The School Day

School starts at 8.45am.
 
Parents are invited to drop off on the playground. Members of staff will be on duty from 8.35am each day.
 
The school day finishes at 3.15pm.
 
Children are collected from the playground.
 
The school day lasts for 6.5 hours, which equates to a school week of 32 hours.
Outcome of the consultation on the Government minimum expectation on length of the school week

As you will be aware, the Government published a mandatory change for schools to ensure they deliver 32.5 hours of education to pupils as a minimum expectation. This requirement is to be in place from September 2024. As a result, our school will need to change the opening hours to pupils.

At the start of the year we undertook a consultation on these changes to hours. I appreciate that these changes may affect you in terms of childcare or working arrangements. Consequently, we invited feedback from all stakeholders, including our families, nurseries, middle schools, NCC, transport providers and childminders to make sure that the proposed hours were acceptable for all and to give adequate notice of the changes.
 
The school day for Reception to Year 4 is set out below:
Day Current Start Current End NEW START NEW END
Monday 8.55am 3.15pm 8.45am 3.15pm
Tuesday 8.55am 3.15pm 8.45am 3.15pm
Wednesday 8.55am 3.15pm 8.45am 3.15pm
Thursday 8.55am 3.15pm 8.45am 3.15pm
Friday 8.55am 3.15pm 8.45am 3.15pm

These times will be in place from September 2024, after the children return from the summer break. The school gates will be opened at 8.35am each day and children will access their classes in the usual way, with doors opening at 8.40am to allow for a prompt 8.45am start.

During the consultation, parents thoughtfully mentioned pupil and staff wellbeing and the management of this during the changes. We hope to use the extra time during the morning for wellbeing activities and check-in time using the Zones of Regulation. The additional time at the end of the day will facilitate shared stories and class reading time as well as the opportunity to enhance curriculum depth for the foundation subjects. Staff are excited for the changes and we know this time will benefit the children in a positive way.
 
I appreciate your support to help us meet this statutory requirement.
 
Yours sincerely,
Suzanne Hart
Executive Headteacher