General Information
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Parental involvement is welcomed, both by helping with classroom activities and with fund-raising activities to raise money for equipment and materials to enrich the children's education and pleasure. A number of parents come into school regularly to help the children in various ways. You may like to offer to help small groups of children with sewing, cooking, maths and language games and gardening, or you may prefer to help with the library or undertake a variety of organisational tasks. Please contact me or your child's class teacher if you wish to be involved in this way. Parents wishing to discuss worries or progress are invited to make an appointment to see either the Class Teacher or Headteacher at a pre-arranged, mutually convenient time. Formal Open Evenings are held once a term, when you will have the opportunity to discuss your child's progress.
Parents of pupils automatically become members of the Friends of Folly Hill, an Association which supports the School in many ways and organises a range of social and fund raising activities. These may take the form of Quiz Nights, Barbecues, Discos, Summer Balls, Summer and Christmas Fairs to name just a few. In the past, the money raised has been used to fund such extras as the Trimtrail area in the playground, the refurbishment of the library, colour printers, books, maths equipment and new furniture for the classrooms. The Friends are very hard-working and we greatly value their loyalty and support.
Charging and Remissions Policy
The Education Reform Act (1988) maintains the right of all children to have free school education. It also confirms that all schools may continue to invite voluntary contributions to meet, or partially meet, the cost of activities during or outside regular school hours. We will, at times, invite such contributions to meet the cost of activities of educational value, which could not be organised otherwise, eg swimming, recorders, class excursions and groups visiting the school. These activities are of great value to the children's education and costs will always be kept to a minimum. No child is ever excluded from any activity on financial grounds. In the event of any activity having to be cancelled, refunds as appropriate would be made.
Although the school grounds are small, we make full use of them as part of the children's first-hand experiences. With the help of the Friends of Folly Hill and various local charities, we have been able to include a pond, wild life garden, playhouses and hedging, in addition to the equipment and outdoor play area for the four year olds. A recent project has been to create a Trimtrail area in the playground which provides an enjoyable form of exercise for the children and gives them the opportunity to develop co-ordination and stamina.
While programmes of work are planned to meet the needs of individual children all children are given the opportunity to experience the full range of class and school activities.
Children are made aware of the existence and rich variety of other cultures and beliefs, their special celebrations and the need for understanding and tolerance.
No formal sex education is undertaken. It may be touched upon when relevant during topic work or in response to individual children's needs and questions as they arise and would then be treated sensitively.
We try to adopt the kind of attitude towards discipline that would be acceptable to a reasonable and caring family. We look for a high standard of conduct from the children and they are expected to show caring and thoughtful behaviour towards others and a respect for the whole school environment. We aim to guide children towards self discipline through rewarding good behaviour rather than focusing on unacceptable behaviour. Children who find it difficult to conform may be reprimanded or lose a privilege such as a playtime and this is usually sufficient. If a child is experiencing behaviour problems, parents are invited to the school to discuss the matter in a supportive way and appropriate courses of action are discussed.
These are cooked on the premises and are generally acknowledged to be good. Children are encouraged to eat a balanced diet, but are never forced to eat anything which they really do not want. Please inform us about any special dietary requirements.
School meals must be paid for in advance, either weekly or half-termly. If you are paying weekly, it would be most helpful if you could send the correct money on Monday mornings. Please send all money in an envelope marked with your child's name and class and a note of the amount of cash enclosed. This envelope should be handed to the class teacher at registration
Parents below a certain income level may be eligible for free school meals for their children. No distinction is made between children receiving free school meals and children who have paid. If you think you may be eligible for free school meals, please see Mrs Noakes at the school office.
If you wish your child to bring a packed lunch, you should provide a lunch box, with an unbreakable and leakproof container for a drink. Fizzy drinks, cans, bottles and sweets should not be sent to school. Children with packed lunches eat their food in the Hall. Lunch boxes should be brought to school with the child in the morning and placed on the trolley located in the Hall.
In the event of an unplanned school closure due to severe weather conditions or the breakdown of vital services, a notice will be displayed at the school gate and an announcement will be made on The Eagle 96.4 or County Sound Radio 1566 MW. Information on emergency school closures is also available on the County Education website at Surrey Alert
In cases of illness, please inform the Office by telephone and send a written note on return to school. If it is essential to take family holidays during term time, these must be limited to two weeks in any academic year. Holiday forms are available from the Office and permission should be sought at least two weeks before the planned holiday. When your child is in Year 2, holidays during the first half of the Summer Term should be avoided, as this is the period when any Statutory tests will be completed. Due to the commitment of parents and children to school life, the attendance record is always excellent. The figures for 2001/2002 were :- Percentage of authorised absences 4.0% Percentage of unauthorised absences 0.0%
Exemption from PE, Games and Swimming
Normally, if a child is well enough to attend school, he/she will be considered well enough to take part in all school activities. If there is a good reason for your child to be excused from these activities, please send a letter. Children who are not swimming for any reason will be taken down to the pool to watch.
All five year old children will receive a medical. Parents are invited to attend. Hearing and vision tests are made at this time.
Please inform us of all health problems such as asthma, allergies, deafness etc. Medicines In most cases, children should not return to school after an illness until the need for medication is over. However your own Doctor is the person best able to judge this. In certain cases we can help by administering doses of medicine during the day, if it is medicine prescribed by your doctor and if he requests that we do so. All medicines and inhalers must be clearly marked with the child's name, dosage and times to be taken, and taken to the School Office where you will be asked to record details in the Medications Book.
Individual and family photographs are taken in the Autumn Term. In the Summer Term, Class and/or Whole School photographs are taken.
All visitors are required to report to the Office, sign the Visitor's Book and wear a visitor's badge.
The first step to resolve any problem would be discussion with the School. If you are unable to resolve your problem with the Class Teacher or the Headteacher, you may consult a member of the Governing Body. If you are still not satisfied that your concern has been resolved you may approach the Local Education Office. Surrey Education Authority has published a brochure which explains the complaints procedure to parents. We have copies of this leaflet in school and they are available on request.
Children transfer to Junior School after completing Year 2. Our closest Junior School is Hale Primary School, although you will be given the opportunity to consider all the options during your child's last year. Folly Hill Infant School maintains close liaison with all local Junior Schools in order to ensure continuity.
We were delighted with our recent Ofsted Inspection report in January 2002, which stated that the "school provides teaching of a consistently good quality" and that pupils achieve above national average standards in most subjects. The school's provision for pupils in the Foundation Stage enables the children to make a good start to their education. Good standards of behaviour were recognized as well as high levels of attendance. The Inspector's report described the school as having "good relationships between staff and pupils", enabling "the children to take risks in their learning in an atmosphere of trust". Latest Ofsted Report
Folly Hill has recently been awarded its second Beacon School Status in recognition of the standards we had achieved and the general management and ethos of the school. This is a tremendous accolade for the school and due recognition of the hard work, dedication and commitment of the whole school team, parents and children. The school was recently congratulated for winning a School Achievement Award, for substantially improved results.
One of the aims of the school is to function as a part of the community. With this in view, close links are maintained with local Playgroups, Junior Schools, Churches and Famham Park. Newsletters to parents are distributed monthly. Visitors are commonplace at Folly Hill, where an open door policy has stimulated a popular interest among both educational and lay visitors. Our joint efforts as parents and teachers will ensure your child has the best possible opportunity for progress. The contents of this document represent the information required in Schedule 2 of the Education Regulations 1981, the Schools Act 1992, 1993 Regulations outlined in Circular 7/98 and the Schools Standard and Framework Act 1998, and relate to the School Year 2002/2003. The information was correct as at September 2002. It should not be assumed that there will be no change affecting the arrangements described in this document before the start of, or during, the school year in question or in relation to subsequent school years.
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