Pre-Prep Parents' Handbook
Welcome to Abingdon Prep School. We are delighted that you have chosen our school for your child and are very much looking forward to welcoming your family to the Abingdon Pre-Prep community. 1 Welcome Settling in Our main priority is to calmly settle your child into life at school as quickly as possible. Your child's form teacher is your first point of contact for any questions you may have and they will help your child to settle quickly into their new routine, learning about their interests and helping them to feel they belong and matter in our school. School Houses When your child starts school, they will be welcomed into one of our four Houses: Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix and Unicorn and they will remain in this house for the duration of their time at Abingdon Prep School. The house system enables children to mix across age groups from the very start. There are regular House challenges throughout the year. In Reception, children learn about their house during the first term and then can earn counters (merits) for making good choices in both behaviour and achievement thereafter. The importance from the beginning is to establish a sense of community and team work. Our aim is to create a friendly, caring and stimulating environment for our young pupils and the information set out in the following pages is designed to help you in preparing for your child's start.
2 Communication Central to the success of your child’s time at Abingdon Prep is a strong relationship between home and school. Your child's form teacher is your first point of contact and is the key worker for your child, supported by our teaching assistants. Website Plenty of useful information can be found on our website, including our calendar, details of our parents’ association, the JPA, and our lunch menu, not to mention news stories about what our pupils have been up to. The Weekly Mailing and class specific communications Each Thursday during term time, parents are emailed our password protected Weekly Mailing which contains important information about forthcoming events at school (usernames and passwords will be provided to parents separately). Please do read this every week and let us know if you aren’t able to access it. In addition, Pre-Prep parents are sent a newsletter at the beginning of each term which provides information on the topic for the term, plus any other information and an overview of activities. Your child's class teacher will send regular round ups of information, homework and upcoming events, via the class rep. Should you ever have any concerns or minor issues, these can often be dealt with at welcome in the morning. Please pass messages to the teacher who welcomes the children at the gate. Alternatively, please email your child’s class teacher directly. They will respond as soon as they can. For a longer discussion, it is best for parents to make a separate appointment, which can usually be arranged around the beginning or end of the day. Abingdon Prep News Our termly school magazine provides a snapshot of the wide range of activities our children have enjoyed throughout the course of the previous term. Photographs and social media As already mentioned, news stories are published on the school website and shared via social media channels including Instagram and Facebook and this is an engaging way for parents to keep up to date with all that their children are doing. As part of your joining pack, we ask parents to complete a media consent form to enable us to include your child in all of our social media, marketing and publicity.
3 The School Day Children should arrive from 8.15am to be ready to start the school day at 8.25am. Children may be dropped off at our Early Birds Club from 8am at no additional cost. If a child arrives after 8.25am or needs to leave early for any reason, it is very important that they are signed in or out from the front office, so that we know the whereabouts of all children at all times. Arriving late or going early Reception: Collection, like drop-off, is also from the Pre-Prep gate. Children in Reception finish school at 3.25pm. For parents who are unable to collect their child at the end of the school day, pupils may attend After School Club until 5pm. This service is supervised and children will be given a small healthy snack. It is available until 4.15pm at no additional cost, but a flat rate of £2.50 per day is then charged until 5pm. Years 1 and 2: Children in Years 1 and 2 finish school at 3.25pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; and 4pm on Thursday, due to the enrichment programme. They may also attend the After School Club which is available until 4.15pm at no additional cost; at £2.50 per day until 5pm; and at a further £4 per day from 5pm to 6pm (please note only children in Years 1 and above may stay until 6pm). End of the day Holiday dates are published well in advance and parents are asked to book holidays during these times. In line with the latest Government directive, we are unable to authorise holidays in term time, unless there are extenuating personal circumstances. In such cases, consent must be granted by the Head via email: [email protected] and copy in your child’s form teacher and section head. Attendance The Pre-Prep gate will be open from 8am and a member of staff will be ready to welcome the children. Children joining in Reception have a staggered start to the academic year to ensure they have plenty of support as they get used to new routines. After school activities Throughout Pre-Prep, children may also participate in an Other Half Activity until 4pm. The clubs on offer are a mixture of those provided by staff and those provided by external facilitators (which are subject to an additional cost). Details will be provided before the start of term when you will be asked to fill in an online form of your club requests. After the activity has finished by 4pm, children can be collected and taken home or stay in After School Club.
Medical Information Young children who are unwell should stay at home in order for them to recover as quickly as possible. If a child is unwell, parents should email their child’s form teacher and the school secretary ([email protected]) by 8.30am for each day they are absent (or telephone the school office on 01865 391570). If a child is absent without notification, the school secretary will contact parents to establish a reason for absence. If a child is suffering from a sickness or tummy bug, in line with our school policy, they must be kept at home for at least 48 hours after their last symptom. 4 Our school nurse is on duty throughout the school day. Based in our small, friendly medical room, care is offered to children as a result of an accident, injury or minor illness. As part of the joiner pack, parents are asked to complete a form detailing their child’s medical history - please supply as much detail as possible. If there are any significant changes to your child’s overall medical condition at any stage during their time at Abingdon Prep, please email [email protected] so we can update our records. Healthcare Teachers at Abingdon Prep School receive regular training in First Aid. In addition, Pre-Prep and other key staff, undertake Paediatric First Aid training. First aid The nurse can administer medications, including paracetamol, antihistamine and those prescribed from home, such as antibiotics, once parents have completed the medicines form. Medicine should be brought to the nurse at the school office so that it can be stored safely. We do ask that any Pre-Prep child prescribed with antibiotics stays off school, completing two days of the course before returning. The nurse also keeps named emergency medication including inhalers and adrenaline autoinjectors and will provide continued support to children with longer term health needs such as diabetes and asthma. Medication Illness
5 Children need to come to school in black leather, well fitting shoes with a velcro fastening and will need white trainers for indoor gym / sport sessions (with velcro fastening) and wellington boots. Children will need a school backpack to keep their PE kit in; a drawstring swimming bag and a school book bag. Children’s kit bags are kept in cubbies in the Pre-Prep corridor. They need to be brought into school on Monday with everything your child will need for the week. They are sent home when the kit needs to be washed. Uniform Additional items Kit bags In Pre-Prep, we have an all year round uniform consisting of a navy polo shirt, grey shorts, long grey trousers, grey socks and a teal sweatshirt. Children may also choose to wear grey skirts or skorts and grey tights, and, in the summer, the school checked dress. Children will also need separate PE kit (please refer to the uniform list on the website). In addition, children will need a lightweight waterproof navy coat, navy waterproof all in one overall, a thick, waterproof winter coat, winter hat and school legionnaire cap. Please ensure everything is clearly named. Uniform School uniform may be purchased through our uniform supplier, Stevensons. Second hand uniform sales are held regularly by our Parents’ Association and advertised in the Weekly Mailing. Shoes / trainers / wellies can be purchased through any reputable shoe shop or department store. Where to source
6 Food and Nutrition The children are given a healthy lunch, supervised by the Pre-Prep team, in the dining hall at 12pm. There is always a choice of two hot dishes with vegetables or salad, jacket potatoes, fresh bread, and a pudding, fruit, jelly or yoghurt. All children are encouraged to use good table manners, try all the food that is on their plate and become independent in their eating habits. If your child has a dietary requirement, please indicate this on the medical form. Lunch menus are available on our website. Meals are carefully nutritionally balanced and we teach children about healthy eating through cooking and tasting activities as well as at meal times. Snacks Parents should send their child in with a small, healthy snack for mid morning. Please make sure that, in line with school policy, the snack is nut-free, healthy and nutritious (e.g. fruit, cheese, vegetables). Please do not send in fizzy drinks, chocolate, yoghurt, smoothies, sweets, crisps or fruit winders. We will provide the children with a breadstick snack mid afternoon. Please also send your child into school with a transparent, named, water bottle so we can encourage them to drink water throughout the day. A school water bottle is available through Stevensons. Birthdays Children may bring in cupcakes or a fruit platter (no sweets, please) to share with their form on their birthday, with an ingredients list. This will be overseen by the form teacher and cakes will be given out at the end of the school day so that you can decide when you would like them to eat it. Please remember School is a nut-free zone. Read our Nutrition Policy. Further information
7 Pre-Prep Staff Each class is taught by a qualified and experienced teacher and supported by at least one full time Teaching Assistant (in Reception there are also additional part-time staff). We will introduce specialist teachers to your child when they join us. Aimee Caroline Rebecca Sarah Elaine Marianne Lesley April Rebecca
8 Fees Monthly payment of fees The school cannot recommend a company that administrates a monthly credit scheme for the payment of school fees. However, there are a number of companies that offer this service and parents wishing to pay in this way can apply on their websites. Payment of fees is due in advance and no later than the first day of term. Fees are fully inclusive of lunch, stationery and other classroom, musical and sporting resources. Any extras, such as for individual music lessons, trips / visits are agreed with parents before billing. Please visit our fees page for more information. Insurance schemes No reduction is made for absence but there is a School Fees Refund Scheme, which can be taken out through the school. All children are automatically covered for personal accident insurance. A medical cover scheme for pupils is also available. Further details and the policies can be downloaded from the website. If parents wish to join any of the schemes, please contact the Finance Department and arrange for the charges to be added to your termly school bill. Personal effects insurance Please note the school does not accept responsibility for, and the school’s insurance does not cover, a pupil’s personal effects such as laptop, mobile phone or musical instrument.
Academic 9 Details of each stage of the curriculum are available on our website. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum is based on the recognition that children learn best through play and active learning. In Reception, teaching is based around the seven areas of Learning and Development as outlined in the EYFS statutory requirements. These are broken into three prime areas: Personal, social and emotional development Communication and language Physical development Along with four specific areas: Literacy / Maths / Understanding the world / Expressive arts and design. Curriculum: Reception Years 1 and 2 are part of Key Stage 1 and follow the National Curriculum, with extras. There are some subjects that are taught independently in order to reach the necessary objectives. However, we also teach a creative curriculum which is more topic based, where several subjects are taught within one activity. This helps to encourage children to be independent learners in an age appropriate way and make links across the curriculum. Curriculum: Years 1 and 2 Workshops for parents will be offered early in the Autumn term to show how we teach Phonics and what you can do to support your child. Red word spellings are taught separately (high frequency words). Phonics Using our extensive outdoor area, the aim of Forest School is to promote pupils' rights to instigate, test and maintain curiosity in the world around them, make their own choices and assess the risk for themselves. Led by experienced and qualified staff, pupils will build, cook, discover and explore. Year 1 and Year 2 have this every other week for the whole year. Forest School
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Early Birds 8:30 - 8:55 Pre-write skills Pre-write skills Pre-write skills Library Pre-write skills P1 8:55 - 9:30 Phonics Phonics Phonics Phonics Phonics P2 9:30 - 10:05 Literacy Literacy Maths Maths Literacy / Maths P3 10:05 - 10:40 Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Breaktime P4 11:00 - 11:35 Understand the World Understand the World Swimming PSHE Expressive Arts and Design P5 11:35 - 12:00 Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Continuous Provision Lunchtime P6 13:20 - 13:55 Forest School PE ICT Music Sport P7 13:55 - 14:30 Music Enrichment Playtime P8 14:55 - 15:25 Assembly Story Story Enrichment Assembly 15:25 - 16:00 Optional Other Half Clubs 16:00 - 18:00 After School Club offered until 18:00 everyday (17:00 for Reception children) Academic 10 Assessment, Rewards and Sanctions A combination of formal and informal assessment enables teachers to identify a child’s progress in each area of the Curriculum and thereby determine the next stage of their learning. At Abingdon Prep, we believe that behaviour is communication, and in the Pre-Prep children are learning to behave, socialise and work together harmoniously and respectfully. We teach children emotional literacy and regulation through the ‘characteristics of learning’ programme and our school aims. All staff follow a policy of promoting positive behaviour, by giving ‘merits’ (counters or stickers), meaningful praise, and modelling respectful language and clear expectations. All children are encouraged to: Be Kind, Work Hard, Get Involved Our Aims A typical day in Pre-Prep
Homework and Reporting 11 Homework is an excellent window into your child’s learning. By supporting them with their tasks, you also demonstrate that learning is important to you and you share the school’s values of ‘work hard’ and ‘get involved’. There are two parents’ evenings during the academic year - one in the Autumn term and one in the Spring term. Additionally, written reports with next steps for learning are given at the end of the Autumn and Summer terms. Reception will begin with children being given a sound each day to practise at home as well as a picture book pack to share. By the end of the Autumn term, your child will be bringing books home every day to read. Later in the year, Reception will have a short Phonic and Spelling homework activity each weekend, along with an open-ended Maths problem-solving activity. In addition, there are regular opportunities for research projects to be carried out and presented by the pupils. In Years 1 and 2, children will be asked to read daily at home and new reading packs will be provided on a regular basis. At the end of each week, three pieces of homework will be put into book bags to be returned by the following Thursday. A Maths activity or game will be in the Maths folder. The sounds learned during the week, and activities to reinforce this, will be in the Phonics folder. Also, there will be the ‘red word’ spellings to be reviewed for a weekly test. In addition, we provide special research projects each term which give the children an opportunity to explore a new topic and teach their class through a presentation. Reporting Homework
Preparing for Reception To help prepare your child for Reception, we recommend that they complete a scrapbook over the summer holidays. The Head of Pre-Prep will share more details during Induction Day. 12 taking off and putting on socks and shoes self-toileting, children must be clean and dry and independent correct washing of hands using a knife and fork getting themselves dressed – knowing the order in which to get dressed carrying their own backpack tidying away their own toys and putting them back where they belong drinking water from a water bottle Independence Read to your child every day to encourage a love of books Encourage your child to share books with you and others to talk talk talk! Sing traditional nursery rhymes Counting stairs, pennies, pasta etc. Sharing books Go swimming and have fun improving water confidence – key! Learn to ride a 3-wheel bike or scooter Kick a football, bounce a basketball, try hitting with a racket Look out for minibeasts, insects and different kinds of trees and flowers What is the weather like today? Jump in puddles, come back later and then look where the water goes Visit a park and take a teddy and a picnic Play outside Share domestic chores – ask your child to help prepare meals, sort the laundry or make the beds Make a cake or a pizza Look for shapes in your house – circles, triangles, rectangles, square Look for a toy beginning with the sound...s... Write down your family names, can your child recognise their name? Make a train track and count how many trains are on it Build a castle out of empty boxes for a princess or a dragon Play dress-up with some of their parents' old clothes Pretend to write down the shopping list Have a look at the Cbeebies website, just right for this age Play inside
Miscellaneous 13 Please ensure children can get dressed independently, use a knife and fork at mealtimes, pack their own school bag and organise their own possessions. Independence We aim to enhance children’s learning at least once a term with a trip outside the classroom for hands-on learning. Examples might include: local church, a Christmas farm visit, The Story Museum, science centre, exploration of a Wildlife Park, outdoor centre or theatre. There is an additional charge for some schools trips. We will always ask your permission and the cost will be added to your school bill. Trips In addition, we regularly invite visiting speakers and specialist educators in to enrich the children’s learning through talks and workshops. Details of these are included in the weekly mailing. Visiting speakers We have a fabulous selection of toys in our department and recommend that children do not bring toys from home for fear of loss or damage. Home toys If there are any questions which you feel have not been answered, please do not hesitate to contact us. What have we forgotten? We look forward to welcoming your child and you to Abingdon Prep School.
Last updated: March 2026 Now co-ed
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