Our school gates are open at 8.30am. Children can enter the school between 8.35 and 8.45am. The school gates close at 8.45am, which is when registration takes place.

We ask all parents and carers arriving after this time to bring their children to the school reception.

Getting to school on time is very important. Arriving just five minutes late each day amounts to over 16 hours of school missed!

As well as recording overall absence figures, we also monitor punctuality and intervene where necessary. Please give your child the best possible chance at school by ensuring they arrive at school on time.

Pupils' entrance/exit doors

Below are two maps which show where pupils should enter and exit the school building each day. Please note that pupils attending after school clubs will usually exit through the lower hall.  

Start of school day plan

End of school day plan

Assemblies

Assembly themes include a wide variety of topics, covering religious, spiritual, moral, social and cultural themes. Acts of Collective worship take place within our assemblies which are wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character.

See our collective worship policy for more details. 

collective worship policy 

Maths 

All classes start the day with either a maths or an English lesson.

In EYFS and Key Stage 1 a lot of the work is practical and based on solving problems. In Key Stage 2 children continue to be taught to use models and images to develop their mathematical understanding.

Children are encouraged to independently select the resources that they think will support their learning.

Playtime

EYFS, Key Stage 1, Lower Key Stage 2 and Upper Key Stage 2 pupils all have separate playtimes.

At playtime the children can choose from a variety of toys, or play playground games with their friends.

English

English lessons include spelling, grammar, reading, writing, phonics (Read, Write inc scheme) and speaking and listening activities.

Lunchtime

Reception children eat their lunch first, followed by the older year groups in order of age. All EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 children receive a free lunch.

Children can have a hot dinner or packed lunch. Fresh water is provided and plenty of dinner supervisors are on hand to help the youngest children cut food, open packets, etc.

Phonics

All children in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 have a phonics lesson every day. This is when they learn how to represent the 44 sounds that are used in the English language. At Colmers Farm we follow the Read Write Inc approach to phonics. 

A meeting for EYFS parents during the Autumn term will help you to understand how we teach phonics at school.

Blocked Learning Themes/Foundation Subjects

In the afternoons children will often be working on a particular learning theme that covers foundation subjects such as history, geography, art, design and technology, MfL, RE and music. The theme is also connected to maths and English lessons, to enable cross curricular learning (where possible). The aim is that the skills that children learn in maths and English can be transferred to a range of subjects.

Sometimes certain subjects are taught in a block to enable a depth of learning that is not possible in just one or two lessons.

Home Time

We only allow Year 6 pupils to walk home by themselves if we have written parental permission. 

Pupils will not be allowed to leave with unannounced adults, even if the child knows them. If someone different is picking up your child, you must phone the school office to let us know.

Reception age children must be collected from school by somebody aged 18 or older and other children must be collected by somebody aged 16 or older.

Please note that no children are allowed to walk home alone after clubs. This includes those Year 6 pupils with written permission to leave at normal school time.