Frequently Asked Questions

What time should my child come to school and be picked up?

Gates open in the morning at 8.35.

You may walk your child around to the main playground.

A bell will ring at 8.40, signalling that children should line up quietly and calmly, ready to be lead into the building by their class teachers.

The school day ends at 3.15pm for EYFS and KS1 and at 3.20 for KS2.

Where can I order the uniform from?

The wearing of school uniform promotes a feeling of pride and a positive attitude to school and is compulsory. Our school colours, red and grey, are very distinctive and allow your child to be easily identified and help to create a good public image. St Margaret’s children always look very smart.

Summer uniform can be worn between 1st May and the end of the Summer Term. Winter uniform is to be worn between the first full week in October and Easter.

Between Easter and the 1st May and during September parents may choose either summer or winter uniform depending on weather conditions.

School uniform is available from www.mandsyourschooluniform.com, where you can buy your child’s school uniform with our school logo. School ties are available from the school office and should be paid for through School Money.

Our new PE T-shirt and sports jacket are available from www.pennuk.com

What should my child wear for PE in September?

We have made the decision that children can wear their FULL PE kits all day from September on their PE day.

FULL PE kit consists of our new logo top, black shorts or a skort for girls and trainers.

Children will do PE in most weathers so black jogging bottoms or sports leggings can be worn if preferred. All children should have a black zip up hoodie in school with them also or the school sports jacket available from Penn.

All PE kit is available from Penn Sports – please see our Uniform page for more details.

How much are School dinners?

From September 2020 school meals are priced at £2.20 and should be paid for via School Money. A menu is published each week.

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are all entitled to a free school meal under the Universal Free School Meal Incentive.

Your child may be eligible for free school meals if you are receiving any of the following:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Child Tax Credit (not Working Tax Credit), with an annual income below £16,190
Pension Guarantee Credit
Employment and Support Allowance, income related
Support under part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act, 1999
Working Tax Credit run-on, paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Universal Credit, with a household income of £7,400 or less (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

More information including how to apply can be found online or ask at the school office.

Does the school have a breakfast Club?

The school has a breakfast Club that runs from 7.30am each day.

Places cost £3 a day and are bookable a week in advance via our online paying system: school money.
Please speak to the office for further details or look at our dedicated page for Breakfast Club.

What happens during severe weather?

Adverse Weather Closures

If we do decide that we need to close the school as a result of bad snow or bad road conditions this is not a decision that we take lightly. Adverse weather really does mean ‘severe’ as opposed to a slight flurry. If circumstances are such that you think there is a possibility that we may be forced to close either first thing in the morning or during the day, we would please ask you to check the following:

Check emails, text messages and our Twitter page – we will always text parents however when many schools use email systems they can be slow to be received.

Come to this school’s website to see if a message has been posted on the home page.

Radio Broadcasts

You can tune into the local radio stations listed below where closure information will be broadcast on a regular basis (note that BBC Essex’s website is updated before any broadcasts). However, it can take us up to 20-30 minutes to get connected, and then the message will only be broadcast in the next ’round’ of announcements.

BBC Essex: 103.5 FM / 729 AM

Dream 100: 100.2 FM

Early Closure

If weather conditions should deteriorate badly once the children are already in school please first check the school’s website to check for any new message that has been posted on the home page. Please try to avoid calling the school office for information. It is very difficult to function with such a high volume of incoming calls.

If we decide we must close early, we will inform the radio stations (again, BBC Essex will update their website before any broadcasts take place) and also text & email parents.

What are ‘normal’ school opening times?

The school day

Playground gate opens at 8.35am
School doors open at 8.40 am.
All children should be in class for registration by 8.45 am.
Morning session: 9.00 a.m. – 12.05 p.m.
Lunch break: 12.05 p.m. – 12.55 p.m.
Afternoon session: 12.55 p.m. – 3.15/20pm

What is your Lateness Procedure?

Punctuality

School doors open at 8.40 am. Morning registration is at 8.45 am. This is the time your child must be in the classroom, so you need to ensure your child is coming through the school gate by 8.40 am.
It is important to be on time as the first few minutes of the school day are often used to give out instructions or organise schoolwork for the rest of the day.
After the close of registration (9.05 am) your child will be marked as unauthorised in line with the Department for Education guidance.
Unauthorised lateness could result in the school referring to the Local Authority for sanctions and/or legal proceedings.
If your child has a persistent late record, you will be asked to meet with the Headteacher and/or Attendance Officer, but you can approach us at any time if you are having difficulties getting your child to school on time. We expect parents and staff to encourage good punctuality by being good role models to our children and celebrate good class and individual punctuality.
Children who remain uncollected at the end of school time will be referred to a place of safety if not collected or the school contacted by school closing time.
The school will keep a record of lateness at the end of the day and contact you if we have concerns regarding this.

What is your Absence Procedure?

As a school we aim to:

Maintain an attendance rate of a minimum of 96%
Maintain parents’ and pupils’ awareness of the importance of regular attendance.

Good attendance is important because:

There is a direct link between under-achievement and poor attendance
Children with high attendance make better progress, both socially and academically
Children with high attendance find school routines and school work easier to cope with
Children with high attendance find learning more satisfying
Children with high attendance have an easier transfer to secondary school

As a parent you can help us by:

You should call on the first morning of all absences with the reason and tell us when the child will return. The telephone number is 01268 552176.
Dental and doctor’s appointments should be booked out of school hours or during school breaks
Provide a note explaining the reason for absence on your child’s return to school after an illness
Keep us updated by telephone or letter if your child has an extended period of absence due to illness

We shall:

Follow up unexplained absences by phone calls and letters as soon as possible
Inform parents of the importance of regular attendance and punctuality in newsletters, the school brochure and the Home-School agreement
Publish our attendance rate in the school prospectus
Reward good attendance
Publish your child’s attendance rate on her/his annual school report and let you know termly your child’s attendance rate
We will let you know if we have concerns regarding your child’s attendance
If we continue to have concerns we will make a referral to the Education Welfare Officer

Each year we publish our school attendance figures on our website.

Authorised Absence

Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if a child is ill, family bereavement, religious observance.

We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent. Please let us know and we shall try to deal with it sympathetically.

Unauthorised Absence

There are times when children are absent for reasons, which are not permitted by law. These are known as “unauthorised absences”. Examples of unauthorised absence are:

“I’m waiting on a delivery.”
“I’m shopping/going for a hair cut.”
“We are going for a family day out.”
“It is my child’s birthday.”
“We are sleeping in after a late night.”
Holidays during term
If there is no explanation for the absence or where the reason for the absence is considered unsatisfactory

Unauthorised Absences have to be reported to the Local Authority. The Attendance Compliance Team at the Local Authority may contact you and consider taking legal action against you if your child has unauthorised absences.

Term Time Leave of Absence

As from 1st September, 2013 the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 have been amended. All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed, together with the right for parents to apply for up to 10 days.

Therefore, the school will no longer be permitted to grant leave of absence during term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. A pupil who takes 10 days absence will only attain 94.7% attendance in the year. 10 days absence also means the pupil will miss 50 hours of education.

If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken the case will be referred to the Attendance Compliance Team at the Local Authority which could result in a fine.

Please remember that the more time your child misses from school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up with their work. Valuable learning time is lost.

My child is sick. Should they still come to school?

NHS Poster – Advice on Childhood Illness

Local NHS experts have joined forces with Essex County Council to produce an at-a-glance guide to 17 childhood illnesses including Chicken Pox, Glandular Fever, Ringworm and Tonsillitis.

The poster above highlights key symptoms of common illnesses which are traffic light colour coded to indicate whether children should go to school or stay at home.

Illnesses in the green category – for example colds and conjunctivitis – are those where children should continue to go to school.

The amber category is when an illness could be catching and there are some restrictions on school attendance.

Children should not go to school and should see a GP if the illness falls into the red category. Red category illnesses are German measles. Impetigo, Measles and Whooping Cough.

The poster also advises parents on where they should first seek treatment, either from their local pharmacist or their GP.

There is guidance on when to consult a GP if symptoms persist and advice on when it should be safe for a child to return to school if they have a particular illness.