Attendance and punctuality
We would like to emphasise the importance of excellent attendance and hope that you and the children will make every effort to make sure that you are on time and ready for the school day. The school doors open at 08:45am so the children can settle down to their independent morning work. Children should be in school at this time. Being late or missing day can cause gaps in your child's learning.
Mobile Phones
We understand that some pupils have mobile phones and that they use these as they walk to and from school on their own. We must stress that mobile phones should be turned off once your child has entered the school grounds. Mobile phones should then be given to a member of staff so that they can be securely put away during the school day and returned at the end of the day.
Homework
Homework will typically be set on a Friday, to be returned, completed, by the following Wednesday for marking. The homework provided is given to support and consolidate pupils’ learning from that week or a previous week. There will also be a termly project linked to topic work. If children do not complete their homework, they will be supported to do this on the Friday lunchtime at homework club.
Spellings
Spellings will be handed out to pupils on a Tuesday and tested the following Monday.
Home Reading
In Year 6, children are given daily opportunities to change their reading books and we expect them to be independent enough to identify when they need to do this.
It is essential that your child reads as frequently as possible to build their stamina for reading and we are looking for children to read at least three times a week at home – this should be recorded in their home reading record. Every time your child reads and records this in their reading diary, they will receive a sticker for their challenge card. We understand that parents/carers live busy lives but any time you can spare to listen to your child really would be extremely beneficial.
If your child has a book ‘on the go’ at home, they are welcome to bring it to school to read during independent reading time.
If your child has not had a chance to read at home during the week, they will attend a lunchtime reading club to give them that opportunity.
PE
Indoor PE: this takes place on a Tuesday afternoon. It is important that children arrive in school wearing the correct kit.
Outdoor PE: this takes place on a Thursday afternoon. Children should wear their PE kit to school on this day. This kit will be a PE uniform and there will be strict expectations that it is worn as such. The only logo on the uniform should be the school logo. The Blakehill PE uniform consists of:
· A navy blue school jumper/hoody (with or without school logo)
· Black/navy blue jogging bottoms/leggings
· Navy blue shorts
· White T shirt
· Black pumps or trainers
We feel the benefits of adopting a PE uniform would be:
• Limited changing times therefore increasing actual physical activity times
• A reduction in lost property items
• Abolish the constraint of changing room facilities in the school building
All uniform items are available from the usual uniform outlets including The Uniform Shop (Bradford) and Whittakers (Shipley). The new hoodies with the school logo are in stock from the above uniform providers.
Water Bottles
To enable your child to have a drink of water, we would encourage a named water bottle be brought into school. Try to ensure your child’s bottle is of the non-spill variety. Bottles should be taken home daily to be cleaned.
Uniform
Please ensure that your child has the correct uniform (named so that it can be easily returned if lost), including black school shoes and your house tie. If your child does not have suitable black school shoes, they will be given black pumps to wear throughout the day inside. Children can wear trainers at play times and lunch times but these must be changed back to school shoes ready for returning to lessons. Pupils are also required to wear a school tie with a white shirt or polo shirt and children in Key Stage 2 should have a school cardigan or V-necked school jumper. Jewellery must not be worn apart from stud earrings unless for religious purposes. Children may wear a watch but it must not be able to send or receive messages or record e.g. a Smart watch.
As we share a small cloakroom, your child should not bring any other bags apart from their pump bag and book bag.