Nursery & Reception September 2022

As a family orientated school, we recognise the importance of induction for both new children and parents alike. 

If your child is joining our Nursery or Reception classes in September 2022. It is important that you read through the following information:

We will update the information regularly, so do come back to this page!

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you have completed our electronic admissions form. This is where we will gather all your child's initial information from.

Uniform

Many parents will want to buy uniform ahead of September.

We advise parents each year, that children can grow a lot over the summer before they start, so when thinking of uniform please take this in to consideration.

Uniform can be purchased in a number of ways:

1. By emailing office@smfr.co.uk Your order will be ready for collection between Tuesday 6th September and Wednesday 7th September. 
2. Face to face purchase on Transition Day (5th July 2022)
3. Face to face purchase from the office on 6th/7th September 2022

Please be advised, uniform purchases are cash only.  

If you would rather wait until September, this is also Ok and we will have the uniform we sell in stock, available for purchase on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th September. 

PE

Parents will be informed when PE starts. Children come to school in their PE kit on their given day. 

Please refer to our uniform booklet for details on uniform, what we stock and prices

Reception Lunches

Hot school lunches are free to all Reception children. The menus for school lunches can be found on our website and via the link below.

Children simply tell their Teacher each morning if they are a 'Hot Lunch'. We know about their dietary requirements from the admissions form.

Alternatively, you can send your child to school with a packed lunch.

Nursery Lunches (Full time only)

Nursery children are not entitled to a free school lunch, but full time nursery children can purchase one. Please email office@smfr.co.uk

Alternatively, you can send your child to school with a packed lunch.

'Fussy Eaters'

We follow the school nursing team advice and encourage 'non eaters' for max 20min, as we do not want to cause distress. We will monitor and report back to parents any concerns.

Daily Fruit Snack

As part of the national scheme, children are entitled to a free piece of fruit or veg each day. The school has no control over what is offered each day, so if your child likes only specific fruit or veg, you are welcome to send a piece to school each day

Examples of fruit snacks:

• Apples
• Bananas
• Currants
• Cucumber in a named, reusable pot
• Strawberries in a named, reusable pot

Daily milk in school

All children under the age of 5yrs are entitled to free school milk. This is provided by the national 'Cool Milk' scheme. Whilst the milk is delivered to school, it is not the school who ordered the milk. Parents must opt in to this scheme by registering.

Please see the PDF below  to order free milk 

• Water Bottle
• Packed lunch (if preferred)
• Fruit (if preferred)
• Reading Record (provided by school)
• Reading Book (provided by school)
• Welly boots (can remain in school)
• Waterproof Coat (weather dependent)
• Suncream applied before the school day (if it's sunny!)
• Sun hat (weather dependent) 

All items should be named

Times of the Day

8:30am - Gates open (children arrive)

8:50am - Lessons start (gates close)

11:30 - Morning Nursery go home

12:30 -1:30 - Lunch time

3:10 - Collection

During the day, Nursery & Reception children will participate in a a number of lessons including, phonics, reading, maths, topic. These will be both adult led and child lead/chosen

Home Time

Parents should make sure the office have an up to date list of who has permission to collect their child. This is initially taken from your admissions form

• Children must be collected from the teacher by an adult 16+
• Please don’t be offended if we question a person you have asked to collect your child. Safeguarding is a priority and we have to double check to proudly maintain this high standard.

Families can sometimes be complicated. If there is anything we should know, please speak to a member of staff or email the office. We will handle all matters with discretion.

The Importance of Reading

Sadly, less than half of reception parents read to their children at bedtime. It is so important to read to or with your child every night up to the age of 11. Benefits of this include:

• Good bonding time
• Improve child’s reading skills
• Sparks imagination
• Creates conversation
• Makes a routine for your child’s sleep
• Expands your child’s vocabulary
• Improves your child’s emotional intelligence
• Encourages independent reading
• Improves mental wellbeing
• Helps you both relax and unwind

At SMFR we would love it if parents could read to all of their children at bedtime.

Please don’t use your child’s reading book for bedtime as the breadth of vocabulary is very narrow and doesn’t elicit as much of an imagination as a picture book! 

Our EYFS Lending Library is available at the start and end of each day for families to borrow books. 

Questions & Communication

Much of our communication is now electronic. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email office@smfr.co.uk This will enable a dialogue between you and the school to enable us to make your child's transition to our EYFS department as smooth and seamless as possible.

Once your child has started in September:

• You will see an EYFS staff member each day
• You can call school
• You can email school
• You will receive emails and letters
• You can view our website information
• You can access our APP

Keeping Children Safe on Church Road - Parking

Our children, their families and the residents of Church Road are entitled to come to and from school safely;

Be courteous        

Be patient   

Drive safely

We are a school community: 'Do to others as you would have them do to you'

Parking on yellow lines & zig zags, restricts vision for children crossing & blocks the road, hindering the flow of traffic.

For further information please read our Parking Flyer

School Nursing Team

We have strong links with our school nursing team and they will come in a few times a year to check your child's:

• Sight
• Hearing
• Height
• Weight

You will receive a form to 'opt in or out' of this service.

Pastoral Support at St Mary's Farnham Royal 

At St Mary’s Farnham Royal we would like everybody who is part of our school community to feel they are doing and being the best they can be, giving their all and striving for personal success in all things. This is the same for not only all pupils but also for the staff that work in school and for adults that form families at home.  But for us all to be able to do and be the best that we can, we need to feel the best that we can and there are times when we all need some help and support to feel our best.  This is where the Pastoral Support Team aim to help. 

So who are the Pastoral Support Team? 

Well actually every adult working at school helps to make up part of the Pastoral Support Team at SMFR. We all work together to ensure all pupils, parents and staff working in school feel safe, cared for, have someone to talk to and can share worries or issues they may have.  This could be about themselves or somebody they care about. 

Mr Farmer is the Pastoral Support Leader (PSL) and he is there to support YOU or your FAMILY in any way he or the school can.   

If there is something you feel you may want some support with then please don't hesitate to contact Mr Farmer.                

Email - psl@smfr.co.uk          Tel – 01753 644471   

Top Tips for Talking

"Reading and writing float on a sea of talk." - James Britton

Please do ensure there are good quality talk sessions with your child on a daily basis. Below are some ideas on how to enrich your child's 'chatter' experiences.

Useful Websites for your EYFS Child

Always review the sites ahead of time so that you are able to help your children find the best resources available within the sites. Some offer a great number of games, songs, stories, videos etc. so it is important to know the site well in order to support and develop your child’s learning.