission form so that children will be supported in reapplying sun cream supplied by school for afternoon sessions.
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING
At Terrington Hall School, we place positive mental health and wellbeing at the centre of school life. Our values, Kindness, Confidence and Courage, highlights the importance we place on supporting on every child’s wellbeing. We show the power of kindness in everything that we do, build confidence on our unique abilities and show how with courage, we can have a go without the fear of failure.
We aim to ensure positive mental health and well-being for every pupil, parent/carer and staff member. Our positive ethos is based on the understanding that all children need the foundations of positive mental health. As a result of this, we hope children will fulfil their potential academically, socially, emotionally and healthy, helping them to grow in confidence and participate in everything that goes on in the wider community.
Our buddy system helps to promote friendships, better support of learning, behavioural and social needs, and can foster a greater sense of belonging and a more inclusive school community.
The Terrington Hall ambition is to equip young people so they can better deal with difficult circumstances in their lives, preventing them experiencing common emotional and mental health problems.
Wellbeing days are a good opportunity to bring awareness of the importance of mental wellbeing into schools. Classes are encouraged to plan wellbeing days, termly. The Assistant Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing oversees this.
Our peer mentoring has been evidenced as having a positive impact on the emotional health and well-being of children and young people. Peer mentoring can support children and young people by:
• enhancing social competence
• building security within the setting and the wider community by realising their worth as social beings
• improving attendance and educational attainment whilst developing friendship skills in a positive environment
TAPESTRY
Children attending Terrington Hall Pre-Prep have a personal online Learning Journal. At Terrington Hall, we use Tapestry, which is a stand-alone application enabling a two way communication between the school and parents.
The benefit to you from Tapestry being online means that you have constant access (via a website that you log into using your email address and password) to access your child’s Learning Journal.
Tapestry records photos, observations and comments in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to build up a record of your child’s experiences during their time with us.
We encourage you to contribute to your child’s progress record on Tapestry and comment on their child’s learning diary
REPORTING
Staff endeavour to make regular contact with parents either in person or via phone call/email, to keep you up to date with your child’s effort and attainment in class. Parents are encouraged to make use of their child’s communication book, reading diary or email to raise any minor issues or concerns. Staff undertake to feedback either in person, email or via a phone call as soon as possible . This helps parents who are unable to visit the class teacher to keep in touch and allows parents to play a key part in their child’s learning and in turn offers staff invaluable input for increasing their knowledge of the unique child.
Should your child require an additional intervention or support, you are fully involved as parents in strategies to benefit your child and to create your child’s own Individual Learning Plan. Targets are set together for both home and school
REPORTING TO PARENTS WITH CHILDREN IN RECEPTION
During the first half term, the Reception teacher will carry out a Baseline Assessment with your child, which will be shared with yourselves at your parent consultation meeting and targets will be jointly agreed. We encourage you to contribute to your child’s progress record on Tapestry and comment on your child’s learning diary as often as possible. Each half term, you will be invited to meet with the Reception teacher to discuss your child’s progress and agree on new targets and next steps. You will also receive written reports across the year.
REPORTING TO PARENTS WITH CHILDREN IN KEY STAGE 1
During the Michaelmas, Lent and Summer terms you will be invited to a parent/teacher conference to discuss progress made and together agree the next steps for your child's earning. You will also receive written reports across the year. Parents are invited to discuss reports further should they wish.
LEARNING SUPPORT
All pupils at Terrington Hall are taught a wide-ranging curriculum within smaller than average, mainstream classes. Staff deliver high quality teaching with classwork and prep appropriately differentiated. Children are regularly monitored to ensure they are making progress to the best of their ability, and challenged according to their own level to ensure success is within reach. It is sometimes appropriate for children to receive additional support to achieve their full potential. Our learning support resources are centred around “The Hub”. As the base for Learning Support, Wellbeing and our ‘Stretch and Challenge’ programme, The Hub is a bright, warm and welcoming classroom resourced with access to online intervention programmes, classroom support, and small group work. The Learning Support Team work together across the academic departments to provide and plan support for all children. Individual Lessons are by arrangement andinagreementwithparents,SENCOandFormTeacher.
Learning support is integrated through the school from Nursery to Year 8 with a focus on the child as an individual. We believe in inclusion and seek to provide a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum that provides equal opportunities for all.
For those children who receive learning support, close communication between school and home is encouraged and parents are invited to a termly meeting to discuss their child’s Individual Learning Plan (ILP) alongside any specific targets.
If parents have a concern regarding their child’s learning, they are encouraged to contact their child’s form teacher in the first instance.
SPECIALIST TEACHING
From Nursery, we are proud to offer a broad curriculum. Children are taught through exciting and engaging lessons that encourage curiosity, that take into account the needs of individuals. The school also dedicates time for swimming, PE, music and Spanish (from Reception) taught by our subject specialists in school.
INSTRUMENTAL LESSONS
Tuition is available for a wide range of instruments in Year 1 and 2 with help and consideration given to beginners. Lessons are offered weekly during term time. If your child is interested in learning an instrument, please contact your child’s class teacher in the first instance.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR
Ready, Respectful and Safe are the three rules that underpin the behaviour we expect to see in school from all staff and children. We ask our students to embrace our school rules, Ready, Respectful & Safe, at all times
Be kind, polite and respectful
Be responsible, organised and make good decisions
Work hard and try your best
Make the most of opportunities on offer at school
Encourage others and be helpful
Have fun!
We encourage our parent body to Reinforce and support their child in adhering to the principles of Ready, Respectful, Safe
Inform the school of any changes in circumstances that may affect their child’s behaviour
Discuss any behavioural concerns with the class teacher promptly Ensure that their child has good attendance and punctuality Inform staff of any medical or other needs that may hinder their child’s behaviour
Ensure that their child attends school in full uniform Good behaviour requires close collaboration between parents, teachers and children. Parents should discuss the school rules with their child, emphasising that they support the rules. Attending parents’ evenings, parent workshops and developing positive relationships with school, helps to reinforce good behaviour. Teaching and learning cannot take place without sound discipline and parents should recognise that staff will deal with behaviour problems patiently and positively.
At Terrington, we use a system called ‘Class Dojo’ to award your child with good marks and praise. At the start of the school year, each child’s form tutor will email you with a link to the new Class Dojo ‘class’. It is important that you respond to the link so you can be a part of your child’s class.
Managing Behaviour
Engagement with learning is always our primary aim at Terrington Hall School. For the vast majority of our learners a gentle reminder is all that is needed. Staff will deal with behaviour without delegating. Staff will use the steps in behaviour for dealing with poor conduct following the Positive Behaviour Policy.
HOUSE SYSTEM
All pupils from Reception to Year 8 are welcomed into one of our three Houses - Castle, Forest and Moor. Siblings are always on the same House as each other. The names and crests were chosen to encapsulate our enviable geographical position but also our values of courage, kindness, confidence and consequently, growth. We elect three Heads of School, each year, one from each House
Castle represents the historical significance of the area, with beautiful monuments such as Castle Howard, Sheriff Hutton Castle and York Minster. It also signifies the courageous spirit and resilience which we foster in our pupils.
Forest represents the natural beauty of the area, with lush expansive forests such as Dalby Forest, and of course our hugely popular forest school. It also signifies the nurture and growth of the pupils while they are in our care at Terrington Hall.
Moor represents the breath-taking landscapes, first and foremost from our very own playing fields, but also those of the North Yorkshire Moors. It also signifies expanding of horizons, a mantra firmly at the heart of everything we do, which helps to build our pupils’ confidence.
The House system is a way for us to unite children in different year groups, helping them to have positive relationships with pupils across the school. It is also allows us to encourage friendly competition for all range of events, everything from House sports, bake off, quizzes, debating, essay writing and much more. The House system is celebrated at the start of each academic year with our House Festival and again at the end with Sports Day.
