School Times

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School Times: 09:00 - 15:15.     

Gates open at 08:50 and close at 09:00

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Nursery Times: 09:00 - 11:30 or 12:45 - 15:15

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Car Park

Our main car park gates are shut at peak traffic flow times to keep pedestrians safe on site.

Closure times:

08:40 - 08:55

15:00 - 15:30

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Please make sure that anyone who might be collecting or dropping off is aware of the gate closure times!

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Traffic in and around schools is almost always an issue, and at Llantarnam we have a traffic management policy which we expect all drivers to adhere to it. The policy can be found here. Please make sure that you reverse into a space, 

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​Who's Who in Class?

Most mainstream classes have 1 teacher and 1 teaching assistant. Sometimes a mainstream class might have additional support or staff who job share.

Teachers have overall responsibility for every day running of the class, and lesson planning. Teaching assistants work with the teacher to provide lessons and support pupils. 

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Nursery pupil numbers fluctuate because of the 'rising 3' intakes, therefore staffing sometimes also changes through the year.​

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Our current staff structure is here, but may change at the start of a new school year.

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You should be told which staff are in your child's class before they start with us, but if you are not sure who's who, don't hesitate to ask!

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Communications

We try to keep communications up to date, and let parents/carers know of events and news in good time, and encourage two way comms between school and home.

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We send a weekly newsletter via email, which includes a 'Dates for your Diary' section and the latest school events.

 

Day to day comms are done via Class Dojo, including messaging about head bumps and minor injuries (where there is no need for a parent/carer to come to school), events happening in class and changes to planned schedules (e.g. if PE day has to move or the school menu is different than advertised).​

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You can contact school in various ways. For urgent messages we would always recommend phoning the school office. Messages can be sent to individual staff on Class Dojo, but staff may not see, or respond to, messages immediately. Similarly, the school email - llantarnamcps@torfaen.gov.uk - is monitored through the day, but emails might not be spotted straight away.

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Please make sure that school is notified of any changes to address or emergency contact information as soon as possible.

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Attendance

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Lateness

If your child is late, come to main reception at the front of the school. You will be asked to sign your child in on the digital signing system, and office staff will accompany your child to class.​​

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Early Collections

Please avoid collecting your child early unless absolutely necessary. If you do need to collect early, inform the class teacher and office beforehand, and on arrival sign your child out on the digital signing system.

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Procedure for unplanned absence (e.g. illness)

• Please report your child's absence before 09:00.

• Call 01633 480039 and select option 1.

• Leave a brief message, making sure that you include the child's full name, class and reason for absence.

Please note - we are required to record detailed reasons for absences, therefore we ask for specific information (i.e. we can't report a child as 'unwell' - please be clear about the nature of the illness).

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We operate a 'First Day Response' procedure, which means that if we don't have a reason for an absence, we will call the child's emergency contacts to ask for the reason.

If a child is absent for 3 days with no reason being given, school will contact the EWS (Education Welfare Service) to request a welfare check at home.

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Procedure for Planned Absence

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Medical Absence:

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If at all possible, try to arrange medical appointments outside of school hours. However, medical absences can authorised if proof of the appointment is provided (e.g. screenshot of a text message). Notice of medical absences can be reported either via Class Dojo or to the class teacher/office in person.

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Holiday/Other Absence:

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Parents/carers don't have an automatic right to withdraw their child from school for a holiday or similar absence. You may request leave of absence for your child, but our policy is to refuse authorisation for absence requests. This includes day trips or family visits.

Other absences might be authorised in exceptional circumstances (e.g. family funeral).

To request a leave of absence please contact the school office for a leave of absence request/notification form. We ask for at least 14 days notice of an absence.

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Holiday absences may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice being issued, if appropriate criteria apply. For more details see our Attendance Policy More information about Fixed Penalty Notices can be found here.

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School Payments

We use Parent Pay for all school payments now. Once your child has started with us you will receive an email inviting you to create a Parent Pay account (or add another child to an existing one).

If needed (e.g. if there are technical issues with Parent Pay) we can accept cash payments for some school payments. Please discuss with office staff if required.

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Lost Property/Damaged Items

This really can't be said enough - LABEL EVERYTHING!

Every week we have parents/carers trawling through jumpers, coats, bags, water bottles etc. looking for lost items. Make sure to put first and last names on items (with over 300 hundred children in school most first names are duplicated at least once!) and don't rely on your child remembering where/when they left something behind - when they are busy playing and socialising, they are not concentrating on exactly where they put their jumper or coat down!

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All items are brought into school at your own risk - we are not responsible for lost or damaged items. Please consider buying relatively low cost items specifically for school use (e.g. supermarket trousers/jumpers/polos) as clothing might be soiled or damaged as part of outside play.

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Mobile Phones

We would far rather that mobile phones are not brought into school. However, we realise that not only are they part of life for many children, they are also used by lots of families for safeguarding their children, such as by using tracking apps.

Therefore, we allow mobiles to be brought to school by children who have permission to walk home alone (year 4 upwards only), but they must be handed to a member of staff on arrival at school (either Breakfast Club staff or class staff) and will only be returned once children are ready to be released at the end of the day.​
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Concerned About Something?

Ups and downs, around friendships and school in general are to be expected at times. However, if you have a particular concern about anything please do contact us.

In general, the class teacher should be the first port of call with any worries.

For younger children who are dropped off or picked up at the classroom door, have a chat with the class teacher or teaching assistant, or ask to make an appointment if you wish to talk in private.

Parents of older children generally see class staff less on a day to day basis, but feel free to message on Dojo, or contact the office if you wish to discuss a concern.

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If you feel that a worry or concern hasn't been answered or dealt with, or if you have a safeguarding concern please contact the school office and ask to speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). We do have an open door policy, and if staff can see you immediately they will do, but it is likely an appointment will have to be made. In the case of a safeguarding concern a member of SLT will make themselves available.

Senior Leadership are made up of:

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Mrs Perrett - Head Teacher

Mrs Freebury - Deputy Head Teacher

Mrs Miggins - ALNCo

Mrs Spencer - Wellbeing Lead

Mr Vevo - STEMS Lead

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If you have a concern regarding ALN (Additional Learning Needs), unless your child has a recognised ALN need within school, please discuss with the class teacher before asking to speak to the ALNCo (Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator).

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​We want the transition to Llantarnam Primary to be as smooth as possible for every child and their family - please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries.