Arrival and Dismissal
Beginning of the Day
A smooth and stress-free start to the day is essential for the children’s well-being and development. To ensure a calm start to the day, we have an ‘arrival window’. Children can arrive between 8.30am and 8.45am.
School gates open at 8.30am so we advise that you do not arrive at school much before this time. The doors will open at the first bell. The children will enter the Reception Unit through the door underneath the shelter. Please say goodbye to your child and give them their school belongings away from the entrance door so that other children can access the school easily and safely. Each morning there will be a member of staff in the playground and at the door to welcome your child into school. This will allow you to pass on any quick messages or instructions relating to the collection of your child.
We recommend that if you want to speak to a member of staff in a little more detail or wish to raise a concern that you email info@hillcross.merton.sch.uk so that we can arrange a meeting at a convenient time or arrange for someone to call you. There are also members of the Senior Leadership Team at the school gate that you can talk to if you need any guidance.
The classroom doors will close promptly at 8.45am when the second school bell rings. The Reception playground gates will also be locked at this time. If you are late, you must report to the main school office and sign your child there. Please do not send your child into school through an open door or ask staff/children to open doors for you. In order to adhere to stringent safeguarding procedures, it is vital all children are registered correctly. For example, in the case of an emergency such as a fire, if you have not entered through the main office when arriving late to school, your child may not be registered correctly and this could put them and others at risk.
End of the Day
School finishes at 3pm. The children are dismissed from the door underneath the shelter. Please stand back from the door so that staff are able to see the children we dismiss reach their adult. We will need you to be patient initially – it can take a little while to dismiss as we get to know families.
We will not dismiss your child to someone we do not know unless this has been agreed in advance. If someone different is collecting your child, please inform a member of the Reception Team that morning. If emailing the school to inform us of a pre-planned change, please try to allow 48 hours prior to the day. We recognise that this is not always possible and that is why we ask for a parental password. If the person collecting your child does not know the password, we will not dismiss your child to them until we have spoken to a person with parental responsibility. If it is a regular arrangement that different people collect your child on different days, a written timetable should be shared and this will be added to the school system.
A shared responsibility for Safeguarding
Whilst in the playground, it is really important that all families ensure health and safety rules are followed. EYFS and Year One children use their playground as a learning environment throughout the day and will set up learning activities before school. Please assist us in ensuring your child/ren and their siblings do not play with the resources in the playground. This also includes the main school playground.
To ensure the safety of everyone, children should not ride scooters or bikes on the playground or play unsupervised anywhere, especially at the back of the field and on the adventure trails and climbing equipment. This also applies to any siblings. Bikes and scooters can be placed in the bike/scooter shelters or walked through the playground by an adult.
