New to Year R - September 2024

We are currently sending out welcome packs to all our new Year R pupils. You should receive your welcome pack by Friday 24th May.

Reception Welcome Evening

We know you will have many questions about your child starting school in September. We will be hosting a Parents’ Welcome Evening on Wednesday 5^th June from 5-6pm which we hope will capture the school’s ethos and values as well as answer some of the questions you may have. Please note that this meeting is for parents only, no younger or older children will be able to attend.

Transition Schedule

This will help you and your child get to know the Year R team, the environment, some of the routines and to have some fun! We are also working closely with our pre-schools to ensure as smooth a transition as possible.

• On Wednesday 19^th June at 3:30pm we invite your child with one adult for a 30 minute story time and nursery rhymes activity.
• On Tuesday 25^th June from 2-3pm we invite your child with one adult to ‘Stay and Play’.
• Wednesday 3^rd July is transition day. We are inviting our new Year R pupils to come into school for 2 hours.
  • The morning session will be from 9-11am and is for autumn and older spring children to attend (born between September 1^st and January 31^st).
  • The afternoon session will be from 12:30-2:30pm and is for younger spring and summer children to attend (born between February 1^st and August 31^st).
• On Tuesday 9^th July at 3:30pm we invite your child with one adult for a 30 minute story time and nursery rhymes activity.
• On Wednesday 17th July from 2-3pm we invite your child to ‘Stay and Play’. (children only)
• On Saturday 20^th July from 10am-12pm we will be having ‘Popsicles in the Park’; an informal drop-in playdate on our school’s adventure playground.

Starting Dates

Home Visits - Week beginning Monday 2nd September

Home visits allow our staff to meet your child in an environment they are familiar with and allow their personalities to shine through. Please indicate on the attached form when you will be available for a 20-minute home visit with our reception team. Please choose a first, second and third preference and return these at the Welcome Evening or via e-mail to: info@hpslive.net by the end of June. We will send you an e-mail with your confirmed home visit time slot by Monday July 15^th.

Transition Weeks - Weeks beginning Monday 9th & 16^th September

Reception pupils will be split into three groups based on their birthday. Autumn term birthdays (September 1^st – December 31^st), spring term birthdays (January 1^st-April 30^th) and summer term birthdays (May 1^st – August 31^st). Children with an autumn term birthday will be invited into school first. As the oldest children in our cohort, they often settle the quickest and are able to be good role-models as the younger children join our classes.

Each group of children will have 2 morning sessions from 8:40am-11:30am and 2 morning & lunch sessions from 8:40am-12:30pm before starting full-time on their fifth day.

Please see the attached Transition Schedule.

Full-Days - Week beginning Monday 23^rd September

Reception pupils will ALL attend school for full days and commence their usual timetable from 8:40am until 3:10pm.

This is the week that your child will be assigned to a class. We largely work as a reception unit, opening up our adjoining rooms and allowing the children to free-flow between the two classrooms and the outside area. All our staff know every single one of our reception students, not just the ones assigned to their class! However, their class will be their home-base for group times when we do adult-led learning. We strive to have an even split of personalities across our two classes to induce a productive learning environment.

We will send a letter to parents with information about the name of your child’s class, class teacher and teaching assistant on Friday 20^th September.

What to expect

Over the next few weeks you will receive the following:

• Registration documents – we will ask you to complete registration documents for your child (Via MCAS & online) in order for us to receive the most up to date information. Please follow the guidance provided within the email. 
• Welcome booklet (for parents) – this will have lots of relevant information about what to expect when your child starts school along with some forms to fill in to help us get to know your child.
• Welcome to our school (for children) – this will be printed and given to you on your ‘Stay and Play’ dates to share with your child over the summer holidays, in preparation for school start in September.