Frequently Asked Questions
We hope that you find the following information useful. If you have any questions that are not covered here, please do feel free to ask.
What time does school start?
 The playgrounds are supervised from 8.40am each day. For their own safety, children should not arrive before this time. Children have a choice whether to play out or go into class from this time onward.
Morning session
- Foundation and Key Stage 1 - 8.50 - 12.00
- Key Stage 2 - 8.50 – 12.10
Afternoon session - 1.10 – 3.20
All children have a 15 minute break in the morning, Foundation and Key Stage 1 children have a short break in the afternoon too. As part of our Healthy Eating Programme all children in Key Stage 1 are provided with a piece of fruit or vegetable each day as a snack by the Government. Children in Key stage 2 are encouraged to bring a similar snack. Biscuits, chocolate etc are not allowed.
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How are the children encouraged to eat healthily?
Along with our snack policy we teach children about developing a healthy lifestyle. To do this we provide daily physical activities ranging from 10 minutes to a full PE lesson. Children learn about staying safe, drug and sex education and the importance of a healthy diet. This is all suitably delivered to meet the needs and age of the pupils. We encourage children to bring in a named plastic bottle of water each day, which they have access to in class. Hot meals are available to buy each day from our school kitchen. The menu is carefully constructed to ensure a healthy diet is available. We have established a School Nutrition Action Group that is reviewing all aspects of food at Gatehouse. The group, which includes children plan to review how we support children to learn about a healthy balanced diet, promote healthy packed lunches, review the school dinner menu and continue to grow produce on site.
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Can I claim Free School Meals?
 If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance, your child is eligible for a free school meal each day. For further details please call into our office where one of our administrators will provide you with confidential advice on how to claim this. If you are eligible to register but your child does not want to have a free school meal please do register anyway as part of our budget allocation is based upon the number of children registered for free school meals.
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What uniform do children wear?
A Gatehouse school jumper with logo or red jumper
Grey trousers or skirt and a red or white polo shirt. In the summer many girls choose to wear a red and white checked school dress and the boys choose to wear grey shorts. We encourage children to wear school shoes and not trainers as part of their uniform.
School jumpers can be purchased from the office on Monday Mornings. Please remember that the school uniform is there to unify the school but also to get dirty and be a practical outfit. In school we glue, paint, cut, get sweaty and dirty on a weekly basis. The uniforms often follow suit! Without the uniform expensive garments will be damaged frequently.
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What do children wear for PE?
Our PE kit is a plain white t-shirt and white shorts. All children will need a pair of plimsolls for indoor PE or work bare foot. The plimsolls can be worn outdoors but some children prefer to use trainers. In the winter a track suit is acceptable for outdoor wear. Please be aware that children often get very dirty outside, especially during the winter.
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Can children miss PE?
PE is part of the statutory curriculum. However, if your child is not fit enough to participate, please ensure that they bring a letter excusing them from these activities detailing the reason and length of time they are to be excluded from the lesson. PE kits should be brought to school every Monday and taken home, to be washed, every Friday. It is not satisfactory for children to wear their school clothes for PE activities.
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What jewellery can children wear?
Except for watches and ear studs, no jewellery should be worn to school and for health and safety even the watches and ear studs must be removed for all physical education activities. This must be done by the child themselves.
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What do I do if my child is ill?
 Please telephone the office on the first day of your child’s absence if they are ill. The start of the day is often busy and the answering machine should be used to leave a message on if we are unable to answer.
Medicines in school
Sometimes children need to have medicines administered through the school day. We can only administer medicines that are prescribed by a doctor and have the prescription details on them. Please come into the office and fill in the authorisation form on the first day your child returns to school.
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Can I take my child out of school to go on holiday?
Holiday forms are available from our Forms from the school office. We can normally authorise holidays of no more than 10 school days per academic year. If your child’s attendance is very low however we would be unable to do this. Please submit authorisation requests prior to booking your holiday.
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What happens if my child misses school?
Obviously when a child is absent from school they will miss lessons. If they are away frequently or for a significant block of time they will inevitably miss learning that their friends have not. Attendance is monitored carefully by the Education Welfare department. If your child is away regularly this department may contact you to discuss the reasons for this.
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What extra curricular activities are there?
Each term our staff and volunteers from the community offer a range of clubs for children to attend. We try to cover a range of clubs each term. Previous clubs have included Photography, Wildlife club, Mosaic, Netball, Football, French, Dance, ICT etc. We regularly organise educational visits throughout the year to enhance the learning in class. Recent trips have been to the Eden Project, Exeter Cathedral and Synagogue, and Bath. Residentials are arranged annually and vary each year. This year pupils went to the France taking part in a variety of outdoor education challenges and learning about French life.
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What insurance does the school have?
Children are insured against injuries caused by building defects and accidents which occur as the result of negligence by a member of the Authority's teaching and non-teaching staff. Children attending the Authority's schools are not insured against personal injury or accident while on educational premises or taking part in recognised activities outside the school. The council expects all employees, pupils and students to accept full responsibility for their personal possessions, including money, and to consider taking out insurance themselves to cover risks.
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What homework will my child get?
We feel that we need to teach children to have a good work / life balance. While much of the children's time out of school should be their own time in which to pursue their own interests, hobbies and play, we also aim to inspire children to carry on learning out of school. In Key Stage 1 children are asked to read to an adult daily at home and practice weekly spellings. In Key Stage 2 multiplication tables, regular reading tasks and spellings are also sent home weekly.
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How do you know the school is effective?
 At Gatehouse we monitor the progress of every child to ensure they are being appropriately supported, challenged and included in order that they reach their full potential. Teachers carefully plan and monitor children’s achievement in all areas of the curriculum and when concerns arise around academic progress, social or emotional concerns, we will always contact you as quickly as possible. This is of course a two way street and we encourage you to raise any concerns you have with us too. When children’s attainment is falling behind we have a range of successful options open to us. We can use small teaching groups, provide extra support, provide an individual learning program, known as an IEP ( Individual Educational Plan). If both home and school agree we can then seek additional advice and support from outside agencies. Sometimes children are achieving at a higher level than their peers and then we ensure they are appropriately stretched. At Gatehouse we have a good track record of supporting children with additional needs.
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What if I am not happy with an aspect of school life?
Initially you should raise your concern with the class teacher or Head teacher. They will listen to your concern and advise you of how the matter will be dealt with. At first informal measures will be taken in addressing your concern but if you are still unhappy the school has a comprehensive complaints policy which can be requested from the office. This enables the concerns to be raised in a more formal way.
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Can I help out at school?
Parents regularly come in to school. Many parents listen to children read, help out with sewing, art, baking, PE etc. Nearly every skill you can offer can be utilised. Before you can do this you will need to complete a police check form. This can be collected from the office. The outcome of this check goes only to yourself and the headteacher. If previous convictions come up it is the responsibility of the head to talk to you and make a decision whether or not this past issue could be detrimental to your working with children.
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What is the GSA?
The Gatehouse School Association is a voluntary group made up of teachers and parents. We work together to raise funds that are spent on enhancing the children’s time at the school. Meetings are held termly or when an event is being organised. Please come along to find out more, you will be very welcome. You will not be forced to take on huge amounts of work.
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How does the school collaborate with pupils and parents?
The school is committed to working in partnership with parents and pupils regardless of disability, race, gender or sexual orientation. Everyone is treated with equal respect and consideration. The Governing body have worked in partnership with staff to write an action plan to ensure that this is achieved. The curriculum, resources and buildings are assessed to ensure that we have the capacity to meet the needs of our present and future school community. We carefully consider, plan and implement any changes that need to be made in any area of school life.
We recently surveyed all parents, staff and pupils as part of this work to ensure that we are meeting their needs. Some examples of alterations made include the addition of a disabled toilet with physiotherapy facility. Trials of sound filed systems and the acquisition of specific furniture to meet the needs of pupils. A full Disability Discrimination Action plan is available from the office. This plan includes the proposed actions we plan to take to improve our school, it is of course not closed, amendments will take place to ensure we provide for all of the school community.
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What has the school done for pupils who have Special Educational Needs recently?
Each year the school produces a report on the work carried out in this area and it’s impact. We regularly monitor the achievement of our pupils and make provision to support those who are having difficulties. Support in spelling, reading, writing and maths regularly happens. We provide individual learning support for pupils as appropriate. Specific plans detailing individual needs are drawn up to break down learning into achievable small steps. We discuss these with parents regularly.
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What is the school Profile?
Each year we produce in collaboration with OFSTED an overview of the actions we have carried out. OFSTED place a summary of their most recent inspection in to this which we can not amend. A copy of this is included for you to read.
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How do I register for Wrap around care?
Contact the school office for further details or ring 07989 288607 for last minute places.
Care operates from 7.40 – 8.50, 3.20 – 4.00 and 6.00
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Who are the Governors and what do they do?
Each school is governed by a group of volunteers who ensure that the school is compliant with statutory requirements and providing children with a good quality education. This group acts as a corporate body to ensure that budgets are set and monitored, the buildings are maintained and developed, standards are being improved, we are compliant with the law regarding our staff and that we are meeting the needs of the local community. Governors attend meetings several times each term, usually in the evenings and discuss actions, their impact and plan for the future.
The school monitors the attainment and progress in standards of our pupils and writes a school improvement plan to address specific points. The governors work with the school to carry out these actions and hear about the impact they are having on improving the school.
The governing body is made up of representatives from the parents, staff, local authority and community. When a vacancy occurs the appropriate elections are held. If you are interested in finding out more about this group you can speak to any of the parent governors, whose details can be found on the notice board on the playground.
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