Mordiford CE Primary School

The school can admit 19 children into each year group. Children will normally come into the school in the September of the academic year in which they are five years old.

The Oversubscription criteria for Mordiford Church of England Primary, A Foundation School
Children with a Statement of Special Education Needs which names Mordiford school will be allocated places.

Where the number of children seeking admission exceeds the Published admission number of 19, the Governors of Mordiford Church of England Primary School will apply the following criteria in order of priority:

1. A child who has been designated as a Looked After Child, where the approved agencies, in consultation with the Governors, agree that Mordiford is the most appropriate to meet the child’s needs.
2. A child who lives within the school’s catchment area School Prospectus 3
Mordiford Church of England Primary School A Foundation School
3. A child whose brother(s) or sister(s) attend the school at the time of admission
4. A child with unique circumstances which prevent them from attending their designated school (additional evidence is required for this)
5. A child whose family are active members of the Church of England who are committed to the practice of the Christian Religion (This application must be supported by a letter from the appropriate Vicar/Rector/Minister)
6. A child who attends Mordiford Dragons Playgroup
7. A child living outside the school’s catchment area and who does not qualify on any of the above statements will be considered in relation to the distance from school using the most likely route of travel

Applications are processed for the academic year in the previous January. Late applications from families who have just moved into the area are considered according to the priority criteria above.
Parents seeking a place for their child are asked to fill in an application form available from the school secretarial staff. Parents are encouraged to visit the school on an appointment basis.

If the school is not able to offer a place to a child due to over- subscription parents do have the right of appeal against this decision. In these circumstances the Headteacher or the school administrative officer would give advice and an appeal form.

Children transfer at 11 years of age to various Secondary Schools within the locality. The Children’ Services Directorate issues information booklets to all year six pupils and their families early in the Autumn term.

The Mordiford Dragons Playgroup, although independently run, is situated in the school grounds and enjoys close liaison with school.

There is someone on duty from 8:35am who is available to answer any queries or pass on messages to staff. When the bell rings at 8:45am children are greeted by their teacher, walk into school in an orderly way, hang up their coats and go into their own classroom. Staff are available to help with younger children’s clothing.

We do ask you to say goodbye to your child in the playground to prevent congestion and accidents that can happen if there are pushchairs, or small toddlers in the cloakrooms or classrooms.

If you have a need to see the teacher, we ask that you make an appointment for the end of the day, unless it is of an urgent nature when you are asked to leave a message with the school secretary. Many members of staff can be found on the playground before the start of the school day.
The school day ends at 3:00pm, staff dismiss the children and bring them to the playground doorways ready to hand over to a waiting adult or elder brother or sister. Pupils who use school transport are escorted to the bus. In all cases children are asked to wait with a teacher if a parent is not present.

Lateness in arrival and collection can be very distressing for children. Teachers have much to do before and after the school day. We ask you, therefore, to ensure that your child is at school on time and collected promptly at the end of the day. Please let us know if your child is to be collected by someone different.

The school day

8:45 – 8:50 Registration 8:50 – 11:00 Lessons 11:00 – 11:15 Break 11:15 – 12:15 Lessons (12:30 for Key Stage 2 children) 12:15 (30)- 1:15 Lunch
1:15 – 3:00 Lessons (Ten minute break for R,1 and 2 children)

The school is able to offer individual instrumental tuition and we have four visiting music teachers, teaching strings, brass and woodwind. Costs are charged termly. All children receive lessons in a Foreign Language, French is taught throughout the school and in Key Stage 2 children are given ‘taster’ sessions in other languages these include: German, Spanish, Welsh, Slovakian and Italian. Extra curricular activities are a strong feature of our school. Clubs are changed termly and include: crafts, sports and music activities. These take place either during the lunch break or at the end of the school day.

The school provides daily hot lunches. These are organised by Just Events Catering, meals are cooked at Fownhope kitchen then served from our own by Mrs Holmes. There is a varied menu to choose from with a number of home cooked dishes using locally produced goods. Children select the meals which they are going to have during the week and these are paid for on a Monday morning (please place money in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name and year group). If your child is absent on a Monday it is possible to pay for hot meals on the first day of return to school. Menus are sent home well in advance.

The children are supervised by a team of meal supervisors who are well known to them as they are also classroom support assistants.

We are all here to do the best we can for your child. Normally if you have any concerns you should contact your child’s class teacher, as s/he is the first point of contact and the person who knows your child best, but you can always see the Headteacher by making a prior appointment. The Headteacher has a teaching timetable and is not always available to see parents without an appointment

Registers are closed at 8:55am and 1:20 pm. Children who arrive after these times are deemed late. Therefore they will be recorded as late but without authorisation. Children who arrive over half an hour late will be marked with an unauthorised absence mark.

Attendance is monitored by the headteacher and the Educational Welfare Officer. If lateness persists The Educational Welfare Officer may contact parents. All late children must report to the office to register their arrival. Every effort is made to avoid the formal procedures because it is distressing for all concerned.

It is very important that children attend school regularly to achieve continuity in the learning process. However we realise there are occasions when your child may need to be absent. The is a need to keep the school informed about your child’s absence and a decision is made as to whether the absence is ‘unauthorised’ according to the legislation and guidance set by the Department for Education (July 1991).

All unexplained absences will be queried by means of a letter from the headteacher and the response will clarify the situation or could reveal miscommunication. If the absence remains unexplained then the reason for absence is logged as ‘unauthorised’ in the register.

The school should be notified of any infectious or contagious illness and the child should not return to school until the doctor has given consent for him/her to do so. Any absence should be explained either by a phone call or a short note to the teacher on the child’s return.

Holidays should be taken during school closures if at all possible. Only 10 school days in an academic year (Sept-Aug) can be authorised for holiday, following a written request from the parent. Holidays exceeding 10 days require the permission of the governors. Any additional holiday time will be recorded as ‘unauthorised’. Some parents request work from their child’s teacher to be completed during the holiday. The school sees this as potentially unhelpful to the child and would normally not comply with this request. We would ask that if holidays can only be taken in term time that test periods be avoided at all costs. Ti request holidays during term time please write to the governing body who will contact you with a holiday form.

The school sets targets for attendance. Good attendance is celebrated at the end of each term, all children with 100% attendance receive a certificate. Children with 100% attendance for the year receive a small prize.