Queen’s Hill Primary and Nursery School

Queen’s Hills is a developing estate and is part of Costessey, about 5 miles from the City of Norwich in Norfolk. Originally owned by Lord Stafford (hence the Stafford knot in our logo), the land became used for gravel pits and in 2004 Cofton’s bought the site and has since sold to a number of developers. Unusually it was decided to build our school before the development was completed. We opened on Monday 8 September 2008 with just 29 pupils aged between 4 and 11 years old.

Our aim is to be at the heart of the Queen’s Hills community. You will see how we do this through the different activities on offer both during the school day and at weekends and evenings. As Queen’s Hill is a new community we feel it is very important for our children to learn the skills to work and play within our own school community as well as learning the skills to be a community member of Queen’s Hills, Costessey and Norfolk. We encourage the children and their families to take part in local activities and by partnering with local establishments we hope to help them feel part of these communities.

We are also establishing links further afield and aim to be partnered with schools both in France and China. These links will help our young adults of the future to appreciate what it means to live in a global society and help them to realise that the world is diverse, becoming ever more accessible and that we all play a part in its future.

Information for Parents

The School Day

8.00-8.30am              Breakfast Club – £1.00 per child
8.30-8.40am              Children may arrive and go to their classroom
8.40am                      Registration & Lessons begin

11.40am-12.40pm    Lunch

12.40pm                     Afternoon Registration & Lessons begin
3.00pm                       School Closes

Absences

If you child is ill or unable to attend school for any reason please telephone the school on the first day of absence to let us know, there is an absence option on the answer phone to make this an easy process.  If we do not hear from you we will mark the absence as unknown and you will need to confirm to us in writing the reason for absence on their return to school.  If you wish to take your child out of school for a holiday during term-time you need to request a holiday form from the Office to get the leave authorised (“Schools can only agree to absence for a family holiday if they believe there are exceptional circumstances which warrant it” DCSF Guidance for Schools and Local Authorities, May 2008).  Please note: No holidays will be authorised in September and no holidays will be authorised in the first half of the Summer Term (SAT’s) or any other testing period

Breakfast Club

Please pay for Breakfast Club sessions in advance on a Monday as this helps us with our administration in the Office.  Some parents pay by cheque on a half-termly basis.  If you would like to do this, please ask at the Office.

Dinners

• BAGS: Pupils in Reception and Key Stage 1 will need a book bag and P.E. bag. Pupils in Key Stage 2 are encouraged to bring a small rucksack type bag. All bags must be named.

• MOBILE PHONES: Pupils must not bring any phones/electronic games/ MP3 players etc. to school. If your child needs a mobile phone for walking to/from school this must be kept in the school office.

• HELPERS: We welcome parents/grandparents/residents as regular helpers to the school. All helpers must have a Criminal Records Bureau check. We encourage parents to help in classes other than their own child/ren’s class.

• PACKED LUNCHES: All children must have a plastic plate on which to set out their well balanced packed lunch. NO sweets, chocolate or fizzy drinks. For ideas on healthy pack ups please visit: http://www.nutrition.org.uk/lunches/

• WALK TO SCHOOL: If you have to drive your child to school please park AWAY from the school (NOT in Fieldfare Way) and “Park and Stride”. All pupils in Queen’s Hills are expected to WALK TO SCHOOL.

• HOLIDAYS AND MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS: Holidays during school time are STRONGLY discouraged. Please try to make dental/medical appointments after school/during school holidays.

• LANGUAGES: As you can tell from the Class names,  language is important to us. French is learnt in Years 5 and 6 (our transition lnaguage) alongside Latin; Years 3 and 4 learn Spanish. Children in Nusery and KS1 learn a variety of languages to reflect the home languages of their pupils and intersts of staff.

Photos

Option to place some photos here. Will need to be provided.