FAQs

If children are absent for any reason, we would appreciate a telephone call to the School Office between 8:30am and 9:15am or alternatively email office@longacreschool.co.uk This will avoid unexplained absentees on the register.

Any absence from school during term time other than illness requires a letter to the Head requesting permission.  This is now a legal requirement.  Absence requests should be emailed to office@longacreschool.co.uk

Any unexplained absence will be followed up by the school in the form of a email from the Office.  Prolonged absence will be investigated by the school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).

There is an extensive range of extra-curricular activities available for children from Nursery to Form VI which takes place across the week, before school, at lunchtime and after school. The activities cater for a wide variety of interests: active, creative and academic. The activities programme also includes a Homework Club, where children can complete homework under the supervision of a member of staff.

After School Clubs are charged for in advance and added to the fee invoice. Charges vary according to the club. All outside providers undergo an enhanced DBS check to ensure they are able to work with children, as outlined in the school’s Safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Policy.

A list of the activities is advertised on SOCS towards the end of every term.  You will receive an email notifying you of when the booking system is open. All bookings are made via SOCS.

This is available to all children after school from 4.00pm until 6pm daily, with children completing homework between 4-4.45 before having some down time.. It is designed as a simplistic activity with no specific focus other than relaxation and supervision of the children until older siblings are collected or parents are able to get to school.

Parents are able to book this in advance either on a termly basis or on an ad hoc basis in case of any last-minute issues whereby a child is not able to be collected on time. Priority is given to those booking for whole terms.

Children are encouraged to play, read, relax and they may have the opportunity to use the computers and iPads. If the weather is good, they will be taken outside or into the woodland playground. For each session there is a charge (see Booking Form obtainable from the School Office) and this will be added to your next fee invoice. All sessions booked are charged for, even if your child does not attend.

Bear Paws are awarded for exceptional acts of kindness in line with the ‘Longacre Way’.  Anybody involved in the Longacre community can nominate a child for a Bear Paw.  All nominations are read out in Reward’s Assembly with the lucky recipients receiving a personalized ‘Bear Paw’.

We appreciate how special young children’s birthdays are and we help them to celebrate the occasion. Children are allowed to wear their own clothes on their birthday.  If their birthday falls at a weekend or during the school holidays they may wear their own clothes on the last school day before the big event, or first school day after.

All children in the Prep School are expected to have a blazer as part of their school uniform. The children should wear their blazer when arriving at school and when going home on days that they are not in sports kit, throughout the academic year. During the winter months, the children may wear their school coat over their blazer.

Staff meet twice a week, at 8.00am for a short staff briefing. This is an opportunity for all staff to share information concerning children. Staff also have an opportunity to ensure the format of the day is clear so we can support the children effectively.

We do not tolerate unkindness or bullying and any incident will be investigated and dealt with appropriately. If you have concerns, please address these initially with your child’s Form Teacher. Please bear in mind that there are always two sides to any such issues. It is often better to address the issue when it first occurs – this way it does not exacerbate a situation for the child.

A copy of the Anti-Bullying and Cyber Bullying Policy is available from the School Office and on the school website.

Coffee clinics are a forum provided by the school whereby parents may raise queries with the Head or a member of the Senior Leadership Team in an informal setting. Some clinics are pre-determined in topic whilst others are an open forum.  The date and times of coffee clinics are advertised in the School Calendar.

This facility is run throughout the Summer Term and is provided for all children from Years IV – VI who are capable of riding unassisted a two-wheel bike . Those children in Year III & Pre-Prep wishing to join the cycling bus must be accompanied by a parent. The cycling bus is led by members of staff and parents are invited. Departure is from the old Bramley railway station (next to St Catherine’s School) at 8:10am and takes the route along the old railway line, which involves no main roads. Bikes are stored at school in the cycle shelter at the owner’s risk.

In order to safeguard the welfare of our children, dogs are allowed on school premises but must be kept on a leash.  If your dog is prone to being aggressive, we would ask that you leave them at home.  Most importantly, please clean up after your dog.

Each class has parental form representatives who are also part of the Parent and Teacher Association (PTA). The reps organise class events such as coffee mornings, evenings out for parents, collections for teachers and are also available to support new parents who have recently joined the school.

School holidays and term dates are published in the school calendar and on the school website. We ask that parents avoid booking family holidays during term time as this has negative consequences for your children and is effectively an unauthorised absence. If it is unavoidable, a request must be made by email to the Head via the School Office office@longacreschool.co.uk

Homework Club runs alongside the after-school activities. Children are able to complete their homework under the supervision of a member of staff.  Often there are occasions when children may not wish to complete their homework and some parents find this a difficult time. Homework club enables us to assist and support parents with these routines and take some of the pressure off you.

Every child at Longacre belongs to one of four houses: Waterloo Hastings, Agincourt or Trafalgar. There are house competitions for all sports in addition to general knowledge quizzes, Bake Off competitions and the ‘House Shout’!  A member of staff is Head of House and they coordinate the termly House Meetings, Charity Days and other events.  Each House has a House Council which includes a representative from each year group.  House points are added up weekly, termly and yearly. The winning house has a celebratory party each term and a school day out of uniform.

House points are awarded to children for excellent academic work in terms of both achievement and the effort made.  House Points are also awarded to children for all other things such as good manners, running an errand, helping another child or participating in the walking bus. The fairness and equality of the system across the school is carefully monitored by the Deputy Head.

House Points are totalled at the end of each week and the weekly totals are announced in Rewards Assembly on Fridays with the winning House’s flag being hoisted.

Throughout the academic year the school presents Information Evenings. The aim of these is to inform parents about a number of school items from how we teach maths, mindfulness or behavioural management to practical sessions for parents in the Science Lab.  Parents are actively encouraged to attend these to ensure they are up-to-date with procedures in addition to being fully informed about the education of their child.

The school’s insurance policies do not cover the personal effects of the children, and your attention is drawn to this. Please ensure that your child does not bring into school anything of great value and that those belongings which do come into school are visibly named.

School letters are usually sent out via email on a Wednesday. The school also sends out a weekly school newsletter (The Longacre Times) on a Friday.

The school has two libraries, one located in the Pre-Prep School and the other in the Prep School.  The school has a full-time librarian who is available to guide each child in their reading and who monitors their progress through our Accelerated Reader Programme.  The libraries contain a selection of fiction and non-fiction texts alongside IT facilities.  All children have a session in the library each week when they are encouraged to take books home for pleasure.

If a child has lost some property they should look for it thoroughly before reporting it to their Form Teacher. Any un-named items will be placed in the lost property bin by the Front Office.

Please that all your child’s possessions are clearly named and please encourage your child to take care of their belongings.  Any named items put in the lost property bin will be distributed weekly by the prefects.

We offer a wide variety of individual music lessons from French horn to piano. Individual and small group instrumental or singing lessons can be arranged through the School Office. Times of lessons are posted outside the Creative Arts Studio.

Children are able to undertake trial lessons whereby they can experience a specific instrument and the instruction. If you would like your child to try an instrument, a request should be sent to the Head of Music, Miss Chloe Du Pon via email or the School Office. If you have any concerns over individual lessons, these should also be addressed to the Head of Music.

Please note that a term’s notice is required in writing to the individual peripatetic teacher, if you wish your child to stop individual or small group lessons.

If your child has their own instrument, please make a note of any serial number and make sure that the instrument is on your ‘All Risks’ insurance policy. Instrument cases should also be named. Instruments that are hired from the school need to be insured on your own ‘All Risks’ insurance policy too.

Children new to the school will be greeted on their first day by another child called a ‘buddy’ from their designated class.  This child will ensure that they are certain of the daily routines, have someone to play with, know where their kit should be and generally make sure that they are settling in well to the new routines.  This buddy system usually continues for a period of three weeks, by which point our new children are feeling more confident.

There is a PTA notice board in the quad. The board display’s information relating to school events, weekly updates, match selection, newsletters and PTA notices.

The School Office is open from 7.30am – 6.00pm (Monday to Friday) during term time.  If the office is unattended, an answer phone will be switched on.  If you wish to get in touch with senior staff, please use the email addresses which will be answered as promptly as possible.

We hold a number of Open Days throughout the year.  These are usually held in the mornings and provide an opportunity for prospective parents to see our wonderful school in action. The children follow their normal lessons with the exception of the children who act as ambassadors and conduct tours for visiting parents.

For our current parents, there are a wide variety of opportunities for parents to view their children’s work through our ‘Come and See What we Do’ days which are usually held before half term.

Parent Consultations are arranged for all forms during the year and will appear in the calendar at the beginning of each term.  Appointments are available for booking on the parent portal.

Parents are welcome to make an appointment at other times with their child’s Form Teacher, Subject Teachers, the Director of Studies, the Deputy Head, or the Head if necessary.

Photographs are taken of individuals, teams and classes as well as a whole school photo. These are taken throughout the year and are available for parents to purchase.  Photograph dates are published in the calendar.

On Fridays the whole school comes together for a special rewards assembly.  Children are rewarded for effort and attainment in both the academic fields and the more creative.  Children are awarded special badges and stickers. We celebrate achievements made by the children both in and out of school; for example, gymnastics awards, a horse-riding rosette or a religious celebration. Parents are warmly welcomed to attend Rewards Assembly.

The PTA run and coordinates the Second-Hand Uniform Shop. Dates when the shop is open are published in the termly calendar and weekly newsletter. The shop is generally open prior to the start of each term and on certain Fridays from 3.30pm. Parents are able to donate items for resale and these should be left clearly labelled in the school storage box located down the side of the school house building.

Your child will have access to a telephone should they need to phone home if they have forgotten some work, kit or there has been a change to when they need to be collected.  However, we do not encourage children to phone their parents for every minor item which they may have forgotten.

There are various school trips throughout the year which provide the children with educational experiences although we do try to limit this in order to reduce the interruption of academic teaching.  Prior to any trip, parents will receive details concerning the itinerary for the day and any required equipment.  At the beginning of each academic year, parents are asked to sign a consent form which covers all school outings with the exception of the residential visits. Parents are expected to inform the school if they do not wish for their child to participate.

Children in the Prep School will also participate in a number of residential outings involving them spending time away from home for a limited period. The children thrive on these occasions and learn vital skills such as making their own lunch and bed, to vital team building with their peer group.

Residential Trips:

• Form III                Sayers Croft (3 days and 2 nights)
• Form IV                 Lodge Hill (3 days and 2 nights)
• Form V Land & Wave Outdoor Adventure (5 days and 4 nights)
• Form VI French Chateau (5 days and 4 nights)

Please ensure that all items of clothing are clearly marked in the correct place and that footwear and other belongings are clearly and indelibly marked. All clothing should be as stipulated on the uniform list. A uniform list is available from the School Office and on the school website.

School uniform can be purchased from:

Stevensons

210 London Road

Burpham

Guildford

Surrey GU4 7JS

Tel: 01483 577835

https://www.stevensons.co.uk

Games and PE Kit can be purchased from Gilbert Teamwear.

http://www.grays-int.co.uk/Schools/Shop/Longacre

On Fridays the School runs a ‘Walking Bus’. Staff, parents and children meet outside the Arbuthnot Hall in Shamley Green and walk to school together.  The walking bus departs the Arbuthnot Hall at 8:15am – all parents, children and dogs are welcome. Children receive additional House Points for participating in this event.

For more details, please contact the School Office.

Watches must be named on the strap or engraved in order to prevent loss. Analogue watches are permitted in Prep only.

All children in the Prep School should bring a water bottle into school.  The children are given the opportunity to fill their bottles during the day and are encouraged to drink whenever they are thirsty.

Waterproof trousers are available from our uniform supplier for all children in Nursery – Form VI.  The trousers are plain navy and will serve to protect the children’s uniform during the winter months when our grounds can be particularly muddy.