Parents

Love • Courage • Respect

Prospective Parents Information

Family Tours

We are delighted to be offering family tours this term for children starting school in September 2027. Please book your place using the online form here or by contacting the school office at adminoffice@wickham-primary.sch.uk or 01329 833065. We look forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our school.

Advice on Your Child Starting School

Ready Steady School NHS Moving Up - Advice for parents of children moving up to a new school

Key Information

Our School Day

Morning session: 8:45am – 12:00pm (with a break at 10.45am)
Afternoon session: 12.45pm – 3:10pm

Total Weekly Hours 32 hours and 5 minutes In the morning our teachers open their classroom doors to welcome the children into the classroom for registration. Wherever possible, they are available for a short time for any parents or carers who would like to talk to staff or help their child change their reading book. We believe this provides a positive and welcoming start for everyone and ensures that children and staff can engage in their learning more promptly. It is important that all of our children attend school regularly and that they arrive promptly in order to be settled and ready to learn at the start of each school day. Parents should inform us at their earliest convenience if their child is unable to attend school for any reason. Should you be unavoidably detained at the end of the school day, please let the school office know and arrangements will be made to care for your child until you arrive.

School Uniform

Wearing a school uniform enables our children to feel that they belong to our community and that they are proud members of our school. Our uniform consists of: purple sweatshirt or cardigan with the school logo
purple polo shirt, preferably with the school logo
charcoal grey trousers, tailored shorts, skirts or pinafore dresses
black shoes with covered toes and black or grey socks
In the summer, a purple and white gingham tennis-style dress may be worn. PE Kit Every child needs a small drawstring bag to hang on their peg. This should contain: white T-shirt
navy blue or black shorts
trainers/plimsolls
Children may wear a tracksuit in the winter for outdoor PE. It is essential that all items of uniform are clearly named. Jewellery (apart from watches and one pair of plain studs in pierced ears) should not be worn to school. Watches and studs need to be removed by the child for PE for safety reasons. Items of school uniform with our logo are available to purchase from the school office or from Skoolkit in West Street, Fareham. If you have any difficulty providing your child with essential items of clothing or footwear, we may be able to help. Please contact our school office if you would like further information.

School Lunches

Our school lunches are freshly prepared on-site each day by Cleverchefs, a trusted provider known for their commitment to nutritious, high-quality meals. With 95% of ingredients being fresh—peas being the only exception—Cleverchefs ensures that children enjoy balanced and delicious meals. The menu runs on a rolling three-week cycle, offering a variety of daily options to suit different tastes and dietary needs, including full allergy support. CURRENT LUNCH MENU All meals must be ordered in advance via the Cleverchefs app by 8am, and this applies to all children, including those in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, and those eligible for free school meals (FSM). Even if you do not pay for your child’s meals, you must still register and place orders through the app. Each paid meal costs £3.20, and payment is made online at the time of booking. To learn more about Cleverchefs and their ethos, please visit .http://www.cleverchefs.co.uk/primary-schools To register for the app please follow this link: Cleverchefs App Free School Meals Universal free school meals are available to all children in Years R, 1 and 2. In addition children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 whose parents/guardians are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits can apply for Free School Meals:

Income Support
Income-based Job Seekers' Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
the Guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Child Tax Credit, provided you are not also entitled to Working Tax Credit, and have an annual gross income, of no more than £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

There is a new online service, which enables you to check your own eligibility for free school meals, or you can check on behalf of someone else. To complete a check you will need the following information for yourself, or the person you are checking on behalf of:

Name, home address and email address
National Insurance Number or National Asylum Support Service reference number
Child's name, date of birth and school

To use the online checking service, click here – https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/ofsm/hants

Term Dates

We always publish our term dates, which include our five In-Service Training (INSET) days, at the end of the previous school year so that parents and carers can arrange holidays and childcare as appropriate. Our 2025/6 INSET days are: 22nd June 2026 1st September 2026 25th September 2026 Information about our current term dates and for future years in all Hampshire Schools can be found on their website, please find a link to their website below;

Hampshire County Council

Link to school term dates page

View Hampshire school term dates

Wraparound Care & Clubs

We are pleased to be able offer our own, 'in-house', breakfast and after school club at Wickham Church of England Primary School. We open for breakfast from 7.30am and operate after-school until 6:00pm. Sessions must be booked and paid for in advance using the Tucasi payment system. Session times and prices: Before school (breakfast included): Per Child 7:45am-8:45am (With breakfast) £7.50 After school (snack included) Per Child 3:15pm-4:30pm £7.50 Per Child 3:15pm-5:30pm £10.50 Per Child 3:15pm-6:00pm £12 Pupils can also take part in many extra curricular activities after school. These include multisports, tennis, football, dance, Karate and art. Communication about clubs is sent half-terly via the school office.

Online Payments

Parents can pay with a credit/debit card for school uniform, educational visits, residentials, music tuition and our wraparound provision online via Scopay. By making online payments you know that your money has reached the school safely, you can view your account statement and history and check when payments need to be made. To register to use Scopay for the first time you will need your child’s unique registration code which is available from the school office. ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM

Communications

Where possible, we will send correspondence via Email and SMS, as this is an environmentally friendly, timely, convenient and cost effective way to receive information from our school. These communications will be sent using the information given when your child starts school. It will be held and sent via our Management Information System (Arbor). We like to keep you informed and have a monthly newsletter filled with what is happening at school and helpful reminders, which will be emailed to you and it is also attached to the website under our news section. We will use this system to send emergency text messages to parents who have registered their mobile number with us, so please make sure your contact information is kept up to date with our Admin staff.

Attendance

The Department for Education published new statutory guidance Working Together to Improve School Attendance in August 2024. This guidance summarises the expectations of parents as follows: · Ensure their child attends every day the school is open except when a statutory reason applies. · Notify the school as soon as possible when their child has to be unexpectedly absent (e.g. sickness). · Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance. · Book any medical appointments around the school day where possible. It also recognises the importance of schools working together with families to build strong and trusting relationships, ensuring that the right support is in place where attendance is a concern. Attendance is monitored on a daily basis by our school’s senior leadership team and by Mrs Palmer, our home-school link worker. This enables us to put support in place, often on the same day, when a child could be in school but is not. The register is taken at 8.55am and so we ask that our pupils are in school before this time. If a child is unwell, then parents/carer should contact the school office by 9.25am on every day that they are absent (unless it is a pre-approved absence). It is possible to leave a message on our absence line at any time. We categorise attendance as follows: 96% + Good 90% - 95% Satisfactory - requires monitoring Below 90% Unacceptable (persistent absence) - requires intervention Parents will be sent an attendance certificate for their child/children at the end of each term. Attendance may also be shared and discussed during parents’ evenings, especially where this is a concern. The school’s attendance team meet once a month to review attendance across the school. Any concerns regarding absence and/or lateness are flagged up at these meetings and follow-up actions are identified and implemented. Mrs Palmer or a member of the school’s leadership team may contact parents/carers to talk about our concerns and offer any support as necessary. We appreciate that sometimes periods of absence are unavoidable and this will always be considered before we make any decision regarding further action. However, if following notification of our concern and any support put into place, attendance to school does not improve, then a referral will be made to the Hampshire Attendance Legal Team. Our attendance policy and other helpful documents can be found by clicking on the links below. Attendance Policy
Parents' Guide to Attendance
Request to authorise absence from school due to exceptional circumstances
Information on Penalty Notices

School Travel

The majority of our pupils live within easy walking distance of the school. Children and their parents are encouraged to walk or cycle to school and we have a large cycle and scooter shelter on our playground for their use. Those parents who drive to school are encouraged to park at the Wickham Centre in Mill Lane. Large car parks are available both infront of and behind the community centre and a safe footpath leads directly from the car park to our school gate. All families who live in Knowle Village are eligible for travel assistance. This is provided by the Local Authority and can take a variety of forms including:

Dedicated school bus
(This option is currently provided and takes the form of a minibus, used solely by our school children, providing a private service between our school and Knowle)
Parental petrol allowance
(This option is currently provided where special circumstances apply)

Parents are responsible for their child's attendance at school whether or not transport is provided. All enquiries concerning eligibility for travel assistance should be made to the County Passenger Transport Group Tel: - 01962 845631. Parents bringing children to school are requested not to drive into the school grounds as the footpath, used both by school children and families using the Pre-School and Children's Centre, crosses the driveway. Please note that there is a parking restriction in Buddens Road at the school entrance. For reasons of safety this area should be kept clear at all times and may not be used for dropping off, waiting or parking. Vehicles in this area can cause obstruction and present a hazard for children crossing the road so we ask all drivers to adhere to the Highway Code regulations for the safety and security of all our children. Parkwise Leaflet

Support for Families

Food Vouchers
Households in receipt of council tax benefit can claim one food voucher worth £30 from their district or borough council. Information about how to access this voucher can be found here. Community Pantries
Pantries are open to everyone in the community and provide access to food at a lower cost. They offer a range of fresh, frozen and general foods, which change each week. Access to the Community Pantry is by membership and, for a small weekly contribution, members can select food to a significantly higher value. Many of these pantries have cafes and meeting spaces and offer other forms of support. They can put you in touch with organisations that can help with utility bills, health, employment, and education. Details of local pantries can be found here. The community pantry closest to our school is the Wickham Pantry:
Wickham Community Centre
Mill Lane
Wickham
PO17 5AL Food Bank
Meon Valley Food Bank is church led and community focused, offering help to families who are at crisis point and need support through the provision of food. It is based in Wickham and serves towns and villages in the Meon Valley. You must be referred to the Meon Valley Food Bank to be able to use it. You can find a list of Referral Agents here. We are a Referral Agent; if you would like to enquire about a possible referral, please email our home-school link worker, Amber Palmer: a.palmer@wickham-primary.hants.sch.uk.