Key Information for Parents

Admissions

Our Governing Body has adopted the policy of the Local Authority.  It is necessary for all parents to complete an application form for a place at 4 or 5 years of age, even if they already attend our Nursery.  We have 90 places available in Reception each year. Places will be offered to children living in our catchment area.  If there are more requests than places, then the following criteria will be applied, in the rank order shown.

(a)  Medical grounds
(b)  To brothers and sisters of pupils currently attending the school
(c)  To brothers and sisters who have previously attended the school
(d)   The shortest distance, measured in a straight line, between the main entrance to the school and where the child lives. Those living closer will be given priority.

For the Admissions Procedure 2021-22 please click here

For the Admissions Procedure 2022-23 please click here

Attendance

If your child is absent from school please telephone the school as soon as possible to report the absence.  Our telephone system allows parents to leave a message at any time. We must have a valid reason for absence.  If we do not receive an acceptable explanation of a child’s absence, the child will be marked in the register as being absent without permission. 

All such unauthorised absences are recorded on your child's annual report, together with the number of times your child is late.  Frequent late arrival or absences will be followed up by our Education Welfare Officer.   It is not acceptable to take your child out of school to buy new shoes, to get a haircut or to celebrate their birthday. Regular and consistent attendance is essential for good learning. 

Term-time Leave

We discourage time out of school for any reason and term time absence will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.  Family holidays should be only be taken during school holiday periods.  If exceptional circumstances require time out of school, please speak with the office immediately.

A form can be downloaded here.

Illness Procedures

When a child is taken ill at school every effort is made to contact the parents. It is, therefore, very important that our list of contact names and telephone numbers are kept up-to-date. We also find it helpful to have the name, address and telephone number of a neighbour or friend who has agreed to be contacted if the parents are not available. Please do not send your child to school if he/she has been sick or had diarrhoea during the night. The child should be kept at home for at least 24 hours.

If it is necessary for us to administer medicine to your child, e.g. inhalers, then we must ask you to sign a consent form which can be downloaded here.

Freedom of Information

School policies are available on request. Parents wishing to see any school documents, or wanting to obtain a copy of one of them, should apply to the Headteacher in writing.

A link to our Freedom of Information Policy is available here.

Complaints

If you have a problem or complaint to make about any aspect of the school please discuss the matter with a member of staff or the Headteacher. We want to work with parents to find solutions to difficulties. However, if you are not satisfied with the response, you are entitled to make a formal complaint, in writing, to the Governing Body who have an agreed Complaints Procedure. More details are available from the Headteacher.

A link to our Complaints Procedures Policy is available here.

Drop & Go

At Chantry we operate a ‘Drop and Go’ scheme in the mornings.  This promotes independence in the children and is safer for children as it alleviates congestion within and around the school and improves safeguarding.  Parents must arrive at school by 8:45am and should aim to say goodbye to children at the classroom door.  Teachers are at the door to welcome children and to catch up with parents on any essential information regarding the child’s well being.  Parents must not enter the building to go through internal routes to visit the school office, instead, parents should drop their child at the external classroom door and then walk round to the main office entrance.

Supervision and Safety

Parents are required to supervise their younger children in the playground both before and after school. Children in Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6) may be dropped off from 8:35am, when a member of staff is available to supervise in the KS2 playground. School starts at 8:45am, children arriving after this time may be marked late in the register. All children in Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2 MUST be accompanied to the classroom and collected from the classroom by a responsible person over the age of 16. If parents are not collecting children from school themselves, the class teacher must be informed about who will be collecting the child, a password system can be set up on parental request.

Parents are asked to use the paths leading from Tomlinson Avenue, Wedgewood Road or Beadlow Road. Please do not walk across the car park as it is dangerous. Occasionally the electronic gate may be open due to a vehicle having just entered or just left but it is not acceptable to use this route as a short cut as it is extremely dangerous. Parents should not use the staff car park when bringing or collecting their children, it is for staff only. Parking is NOT PERMITTED for parents anywhere on the entire site, other site users are inconvenienced by parents ignoring this.

The main office entrance has a security lock which is only released when office staff recognise or identify the visitor via our intercom system. Please close doors and gates as you leave, all external doors can only be opened from the inside once they are shut. If you arrive for school after 8:55am the classroom doors will be closed and you will have to enter via the main school office and sign your child in as they will be late.

We do not permit the use of mobile phones on the school site due to child protection concerns over unauthorised photography and in relation to the supervision of pupils.