New Parent FAQ

PARENT FAQS

ADMISSIONS:

• How do I apply for a place at your school?

Please see our admissions page:

Nursery & Infants - https://www.smcsc.org.uk/admissions-infants.php

Juniors - https://www.smcsc.org.uk/admissions-juniors.php

• My child is leaving St. Mary’s Catholic Federation, Carshalton. What do I do?

If your child is leaving St. Mary’s Catholic Federation, Carshalton, you will need to request Mrs Hulme to complete the midterm transfer school form, when you have completed your sections this needs to be given to Mrs Hulme to also complete. You will need to write in with the full details of the school your child is transferring to and the date on which this will commence.

ATTENDANCE & PUNCTUATION:

• What time does school start/finish and where to drop off/collect?

• What if my child is absent?

If a child is absent the school must be advised by 9.30am by calling the school office on 020 8647 5711 (Nursery & Infant School) or 020 8647 4342 (Junior School). A note of explanation must be emailed to the school office on his/her return even if you have already called the school.

• What if my child is late?

If your child will be late the school must be advised by 9.30am by calling the school office on 0208 647 5711 (Nursery & Infant School) or 0208 647 4342 (Junior School). On this occasion, the pupils need to be brought to the school office to be signed in with the reason given. Confirmation regarding school lunch is needed prior to 10am.

• My child needs to leave school early for an appointment

If your child needs to leave school early for an appointment, the school must be advised in advance by email to the main office email, explaining when you will need to collect your child, the nature of the appointment and when they will return, we will also need a copy of the appointment letter/text. We do ask that all appointments are booked out of school time, where possible.

• We are going on a family holiday during term time. What should I do?

The Headteacher may only grant authorisation for absence, however leave of absence will not be granted during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Family Holidays will not be authorised as these are not counted as exceptional.

Although we sympathise with a number of requests, it is the duty of the school to ensure all children receive the maximum access to learning achieved by good attendance. Obviously, this takes into consideration those times when a child needs to be at home due to illness. In the interests of safeguarding, children need to be in school to enable all children to have the best outcomes. “Keeping children safe in education” DfE September 2021

• To be read in conjunction with the Attendance Policy: Pupils whose attendance falls below school expectations of 96% will receive a letter each term to remind parents. The school is committed to tracking attendance with respect to safeguarding and achievement and will ask for evidence of all absences. The Executive Headteacher for very exceptional circumstances only gives authorisation for absence.

• Can I park at the school?

No parking is available at either Infants or Juniors. At the Junior school there is also the Safer Streets initiative in action, operating in Alma and Shorts road.

Scheme operation area: Alma Road, Alma Road to its junction with Shorts Road; Shorts Road.
Hours of operation: between 7.45am and 8.30am and between 2.45pm and 3.30pm on Monday to Friday inclusive.

BREAKFAST/AFTERSCHOOL CLUB

• Do you have a breakfast and afterschool club?

Yes, we have both a breakfast club and afterschool club run by Orchard Childcare. Orchard Childcare information is available at https://www.orchardchildcare.co.uk/st-marys-catholic-nursery-and-infants-school

CLUBS:

• What sort of before/after school clubs are there?

There are a range of before / after school clubs for students. These may vary each term. Details for the clubs are released at the end of each term for starting at the next term, the clubs timetable is sent out via the Google Classroom. For more information, please visit the School Clubs page on our website.

COMMUNICATION:

Once I have contacted my child’s class teacher – how long would it be for me to receive a response.

• A class teacher should respond within 72 hours depending on their club commitments.

GOVERNORS FUND:

• Governors Fund

Parents are invited to make voluntary contributions of £35 or £50 per annum to the Governors’ Fund. In a Catholic Voluntary Aided School, Governors are responsible for 10% of the cost of most repairs and improvements to the school buildings. As you may imagine with ever-increasing costs, this becomes quite a burden. We, therefore, ask for your support in helping to maintain the excellent standards at St Mary’s by making a donation of at least £35.00 per family, per school. Payments can be made on line at www.parentpay.com

HOMEWORK:

• How do I know what homework my child is expected to complete?
• Homework Policy - homework Policy

PROGRESS AND ATTAINMENT:

• How am I able to discuss a problem during the term with my child’s class teacher?

Put a request via the school office and the class teacher will contact you by calling or arrange a meeting.

SCHOOL MEALS / MILK:

• How do I apply for my child to have free school meals?

Please see our School Meals page on our website - https://www.smcsc.org.uk/school-meals.php.

• How do I pay for my child’s school meals?

Please note that all infant school children are entitled to a Universal Free School Meal as part of a Government initiative. We highly recommend that you take the opportunity of the school provide a hot school meal for your child on a daily basis. The meals consist of a meat/ fish or vegetarian option, vegetables, a salad bar and bread. All the meals are planned to be nutritionally analysed to ensure they meet and in most cases exceed The School Food Standards.

Two options are available for your child if they wish to have hot school dinners. The options are to either

-       Take a school meal every day from Monday to Friday or

-       To take a school meal on Roast day Wednesday and Fish day Friday only

The option must be selected for the whole of the half term period and cannot be changed for alternative days or patterns. If packed lunch is provided this must be a healthy lunch with no sweets, fizzy drinks or items containing nuts.

Pupils in year 3 – year 6 will now receive a Free School Meal as part of the current 2023-24 government initiative.

How do I apply for Free School Meals for Pupils in Year 3 – Year 6?

Pupils in Year 3 – Year 6 will need to make an application via the Sutton Council website - https://www.sutton.gov.uk/-/free-school-meals-and-pupil-premium-eligibility-and-how-to-apply

• How do I arrange for school dinners?

For more information regarding ‘School Dinners’ please take the time to read the School Meals page on our website.

• Can my child take a packed lunch?

For more information regarding ‘Packed Lunches’ please take the time to read the School Meals page on our website.

• School milk

School milk is available for all children. Children under 5 and children eligible for Free School Meals can apply for free milk. If you wish your child to have milk you must register with Cool Milk - https://www.coolmilk.com/parents/

SCHOOL TRIPS:

• Who can I speak to about financial assistance for school trips and/or school uniform?

You may write a letter to Mrs Hulme, Executive Headteacher, explaining the situation, alternatively contact Ms. Nicol asking for Mrs Hulme to call you. This will be considered to see whether it is possible to offer support through our hardship fund.

ST. MARY’S PTA:

• How can I get involved in the life of the school?

Working in partnership with parents and carers is key and you are warmly invited to join the St. Mary’s PTA. You can also give your details to the School Office to volunteer for parent reading, helping out of school trips and walking the children to and from swimming sessions.

UNIFORM:

• Do you have a school uniform?

We expect all children to wear school uniform. A full list of uniform can be found on our website:

Nursery - https://www.smcsc.org.uk/school-uniform-nursery.php

Infants – https://www.smcsc.org.uk/school-uniform-infants.php

Juniors - https://www.smcsc.org.uk/school-uniform-junior.php

The PTA holds uniform sales that includes pre-owned uniform at a very affordable cost at regular intervals.

• What if my child forgets their tie or is wearing incorrect uniform?

At St. Mary’s Catholic Federation, Carshalton we have very high expectations about school uniform.

It may be possible for your child to borrow spare uniform items from the school office for a particular occasion / alternatively if this is not possible parents/carers may bring in the correct uniform item. Only medical notes from a GP are accepted as a reason for not wearing correct school shoes.

WELFARE / BEHAVIOUR:

• What if I want to speak to someone about my child?

If you have any concerns at all about any aspect of your child’s education or progress, then we encourage you to call us / write an email to the school office detailing your enquiry. Below is our ‘who to contact’ flowchart.

• If the parents of a child do not live at the same address, how do both parents get the important information?

 Both parent’s information is added to our communication system and will be contacted via email.