Coming to School

The school gates open at 8:45am. Children may come into class during a ‘soft start’ spanning from 8:45am – 9:00am. This is planned to offer a gentle start to the school day. Any pupil arriving after 9:00am will need to enter school via the school office and will be marked as late.

Children from Reception to Year 4 must be dropped off at their classroom by an adult. We are happy for pupils in Year 5 and 6 to make their own way to their classroom once parents are sure they are safely on the school site.

End of the School Day

Our duty of care ends at 3.15 pm (3.20 pm for Key Stage 2) and children are the responsibility of parents after that time. All pupils should be collected from their classrooms at the end of the school day. Year 5 and 6 pupils can be dismissed from their classrooms if we have written permission from their parents (email via the School Office) that they would like their child to walk home on their own. It is important that parents consider the journey their child will be making and how confident they are about doing this. 

We politely ask that children are collected promptly from school. This is very important for your child. However, if an emergency situation arises and your child cannot be collected on time, we request that you telephone the school office immediately. If your child is being collected by another adult, please inform a member of staff within your child’s class in the morning. 

Please take care when driving and parking around our school. We have produced the following guidance on the one-way system that is operational around the school during drop off and collection time. Although this is a voluntary system, it aids congestion significantly and has been devised with everyone’s safety in mind. It is important that you share this with anyone collecting your child.

Reporting Absences

It is essential that you inform us, before the start of the school day, on the first day of your child's absence. This needs to be done by either emailing the School Office (admin@newberries.herts.sch.uk) or leaving a clear message on the school answerphone, pressing option '1' for our pupil absence line (01923 857180). Both methods of contact require parents to state a clear reason in order for us to determine whether an absence is authorised.

If your child is not at school due to illness and receives a diagnosis at any point during their absence, it is important that you share this with us. School should always be the first point of contact when sharing this information so that we can advise you when your child may return, as well as seek further advice and disseminate this information to third parties if necessary.

Holidays during term times are not authorised. In exceptional circumstances, parents are welcome to seek authorisation for an absence from the Headteachers. These will be considered on an individual basis. Term time holidays are not considered exceptional.

All pupils are expected to aim for an attendance record of 96%. This is monitored regularly by the school with parents informed if necessary.

Arriving Late

Registration closes at 9:00am. If a child arrives after this time they will need to enter the school via the School Office and be added to the late register.

Wrap Around Care

We appreciate that many of our parents are working. If you need wrap around care, either before or the end of the school day there is a Breakfast Club and After School Club run on the school site.