Arrival and Departure of Children Policy

Arrival and Departure of Children Policy

Section One:

General Information

Your child’s safety is of great importance to the staff at Plymouth Grove, therefore procedures for bringing and collecting children are followed to ensure your child’s safety.

There are no laws around the age or distance of walking to school.  A families’ guide to the law states:

 

‘There is no law prohibiting children from being out on their own at any age.  It is a matter of judgements for parents to decide when children can play out on their own, walk to the shops or school.’

 

Parents are legally obliged to ensure their children get to school and attend regularly, but this in itself does not disallow independent travel.  However, as a school we are responsible for the welfare of our pupils and therefore have to consider what we believe to be good practice in ensuring the safety of our pupils.  We also have an obligation to alert relevant authorities should we believe a child’s welfare is at risk.

 

Section Two:

 

Access into school

 

Parents/carers/children are encouraged to use the front or back pedestrian gate into school.  Parents/carers/children are discouraged from using the car park gate.  The car park is for authorised vehicles only.  The front pedestrian gate is open all day.  The internal green gates and the rear yellow pedestrian gate are locked at 9.00am and re-opened at 2.55pm.  Parents/carers who are collecting their child before the end of the normal day or bringing their child into school after the start of the day will need to report to the main office.  Further information on this can be found in this policy under Section Five ‘late arrivals and early collections’

 

Children are not to be left unaccompanied on the playground or in school before the start of the school day.  It is the parent’s responsibility to supervise their child until the start of the school day.

 

 

 

 

 

The start and end of the day

 

Registration Start time:                                           

• Nursery and reception:   8.50am  
• Year 1 and Year 2:          8.50am
• Year 3 and Year 4:          8.40am
• Year 5 and Year 6:          8.40am

Finish times:

• Nursery and Reception:                             3.00pm
• Year 1 and Year 2                                       3.10pm
• Year 3 and Year 4                                       3.10pm
• Year 5 and Year 6                                       3.10pm

 

 A register is taken at the start of the morning session and again at the start of the afternoon session.  It is vitally important that your child is on time.

 

It is equally important that you inform the school if you are sending another adult to collect your child who does not normally do so (other than yourself or other responsible adults to whom you have granted permission to).  The staff at Plymouth Grove will not hand your child to any other adult without your permission.  Please refer to Section 4 on how to inform the school that some else is collecting your child.

 

Our agreed school policy is that no pupil in the Nursery, Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4 should walk to or from school on their own or be left on the premises either before or after school.  In addition we will only hand over pupils to *named adults or older siblings provided they are 16 years old or above.  Pupils will not be handed over to other adults unless the school has been informed by the parent.  If no one turns up to collect a child they will be kept in school and the parents will be contacted.  We will not allow older brothers and/or sisters in school to collect younger siblings. 

 

Years 5 and 6 only

 

There is no set age when children are ready to walk to school or home on their own.  It very much depends upon their maturity, confidence and also the distance from school taking into consideration main roads etc.  We believe that you as parents need to decide whether your child is ready for this responsibility.  We would still highly recommend that pupils in Year 5 and 6 are still brought to and collected from school.

 

In deciding whether your child is ready to walk to school you should assess any risks associated with the route and your child’s confidence.  Work with your child to build up their independence while walking to school through route finding, road safety skills and general awareness.

 

If, after careful consideration of the above information, you still wish for your child to walk home alone at the end of the day, then you will need to complete a permission slip which is available from the school office or from the school blog. Further information can be found under Section 8 of this policy.

 

Children will NOT be permitted to walk home from an after school club between  October and February when the nights are darker

 

Section Three:

 

Nursery

 

Start of the Day

Children should be ready to come into nursery at 8.50am. They arrive and are marked in the register by a staff member as they come through the door and in to the coat area of nursery and are encouraged to say good morning so that we have seen each child. Teachers also complete the SIMS register on-line.

Staff are on the door to ensure that children are unable to leave. The number is marked on a board and the names of absent children crossed off a class list. As children arrive late via the office, the number and names on the board are amended.

 

End of the day

The parents’ wait in the nursery playground until the doors are opened at 3:00pm. A staff member supervises from the main door.  Children are sat supervised in their key areas with their coat and bags etc. They are called from their key area one by one and handed over to parents.  

 

Reception Classes

 

Start of the day

Children should be ready to come into school at 8.50am. Children are encouraged to say good morning to the teacher at the door who then marks them in the register.  Teachers also complete the SIMS register on-line

When the register closes the number of children who are in class is written on the class board with a list of names of anyone absent.

Children who arrive late are escorted into reception by a member of the Admin Team and handed over to a member of the Reception Team.  The Reception Team will then amend the numbers/names on the class board.

 

End of the Day

 

Parents/carers collecting Reception children must wait in the Reception playground.

Children from both reception classes will be seated within their classroom with coats and bags etc with a member of staff

Another member of staff stands at the door (1 per class) and calls children 1 by 1 and watches them link to their parent or whoever is designated to collect them. 

 

Year 1 and Year 2

 

Start of the day

Children and parents should wait in the KS1 playground and the class teachers will open the year group cloakroom door at  8.50am

 

End of the day

Children will remain seated in the classroom with their bags and coats etc.  Staff supervise the doorway and hand children over to the parent/carer. 

 

Year 3, 4, 5 and 6

 

Start of the day

The Phase outside door will open at 8.40am. Children will leave parents and enter the door and use the stairways  to get to their classroom. Parents are not permitted to enter the school at this time. Any parents who are wanting to speak to the class teacher should make an appointment or pass any messages at the school office.

End of the day

Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 are escorted downstairs by a member of staff.  The staff member waits with the children until the parent or responsible adult collects their child.  Staff in Year 5 & 6 have a list of children who have signed parental consent to walk home unaccompanied.  Please see section 8 for further informatio

 

Section 4

 

Is some else collecting your child from school?

Please give as much notice as possible if someone other than yourself is collecting your child from school.  For changes to the collection of your child that are made over the telephone we may ask you for some security questions.  We may also give you a password for the collecting adult. 

 

Section 5

 

Late arrivals and early collections

Any child who arrives late for school (after 9.00am) must report to the office for their mark.  Due to our new security system all children will need to be escorted to class by a member of staff.  It is therefore vitally important that all children arrive on time.  Parents/carers are discouraged from taking their child to class for security reasons.

All parents/carers must provide notice in advance and with a relevant reason if you are collecting your child early from school.  Please note you may be asked to provide proof of appointments.  Please report to the office where the admin staff will arrange for your child to be brought to you and sign your child out of school.  Children are not allowed to leave school alone even if they normally walk home alone at the end of a school day.

 

Section 6

 

Before school facilities (breakfast club)

The school offers a breakfast club which is open from 8am for Nursery through to Year 6 children.  The service is run from the school dining hall. Children must be accompanied by an adult inside the school building and payment must be made in advance of the session. Children must not be dropped off at school before this time.  At the end of the session the children escorted to their designated classroom areas by a staff member.

 

After school clubs

Each after school club varies.  With this in mind the Senior Management Team will make a judgement as to whether children can be granted permission to walk home alone or not.  Our judgement is most likely to change in the winter months when the nights are darker.  A letter will be provided to any child whom is eligible to apply for a place in the club and clear instructions will be given about the collection of children along with any other relevant information at the time.

Section 7

 

Children who are not collected from school on time

 

Children who are not collected on time are escorted to the Dining hall which is accessible via the Main Office.  An adult will stay with your child until you arrive.  You must sign your child out from the register provided.  This register is monitored closely and any patterns of lateness will be investigated by the Designated Person for Child Protection.

 

Section 8

 

Permission to walk home alone Years 5 & 6 only

Permission slips must be completed and signed by the parent/carer before a child is allowed to walk home alone at the end of school day or from an after school activity.  Permission slips are available from the school office or from the school blog.  The school reserves the right to challenge any request made that they feel could put a child at risk.