Reception Class New Starters September 2023

 

Here you will find a host of information from the Reception New Starter Welcome meeting.

 

 

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Read Write Inc

 

What is Read Write Inc Phonics?

 

Read Write Inc. Phonics teaches children to read accurately and fluently with good comprehension. They learn to form each letter, spell correctly, and compose their ideas step-by-step.

 

For more information please visit the Ruth Miskin Parents Page and watch the short video below.

 

 

Parent/Carers will be invited to our Read Write Inc workshops in September. We will contact you closer to the time regarding this.

 

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Maths – Supporting Your Child at Home

 

 

Parent/Carers will also be invited to our Maths workshops in September.

 

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Early Learning Goals

 

 

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The School Day

 

The first day of the Autumn term is Monday 4th September and the timings for the school day are as follows:

 

• Morning Session: 9.00am – 12.00pm
• Afternoon Session: 1.00pm – 3.30pm.

 

For the first week only, we will open the Reception class doors from 8.40am to allow you a larger window to drop off your child. This will hopefully reduce the typical first day congestion and make their start at Riverside an enjoyable and stress free one.

 

The drop-off and pick up point for Reception children is located on the main school playground near the pencils – Click on the thumbnail below to enlarge the map.

 

The Reception class teachers will be there to welcome you and and your child on the first day. After that, there will always be a member of staff at this gate each morning. If you wish to speak to the class teacher we ask that you wait until all children have entered the classroom first.

 

 

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Attendance

 

At Riverside Primary Academy we are passionate about good attendance. We want to work together with our families to make this happen as we know it will have a positive impact your child’s education.

 

The government state that as a parent, you are responsible for making sure your child, of school age receives a suitable full-time education. It is a parent’s responsibility to make sure your child is in school.

 

At Riverside we expect our parents to:

 

• Not allow their children to miss unnecessary time from school for low level illness (e.g., coughs and colds) or headlice.
• If your child is absent, please contact school before 9.30am to provide a reason for absence and expected date of return.
• Ensure your child arrives on time for school (8.55am).
• Try to make medical appointments outside of school time.
• Arrange holidays during the allocated school holiday periods.
• Let us know if there is anything affecting your child’s attendance. This includes issues that may not be related to illness. We can support you.
• Encourage your child to form positive views about their education. They learn from their parents. A child who feels positive about school is more likely to want to attend every day.

 

School will be in touch if:

 

• We are concerned about your child’s attendance and/or punctuality.
• If we do not hear from you regarding an absence as this would be classed as a safeguarding issue.
• There are specific issues affecting attendance e.g., friendship/confidence/social difficulties. We would then offer support.

 

Good attendance means your child will enjoy:

 

• Valuable learning opportunities.
• Fun activities and social aspects of school.
• Reaching their developmental milestones.
• Accurate teacher assessments of their learning needs. This could mean vital opportunities for providing your child with additional support (if needed) are put in place.

 

Our attendance policy can be found here: Search, Key Information, School Policies, Attendance Policy.  Also, this DFE document gives guidance on parental responsibility: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-for-behaviour-and-attendance

 

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School Meals

 

As you may be aware every child in Reception is entitled to a Universal Infant School Meal which is funded by the government. This means that your child will be eligible for a free meal until they reach Year 3.

 

To order a hot/cold meal for your child at school we use a catering provider called Dolce. Using their award winning software SchoolGrid you can login to your account to pre-order meals for them from home. Of course, you are also welcome to provide them with a packed lunch if you prefer.  There will always be a choice of four different meals.  Again, we will create and account for you ready for September so you should receive a separate email with instructions on how to log in. We do encourage parents to pre-order their meals from home so that you can be sure that your child is something for lunch that he will enjoy.

 

MEANS TESTED FREE SCHOOL MEALS

 

Even though every child in Reception will have the option of a ‘Universal Infant School Meal’, it is vitally important that all parent/carers who qualify for a traditional ‘Free School Meal’ under the current benefits criteria, also register with Gateshead Council’s Benefit Service,

 

Even if you do not wish for your child to eat a school meal, you could receive food shopping vouchers for school holiday periods. For every valid application submitted, our school receives valuable funding towards resources which will contribute to your child’s education.

 

If you believe your family are entitled to a means tested ‘Free School Meal’ please complete an application form online here: Free School Meals – Apply Online.

 

For more information on ‘Free School Meals’ please contact the Benefits Service on 0191 433 3729 or visit www.gateshead.gov.uk.

 

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School Communication

 

We use an app called My Ed which is simple to use and provides a more cost effective way of keeping in touch with our community. It’s simple to setup and you will receive all updates from school directly to your phone and you can even reply completely free of charge.

 

We encourage all parents to use it as it is a huge cost saver for us and means we can spend the money saved on expensive text messages on other areas of school.

App features – as well as communication you can also view your child’s up to date attendance and it also offers useful links to other areas such as:

 

• School Term and holiday dates
• Facebook page
• School Uniform supplier
• School Meals
• IRIS PlusPay

 

You can download the app now if you wish ready for September. The My Ed app is available for both Apple iOS and Android devices and can be found using the links below:

 

Step 1 - Go to your App Store

Step 2 - Search for My Ed

Step 3 - Download the free App

 

Or, you can click on this link to download MyEd directly from your App Store: https://www.myedschoolapp.com/get/

 

See the benefits of using MyEd by watching this short video:

 

 

Once you have installed and opened My Ed, search for Riverside Primary Academy and follow the simple instructions to identify yourself.

 

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School Payments

 

At Riverside Primary Academy we operate a cashless school and we use a secure payments system called IRIS PlusPay for all school payments.  PlusPay provides parents/carers with greater convenience for booking Breakfast Club, making payment for school trips, pre-loved uniform, sports clubs amongst many other items. We will always inform you of any items requiring payment by a message via My Ed.

 

While you can download the My Ed app now, you will not be able to register for PlusPay until your child has started with us in September. A step by step guide to installing the MyEd app and also how to register for PlusPay can be found here.

 

If you have any issues with PlusPay or the My Ed app, please do not hesitate to contact our Office team who will be happy to assist you.

 

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Wrap Around Childcare Provision

 

In addition to set school hours, we offer additional childcare before and after school. Details for Breakfast Club can be viewed here and can be booked via IRIS PlusPay. Our after-school childcare is provided by a third party company, PEAK Pioneers, whom handle the bookings for this directly. For further information on PEAK Pioneers and how to book, please contact PEAK directly here.

 

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School Uniform

 

Our school uniform is supplied by a local company – Logos Unlimited – who handle all of your school uniform requirements on our behalf. They have stores at Team Valley and Swalwell and you can also order via their website. Click here for more details.

 

Uniform

 

• Bottle green sweatshirt or cardigan*
• Bottle green fleece*
• Emerald green polo shirt*
• Black or grey trousers, skirt or pinafore
• Black, sensible, low-heeled shoes or plain black trainers (no branding)
• Plain black, grey or white socks or black/ grey tights
• Green and white gingham dresses are optional for the warmer months.

 

PE uniform (Children are asked to bring their PE kit to change for PE lessons)

 

• Plain black shorts
• Plain, round neck t-shirt, either Red, Green, Blue or Yellow in allocated house colour.*
• Black trainers
• Black hoodie and long tracksuit bottoms for outdoor learning, forest school lessons and PE.
• No football kits or branding

 

* These items are available from our uniform supplier with school logo embroidery.

 

Black sensible school shoes must be worn. It would help your child if they had a black reading bag to carry books and homework between home and school.

 

Parents may want to consider their purchases of non-logo items such as skirts and trousers from their local supermarkets which are usually priced very competitively.

 

We do have a small selection of pre-loved school uniform items available which can be purchased via PlusPay. Here you will see all of the products we currently have in stock. If you would like to check what we have in stock before your child arrives in September, please contact the School Office.

Please read our School Uniform Policy for further details:

 

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Key Staff

 

Here is a selection of our key staff for you and your child to familiarise yourselves with.

 

Early Years Staff

 

Early Years Leadership Team

 

 

 

SEND Leader

 

Office Staff

 

Designated Safeguarding Staff

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School Prospectus

 

As you have already chosen Riverside Primary Academy for your child, it is highly likely you will have already seen our wonderful prospectus. If not, click on the link below to find out more about our wonderful school.

 

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This is a question we are often asked by parents.  Preparing your child for school also means preparing your child for life and the attitudes and standards learnt from you will influence your child for the rest of their life.  Children need to know what standards are expected of them; e.g. good manners – knowing when to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.   Skills established early in life will always be remembered.  Some suggestions might be… when your child asks for something; you model what to say e.g. bring me your bag please.

 

Please take a look at our Helping to Get Your Child Reception Ready leaflet for more tips.

 

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Child Information Form

 

To allow us to care for your child in the appropriate way during their time in our school, it is vital that we hold up to date emergency contact details for parents and carers and any additional relatives or friends that we can contact in an emergency. This form also provides us with any dietary or medical needs your child may have that we need to be aware of.

 

There is also a section allowing you to give us consent to take and use photographs of your child for school purposes throughout their time with us. If you have not yet done so, we would appreciate if you could complete this form at your earliest convenience to allow us to plan for your child’s first days at Riverside Primary Academy.

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Some useful resources for you and your child

 

0-10 Number Track

 

Number & Shape Matching Activity – Number Bonds to 10 – Number Cards

 

Early Learning Goal – Prompt Cards

 

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Ofsted Report

 

View our latest Ofsted Report and see why we were rated “Good” here: