Free School Meals

Your child may be eligible for Free School Meals (FSM). You can claim free school meals for your children if you are in receipt of any of the following (correct at time of press):

• Income Support
• Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
• Income Related Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit and the household income is not more than £16,190.
• The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit (from 30th April 2005)
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

Applying for Free School Meals couldn’t be easier. Click here to go to the Staffordshire application site and see if you’re eligible.

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Universal Free Meals

These are government funded meals that every child in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 can have. You don't need to apply for these, just choose from our daily menu.

Please be aware that the school gains extra funding for children who are eligible and sign up for Free School Meals so we always ask that you apply if the list above applies to you. It doesn't make any difference to your child or the process but it brings a bit more money into school to help us provide for the children.

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School Meals, Home Packed Lunch and Allergies

The current price for school meals is £2.83 (Mar 2023). This can be paid weekly and we take payment via ParentPay. The menu provides a balanced diet with nutritionists planning it over a termly or seasonal basis. We use a contractor to provide the meals and the cooks are all well qualified to provide healthy, safe and allergen free foods. Every day there are vegetarian options but our kitchen does not provide a halal diet option. The menu can be found at this link (accurate at time of printing).

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If preferred, your child(ren) can bring their own packed lunch. This should include a non fizzy drink in non breakable bottles. We encourage healthy diets in the school and ask that parents provide fruit and similar as snacks and treats. 

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We ask that parents/carers DO NOT provide foods with nuts as we have a number of children who are highly allergic and nuts could cause life threatening reactions. If we see that a food item has nuts (such as nutella sandwiches) we will ask the child to eat separately from other children and that their food bag is separated. We will contact parents/carers requesting that they do not send nut based foods in. 

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During the day the children have access to drinking water. Please send into school a plastic water bottle labelled with your child’s name if you wish them to use the facility.

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Subsidised milk is available for all pupils in Reception class, who will receive free milk until their fifth birthday. Once they reach 5 years old parents will need to pay (approx 25p per carton) should they wish their child to continue to receive milk each day. This money must be paid by ParentPay and there should be sufficient money on the account by the beginning of the school week.

 

At morning break, fruit or vegetables are provided during the day, by the National School Fruit Scheme, as a snack for all children, or they are welcome to bring their own fruit from home. 

 

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Money

The school does not accept cash, card or cheque. All payments are taken through ParentPay and we ask that parents/carers who pay for dinners ensure that their account is always in credit. When a child frst arrives in school we will set up a ParentPay account for parents to pay for school trips, meals and other payments we may charge. More details on the system can be found on their website - https://www.parentpay.com/

School cannot accept responsibility for money/valuables.

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Mobile Phones & Walking Home

Year 6 are encouraged to be responsible for leaving school on their own. This may be to a parent on the playground or in a parked car or even to walk home independently. For this reason we accept that Year 6 children may have a mobile phone. These should be given to the class teacher at the start of the day and collected at the end. No child should have a mobile phone in school unless it has been handed into the class teacher.

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We don't encourage children younger than Year 6 to walk home independently but if parents/carers wish to confirm this in writing we do accept that authority. 

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Social Media

Please look at our Statutory Information section for policies. In summary, we actively discourage children of primary school age to engage in all social media, believing in-person social interaction is more valuable an education at such a young age.
To date it should be noted that no social media platform allows children of primary school age to use their services. This includes text based platforms such as WhatsApp. We advise that all parents/carers remove access to these platforms as a matter of legality, mental health and social development. 

 

Where parents/carers choose to ignore this advice we recommend clear monitoring of your child(ren)'s use to ensure that they are encountering others in a safe and positive manner. Whilst the school does teach about keeping safe online including social media and has robust filtering and monitoring procedures in place within school, we obviously cannot monitor online use at home. We always make two recommendations if a child encounters online issues including grooming, cyberbullying and inappropriate content amongst others. Firstly, remove access to sites. Secondly, report the incident to the platform and to the police. 

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Car Parking and Reporting

If you need to bring your child(ren) to school by car we ask that you do not drive onto or park on the school’s premises or on the road by the school’s entrances. We ask this for the safety of the children. There are car parks in the village, The West Car Park by the library and The East Car Park just past Uttoxeter Road entrance. Do not park on double yellow lines. 

We regularly get complaints from members of the community about parking and we always advise them to contact the authorities. If you wish to complain about unreasonable parking please contact Staffordshire County Council via email (clear.streets@staffordshire.gov.uk) or by phone on 0300 111 8000. 

 

Dropping Off and Picking Up

School starts at 9.00am although our doors are open from 8.50am and children can then come into school and go to their classes. All children should be in school before 9am so that we can start our lessons promptly at 9am. At the end of the day we do not allow younger children to leave the building by themselves so please can you be on the playground and visible so that we can dismiss your child to you (see Year 6 above).

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At handover, responsibility for your child is also handed over. At the start of the day that is when they enter the building (08.50 or later). Please be aware that parents/carers need to ensure that children have entered the building in the morning before you leave them. The playground does not count as the building and we do not accept responsibility until they have crossed the threshold of the door.

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Doors are locked just before 09.00am. After this they will not be reopened so if you arrive after this time, please make your way to the office if you are late.

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Whilst we accept that traffic and other issues may cause you to pick up late, we ask that you arrive on time for the beginning and end of school. If you cannot help being late, please contact us as soon as possible (please see beginning and end of day policy). Please also note that we cannot send children to our after school club without a prior booking.

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Playground Rules for Parents and Carers

We do not allow dogs on the playground and ask that dogs are not kept near the gates. Children and adults need to be able to access the pavements without having to avoid dogs so please ensure they are kept well away from the entrance gates to the school.

We do not allow football on the playground before school and we ask parents to make sure children are completely off bicycles or scooters as they travel through the school grounds.

Although the car park is part of a pathway, we ask that parents keep children well away from staff cars for their own safety but also to prevent cycles and scooters damaging cars.

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For more information about picking up and dropping off please read our beginning and end of day policy  - here.

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Absence & Illness

Please report any absence for any reason to the school office in person, telephone or by email on the first day. If you have not done so it is our policy to contact you from 9.30am. 

We know how difficult it can be to decide is someone is well enough to attend first thing in the morning. Often children get to school and recover. At other times they get worse. We always attempt to keep children in school but there is a balance to be made and you may find us calling you to come and pick your child up.

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We ask that all children remain at home for 48 hours after their last bout of sickness and/or diarrhoea. Additionally there are a small number of infections which will require children to remain at home and possibly reported as a notifiable disease so please contact us with symptoms if you're not sure.

 

Medical Issues and Medication

Please report medical issues as soon as possible. We have a form above to assist you but otherwise come in person to speak to us.

We do not give medication during the school day except in exceptional circumstances. Most medication including antibiotics can be administered at home or outside school hours. Similarly we do not allow parents to come and administer medication in school except in exceptional circumstances. We do not allow non-prescribed medication in the school and will remove any from children to ensure the safety of the child and other children in school. Prescribed medication which MUST be taken during the school day will be
given only if the correct forms are completed along with the medicine. This may include insulin or specific antibiotics.  Please use the form above and return it to the school office (or visit in person to discuss medication).

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Emergency use medication (ie epipen) will need similar forms to be kept on site. Parents need to ensure that medication is both current and up to date and school are immediately informed of any changes.

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Inhalers can be administered (usually by the child him/herself) but should be given to the class teacher for safekeeping. Similarly, parents/carers need to ensure that these are up to date.

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Calpol, cough sweets and similar remedies will not be administered by staff and should not be sent into school for any reason. If found, they will be confiscated for the safety of the child and the other children in class.

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Appointments

If you have a dentist or similar appointment, please let us know ahead of time. Please arrive at the main entrance to pick your child(ren) up.

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Absence & Holidays

The school will not normally permit absence during term time. Possibly, in consultation with Staffordshire County Council a fixed penalty may be issued for absence. Should you consider that your circumstances are exceptional (and please note an employer specifying your holiday period is a permitted circumstance) please use the application form above.

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Persistent Absence and Lateness

Children arriving after 9.00am will be recorded as late. Persistent absence and/or lateness may well trigger Educational Welfare Services to contact you with the potential to take further action. In addition, lateness leads to issues with dinners as children often miss the time to order their food. Late arrival also impacts on children's learning as they miss the start of the lesson, and it can be very embarrassing for a child to walk into their classroom once everyone has started learning.

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School uniform

As a school we are very proud of our uniform and wear it with pride. 

The Uniform consists of:

• Bottle green V neck sweatshirt or,

• Bottle green V neck cardigan,

• White collared shirt,

• Green and yellow striped tie,

• Black (preferred) or grey trousers or,

• Black or grey skirt or a pinafore dress,

• Green and yellow gingham summer dress if desired,

• Plain black sensible shoes.

All clothing should be labelled including gloves, hats and coats as well as the more obvious school jumpers. Best are sew in labels or similar click on labels. Unlabelled lost kit is kept for several weeks before being offered as second hand clothing. Termly, we take all unlabelled clothing to the charity shop or for recycling.

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PE Kit

• Yellow round neck T shirt with school badge,

• Black shorts,

• Plimsoll/pumps,

• Trainers,

• A track suit for cold days (from Year 1)

Additionally, a popular choice is a black fleece or double fleece/waterproof with the school logo.

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For a small charge you can have your child’s initials put on any item by the uniform shop. This is a very popular choice as it makes finding missing clothes much easier. PLEASE ENSURE ALL UNIFORM IS NAMED.

Uniform may be purchased from:

Schools In, 41 Weston Rd, Meir, 01782 312873

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