School starts with registration at 8.50am. Children must arrive before 8.50 but not before 8.40. A member of staff will always be on the playground where your child should be dropped off. Any child arriving late must be brought to the front of school, entering via the school office and be signed in. If your child is ill or you are unavoidably delayed please notify the office as soon as possible.

There is a morning break when milk and fruit is available. A small charge is made for milk, payable in advance. All children eat lunch in the school hall. This is served in two sittings – KS1 followed by KS2.  Hot dinners are available every day of the week, free for all KS1 children. Menus are sent home and meals are chosen and paid for in advance. Alternatively, children can bring a packed lunch in a suitable lunch box. Children are not allowed to bring glass containers or fizzy drinks.

At the end of the day parents/carers collect their children from the playground at 3.00. A number of varied and exciting after school clubs run throughout the week and cater for different age ranges. Children should be collected from the office at 4.00pm.

There is no automatic right to absence for holidays. Only in exceptional circumstances will children be allowed time out of school. If this is the case parents should seek permission for absence at least six weeks before departure.

Medication: Staff are not permitted or covered by insurance to administer medication without proper authority and indemnity; therefore any prescribed medication which is necessary for a child to take during school hours should be handed to the Office Manager. Parents should also complete an ‘Authorisation of Administration of Medicines’ form, available from the office. A record is kept of time and dose of medicine administered during school hours.

Inhalers: Where a child is asthmatic, inhalers should be brought into school to be used as required, under supervision.

School Induction Programme

We are keen to make the transition into school life as smooth as possible for our new in-take children. We have very strong links with the local pre-school who use our Forest School each week, familiarising the children with the school environment.

During the second half of the summer term the class teacher or TA visits Charlton pre-school weekly, working alongside the children. During the summer term the new intake visit weekly, working and playing with the current reception children who introduce them to routines and procedures. Towards the end of term children have lunch at school. In the summer term there will be a meeting for parents to explain school life and introduce ourselves. A letter is distributed confirming these arrangements.

During the same term staff from Cats Class organise ‘home/school’ visits with families of children starting in the autumn if desired.

All reception children start school in September.  We offer a very flexible start to school life. Children are encouraged to attend full time but individual needs are obviously taken into account. We recognise that saying goodbye to your child can be a traumatic event and are happy to offer any support that we can. Children enter school through the back playground and are likewise picked up from the classroom at 3.00pm.

Breakfast Club: 8.00am-8.40am

Gates and Classrooms open: 8.40am

Morning session: 8.50am -12.15pm

Lunch: 12.15pm -1.15pm 

Afternoon session: 1.15pm – 3.00pm

After school care: 3.00pm-4.15pm

The school understands that from September 2024 the school week may need to be extended by 50 minutes and the Governing Body is exploring plans to ensure this is possible.