More about the Lower School at Farlington

First Day of School

To accommodate the start of the academic year, with new families joining throughout the school, and to prevent the driveway from becoming too congested, we stagger the start of the school day on the first day of term only. For students in Reception to Year 6, this is between 8.45am and 9.15am.

Please take your son or daughter to their classroom, where they will be welcomed by their Class Teacher. Once they have settled with their teacher, we would ask you to leave straight away. Please collect your child from outside the classroom at the end of the school day.

On the first day of term it is also possible to drop any Lower School children at Early Birds at 8am, where a member of staff will be available to greet the children in Mrs Moir’s Reception classroom.

Start of School

Each morning, the school day will commence at 8.25am. Children in Reception to Year 2 may be taken straight to their classroom from 8.15am. Children in Years 3 and 4 may go to the tennis courts at 8.15am, where they will be supervised by the member of staff on duty - unless it is raining heavily, whereupon they may go straight to class.

Mid-Morning Break

Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will be provided with a drink, a piece of fruit and bread by the school. Pupils in Years 3 and 4 may bring their own healthy, nut-free and sesame-free snack. As per our Healthy Eating Policy, the children are not allowed to bring crisps, chocolate or sweets to school. Please remember that Farlington is a nut-free and sesame-free zone.

Lunch

All pupils in the Lower School are provided with a hot main course and pudding every day. They collect their food from the serving area, then sit at a dining table with their Class Teacher. For the children in our Reception class, their meal is brought to them. The children are taught table etiquette and the staff are there to help them cut up their food, if necessary. Please let us know if your child is a vegetarian or has any special dietary requirements. This information must be sent by email to the Lower School Office before the start of term.

End of School

The children in Reception to Year 2 will finish their school day at 3.35pm each day, and should be collected from their classrooms once dismissed by their Class Teacher.

Years 3 and 4 will finish their academic lessons at 4.20pm and may be collected from their classrooms unless staying on for clubs and/or supervised Prep.

Forest School

The Forest School programme at Farlington School encourages our children to develop a love of the great outdoors, and helps build self-esteem, confidence and a sense of responsibility.

Making excellent use of our magnificent woodland location and on-site Forest School, our highly qualified Forest School Leader teaches children to work safely with various real tools and natural resources to bring learning to life. This helps our children to develop a greater understanding of the balance of nature and the finite resources around us.

Weekly Forest School sessions are currently available to all children from Reception to Year 4. Forest School uniform requirements are communicated alongside the admissions uniform requirements. Before the start of September, we will send out a Forest School Permission Form and Code of Conduct.

Swimming

All of the children in our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes swim once a week, all year round, at our local pool in Billingshurst, and will therefore need their swimming kit in school every week.

The children in Years 3 and 4 will have swimming lessons as part of their PE curriculum.

Homework

All children in the Lower School should read every evening to an adult. By the time your child reaches Year 2 age, they should spend approximately 15 minutes reading on a nightly basis.

The children in Year 2 will also be required to learn spellings and times tables.

Once in Years 3 and 4, the children will be set 20 minutes of homework each day, linked to their current learning. The expectation is that the children should only work for 20 minutes, and that the homework should be completed independently where possible. Details of your child’s homework will be available via the Learning Platform on your child’s Chromebook (please see Being a Google School).

If you have any worries or queries about this, please do not hesitate to speak to your child’s Class Teacher.

Wraparound Care

Before-School Supervision

Lower School children may be dropped off at our Early Birds club at 8am. A member of staff will be available to greet the children in Mrs Moir’s Reception classroom.

After-School Supervision, Clubs & Prep

Whole School

Afternoon Tea is available to pre-book through magic booking in half termly blocks, and is available after school (between 4.20pm and 4.40pm) and before optional activities begin. Parents must sign-up and pay in advance for this provision. We regret that we are unable to take ad hoc daily bookings for this service.

Lower School - (Reception to Year 2)

For those children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, after-school supervision is offered each day from the end of their school day until 4.20pm. This includes clubs and supervised Prep activities. Charges may apply for external club providers.

Extended Day runs from 4.20pm until 5.45pm for the children in Reception to Year 2, and is charged at £7.50 per session per child. This is added to the end of term bill.

If you would like your child to take part in Extended Day on an ad hoc basis, please email office@farlingtonschool.com in advance or on the morning of the day you would like your child to stay later, confirming the time you will collect.

Lower School - (Years 3 and 4)

For all students in Year 3 and up, after-school supervision extends to 5.30pm to allow for clubs, sports fixtures and Prep. Charges may apply for external club providers.

If you are delayed in collecting your child, they will automatically go into our Extended Day provision offered in the Lower School, and a charge of £2.00 will be added per session per child to the end of term bill. At no point will your child be left unsupervised.

PLEASE NOTE: there is limited Extended Day provision on the day before Half Term holidays, and none on the last day of term.

Please see Structure of the School Day for more information about our Extended Day Provision.

Commendations

Commendations are awarded by teachers for attainment, effort and citizenship. The children are presented with their Commendations each week at a Celebration Assembly.

Lower School children are able to work towards their Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum certificates, handed out when they receive a certain number of Commendations.

Our Celebration Assembly presents a wonderful opportunity for all of the children from Reception to Year 4 to share and celebrate everyone's successes, both in school and at home.

'Live life to the full - become the best version of yourself'

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