Life in Our School

Life at Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School is rich in experiences so that "together we enjoy learning in a happy, caring and friendly environment." To achieve this, we put in place a number of key processes and methods which we ask all parents to recognise and engage with. These range from understanding our school day, the hours we are open and when we close, through to how we expect parents and carers to work with us in a home-school agreement. The menus above will guide you around these different areas and we look forward to you being part of your child's learning within this framework.

Our School Day

Depending on whether your child is in Nursery or in the Infant School will dictate the times of opening for your child.

What hours are we open for children?

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 sessions are from 8:55am to 12.00pm (noon) and then from 1.00pm to 3.15pm. At the end of the day Reception doors open by 3:10pm to allow extra time to collect other children. Doors open at 8.45am (total hours provided per week: 32.5.) Please note that the school cannot take responsibility for children arriving at the school before 8.45am therefore until 8.45am the supervision of the children is the responsibility of parents/carers.

Nursery session times:  Morning: 9:00-11:30am, Lunch: 11:30am-12:30pm, Afternoon:12:30-3:00pm

Playtimes

There are two fifteen minute playtimes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. During the mid morning break every child is offered a piece of fruit which is supplied by the Fruit for Schools Scheme and is free of charge. Parents can also buy milk for their child to drink at break time from Cool Milk (leaflet available on our "Downloads" page).

All children need to have a water bottle in school every day. It has been proven that if children have regular access to water during the day they are more able to concentrate and make greater progress at school. Children can top up their bottles with drinking water throughout the day and we encourage children to take their bottle home at the end of each day to be washed through. Water bottles can be purchased from the school office for 50p (please send money in a named sealed envelope.)

Attendance

At Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School we have a responsibility to work with the Local Authority and Education Welfare Service to ensure that all children attend school correctly. This page describes how you can support the school in promoting good attendance.

Did you know that the expected level of attendance for Primary age pupils is 95%?

At Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School we have a responsibility to work with the local education authority and Education Welfare Service to ensure that all children attend school. We are required to inform the local education authority if a pupil fails to attend or is late regularly and if no reason for absence is provided. We ask parents and families for their support in promoting good attendance in the following ways:

• Ensuring that children attend school regularly and arrive on time.
• If your child is ill please contact the school office before 9am on the first day of absence so we can update our records. Staff will be concerned if they do not hear anything and the office will contact you. Please note that your child must remain away from school for 48 hours after a bout of sickness and/or diarrhoea.
• When your child returns to school ensure that a note is provided confirming the reason for absence. 
• Avoid taking holidays during term times. If a family holiday falls during term time, a written letter should be sent in prior to the absence. In line with the local authority, the school cannot authorise any holidays whatsoever. Please see our Attendance Policy.
• Please remember that children will become anxious if they arrive late for school or if they are not collected on time. Children arriving after the closure of registers (9:10am and 1.15pm respectively) are marked as unauthorised late. Continued lateness without reasonable explanation requires the school to send a written warning that further action may be taken.

School Meals

This information covers meal time arrangements and will be very helpful for parents on low incomes and who need help with school meal services (i.e. Free School Meals).

All Infant aged children are entitled to a free school meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meals scheme. Our meals are provided by a local caterer, Love Food. They do a selection of hot and cold meals. Meals can be ordered online via LoveFood either for the whole term, a week at a time or by midnight the day before. Please speak to the school office if you are unable to order online.

Your child still has the option to bring a packed lunch. We encourage healthy eating and have a Healthy Eating Policy. Packed lunches must not contain glass bottles, fizzy drinks or sweets. Pure chocolate bars should not be included but chocolate biscuits, e.g. Kitkats are acceptable. Spoons to eat yoghurts need to be provided from home. Please also be mindful that we have children with severe food allergies in school, so please also avoid sending items such as peanut butter, chocolate spreads such as Nutella and cereal bars that contain nuts.

Pupil Premium

Parents who are in receipt of certain benefits such as Income Support and/or Income based Jobseekers’ Allowance should consult Miss Bond-Anderson, our school Administrator, so that the children’s entitlement to pupil premium may be arranged. Please note that if your child is entitled to pupil premium, this ensures that their entitlment to a free school meal continues even once they have moved to a junior school. Your child would also benefit from free school uniform, access to a free club/music or swimming lessons per academic year (subject to limits) as well as the school receiving funding to enable them to provide extra support and services. More information on how this money is spent can be found in the statutory information section of this website.

For more information about Pupil Premium click here

To apply for Pupil Premium click here

School Uniform

School Uniform can be purchased from our supplier Rock-It Promotions. Click this link and then follow the "School Shops" link.

Wearing of a School uniform is actively encouraged (although not compulsory at this age) and visitors often comment on how smart the children look in their schoolwear. This section describes our uniform and covers other important aspects such as wearing of jewellery, personal items and belongings and also includes Book Bags and PE kits.

The school colours are grey, navy, pale blue and white.

The uniform consists of:

Navy blue school sweatshirt, cardigan or jumper.

White or pale blue school polo shirt or shirt with a collar.

Dark grey trousers or shorts, skirts or pinafore dresses.

Blue and white gingham or striped dresses that can be worn during the summer.

Black sensible shoes. (Please note trainers and some ‘fashion’ shoes are not suitable for day wear in school.)

PE Kit

We also ask parents to provide PE kit which should include:

Shorts

T-shirt (in relevant house colour)

Plimsolls / trainers for outdoor games

A track suit must be provided for the Autumn & Spring Terms

Most PE work in the hall is undertaken in bare feet as recommended by the local education authority.

Pre Loved Uniform

The Friends of our school have a stock of pre-loved uniform available to purchase. Email your requests to thefriends@hfi.education or complete a pre-loved uniform request form and return it to the school office. Click here to download the request form. 

Jewellery & Personal Belongings

Jewellery is not to be worn in school. The accidental pulling and catching of earrings, watches and necklaces during play can cause severe damage to fingers and ear lobes! If your child has pierced ears we do allow studs but no other types of earring are allowed e.g. hoops (studs must be removed for PE). The local education authority endorses this policy. If your child inadvertently comes to school wearing a piece of jewellery, including watches, they will be asked to remove them and they will be returned to you at the end of the day. Please note the school cannot accept responsibility for the loss or damage of items of jewellery and watches or other personal belongings.

Book bags

Please check book bags daily for information. Children frequently take books home and they are also used to transport letters to and from school. Book bags can be purchased from the school office for £5.00.

Home School Partnership

Understanding how important is it to have support at home as well as in school is a huge contributor to the success of your child's education. This page on our site describes how our Home School Partnership works and how we can help your child by working together to support your child's development.

You are your child’s first and most important educator. At Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School we value and appreciate the important role you have to play in supporting your child in developing a positive attitude to school and learning. Studies have proven that children learn best when home and school work in partnership.

At Higham Ferrers Nursery and Infant School we offer a range of opportunities for parents to actively participate in supporting their children at school. Parents are encouraged to volunteer their help in classrooms on a regular rota basis, or on a more occasional basis by arrangement. DBS checks will need to be completed if you wish to help on a regular basis and further details are available from the school office.

Please note we also have many links with the community and encourage all pupils to become involved in projects that strengthen these links. For example, at Harvest time our children deliver groceries to local senior citizens. Children also visit local buildings and facilities to enhance the curriculum. We frequently welcome visitors and students to school.

Homework

Homework is set across the school. In setting homework we aim to:

• Promote positive attitudes to work and school
• Raise achievement of all pupils
• Consolidate and reinforce skills and understanding in literacy and numeracy across the curriculum
• Encourage independent learning
• Increase self discipline
• Develop home / school partnership
• Prepare children for transfer into each year group and the Junior School

A variety of types of homework are used depending on the age and ability of the children. These include:

• Reading
• Learning spellings / Finding words
• Maths tasks
• A piece of research on a familiar or a new topic
• Other work agreed with parents to consolidate learning

How you can help Your Child at Home

Helping your child in their learning is really valuable and you can gain a several benefits at the same time! Below we offer downloadable files that describe how we teach your child at our school. Each download is described clearly to help you to choose the right resource.

Our school E-Newsletters are sent out electronically every week, usually on a Friday. They keep parents informed about what is going on and future dates. (They are also posted on this school website). In addition, year groups send separate letters about activities specifically related to their themes and topics and these will also be found on this website. All information will be sent electronically, however, if you still require a paper copy please let the office know.

Parent and teacher consultation evenings are held twice a year and a formal written report goes out to parents in July. In addition, over the year there are a number of evenings and talks for parents to attend.

Teachers are available after school to discuss any immediate concerns with parents on an informal basis. Teaching Assistants are available in the morning to take messages for teachers. They will also locate staff to have a personal word in emergencies. The reason why we have this system is that first thing in the morning teachers are extremely busy welcoming children into the classroom and preparing for the day ahead. Alternatively you can ring the school office to make an appointment. Please do let us know about any ‘ups and downs’ in your child’s life so that we can provide help and support. If you or your child have problems please contact the class teacher, Deputy Headteacher or Headteacher so that they can be resolved. In the same way we will, of course share with you any concerns we identify - little worries are more difficult to sort out when they have grown into big ones. Of course, we will also share with you all of the great successes that your child has too!

The school has a Family Support Worker who is available to provide support on a wide range of issues including how to access help from other organisations such as Social Services or Health. She also provides a listening ear for parents. Her contact details are available from the school office.

Open Access to Records

As children are admitted to school we ‘open’ an LEA folder-file. This folder will be added to and reviewed annually, and will be passed to the child's future schools. The folder will hold the following information:

Name, Date of Birth, Address, Doctor etc.
Information concerning the child's personal circumstances
Reports and Records of the child's achievements

Please note that it is the Authority's policy to provide Open Access to all records of employees and pupils. Parents may, therefore, if they wish, ask to see their children's records by appointment with the Headteacher. Records will be confidential to all except those who have a rightful access to them. Parents should note that information concerning their child is also stored on computer systems and is subject to the Data Protection Act. A copy of the computer data is sent annually to parents, for checking and amending.

The school’s detailed curriculum planning documents and policy statements may also be viewed by parents at the school.

Helping Your Child at Home

Term Dates