General Information
After School Clubs
Our After School Clubs operate Monday - Thursday until 4.30pm
Further information can be found under Parent Section/After School Clubs on this website.
Numbers are limited to 20 places per club, 30 for Movie club, therefore it is important to book a place, as it will be on
a first come first serve basis.
50p payment is required
All staff have appropriate Paediatric First Aid and Safeguarding Training.
Childcare Provision
Our Lady & St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School are pleased to offer Childcare Provision Monday to Friday (8.15am - 8.45am).
Morning Provision will start promptly at 8.15am. All children will be admitted at 8.15am.
Unfortunately latecomers will not be admitted.
Please note breakfast is not provided, however children are allowed to bring a breakfast packed lunch with them if they wish.
There will be a charge of 50p per session. Payments should be made weekly by cash.
All staff have appropriate Paediatric First Aid and Safeguarding Training.
If you wish to take advantage of this service, please book your child's place each week via email or phone.
Please contact the school office 01207 503979 if you have any further queries.
Complaints
Please come and see the Executive Headteacher initially. We hope to be able to resolve all complaints, in most cases we find that
common complaints can be dealt with successfully at an informal level. Should a parent wish to make a formal complaint, it
should be addressed to the Chair of the Governing Body. The matter will then be referred to the governors of the school.
Please note the school’s complaints policy is available on the school website.
Contacting School by Telephone
Please contact the school office on 01207 503979 if you have a message for your child’s class teacher or have any queries, concerns
or need to report an absence.
If you have a safeguarding concern, please contact the school office and ask to speak to:
Mrs J Cruise, Executive Headteacher or Mrs R Anderson, Deputy Headteacher in her absence.
For safeguarding reasons children are asked not to arrive in school before 8.45am when supervision begins, and it is equally important
that children are collected from school promptly at the end of the school day.
Contacting Staff Outside of School
We welcome discussion with parents/carers on all aspects of their child’s education, and personal and social development. It is the school’s policy that these discussions must take place on the school premises or in other professional settings. This enables us to have the right information available to discuss your child’s needs.
Please note that discussions or contact with staff must not take place via any unofficial channels. Please do not contact staff outside of their professional role or by personal communication such as their private email addresses, personal telephone numbers or via social media such as Facebook. Staff should not be contacted outside of working hours.
Cool Milk
Our school provides a milk scheme that is available to all of our pupils and we would like to invite you to register your child. School milk is free for all under-fives and is subsidised for pupils aged five and older at around £15 per term.
How to register
Simply register at www.coolmilk.com or complete a registration form which is available from school upon request.
If you have any questions regarding school milk please visit www.coolmilk.com or contact Cool Milk directly on 0800 321 3248.
Please email the school address: ourladystjoseph@durhamlearning.net if it is your preferred option of communication. All emails will
be responded to as soon as possible, however please note if your email requires a more detailed response, this may take a while longer.
Information will be posted frequently on the School Facebook page, please check this regularly.
Fruit
Fresh fruit is provided as part of a Government initiative, each day for all children in Foundation Stage and KS1.
We encourage children to try new fruit. If there is anything your child is allergic to, please inform school promptly.
KS2 children are encouraged to bring a piece of fruit into school every day.
Jewellery
Jewellery must not be worn in school on grounds of health and safety. All jewellery including ear rings must be removed for PE
and Swimming Lessons. School will not accept any responsibility for any injury, loss or damage when jewellery is being worn or
removed and left in school.
Medical Care
Please contact the school office if your child needs to take prescribed medication.
Parents will need to complete a medical form, this is also available on the school website, under Parent Section/Downloadable Forms.
The form must be completed and the medication handed in at the school office. Parents/Carers must also complete a form for their
child’s Inhaler. Your child’s inhaler must be clearly labelled with the child’s name, dosage and times to be given.
Minor injuries will be attended to in school. In the event of a more serious accident we would try to contact parents; medical
assistance would be sought immediately. It is, therefore, vital that we have up to date information relating to emergency contacts,
doctor’s details and medical details for our records.
Mobile Phones
Mobile Phones are not allowed unless children are travelling to and from school unaccompanied by an adult.
Parents/Carers must complete a Mobile Phone Consent Form.
All phones should be switched off and handed in to the school office as soon as the child comes in to school.
Parents/Carers must contact school if their child is walking to and from school on their own.
Newsletters
A weekly Newsletter is available every Friday. This can be accessed on the School Website. This will include information and
diary dates of forth coming events.
Parents' Afternoons & School Reports
Parent’s afternoons are held during the Autumn and Spring term. This allows parents to see how their child has settled into the new
school year, to meet with their class teacher, to see their child’s work, discuss progress and receive children’s personal targets.
School Reports will be distributed to all parents/carers and the end of the academic year.
Parents/Carers of Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
Our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) is Mrs J Cruise. If any parent/carer has a concern regarding their child’s needs
or feels that they would benefit from speaking to Mrs Cruise, please contact the school via email or phone.
Parking
The Highway Code states that cars should not be stopped on zig-zag lines even for just a few seconds. Parents are asked to follow
the Highway Code. The school car park is for staff use only. Parents should also refrain from using Redwell Hills Residential Care Home
car park or turning in their grounds, as this is private property.
Payment Details
We require all payments sent to school (cash or cheque) in a sealed envelope with the following clearly marked:
Child’s Name
Year
Amount
What the payment is for e.g. dinner money, school uniform, childcare provision, after school clubs, school fund etc.
If possible payments for dinner money should be in a separate envelope to other items, or clearly marked on the envelope.
Dinner money should be paid on Monday/Tuesday every week at a cost of £2.40 per day or £12.00 per week.
Correct money will help greatly.
Cheques to be made payable to 'Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust'
PE Days
On your child’s PE day, they should wear their PE Kit as their school uniform. We suggest tracksuit bottoms or leggings, t-shirt
and their school jumper/cardigan. Children can wear trainers or plimsolls.
Class 1 (YR, Y1 & Y2) – information will follow
Class 2 (Y3 & Y4) – information will follow
Class 3 (Y5 & Y6) – information will follow
School Letters
During the year we will write to you with information about activities that will involve your child, these could be educational visits,
sporting activities or special events in school. At times this will be emailed and posted on the School Website and Facebook page,
however if it requires a response it will be distributed to the children to take home.
School Uniform
We are proud of our uniform and how it helps to show we belong to Our Lady & St Joseph Brooms Catholic Primary School.
The school uniform is as follows:
Purple Jumpers or Cardigans
Black or Grey Skirt or Pinafore
Black or Grey, Plain Trousers
White Shirts, White Polo Tops or Blouses (tucked in at all times)
Purple and White Checked or Striped Summer Dress
Plain Dark Shorts
Orders for School Uniform can be placed at the school office. Payments must be made at the time of ordering.
If paying by cheque please make cheques payable to ‘Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust.’
Alternatively, orders can now also be placed online at www.totstoteams.co.uk
click on Schools, and scroll to Our Lady & St Joseph Logo and order your chosen items.
Orders will be delivered to school for collection.
Text Messages
Our Lady & St Joseph Brooms operate a text messaging service to contact parents/carers with reminders about school events as
well as any urgent information
Please help us by making sure that we always have your correct mobile telephone number. If your details change at any time, please
notify us as soon as possible.
Please note that text messages are sent only to the first priority contact number and that family members must then pass on any messages.
Please do not reply to the text messaging service, this service does not work. Please contact school via email or telephone.
Visiting School
Under normal circumstances we have an open door policy and parents/carers/visitors are most welcome. We will ask you to sign in
and wear a visitors badge in keeping with our safeguarding guidelines.
However we have provided prospective parents with a virtual tour of the whole school and Early Years. We hope by viewing our school
it will give you an idea of our school and if parents/carers have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact the school office.
Water Bottles
We ask that Parents/Carers provide their child with a suitable water bottle clearly marked with their child's name.
It should be taken home every night and returned each morning filled with fresh water only.
Children are encouraged to drink water as regularly as possible.
Website
The school website is a useful tool in finding out information about our school. Information such as newsletters, school policies,
information on admissions, holiday dates and termly events, SEND information reports and other useful information can be found
on the school website.
Please email school if you require paper copies of any policies, newsletters or letters. All copies will be provided free of charge.