Information for families
Please ensure that the school office has your full address and contact details. You should also provide an emergency contact number for another family member or friend who we could contact should you be unavailable. Please remember to let us know if you change your telephone or mobile number. Please provide an email address if possible.
Home school agreement
We request all families to provide a signed copy of our home school agreement. You may wish to explain the content of this agreement to your child.
Punctuality
School gates open at 8.30am and pupils will begin activities upon entry to school at this time. Our school day begins promptly at 8.45am and registers will close at this time.
Please ensure your child is on time for school. Children who are late will sign in using the electronic entry before being welcomed into school. Any late attendance is recorded on the end of year school reports to parents. The DFE recommend 96% attendance and above to give optimum opportunity for pupils make sound academic progress.
"(Regular attendance) is essential for pupils to get the most out of their school experience, including their attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances. The pupils with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 ... have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared to those with the lowest attainment." Working together to improve school attendance (DFE May 2022)
Our school day ends at 3.15pm.
Absence
If your child is absent you will need to inform the school by 9:15am at the latest, either in person, by telephone, or email. Schools need a full reason why a child is absent. Telling us that your child is ‘sick, poorly or unwell’ is not sufficient. Please also be aware that the school will need to be contacted every day that your child is away, with a full explanation. Please ensure the school has your current contact number on our system, as well as other emergency contacts. If we are unable to contact you, we will attempt to contact the people listed on the form. If we have not been able to find out where your child is by 10.30am, then as a duty of care we will visit the home address. If, after this, we are still unable to find out where your child is, we will have to contact the police. If your child has sickness or diarrhoea we ask that he/she does not return to school for 48 hours as this kind of illness can be very infectious.
Thank you.
Road safety
Please do not use the staff car park unless you have prior agreement from the school or need disabled access.
We encourage families to walk to school if possible. If you need to drive to school please be aware of where you park and the safety of your children as they cross the road. We also politely remind parents and carers to be considerate towards residents and their access routes to their homes when parking. We will do everything possible in school to include road safety awareness as part of the curriculum.
We are very fortunate to have a zebra crossing outside school that helps families to cross the road safely.
School security
The staff and governors at The Rackham are fully committed to maintaining the safety of the children and the security of the building. The school building has an alarm system and CCTV ensuring all possible measures are taken to monitor safety. All visitors are requested to report to the school office and sign in. All exterior doors have security locks to restrict public access.
Parents are not permitted to enter the school building before, during or after school without reporting to the office.
Requests for paper copies
If you require a paper copy or translation of any information on our school’s website, we will provide this free of charge. Please contact the office in the first instance.
