Arrival at the Academy

Pupils are welcome to arrive from 8.20am when the school gates will open. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Please remain with your child until the bell rings. The safety of your child remains your responsibility until the school day begins. Children will line up outside their classrooms at 8.30am. Please say goodbye to children at this point.

The time before the school opens is used by the teachers to prepare the day’s work or meet with parents/carers or colleagues. Therefore, individual staff will not be available to help pupils before 8.30am (unless in breakfast club).

 

Lateness

The register is taken at 8.30am every morning and the classroom doors will be closed from 8.35 am. Any child not in by 8.35 am must enter by the front entrance and will be marked as late. If your child is likely to be late to the academy, please telephone the School Office to let us know before 8.30 am. Once your child arrives at school please go directly to the office so that we can mark your child as present. Persistent lateness will be taken very seriously and will be reported to the Local Authority.

Please note, any child who is late for school twice in one week will lose their privileges that week and may receive a sanction.

 

Leaving School

If your child has to leave school at any time during the day then the School Office must be informed and their absence recorded. Appointment cards must be provided please.

At the end of the day parents/carers are asked to collect their children from their classroom. Any children remaining on the premises will be taken to the school office where they can be collected via the main entrance.

 

Afternoon Lateness

Parents/carers collecting their children after 4.10pm need to sign the ‘Late Collection’ book, which the member of staff on duty will have. The Headteacher will check this book every half-term and invite parents/carers, who are regularly late to collect their children, to a meeting to discuss how we might help to reduce these incidents.

Parents/carers who collect their child later than 4.15pm without prior notice could incur a late collection fee. Persistent lateness could also incur a fine. If any parents/carers know that they will be late collecting their child, they are asked to inform the School Office as early as possible to avoid any unnecessary concern.

If you wish your child to be collected by someone other than yourself you must let the teacher/adult in charge know in the morning. This person must be known by your child and the school (Class Teacher).

 

School Meals

Ark Priory Primary Academy is committed to healthy eating and we ask that parents/carers do not give their children junk food, crisps, chocolate, sweets or fizzy drinks to bring to school. All children are expected to have a plastic water bottle from which they will be encouraged to drink water throughout the day.

 

Healthy Schools

Ark Priory Primary Academy is part of the National Healthy Schools Programme. This Initiative links good health, behaviour and achievement through a whole school approach. We want all children and young people to be healthy and achieve at the academy and in life. We believe that by providing opportunities at the academy for enhancing emotional and physical aspects of health in the longer term, this will lead to improved health, reduced health inequalities, increased social inclusion and raise achievement for all.

 

Healthy Eating

Our onsite school kitchen offers every child a healthy lunch, cooked freshly at the academy, every day and healthy snacks at break times. A vegetarian choice is always provided and it can usually cater to special dietary needs if these are notified to the school. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, pupils may not eat sweets, fizzy drinks or other ‘fast food’ in school.

 

School lunches and food availability

Ark Priory Primary Academy is a healthy eating school and we have invested a lot of money in providing school meals that are cooked in-house and that provide our pupils with the nutritional requirements to meet their extended day.

No pupils will be allowed out at lunchtime and we expect all pupils to eat a hot meal at lunchtime; we will provide a choice of meals including vegetarian and Halal. Packed lunches are only allowed if medical reasons mean that a school meal is not suitable.

The following foods and drinks are banned from the school:

• Crisps
• Sweets/Chocolate
• Chewing gum
• Fizzy drinks of any description
• Lucozade or other ‘energy drinks’
• Any other food or drink product that the Headteacher deems unsuitable

 

Free School Meals

You may be entitled to free school meals for your child. Please appy directly to the London Borough of Ealing local authority who are located at Perceval House, 14-16, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London. W5 2HL.

 

Snacks at Break-time

We believe in encouraging our children to eat healthily. Therefore, anyone who wishes to bring a snack of fruit or raw vegetables may do so. The children in Reception class will be provided with a snack (a piece of fruit) as a part of their daily routine.

 

How to pay for school meals

Currently all pupils at Ark Priory Primary Academy are eligible for universal free school meals and will start to pay for them once they start in KS1 (Year 3).

An account for each pupil will be created with Wisepay. The preferred method for adding credit to your child’s account is by you using a credit or debit card online at www.wisepay.com.

If a pupil is eligible for a free school meal because the household income is less than £16,000 you should contact Ealing Council to apply. Once this has been agreed they will let us know. This does not happen automatically if your child was eligible for free school meals at primary school therefore please make sure that this has been agreed with Ealing Council and the school. Once we have been notified by Ealing Council, your child will be eligible to a free lunch to the value of £2 and a free meal for breakfast.

Please make sure that the Wisepay account stays in credit. This will mean checking it on a weekly basis. Keeping the account in credit avoids any embarrassment. When in debt we will write to you to tell you that you owe money and ask that you credit the account as soon as possible.