Daily Routine

The compulsory school day runs from 8.50am to 3.20pm, totalling 32.5 hours each week.

Start of the day

The gates open at 8.30am for pupils to come onto school grounds.

Children should not arrive before this time as no supervision is available.

Children make their own way into their classrooms. All pupils should be in school by 8.50am for the start of the school day. Morning tasks ensure that children make a productive start to their learning from the very beginning of the day.

A daily assembly takes places for all pupils during the morning session, and there is a morning break at around 10.30am. We encourage children to eat healthy snacks at morning break This might be a piece of fruit, a snack of vegetables, or a savoury item such as cheese, breadsticks or crackers.

We do not allow sweets and chocolate as a breaktime snack.

Lunch

All pupils have lunch between 12.00 noon and 1.30pm.

Children can purchase a hot school lunch (currently costing £2.97) which needs to be ordered in advance from Chartwells (www.parentpay.com). Alternatively, you may provide a packed lunch from home.

Lunch boxes should be small and clearly marked with the owner’s name. Fizzy drinks, glass bottles, breakable flasks and cans are not allowed. Due to the increasing number of children with severe allergies, nuts must not be brought into school.

Children entitled to a free school meal will be provided with a hot meal each day. If you feel that your child may be entitled to free school meals, please do not hesitate to ask for an application form from the school office. It really helps the school’s funding if you register for free school meals even if you do not intend to take up the meal each day.

Further details about free school meals are available from West Sussex County Council:

www.westsussex.gov.uk/education-children-and-families/schools-and-colleges/free-school-meals

End of the day

The school day ends at 3.20pm when children are dismissed via the exits into the main playground.

Parents are invited to wait on the playground to collect their children. For children up to Year 4, we ask that an adult is available to collect children every day. From Year 5, parents may choose to let their child walk home unaccompanied.

If you need to make changes to your child’s collection arrangements, please contact the school office with plenty of notice, and before 3pm at the latest.