Parent Information

The support of parents is vital in creating the strong community atmosphere which is such a strength of Skyswood. 

The teachers are always available to speak to parents, and every term you are invited for a consultation to assess your child’s progress. You may also catch up briefly before or after sessions or, for more extensive queries/concerns, an appointment can be made. 

We recognise the importance of strong parent/school partnerships in order to provide the best start in life for your child.  There are many opportunities to become involved in building these relationships as we ask you to commit to being part of our school community in a range of ways.  For example, punctuality and attendance are fundamental in supporting your child to settle into daily routines; there is clear evidence to show that the better the attendance then the better the learning for the child (more information on our Attendance and Absence procedures can be found here). Taking holidays during school term time is actively discouraged; the more time they have with us in class helps them to feel safe and secure in our environment. In addition, encouraging your child to walk or scoot to school is also something we encourage parents to commit to, and for those of you who live further afield, we appreciate it when you park a short distance from school and then walk or scoot into school for the remainder of your journey.  

We like to welcome every parent to automatically become a member of the Friends of Skyswood School (FoSS) and you are therefore welcome to join in the many varied activities that are organised throughout the school year. 

General information about how our school runs can be found below: 

Arriving at School

Registration takes place at 8.45 a.m. Children should not be on the school premises earlier than 8.40 a.m. or return before 1.00 p.m, if they go home for lunch. Prior to that time children are the responsibility of parents/carers. Children should not be left unaccompanied before this time.

Playground apparatus and equipment should not be used at the beginning of the school day. At the end of the school day, parents may allow their children to use the tyre park and larger apparatus as long as parents take responsibility for their safety and supervision. Children who are not attending after school clubs should leave the premises by 3.45 p.m. For children attending after school clubs, the school gates are locked at 4.30 p.m. Riding of bikes, scooters etc is prohibited in the school grounds at all times.

We encourage all children to walk to school, or to cycle once they have passed their cycling proficiency course. Cycling proficiency courses are offered in the summer term to all pupils in Year 5. If you need to take your car to be school then maybe you could consider parking a short distance away and at least walking part of the way. It is vital that both the school and home promote healthy lifestyles for your children.

Please remember to consider the safety of the children walking to school and give fair consideration to our neighbours when picking children up or dropping children off.

There is a School Crossing Patrol on the Ridgeway ring road.

General Security

Once all the children have arrived at school, the classroom doors are locked. All visitors to the School during school hours are required to go to the main reception area. This area is completely secure and separate from the rest of the school, and only authorised people are permitted to enter the school premises beyond reception.

Arriving late and picking up early

There may be occasions when, for reasons beyond control, your child will be late for school. When this happens please bring your child into the school at the main reception. Similarly, if you need to collect your child early from school, please come to the main reception.

This is important to ensure that our registers are complete and accurate in the case of emergencies. It is also important that the classes are not disturbed from doing the work that they have started. It can also be disruptive to a teacher to break the flow of lesson delivery, and he or she will not have the time to discuss the reasons for your child’s lateness – our secretary will do this at an appropriate moment in the day.

Parking

We ask you to drive carefully and park with consideration for the safety of all children when arriving and leaving school. We ask you not to use the school driveway and car park as this is only for the use of school staff and official visitors to the school. We have a Code of Conduct for travel to school. If you have special needs, please contact the school and we will make arrangements for you to use the school car park.

We would like to encourage as many children as possible to walk to school at all times. This is beneficial to your child’s health as well as to our environment. If you need to drive to school, why not “Park and Stride”, whereby you can park your car further away from the school and enjoy a short walk from there to school.

Medicines

Medicines should not normally be brought to school because of the danger to other children. Should your child need medication it should be noted that school staff are not permitted to administer such treatments. Special arrangements apply for children with diabetes, asthma or anaphylaxis – please consult with the Headteacher.

Illness and Injury

Please do not send children to School if they are unwell or have been sick or had diarrhoea in the last 48 hours. They will not cope with their lessons and it is not fair on other children.

We will do our best to deal with any illness or injury that occurs at school. If a child is injured in a manner that requires further medical attention or is too ill to continue at school, we will endeavour to contact you immediately.

For this reason all parents are asked to ensure that the School has your up to date telephone numbers, plus two additional emergency contacts (close relatives or friends) in case we are unable to contact you in person.

There are a number of cases when a child who has had an infection must remain at home for a specified number of days: