School notices

Useful tips for parents about school life

Absence through illness

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please ensure you telephone and leave a message on the absence line before 8.45am on the first and each subsequent day your child will not be in school. This will ensure that the correct absence code is marked against the attendance register. Please do not report absences by email.

Deciding whether your child is well enough to come to school

Please see NHS advice here on common childhood illnesses which is based on government guidelines. You can also access expert support and guidance through the NHS HANDi app. For more information and to download the app, follow this link. For an at-a-glance guide, please refer to the UKHSA’s handy checklist here.

Allergy awareness

We have several children with severe life-threatening nut, seed and legume allergies and a reaction can be triggered by airborne contact. The school kitchen team works directly with children with known food allergies to ensure that they are protected from exposure to any allergens present in school meals that may affect them. Where children bring their own food into school, there is less opportunity to ensure that any allergens present will be contained and regulated. Therefore we ask the following:

That parents make sure children know not to share the food they bring into school.
That no seeds or foods containing seeds are brought into school, including houmous, seed crackers and breads and the like.
That no nuts or food containing nuts are brought to school, including Nutella or similar spreads.
That legumes or food containing legumes – such as lentils, beans and peas – are brought to school with caution, making sure children understand these are never to be shared.

Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

If your child has a food allergy, please contact the school office so that they can put in place appropriate measures to ensure the allergy is identified where needed, such as during activities in school or offsite that involve food. The school catering service, Zest, is happy to work with you to provide suitable school dinners. Please see more information and links on our School dinners page here.

Armed forces families

If you are a parent and a serving member of the Armed Forces, please ensure the school office is aware of this for our records.

Birthday celebrations

We do not wish to spoil any child’s birthday happiness but at the same time we do not want to add to the issues that we all know sugar causes for children. School council’s presentation about the issues around sweets been sent in for birthdays can be found here and their presentations linked to our sugar smart campaign can be found here. We are introducing other ways of celebrating your child’s special day in school without cakes and sweets. We think these are choices for you to make for yourselves at home. So please do not send sweets, cakes or other treats into school when it is your child’s birthday. You may wish to consider an Amazon voucher so the class can buy a book or a game for wet play as an alternative.

Collecting children from school in the afternoon

The front and back gate to the school will be opened at 3pm. In order to keep the children safe, we cannot open the gates prior to this time. Thank you for your understanding.

If someone different is collecting your child, please ensure you advise the class teacher in the morning. If possible, please avoid calling the school office in the afternoon with a change to who will be collecting your child. The office is a very busy place all day and all changes to the usual routine have to be advised to the teachers by ringing the classroom, which disrupts the learning of the whole class.

If your child is in Upper Key Stage 2 and walks home from school unaccompanied on a regular basis, the school will require your written permission. Please see our arrivals and departures guidelines which contain a reply slip for written permission.

If, for any reason, children in Years 3 – 6 who are not walking home unaccompanied get separated from the person who should be collecting them, they should return to their class teacher or to the school office.

Contact details for parents

Please remember how important it is to keep your emergency contact details up to date in the parents’ portal, My Child at School. It is vital that the records are kept up to date in case of an emergency. If you have any difficulty with this, please contact the school office.

Dogs on the school site

We have noticed that some parents are bringing dogs onto the school site. Dogs are not allowed on the school site. If you walk your child to school and bring the dog, please do not tie up your dog close to either the front or back gates. We have a number of children in the school who are afraid of dogs.

Health; school nurse and illness

Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Community Health brings together a range of specialist services and providers that support children and young people with their health, development and wellbeing. These services include support for:

Speech and language difficulties
Physical, sensory or movement needs
Complex or long-term health conditions
Developmental concerns, including suspected ADHD or autism
Learning disability support
Hearing, swallowing or toileting needs

BSW Community Health can be contacted through a single point of contact. Families, young people, carers and professionals can get in touch directly by phone or online, where a team of Community Health Navigators will help guide each request to the most appropriate support. The phone line is available with dedicated support for children and young people between 8am and 5:30pm on weekdays, and online information and advice is accessible at any time. Support can be accessed by calling 0300 247 0200 or visiting www.bswcommunityhealth.co.uk. Online referrals to services can be made through the Inclusion Leader, Mrs Godwin – please call the office to make an appointment.

HANDi app logo As well as the school nursing service, there is a free mobile app for B&NES parents, called HANDi, that provides expert advice to parents, carers and health care professionals on common childhood illnesses. Details on the HANDi app can be found here.

During the winter, we are particularly susceptible to outbreaks of norovirus (also known as the winter vomiting bug) and seasonal influenza. At school we follow Public Health England’s advice on responding to these outbreaks. Please see their website for information about infection control and dealing with symptoms.

Labels, stickers & stamps – labelling clothes and kit made easy

The PTA has signed up on cashback schemes with some labelling companies. Please support school fundraising by choosing one of the suppliers below.

Stikins personalised name labels can be used for clothes, shoes, lunch boxes, etc. When ordering, please quote our fundraising number 17408. This will give the school a generous commission to support PTA fundraising.

With www.easy2name.com, when you get to the online basket, you can select Saltford School PTA in the drop down box in ‘select fundraising group’.

If you wish to purchase any items from www.MyNametags.com please use the School ID 59657. The PTA will receive 20% on each order so please do use the School ID when ordering.

The other cash back company is www.stamptastic.co.uk. This company will provide you with a personalised stamp and ink pad that can be used on clothing and some plastics (see disclaimer). It can easily be stamped onto jumpers and polo tops as well as pencil cases and many more items. Use the code BS313DW online to earn up to 25% commission for the school. See their Facebook page for reviews of the product.

Letter box

The school letter box (located to the right of the front door) is now in use. Please post forms, letters and reply slips in the box, which now has a cage fitted to collect the post. This will save you time queueing in the Reception area, which is always a busy place in the morning after drop off and in the afternoon before and after pick up. Please do make use of this facility.

Lost property

Our Lost Property Box is a large wooden trunk located at the end of the Infant Corridor, just outside the Hall. Please encourage your children to take care of their possessions and ensure that they go home with exactly the same items that they came to school in. Please also ensure that items worn or brought into school are named.

Any unclaimed or unnamed items left in the box at the end of each term will be recycled.

Medical appointments

To help us keep accurate attendance records and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all pupils, we kindly ask that you inform the school office of any absence from school.

In liaison with our B&NES attendance officer, we have made the decision that for any appointments during the school day in relation to dentist, optician, hospital, or other medical appointments we will require the following:

Date and time of the appointment
Type of appointment (e.g., dentist, optician, GP, hospital)
Expected time of collection and/or return to school
Details of who is collecting your child
A copy of the appointment letter, card or text message
Whether your child will require their school lunch (if applicable)

This helps us record the absence correctly and ensures staff know when to expect your child to leave or return.

How to submit appointment details

You can share this information by emailing the school office with an attachment or screenshot of the appointment.

On the day of the appointment

Please ensure that:

Your child is collected by a known adult
You sign your child in or out at the school office

Whenever possible, we encourage parents to book routine appointments outside school hours. However, we understand that this is not always possible, and we appreciate your cooperation.

Regular attendance for the full school day is essential to ensure pupils do not miss valuable learning time and can fully participate in all classroom and school activities.

If you have any questions or need support, please contact the school office. Thank you for your continued support.

Medication while at school

The WMAT guidance is that medicines can only be administered at school with medical approval. In the case of prescription medicine parents are required to sign the authority form found in the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions’ policy. The school is able to administer non-prescription medication with the authority of the parents and so school will contact parents before any medication is administered to avoid overdose. All medication must be brought to the school office. For asthma, the issue of inhalers is very important. All medication, including inhalers, is kept in the school office.

Milk

All pupils under the age of five are eligible for free school milk. This is arranged automatically by school.

After their fifth birthday and up to age eleven, we can offer fresh milk daily through a scheme set up jointly by the Local Education Authority and School Milk Services Limited. The cost is £2.00 per week for one child to receive a carton of semi-skimmed milk at the morning break. Please click here for a link to the school milk services website for a full description and payment details.

Parent helpers, application and DBS requirements

We always appreciate the help parents can give in the school day. Mrs Sage sends a letter to ask for help in the classroom each year. Please complete the form on the letter if you are able to hear children read, help with computers etc. Any offer of help is welcome. Please make it clear on the form which Key Stage you would prefer to work in. We will then try to arrange this if possible. We really need swimming helpers; the lists are outside each classroom. All swimming helpers and regular support for the school will need to apply for a DBS check through the school office. “Regular” support is defined as being more than once a month.

Parking outside school premises

Whilst the majority of parents and carers are aware of the importance of considerate parking, incidences of inconsiderate parking, putting the safety of our children at risk are frequently brought to the school’s attention. Incidences include parking and waiting on the zig-zags, blocking the school entrance and reversing to turn in the school drive. Please do not park on the pavements and be aware of your speed on the roads surrounding the school. PARKING ON THE PAVEMENTS IS ILLEGAL.

The school appreciates that the roads around the school are busy at the beginning and end of school, but the safety of the children, indeed the safety of all, is paramount.

The school encourages walking to school. If you need to drive, please consider parking a little further away to help ease congestion.

The school will take details of cars which park illegally and these details will be passed to Keynsham police.

A notice that can be placed on the windscreen of cars parked inconsiderately in the area can be found here and a letter from Avon and Somerset Police can be found here.

Pushchairs and buggies

Parents and carers are requested not to bring pushchairs or buggies into the school as the corridors are very narrow and busy at morning drop-off and afternoon collection times. Pushchairs and buggies may be left under the canopy outside Reception or under the canopy outside Class RH.

Snacks

The school policy on snacks is to ensure that they should be a healthy option. If you would like your child to have a mid-morning snack, we encourage them to bring in fresh fruit or vegetables – you will find some great ideas for healthly snacks on the change4life website. The best snacks for break time, are foods that the children can eat outside and eat with their fingers. Chopped up fruit or raw veggies such as carrots or peppers are ideal. Breadsticks and wholemeal crackers are also great finger foods that can be spread with low-fat soft cheese. Please note that the most recent guidance is that dried fruit is no longer recommended as a between-meal snack because it is high in sugar and can be bad for teeth. Parents have asked about various shop purchased snacks, such as fruit winders and various breakfast bars etc. Most of these snacks are usually high in sugar.

Sun safety

Staff will not apply sun screen to any child.

Sun screen use will be encouraged on educational visits and for outdoor PE.

If required at school children can bring their own sun screen and apply it themselves.

Children my only use their own sun screen.

Parents are asked to teach their children how to sensibly use and apply these screens and will clearly label them and put them in their child’s bag for their own use.

Please see our Sun Protection Policy.

Taking responsibility

Children are encouraged to take responsiblity for the important items they need to bring to school in the morning from EYFS to Year 6. The office does not have the capacity to make telehpone calls home. Sometimes parents/carers return to school to drop off the forgotten items – these items will remain in the office until break or lunch time when the child can collect – we no longer buzz the classroom to advise that the missing item has been delivered as this disrupts the whole class learning.