Information for new parents
A very warm welcome to Charlton Primary School. We are so pleased that you have chosen our school and we all look forward to working with you and your children.
Our school, which accommodates up to 420 primary-aged pupils and 26 pre-school children, includes a purpose-built Foundation Stage building along with a large school hall, Art Studio, 14 classrooms, a library, an extensive Forest School, as well as two playground areas.
Our well respected and popular school, which serves families in Wantage, Grove and beyond, first began welcoming children into Reception over 50 years ago.
On this page will inform you about our school and hopefully answer some of the questions you may have. However, if you find that your question has not been answered, please do feel free to contact the school office: officech@charlton.vale-academy.org.
Please also see our tabs within this section to find out about school meals, term dates and uniform etc..
What happens once I accept a place?
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- Please confirm that you will be taking up your child’s place as soon as possible.
- Once you have confirmed your place, we will be in touch again with a further information about your child’s class, teacher so that you can start to organise uniform.
- You will also be asked if you would like to book your child in for Breakfast Club or after school club (subject to availability). See this secton of the website for more information about our Before and After School Clubs.
Settling in….
For children joining in year we will call parents on the phone to discuss your child and answer any questions you may have. We will also send you a link to our admission form where you can note down lots of useful information about your child.
Whether they are starting within the academic year or forming our new Reception cohort, please view the following pages to find out important information to ensure children settle in quickly when they begin:
- Pages on what and how we teach our curriculum –
https://charltonprimary.ovw10.devwebsite.co.uk/curriculum
- Information for parents including newsletters etc –
https://charltonprimary.ovw10.devwebsite.co.uk/parents-information
- Pages on School Life –
https://charltonprimary.ovw10.devwebsite.co.uk/wellbeing
Tours
If you haven't already visited we welcome visits and tours to our school. We encourage all parents to visit the school before seeking a place for their child. Please contact the school office to arrange a visit.
Parent Partnerships – how can you get involved?
At Charlton we recognise the importance and value parental involvement in the life of the school. We believe that education is a collaborative enterprise involving amongst others, parents, staff and children.
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- We will have good communication and keep your fully informed about what is happening at school.
- Sending regular whole school letters and a comprehensive termly newsletter via our school Jotter App
- Hold learning reviews and parents’ evenings
- Hold a parents’ meeting in the summer or Autumn term for parents and pupils to meet their new teacher for the following year
- Keep the school website up to date.
- Holding regular open school events where you can come and see you child’s work.
- You can become involved in school projects as a volunteer (here)
- You could help by joining our fantastic PTA (here)
- Take part in parent surveys to share your views
- Join the Local Governing Body (here)
Our Values
All of the staff at Charlton strive to give each child the best start for them to be confident, happy and successful lifelong learners, preparing them for the next stage in their school life. The planning and teaching of our curriculum reflects our ethos and school values.
Term Dates
https://charltonprimary.ovw10.devwebsite.co.uk/term-dates
Uniform
We will expect all children to be proudly wearing our school uniform.
Please make sure that all uniform is clearly named.
THE SCHOOL JOTTER MOBILE APP
KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST SCHOOL NEWS AND EVENTS, ALL THROUGH YOUR SMARTPHONE OR TABLET.
WHY YOU NEED THE SCHOOL JOTTER MOBILE APP
- Parental Engagement: Juggling work commitments and home life can be difficult for a lot of parents, so finding time to communicate with your school can be problematic. Through the School Jotter mobile app changes how we reach you.
- Save Time: Reduces duplication of time and resources with a mobile app that is easy to use.
- Important Information: Never miss an important school event, parents’ evening or open day again, with the school’s calendar.
The App is available to all parents for FREE on the iOS and Google Play stores, and will allow parents to receive notifications of the latest updates - including events, trips, updates and newsletters.
A typical school day…
Every day in pre-school and at primary school is different and filled with all sorts of learning possibilities – there is not really a typical school day. This is just to give you a flavour of what might be going on in school…
Pre-school (click here)
- Settling in, hanging up coats (in the classroom) and own learning
- Exploring and playing in the environment and learning opportunities inside and outside every day, whatever the weather.
- Carpet time, guided activities, early phonics and snack
- Singing and home time
Reception Classes
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8:40am |
Doors open and children are welcomed into the classroom by their class teacher and/or teaching assistant. Children enter classroom on their own and independently hang up their own things. |
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8:50am |
Registration and starter activities |
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9:00am |
Phonics session |
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9:20am |
Literacy session |
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10:00am |
Free flow play/ small group work |
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10:30am |
Snack time – milk, water and fruit (all provided) |
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10:50am |
Continuous provision/focus group work |
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11:30am |
Continuous provision |
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11:45pm |
Lunch |
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Afternoon |
Continuous provision/focus group work Free flow play with continued learning opportunities, reading, small group work and directed activities continued from above. Story time |
| 3:10pm | Home |
Lower School (Years 1-3)
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8:40am |
Doors open and children are welcomed into their classroom by their class teacher and or/teaching assistant. Children enter the classroom on their own and independently hang up their things. There will be a morning handwriting activity to complete. Registration will take place during this time. |
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8:55am |
Early mornings activities (spelling, quick maths etc..) Assembly (certain days) |
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9:15am |
Phonics and English lesson |
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10:35am |
Break time including snack |
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10:50am |
Maths lesson |
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Noon |
Lunchtime |
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Afternoon |
Geography/ History/ Topic/ Computing/ DT/ Art/ Music etc |
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3:00pm |
Class story and refection time |
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3:15pm |
Home After school clubs/activities begin |
UPPER School (Years 4-6)
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8:40am |
Gates/Doors open and children are welcomed into their classroom by their class teacher and or/teaching assistant. Children enter the classroom on their own and independently hang up their things. There will be a morning handwriting activity to complete. Registration will take place during this time. |
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8:55am |
Early mornings activities (spelling, quick maths etc..) Assembly (certain days) |
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9:15am |
Maths or English lesson |
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10:45am |
Break time including snack |
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11am |
Maths or English lesson |
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Noon |
Lunchtime |
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Afternoon |
Geography/ History/ Topic/ Computing/ DT/ Art/ Music etc |
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3:00pm |
Class book and refection time |
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3:15pm |
Home After school clubs/Activities begin |
Facilities
The school has 420+ pupils plus Acorns the pre-school class.
We have:
- Vast grounds- incorporating large school playing field, wild areas, outdoor classroom, Forest School
- A large school hall
- The Lodge (used for Early reading, meetings and group work)
- Wifi throughout the building
- Interactive white boards in each classroom
- Sound system and lighting for productions in the hall
- A purpose-built kitchen
- Large, light classrooms which are well resourced
- A library
- Arts room/ Food technology room
- Group/ intervention/break out spaces
- ElSA room
- Computing facilities – Chromebooks, IPADS
Lunches
Edwards and Ward provide hot school meals to our pupils every day. These are cooked on site by our wonderful catering team. There is a wide choice so all child should be happy! We encourage Reception and KS1 parents to practise cutlery skills with their children, but they will of course be supported with this in school.
School lunches are prepared to very strict guidelines to ensure that they meet nutritional standards. If your child has any identified allergies and so requires a special diet please let the school know and we will send you the relevant documentation to send to Edwards and Ward.
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 are entitled to a free school meal each day. Lunch menus will be sent out a term in advance so parents and children can make choices and then send these into the office.
Fruit and vegetables
Snack and water bottles
All our children in Reception, Years 1 and 2 also receive a free piece of fruit or vegetable every day through the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme (SFVS). Children in Acorns are encouraged to bring in a piece of fruit or vegetable to have as a mid-morning snack during their break time as these are not provided under the scheme.
The fruit and vegetables are delivered to schools three times a week to ensure freshness. Depending on the season, there is usually a choice of: bananas, apples, pears, carrots, tomatoes, satsumas etc.
Children may also bring their own additional snack which should contain healthier items and no sugary cakes, chocolate, sweets or crisps. Below are acceptable snacks:
- Fruit and vegetables (please cut up and peel whole large items e.g. apples and satsumas)
- Brioche or similar
- Corn and rice cakes
- Pitta bread
- Raisins
- Cheese
Please ensure that the children have a labelled water bottle in school daily. This must be taken home and washed daily too.
Other useful information for new parents (see links below)