Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome to St Mary's and thank you for accepting a place with us. We are very excited to meet you all!

Some dates for your diary for transition:

Week of 12th & 19th June - teacher to visit children in Nurseries/Pre-Schools

5th July - Parents Welcome Information Evening - 6pm

12th & 13th July - Stay and Play - on the welcome evening you'll be given a time slot and day.

18th & 20th July - Teddy's Bear Picnic - you will be given which day to attend. 2 - 3pm - Looking forward to seeing all those teddy bears!

Transition for Reception 2023

Once you have confirmed by accepting the place, we will send out Induction Packs so you can begin to share the information with your child and prepare them for school life!

You will be invited to a welcome evening in July.

Following this there will be visits for parents and children.

Nursery/Pre-School Visits - The Robins (Reception) teacher will visit nurseries/pre-schools to meet the children during Summer Term.

Stay and Play Sessions - In July, you will be invited to one of our hour sessions either at 9.15am or 10.45am.

You will meet your child's teacher and other adults in the school and be able to explore the classroom and the the outside environment.

Teddy Bear's Picnic - you and your child will join the current Robins Class to have a picnic and bring teddy along. 

Home Visits - in September your teacher will come and visit you at home so you can ask any last questions before you start!

We are very excited to meet you!

Meet the Robins Team

Miss Nation will be your class teacher.                 

Mrs Hind will be your class TA.

We look forward to meeting you!

To learn more about what we get up to in Reception please take a look at the Welcome to Robins booklet and our class page.

We believe that a Child's first experience of school is a precious and memorable occasion. We therefore aim to ensure a smooth transition from home or pre-school to school, for both children and parents.
 

We do this through:

• Inviting all parents to an induction meeting during the term before their child starts school. This meeting is led by the Headteacher and Foundation Stage Teacher.

• The Foundation Stage class teacher meets with their current nursery or pre-school, allowing valuable discussion time with key workers and also they can meet the children in their familar setting.

• We provide play and stay sessions in the summer term where the children can come in and explore their new setting.

• We hold parent and child visits in the first few days of the Autumn term so that children are familiar with the staff before they start school. It's a chance for the parents to ask any questions and for the staff to gain more valuable information on the children.
• We provide a 'Welcome to Robins' booklet which includes pictures of the staff,  main areas and a talk through of the typical day which you can share with your children over the summer holidays to help them become more aware of what they can expect.

• Each child's individual needs are always taken into consideration and occasionally the induction plan is extended for particular children.

• Pre-schools complete a pre-school transfer form, providing information about the child in relation to the areas of learning in the foundation stage curriculum.

• Each Year R child is allocated a year 6 ‘Junior Buddy’ who will look after them through those first few weeks ensuring they know where to go and how to find their way about and that they have someone to play with at playtime.

• As parents we realise that this is an important time for you as well and you may have many questions. At the induction meeting you will also be given your parent buddy’s contact details so you can contact them over the summer holidays if you have any concerns or question.

• The children at St Mary’s are put together in what we call ‘family groups’ – usually two children from each class are put together in a vertical grouping throughout the school, creating a family group of around 14 children. At various times they get together in the life of the school, for example there is a Friday achievement assembly where the children are praised for their progress and positive contributions they have made to the life of the school.

• There are family mornings at various times of the year, when each group will be led by the year six children in a range of activities they prepare and deliver, they will be together for the creative play day which takes place in the summer and they will provide mutual support and care within the daily life of the school.

We hope that the information provided will help answer some of those questions. The FAQs will also provide many answers to your questions. If however you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Getting Involved

We often get asked ‘How can we help the school?’ or ‘We would like to give something back?’. This can be done in several ways by offering the school one, or all, of the following: ‘your time’ (by becoming a parent helper), ‘your expertise’ or ‘financial help’ through the school’s trust fund. See below for more information on how you can get involved, or contact the school if you wish to help with any aspect of school life, regularly or occasionally.

Parent Helpers
We enjoy and encourage parent (or grandparent!) helpers in school. Parents, family and community members come into school and help with a variety of activities, this help can be with reading, art/craft activities, sewing, ICT, swimming or school trips etc. We are always pleased to receive this extra help because we know how much it benefits every child. Please let your child’s class teacher know if you are happy to help.

Please note that volunteers who regularly help in school or on offsite visits will be checked by the DBS. The school office staff will assist you in this.