Parent Handbook

This handbook is designed to contain all of the key information you might need to know about life at Rustington Community Primary School. It has been compiled as an A-Z guide, in the hope that you can easily find the information you need; however, if you have any query to which you cannot find the answer, you can always contact the school office.

Absence

It is important that a phone call is made to the school during the first morning of absence as the school has to account for, and report on, both authorised and unauthorised absence from school.  Late arrivals longer than thirty minutes after registration will be recorded as unauthorised. Once attendance registers have been taken each morning, the school will telephone parents with reference to unexplained absences.  Parents requesting a child's absence for reasons other than illness should do so by completing a request form available from School Office.  This form can also be found on our school website under Parents & Carers/Useful Documents.

Behaviour

We take great pride in our children’s behaviour. We like to think that our strong home-school partnership plays a major part in encouraging the highest standards of learning behaviour. Our school’s  Restorative Behaviour Policy, Life Skills Curriculum and Core Values ensure we have a consistent focus on positive values and a clear model of expected conduct.

See Behaviour Policy

Anti-social behaviour

Bullying is not an acceptable or inevitable part of growing up and it will not be tolerated. Our Anti-Bullying Policy sets out all we do to prevent bullying, as well as responding appropriately when we suspect that negative behaviour is being targeted at individuals or groups. We hold an Anti Bullying Week every year and we hope everyone in our school community feels able to speak up and speak out against bullying.

We try to keep your children safe from cyber-bullying, protect them from harmful or illegal content and teach them to be responsible cyber-citizens. In this increasingly digital world, these essential life-skills cannot be overlooked or taken for granted. We recommend parents look at the guidance on our website which contains up-to-date information about how to keep your child safe https://rustington.academy/E-safety/  

See Anti-Bullying Policy

Bikes & Scooters

We encourage healthy modes of transport when travelling to and from school, and provide secure cycle and scooter storage on site for pupils. We do ask that all children travelling this way do so while wearing a suitable helmet for their protection.

Bikes and scooters should not be ridden whilst on the school site. Please ask your child to dismount at the main gates, and push their bike or scooter to the shelter.

Class groups

On entry into the school in Early Years the children are allocated so they have a friend in class. We then move children into new class groups (with a chosen friend that they work well with) as they enter Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5 - in all cases, decisions about class groups are made by school staff based on their knowledge of all the relevant children. We would only consider class moves at other times in exceptional circumstances.

Clubs

The school is always pleased to host a range of before- and after-school clubs. Many of these are run by school staff who volunteer to give up their time to lead activities from arts to languages, lego to sports. In addition, we have a number of external providers who offer activities for a small weekly charge.

Full details of the club offer are sent to parents each term, with an opportunity for children to sign up to the clubs they want to attend. We do ask that children attend regularly if they have been signed up to a club, and that you keep us informed if children cannot attend.

Communication & letters

The vast majority of our communications with parents are via email. This includes newsletters, routine information about trips and other activities, and other updates.

It is important that families update the school if any of their contact details, including address, email or phone number, change so that we can ensure you still receive all communications.

For individual matters, school staff will often make direct contact via telephone rather than email. Equally, parents are welcome to make contact with the class teacher via the school office using telephone or email. 

Urgent matters in the mornings can be conveyed via the school office, or to one of the members of staff on the entrance doors.

News of school activities and events are also shared via our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter 

Monday Matters

This is emailed to parents every Monday, and includes details of the certificate winners for the week and events coming up.

Rustington Round Up

This is emailed to parents in the last week of every half term, and includes a message from our Headteacher, information from each year group about any trips they have been on and what they have been learning.  It also includes other items of interest relating to school.

Arbor Download the APP from the APP store or Google Play.

Our preferred method of communicating information via email or text, and for parents to pay for activities and trips etc is via Arbor.  We also use this medium to organise appointments for parents evenings, and for absence reporting.

Facebook PTA — https://www.facebook.com/RustingtonCommunityPrimarySchoolPTA

All the latest PTA news.  Parents can add comments or ask questions via this Facebook page.

Complaints

In the first instance always talk to your child's class teacher if there are any issues. Many concerns are quickly resolved with a conversation, and often are a result of misunderstanding.

If your concern remains unresolved then contact the Deputy or Headteacher through the Office. For further information and guidance please reference our Complaints Policy https://rustington.academy/Policies/ 

Curriculum

Each week, the children will study a core curriculum of English, mathematics, science, Spanish and PE. In addition, the other subjects are included in rotation such that children regularly receive a broad curriculum that includes art, music, history, geography, computing and design technology.

For many subjects, the children's key knowledge is recorded in a knowledge organiser. To view these please refer to our curriculum page https://rustington.academy/Copy-of-Curriculum/  These can be used to support learning at home.

Drop-off/Pick-up arrangements

We operate a flexible drop-off time between 8.30 and 8.40am. The gates to the playground open at 8.30am, at which point children can begin making their way to their classrooms. 

Children enter the building independently through their year group entrance and travel directly to their classrooms.

At the end of the day, children are dismissed from the same entrance. For children up to and including Year 4 we ask that a named adult is available to meet them; older children are dismissed independently.

Emergency Closure

In the rare event that the school is forced to close unexpectedly, we will communicate this to parents via email, as well as posting information on the school website and social media pages. If this is at short notice, a text message will be sent to registered parents.

Equipment

All children are provided with a pencil case and all the necessary stationery for their schooling. All that needs to be brought from home is a PE kit, lunch, (optional) healthy snack for break and a water bottle.

First Aid

As with any primary school, we expect a number of trips, bumps and accidents over the course of the year, and ensure that first aid is always on hand. At break and lunchtimes, the supervising staff have access to first aid kits; for any more serious injuries or at other times, children will go to the first aid room for first aid.

We will notify parents of any injury to the head, or of any injury or accident which might require further attention. Other minor bumps and scratches will be recorded in school, but we do not contact parents for these.

Free School Meals

In Early Years, Year 1 and Year 2 children are automatically entitled to a free school meal. However, if you are in receipt of benefits, your child may be eligible for the entire time they are at the school.

Further details about free school meals -and an online application form - are available from West Sussex County Council:
https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/education-children-and-families/schools-and-colleges/free-school-meals/

https://rustington.academy/School-Dinners/ 

Holidays

Government legislation only permits headteachers to authorise absence where exceptional circumstances apply. Please refer to page 8 of our policy for specific categories that can be authorised: 

https://rustington.academy/docs/policies/Attendance_Policy.pdf 

If holidays are taken without authorisation, a fine may be issued by West Sussex County Council, or a court case pursued in some cases.

If parents wish to request absence from school for any reason, they are asked to complete an absence request form and return this to school as soon as possible. Forms are available on the website.

Holiday Childcare

During school holiday closures, provision is often made for an activity club to run on the school campus for families to access. Details are provided by contacting Funstars directly https://rustington.academy/Funstars/ 

Homework

Pupils in all year groups receive weekly homework consisting of reading, maths and spelling tasks. In Year 6, pupils will also receive additional tasks in preparation for transition to secondary school.

Every week homework will be set through Google classroom but paper copies are also available. Reading can be independent reading or reading with an adult.

The tasks set are designed to be “little and often” activities to encourage recall and retention of key knowledge. It isn’t necessary to let school know if the occasional practice is missed, but please do communicate with us if homework is becoming a challenge at home: we want it to support learning, not cause friction in the family!

https://rustington.academy/docs/policies/Home_Learning_Policy.pdf 

Houses

Every class is placed in one of our three houses at the school:

Turind

Franklin

Newton

Children can earn house points for their house through following the school expectations and striving for excellent behaviour. These are totalled weekly, with a class reward being awarded at the end of each half-term.

Lost Property

All uniform and other items of clothing coming into school should be labelled with your child’s name; this allows us to return items quickly if they become separated. On occasion, school staff may write a name into an item of clothing to ensure that it can be reunited with its owner.

In the event that unnamed property is found, it is taken to lost property where it is kept for a week. If after this time it has not been claimed, the items will be disposed of, either for use as pre-loved uniform or donation to charity.

Lunch / hot meals

All pupils eat their hot lunch in the school hall, with hot meals available to purchase from Chartwells and for those eligible for free school meals.

If you wish to order hot meals for your child orders must be placed at least ten days before the week of taking the meal. Parents also choose the meal their child has each day with a default of a jacket potato if a meal isn't allocated by a parent.

If you require a login or help ordering meals please contact the Office who will be happy to help.

Medical appointments

Wherever possible, families are asked to book routine medical appointments such as dental check-ups outside of school hours. However, where this is not possible, please bring an appointment card/confirmation text into the school office so that we can approve the absence. Whenever children are collected from or returned to school other than at the usual start/end times, please go directly to the office.

Medicines in school

Wherever possible, we ask that routine medication is administered outside of school hours. In the case of treatments which require 3x daily doses, we would recommend that these are taken before and after school, and shortly before bed.

Where medicine does need to be administered during the school day, parents should speak to the office or Mrs Jephson to agree the requirements and record the agreement in writing.

Mobile phones and smart technology

Pupils in older year groups may bring in mobile phones if they are to be used for parental contact when they are walking to and from school. We expect personal smart technology to not be available for use during lesson time or on the school premises before or after school. Therefore, we ask for all mobile phones to be handed to the teacher upon arrival and for children not to wear smart watches in school.

We also ask that parents monitor their children’s use of mobile phones and other devices outside of school. While there are many benefits to the use of the internet, we often see issues arise in school which stem from inappropriate use of technology outside of school.

Music tuition

If you are interested in paying for private individual or group tuition for your child, please do ask at the school office about available options. We employ Rock Steady Music School to give peripatetic music tuition. 

Payments

We try to minimise the amount of cash used in the school office. Wherever possible, we encourage families to pay for trips, activities and uniform online using a Arbor.

PE Kit

All children should bring a PE kit to school each week. We advise that this is left in school all week to allow for timetable changes.

The PE kit consists of  a white t-shirt with (optional school logo), royal blue shorts, black plimsolls or trainers.

Please supply a suitable dark coloured sweatshirt and tracksuit/joggers for winter months.

Photography

We use photographs to record episodes of learning, activities and major events happening at school.  On joining the school, parents can provide consent for these images to be shared on our website and social media pages.

We also receive two visits a year from our official school photographer. This allows families an opportunity to purchase a professional photograph of their child, and then also of their class.

At events which are open to parents such as sports day or performances, we do allow photographs to be taken by guests. Families are asked to take care in how they share these photographs, and are particularly asked not to share photos openly on social media or other online channels.

PTA

To allow us to offer a wider range of activities and opportunities for children, we raise funds through our PTA group. All parents are automatically entitled to membership of the group, and we encourage voluntary help at events such as discos and summer fairs. The group is also led by a small committee of volunteers who can offer a little more time to help organise events. If you are interested in joining the group, they can be contacted via the school office or through their facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/RustingtonCommunityPrimarySchoolPTA 

Reading and Phonics

We start by teaching phonics in Reception using the Song of Sounds programme. The Song of Sounds programme is a dynamic hands-on approach that brings phonics to life with engaging, interactive activities that reinforce learning. 

Each of the three units uses a song as the basis for their learning. See below for a link to the Song of Sounds songs.

Children learn how to ‘read’ the sounds in words and how those sounds can be written down. This is essential for reading, but it also helps the children learn to spell accurately.

Reading books that children take home connect directly to the phonics sounds that they have learnt. This enables children to build their confidence and fluency whilst they are mastering the skills of reading

In Year 2 children start switching to the computer based reading program called Accelerated Reader which enables all books to be catalogued by reading level.

Children are tested to see which level they are and then they are given a ZPD (zone of proximal development) which is a range of book level targeted at their next stage in reading and comprehension. Usually they start at the lowest level in the range and read through the levels at their own pace. Using this range they choose levelled books in school and when they have read the book they complete an online quiz to check their understanding. This system enables teachers to review children's reading and set their next target.

Religious Education

Reporting to Parents

We hold parents evenings in the autumn and spring terms of each year – usually around November and February. Parents also receive a written report at the end of the academic year in July reflecting your child’s progress in all curriculum areas.

At other times, parents are always welcome to contact their child’s class teacher, either by speaking to them on the playground at the end of the day, or requesting a telephone call or appointment through the school office.

Safeguarding

Our first priority as a school is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all of our pupils. We ask that parents and volunteers support us in this, by raising any concerns about the safety of any child, in or out of school.

If you have any concerns, you can talk at any time to one of our safeguarding leads. Anyone can also raise a concern about a child’s safety or welfare through the local authority’s safeguarding hub by telephoning 01403 229900.

School nurse

While schools no longer have access to an in-school service, families can make contact with the school nursing team for any support with issues that may affect school. Parents can text a school nurse for a confidential conversation at 07312 277011.

Sex and Relationships Education

Health and Relationships Education is taught in line with the statutory requirements for all year groups. Further details are available in the Health and Relationships Education policy on the website. In Years 5 and 6, children will also be introduced to content about puberty and then sexual relationships.

Snacks

Children are welcome to bring a healthy snack to school to eat during the morning playtime. This might be fruit, cheese-based or a low-sugar snack such as crackers. We do not allow chocolate bars or crisps at breaktimes.

Social Media

The school has a presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. These channels are aimed solely at parents, and are not intended for children’s use, as we discourage children’s use of social media.

We use the social media channels for sharing news with families about events in school as well as other local news and activities which may be relevant to families. You can find our accounts below:

Facebook and Twitter 

Special Educational Needs

Many children need some additional support during their time at school, whether with learning or other aspects of their schooling. Often this can be addressed within our normal school practices.

If you feel your child may have a need which has not been identified, please speak to their class teacher in the first instance.

Full detail of our SEND offer is available on the website.

Sports clubs & teams

The school runs many clubs, and takes teams to a number of events both within the locality area and across the county. Teams are selected in different ways depending on the event. In some cases, an ‘elite squad’ will be selected to compete in events, while on other occasions there will be opportunities to try out new teams or take novice teams to new activities. In all cases, decisions will be made by the staff leading the events.

Sun Protection

During the summer months, children are encouraged to bring sun hats to school, and we ask that sun cream is applied before coming to school. 

Swimming

Pupils in Years 3 and 5/6 make use of the Littlehampton Wave swimming centre for swimming lessons over a course of approximately 10 weeks each year. We ask for parental donations to help cover the costs of both the lessons and the transport to the leisure centre. At the centre, children are taught according to their ability by specialist coaches.

Term dates

The school’s term dates are published well in advance on the school website and emailed home to parents. These can be found here.

Timings of the day

Gates open at 8.30 for an 8.40 registration

Early Years finish at 3pm and all other year groups finish at 3.10pm

For all year groups from Year 1 to Year 6 this constitutes a 32.5 school week with additional facilities for wrap around care through Funstars

https://rustington.academy/Funstars/ or before and after school clubs. 

Uniform

All pupils at RCPS wear a smart uniform. Full details of the uniform are available in the Policy menu of the school website. 

All items are available from either Ricara or Felix Dance and Leisurewear:

Ricara of 3 Arundel Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex Telephone 01903 723843 or Felix Dance and Leisurewear, of 37 Beach Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex Telephone 01903 721375.

All items without the logo can also be purchased from retail outlets such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda.

If parents have difficulties affording uniform then please let the Office know as we also have second-hand uniform available at a very low cost.

Visits & Residentials

From time to time, we organise visits or other activities which complement the learning happening in school. We ask that parents offer a contribution towards the costs of these visits and so try to keep costs to a minimum.

In Year 6 we also offer a residential visit to participate in more adventurous activities. Information about  visits is shared with parents well in advance, and payment for the residentials can be made over a period through regular small payments.

Families eligible for free school meals, or who might otherwise struggle to meet the costs of such visits, are encouraged to contact the school in confidence to discuss the support that is available.

Volunteering

We welcome parents and other volunteers at the school to offer further breadth and depth to children’s learning, and to offer support on trips and other visits.

Volunteers are required to complete a safeguarding check with the school office in advance of working with children. We also offer training and guidance for volunteers taking on roles such as hearing readers or supporting with learning, so that volunteers are familiar with the approaches used in school.

If you are interested in volunteering at the school, please speak to your child’s class teacher or the school office in the first instance.

Outdoor Learning

Each half term, every child has a session in our Outdoor Learning area. These sessions may be run by teaching staff or a Forest School trained staff member. 

Wrap-Around Care

Families wishing to access childcare before or after school can do so by contacting Funstars, who operate from the school site and additionally run activities in the school holidays to help with child care.