After School Clubs 

The school offers a rich and varied Clubs programme from Year 1 upwards, most of which take place after school with some at lunchtime. Please click After School Clubs for further information and booking.

Arriving late

The school bell goes at 8.50am daily. Please ensure your child arrives on time. Any child arriving after 8:55am will be marked as late and this will affect the child’s punctuality and attendance record. If arriving after 9am, please bring your child to the school office and not directly to the playground drop off zone.

Assemblies

There are many assemblies throughout the year, and parents are invited to attend particular ones - Class assemblies with themed performances and special presentations from all children. Children attend a whole-school assembly on a Monday with Ms Peters, a weekly singing assembly and star worker assembly to celebrate fantastic work from the week gone by.

Book bags

Please check book bags at the end of each day - there will be reading books, spellings, homework and notes with reply slips to return. If your child has had an accident at school, the first aid note will be found in the book bag. Book bags can be purchased online from our uniform supplier - Stitch Design.

Bringing things to school

Your child’s book bag should contain the basic items for that day - water bottle, any completed slips to return and any special items which your child has been asked to bring in. Please do not bring any toys, money or other items generally, however Nursery and Reception children are allowed to bring in their favourite toys for Show & Tell and Year 1 and 2 their special items for Friday Golden Time. Your teacher will advise on details.

Cakes for birthdays

As a Healthy School, cakes should not be brought in for classes to share.  Healthy snacks e.g. fruit, cheese straws or healthy low sugar cakes (banana bread, carrot cake or muffins) can be brought in instead, and should be nut-free.

Collecting other people’s children

If you have made arrangements for someone else to collect your child, then please advise your Class Teacher or the School Office on the date, giving them the name and contact number of that adult. It will not be possible for the collecting adult to collect the child unless the parent/carer has given their permission.  If the Class Teacher is unaware of the arrangement, they will take your child to the School Office who will call you to confirm the arrangements.

Forest School

Wendell Park is pleased to offer ‘Forest School’ learning to Nursery and Reception pupils which enables children to explore learning opportunities out ‘in the wild’ - whether in the school grounds, Wendell Park or further afield. For more information about Forest School, please visit http://www.forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/ 

Getting involved as a parent

There are many opportunities for parents to get involved at the school through Friends PTA (Parent Teacher Association) and their regular events; as reading volunteers, governors or in other ways. We are always happy to hear your ideas. We also run regular Dream School initiatives which are opportunities for parents and carers to come to workshops and meetings to discuss new initiatives for the school. If you wish to volunteer in any way, please contact either of the Deputy Heads – Elena Hough or Rosie Peters.

Mobile Phones

Children who bring a mobile phone into school must hand it in to the School Office in the morning where it will be kept securely until collected at the end of the day.  Mobile phones must not be kept in bags, school lockers or in the classroom. Mobile phones cannot be answered by children during the school day.

Most Able programme

The school has a register of children who are either gifted or talented over the range of subjects.  This includes children who excel in different sports, the arts or other academic subjects.  Most able children are planned for within the curriculum and are given the opportunity to attend special events, tournaments etc as and when these arise during the year. 

Glossary of key terms

You will come across all sorts of abbreviated terms at school, here are a few. If you have any questions about terminology, please come and speak to a member of staff.

LO - Learning Objective
ARE – Age Related Expectation

GD - Greater Depth
SEND - Special Educational Needs & Disability
TA - Teaching Assistant

Headlice 

Headlice are harmless creatures which feed and breed on the roots of hair. They are particularly common in children, as they play closely together. Outbreaks usually occur after the summer break, with families returning from holidays abroad, however they can occur at any time of year also. We ask all parents and carers to be vigilant and comb out (using a nit comb) any eggs and hatched lice on a regular basis, applying special medical shampoo (such as Lyclear) as necessary.

If your child has headlice and you do not treat it, they will start to infest other children and it will take longer for a mini-epidemic to be eradicated. The School Office will send out a letter if headlice are present in any of our classes in order for all parents to treat their children’s hair.  For more information, please visit http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx or speak to a health professional.

Healthy eating

We encourage healthy eating in and out of school and we teach all children the principles of eating healthily as part of the PHSE curriculum. The school is also a member of the Healthy Schools programme - we have been awarded our  Gold Healthy Schools award. For more information about healthy eating, please visit https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/healthyeating.html

Home School Agreement

All parents/carers AND children are required to read, sign and return this to the School Office, when their child joins the school.  The Home-School Agreement can be found in the 'Policies' section of the website

Homework

All children from Reception upwards will receive homework on a weekly basis. From Year 1, this will consist of English and Maths, plus weekly spellings and reading.  Classes will also issue longer, half-termly homework which can be completed over time e.g. a Design and Technology project or Computing challenge.  Please visit the Class pages to see the days for issuing and submitting homework. If you wish to discuss any aspect of your child’s homework or need support in understanding it, please do not hesitate to speak to your Class Teacher.

Houses

In addition to their form classes, all children are mixed randomly into one of five houses: 
Willow, Oak, Beech, Ash and Cedar (siblings are kept in the same house where possible).  Teachers are also allocated houses. The houses are mixed vertically across the year groups which enables children to engage with other year groups in a structured way.  Termly inter-house competitions are held such as a Sing-Off, Performance Poetry competition and Bake-Off as well as our annual Sports Days.

Image consent

The safety and security of all pupils at Wendell Park is our top priority. Children's photographs are sometimes used on this website and external websites. Please read the image consent form below, tick the appropriate boxes, sign and return to the School Office. If you have any questions regarding the image consent, please speak to the School Office.

Download Image Consent form and return to the School Office.

Learning at Wendell

For more information please visit the Curriculum and Class pages

Looking after your children

The safety of all children is a top priority.  Rosie Peters, Elena Hough, Josie Quested and Dave Collins are the Designated Safeguarding Leads. 

For more information, please go to the Safeguarding policy in the Policies page. 

Lunches, Free School Meals, packed lunches and dietary requirements 

The school provides School Lunches which, under current legislation, are free to all pupils from Reception, Years 1 and 2. However some children in other years are also entitled to Free School Meals, subject to means-tested eligibility. For more information, please speak to the School Office.

School Lunches are provided by Radish and special dietary requirements can be provided for.  Please complete a special dietary form through the School Office and this information will be sent immediately to Radish and the school kitchen.

If you would prefer you child to have packed lunch, please let the school office know.  We encourage parents to pack your child a healthy lunch – no sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks please.  More information on healthy packed lunches can be found on the internet including: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/childhealth6-15/Pages/Lighterlunchboxes.aspx 

If you would like your child to change their lunch pattern, please complete a notification form from the School Office.

Meeting the teachers

Your class teacher is always your first point of contact in school.  Teachers will be available in the playground from 8:45am at the beginning of the day and again at 3:30pm.  If you require longer, please make an appointment with your class teacher at a mutually convenient time.

We hold regular parent meetings (one every term) and an annual ‘Meet the Teacher’ event in the first two weeks of school where your class teacher will outline the routines of the class, important information and dates and the curriculum coverage. 

If you require a meeting with a more senior teacher, initially this would be the phase leader and after that the deputy heads or executive head. If you have a concern about Special Needs, please speak to the School SENDCo (Josie Quested).

Parent workshops and information about learning methods

We are aware that some of the methods used in school are different to those that parents are familiar with from their school days.  We run regular workshops for parents to introduce methods and provide information and support so parents feel confident in helping their child at home.  Recent workshops have included Early Reading, Phonics, Maths skills – division and multiplication and Problem Solving.  Parents are always welcome to attend these events or to speak directly to their class teacher for more support.

Parents’ evenings and booking

There are three parents’ evenings throughout the year. During the Autumn term, there will be opportunity for parents to meet their class teacher and discuss how their child has settled into class and how they can be supported in their new year group.  The second parents’ evening, in the Spring term, is a longer opportunity to look at your child’s work and to discuss their targets with your class teacher.  The final meeting is an open meeting and will be after the school report has been sent out.  This is an opportunity to discuss any issues within the report and to raise any questions.

Booking for parents’ evening is through the website and you will need your School Jotter username and password.  The School Office can provide support if required. 

Performances and special events

There are special events and performances throughout the year which change year-on-year.  The children in Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 always perform their Christmas Nativity plays at the end of the Autumn term.  The Friends of Wendell Park organise both a Winter and Summer Fair along with the highly acclaimed W Factor talent show.  

Parents can keep up to date with the upcoming performances and special events through the School Diary - events for parent attendance are marked with an asterisk (*).

Reporting an absence 

If your child is ill, please call the School Office on the first morning to report their absence.  Please bring in a signed note on their return to school to inform us of the reason for absence as we are required to keep a record of this information.

Holidays during school term time are unauthorised.  Under special circumstances, leave may be authorised by the Executive Headteacher.  A form must be completed at the School Office.  This would include religious observance e.g. Eid where one day of absence is authorised.

Results

We are very proud of the results our children obtain throughout their time at Wendell Park.  Our latest results can be found on the 'Results' page of the website. 

Rewards at school

All classes follow our Positive Behaviour Policy.  Class teachers use their own strategies to reward children in their class e.g. postcards/emails home, stickers, star worker of the week or showing their work to one of the senior leaders.  

Star worker assembly takes place each Friday in phases and each week a child is chosen to show their work and discuss what they have done to receive this award.  The work chosen might have been an excellent example for the week or the child might have demonstrated an important skill e.g. perseverance when completing the task. Names of the weekly star workers are published on the newsletter.

Our School core values are recognised by a certificate handed out at assembly on Thursday morning. Adults around school nominate pupils who demonstrate our 5Cs: caring, cooperation, challenge, celebration and confidence. 

Road safety and pollution

Wendell Park wants to ensure the safety of all our pupils and families especially as they arrive in the morning and leave in the afternoon.  We ask that parents do not park on the zig-zag yellow lines directly outside the school and that parents turn their engines off whilst waiting to collect their children.

Children participate in Road Safety sessions throughout the school and this is regularly revisited during PSHE/Circle Time. Children are taught about how to cross the road safely and this is reinforced on school trips where an element of walking along roads might be required.

Please see our School Travel Plan for more information.

School day timetable 

The school bell goes at 8.50am daily and all children should aim to arrive by 8.45am latest. Please ensure your child arrives on time and see above on Arriving Late. The school day finishes at 3.30pm Monday-Thursday and 2.30pm on Friday. Nursery finishes at 2.15pm daily.  Each class has their own timetable which is published on the year group webpage and changes each half term.  This timetable can be flexible to incorporate additional learning experiences. Please see Class pages for more information.

School Council

School Council is a democratically elected group of children from Year 1 to Year 6.  Classes vote for a male and female representative to attend School Council meetings.  In the past, School Council has been involved in writing the playground rules and holding senior teachers to account when designing the new playground areas.

Secondary Transfer

Early on in Autumn Term parents and carers are invited into school for the Transition to Secondary Meeting. Further useful information can be found on the Hammersmith & Fulham website and a thorough read of the 'Moving on Up' booklet is advised.

All applications must be in by the 31st October, so parents are encouraged to complete and send in their applications prior to this date.

Please see our section on Secondary Transfer for more detailed information.

Sickness and diarrhoea 

As recommended by our School Nurse, children should remain at home for 48 hours from the last episode of Vomiting or Diarrhoea.

Special Educational Needs & Disability

Wendell Park Primary School is a very inclusive school.  For more information, please review our Special Educational Needs provision.

Travelling to school

We encourage families to walk, cycle or scoot to school and have lockable bike and scooter sheds available in the playground.  Please ensure your bike or scooter is clearly labelled with your child’s name to avoid the wrong equipment being taken at the end of the day. By using sustainable transport, we not only improve our environment and our own health, but it also helps us to start the school day bright and cheerful.

Please see our School Travel Plan for more information.

Trips

Children participate in regular educational and enrichment trips and visits throughout their time at Wendell Park.  Trips are linked to topic areas and parents are often invited to attend.  Class teachers provide more information through their year group webpage.

Additional enrichment trips come up throughout the year for example children participate in sports tournaments and attend Skills Builder trips to businesses in London.

Uniform

It is important that all children wear uniform each day.  For more information, please review the Uniform section.

Water

Water is not available through the tap in every classroom therefore we recommend that all children bring a named water bottle to school each day so that children can take regular water breaks (especially in hot weather).