On behalf of the staff, governors, children and parents, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you and your family to Etwall Primary School. We know that starting school is an exciting milestone for both you and your little one and we look forward to meeting you and working with your family.
The Reception year is a very special one indeed and transitioning into this first year at school is important not only for your child, but also for you as parents/carers. With this in mind, we invite you into school on Tuesday 2nd July or Wednesday 3rd July for an induction morning, starting at 9:30am. We will let you know in due course as to which meeting we would like you to attend.
If you haven't shared your child's birth certificate with us beforehand, please bring it to this meeting and in return we will provide coffee, cake and some information to take away with you! Your child will have the opportunity to spend some time in class with other children whilst you have a brief talk from the headteacher and the EYFS lead.
So that we have everything in place to welcome your child to Etwall Primary, we have some paperwork and online forms that we ask all parents and carers to complete by Tuesday 4th June. Much of this can be done online but if you have any difficulties, please give us a call at school and we will do our best to help.
1) You should have received a welcome email with a letter from the headteacher attached. If you have not received this, please give the school office a call on 01283 732301. We can check the contact details that we have for you and re-send.
2) Within the letter, there is a link for you to access your 'Arbor' account. Arbor is the platform that we use to store all of your child's personal information. Please click the link, complete any information required and scroll down, completing all of the consent checks. Please complete all of these consents before any school visits that your child attends and before September if you are not able to attend any visits.
3) Please complete the online application for Pupil Premium Funding:
This online form will allow Derbyshire Countil Council to check your eligibility for additional funding. Please find below a poster explaining a little more about it.
4) If you are nearby, please bring in your child's birth certificate. Our school office is open between 8am and 4pm on school days. If you haven't brought this in beforehand, please bring your child's birth certificate to the welcome meetings on Tuesday 2nd July or Wednesday 3rd July.
5) Please download the Class Dojo app (free version only). We use Class Dojo as a communication tool for parents/carers and school. Not only do we post regular class and school updates and reminders, we can also use this as a two-way messaging system. In class, children enjoy earning class dojo points will we 'ping' through to your phone via the app.
https://www.classdojo.com/en-gb
Please note that you do not need to buy the premium version. The free version is more than sufficient!
6) If your child has any dietary requirements or needs a tailored medical diet, an online application will need to be made to Derbyshire County Council Catering Service. Before clicking on the link below, please make sure that you have at hand a digital copy of your child's medical documentation for any medical conditions that require a dietary plan.
https://www.schoolmeals.derbyshire.gov.uk/allergies-and-special-diets/allergies-and-special-diets.aspx
7) Finally, enjoy talking to your child about starting school!
There is some information below about school readiness and what you might want to work on before September.