Information for New Joiners September 2023

Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, we would like to say a very warm welcome to Park Lane Primary School! We are very excited that you and your families will be joining our wonderful school community later this year.

We have been busy planning the best possible transition to welcome your child into our school. This letter is loaded with all of the upcoming information that you will need, so please make a note of all of the events, dates and times.

If you need to contact us at any point during this transition period, please contact Miss House on admininfant@parklane.reading.sch.uk

Mrs Roberts (our EYFS Lead) will be working with your children’s current nursery/pre-school settings to gather information that will support a smooth and successful transition.

Visits to School Before Summer

Visit 1 – Thursday 6^th July 9.30 – 10.45-

You are invited to come into the classrooms and outside area and spend time with your child, exploring the environment and meeting our team who will be there to answer any questions that you may have.

Today you will be given your information pack which includes, an EYFS parent handbook, information letter, permission/admission forms and our school Relationships and Health Education Policy. We would be very grateful if the Permission/Admission booklet forms could be completed and returned to school by 13^th July (on your second visit).

Alongside this, we also require an original copy of your child’s birth certificate, this is a RBC requirement to ensure the birth certificate matches the admissions information. Please bring this along on either the 6^th or the 13^th July, we will simply note the full name and D.O.B to cross check and give it back to you.

Visit 2 – Thursday 13^th July 9.30 – 10.45- Bring back completed packs and birth certificates

On this date, we will let you know who your child’s teacher will be when they start school in September. Today is an opportunity for you to leave your child in the Foundation Stage area so that they are able to engage with their new class teacher and become a bit more confident and make friends.

Whilst your child is in the Foundation Stage area you are invited to come along to the hall where Mrs Browne (Executive Head teacher) and Ms Brown (Infant Head of School) will share some information about the upcoming year. (This will be recorded and posted on Google Classroom for those who are unable to attend the visit). There will also be the opportunity to purchase any uniform you may need from FRIENDS (our PTA).

Where possible, we request that any younger siblings do not attend these visits and politely ask that no more than 2 adults attend with each child.

Google Classroom:

This is an online platform that we use to help communicate with you what your child is learning in school. We will share letters and videos with you as soon as you are logged in and throughout the year. Over summer, we will post videos that you can share with your children over the summer holidays to help them get ready for September.

You will receive your login details for this platform via Email on Monday 22^th May.

As this will be our main platform where we share information with you, it is important that you set up your account and check it regularly. If you have any issues with this, please visit https://parklaneprimary.school/Park-Lane-Online-Pupil-Accounts-New-Joiners/

September meetings:

Teacher Meeting- Tuesday 5^th September-15 minutes

During your second visit on 13^th July, you will be asked to sign up for your parent, child and teacher meeting. This will give you an opportunity to talk to us about your child’s development, share any worries and concerns you have and most importantly tell us how they feel about starting school. After your meeting, you are welcome to stay and explore our outside area with your child.

Stay and play session- Wednesday 6^th September- 1 and a half hours – During your second visit on 13^th July, you will also be asked to sign up for a 1.5 hour stay and play session. This is to give your child the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the environment and basic routines before starting on Thursday 7^th September.

When the children start school on the 7^th September, they will be eased in with a short, staggered start. We have been successfully running staggered starts at Park Lane for many years and find that they are the best way to ease a positive transition into a new environment.

Details of the staggered start can be found below on the Staggered Timetable. This will run until Tuesday 12^th September. Children will start full time from Wednesday 13^th September.

We hope that all of the above information will ensure a smooth transition to Park Lane for you and your family.

Once again, welcome to Park Lane. We look forward to keeping in close contact with you and your families in the coming months. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or enquiries.

Mrs Browne and the Park Lane team