Prospective Parents for September 2024
Welcome to Fleet Infant School and thank you for visiting our website. Every child is valued and nurtured as an individual by our experienced and caring team. Our curriculum is engaging and exciting and is led through the interests of the children in the reception classes.
We appreciate that there are many factors to consider when choosing your child's first school. Our website contains a lot of information about our school including, our vision and aims and the curriculum we provide for our children, to help you in making the right choice. Please have a good look around, including the page for the new children starting in September 2024.
There is an evening meeting for parents where Mrs Clark (Headteacher) will talk about her vision for the school, our ethos and the admission process. There are a number of daytime visits for parents and children, where we will give you a tour of the school during the working day, and answer any questions you may have.
Evening Meeting for Parents
If your child is due to start school in September 2024, we invite you to join us for a presentation by our Headteacher, Mrs Monique Clark on Wednesday 4th October 6.30pm. This will give you an insight into the school and a chance to have a short tour of the building.
Please click on this link to book your place.
Daytime Tours of the School
Please click on the date below to book your place on one of our tours. You will need a place for each adult but not for any children accompanying you. The tours will last approximately 30 minutes.
Headteacher Presentation 2024-25
The County Website Admissions
All information about applying for a school place is published on the County website www.hants.gov.uk/admissions where parents can apply on-line at any time for an in-year application or between 1st Nov and 15th Jan for the appropriate New Year R Intake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bus Service
Fleet Infant School is one of a few Hampshire schools to run a bus service for children living 2 miles or more from the school, in catchment and north of the railway line. Children meeting the criteria become eligible from the term after their 5th birthday and remain eligible until their 8th birthday. Outside of these times, parents will need to pay termly for their child's bus pass. This will be explained further when your offer of a place at Fleet Infant School has been confirmed.
How long have the teachers been working at Fleet Infant School?
We are a very established staff with most staff having worked at the school for a number of years. Mrs Clark is in her fifth year of headship at the school. Although staff may have been in place for a few years, we are still a forward thinking group who are always keen to try new initiatives to keep things fresh and exciting for our children.
Do you mix classes at the end of each year?
Yes, we do mix the classes ready for the following year, as we see the school as a whole community where it is good to know lots of people. This can also help with rebalancing of classes where needed. Parents are asked to talk with their child about which three friends they would like to be with the following year and we guarantee one child from their list.
Do you stream for any subjects?
We do not stream as a general rule for English or Maths. However, we do sometimes put children into phonic groups based on the phase of sounds they are learning.
How is adult-directed learning conducted?
During their school day, children may be asked to work with an adult on a specific task they need to complete, either indoors or outdoors. Adults also interact with children during their play to extend their learning.
Do you use Tapestry?
At Fleet Infant School we do not use an online reporting platform. Instead, we collect the children's observations and work and put this into a Learning Journal. This is sent home at the end of the year as a lovely record of all the learning your child has completed.
Which phonics do you use?
We teach phonics using a bespoke scheme. Please have a look at the Year R page on the website for more details.
How is transition from Year R to Year 1 managed?
Children have a number of opportunities to spend time with their new Year 1 teacher before the summer holidays. In the first half term of Year 1, children have shorter learning sessions and opportunities for self-chosen activities.
How is PPA covered (Planning, Preparation and Assessment time for teachers)?
In Year R this is covered by the class teaching assistants and other staff who are familiar to the children. In KS1, PPA is covered by an external sports provider, a music specialist and an HLTA.
What happens when my child starts school?
All children begin school in September regardless of their birthday or age. There will be a few half day sessions but all children are usually in full time by the second full week of term. If your child is particularly tired or struggling with full time attendance, there is an option of part time attendance in discussion with school staff.
The classroom looks very much like a nursery classroom although there are more times when the class will sit together and do their learning e.g. phonics, register time, snack time, whizzy maths.
What will happen if my child is anxious when starting school?
Visits to the school before your child starts, usually help to settle most children and they are generally excited to begin school. If your child finds it hard to separate from you or is anxious, we ask you to give them a kiss and cuddle, say goodbye and leave quickly. The child is then distracted and whisked away and usually settles very quickly. We will always ring you to let you know your child is now settled and were there to be any prolonged periods of crying, you would be informed.
Behaviour Management
The school manages most behaviour through positive rewards, verbal, stickers and the school's behaviour chart. Each class has a behaviour chart where the children can move from green, to silver, to gold when they have been noticed behaving correctly. Should a sanction be necessary, and a child has been reminded verbally to think about making the correct choice and still continues, they may be moved to orange then red. Any child in this situation will be moved back up to green as swiftly as possible. Please see our Behaviour Policy on the website for more detail.
What do we teach?
Year R follows the EYFS Curriculum, similar to their nursey or pre-school. Key Stage 1 children at Fleet Infant School (i.e. Years 1 and 2) access the National Curriculum. This includes subjects such as Music, Drama, PE, DT, Science, History, RE, Art and Geography as well as English and Maths.
Homework
At Fleet Infant School we believe young children need to have time to relax and play after school as our children work very hard in a school day. Therefore, our homework expectations are minimal. All children are expected to read with a parent daily, across the school. Maths challenges are sent home half termly in Year R and every other week in KS1. In KS1, a home learning project will be set half termly linked to the topic the children are studying in class e.g. a map of their route to school. KS1 have weekly spellings and mental maths targets to practise at home.
Breakfast and After School Club
Our wrap around care is provided by SCL who are usually based at Fleet Infant School. Children can be dropped off from 7.45am and are then walked to their classrooms in time for the start of the day. At the end of the day they are collected from their classrooms and can be picked up anytime before 6pm. Children can be booked in for as many sessions as needed and at short notice directly with SCL. This provision carries a cost payable directly to SCL.
Trips and Visitors
During the Autumn and Spring terms, Year R have a number of visitors into school to enhance their curriculum e.g. drama story teller, Miller's Ark, Chinese New Year performance. Year R children go on a school trip in the summer term, linked to their curriculum.
Parental Involvement
We welcome parents into school on numerous occasions. These include 'book looks' where you can look at your child's work with them, Stay and Play, Easter Hat Parade, FISA Fest singing concert, class assemblies etc.
Snack and Lunchtime
Children are provided with a fresh fruit or vegetable snack daily by the government. Milk is also available, free of charge for children under five and then chargeable should your child wish to continue having milk.
All infant aged children are entitled to a free school lunch which consists of a meat, vegetarian or jacket potato option as well as a picnic bag option in the summer. Any child with a specific dietary requirement for medical reasons can also be catered for.
Staff to Pupil Ratio
All Year R classes have a full time teacher and a full time Learning Support Assistant to support the children's learning and development in class. In KS1 there is a full time teacher in each class and a Learning Support Assistant, mornings only.
Support and Extension
Staff at Fleet Infant School are very experienced at providing extra support for those children who take longer to grasp concepts as well as extending those who grasp concepts easily. Extension work is mainly through differentiated work in class and guided work with the class teacher. Support work may be in class and also through small group or individual support to practise a certain skill.
Parent Concerns
We have an open door policy and welcome conversations with parents about their children. Staff are happy to discuss specific children with their parents after school through an arranged meeting although a quick chat can often be had when dropping a child to school. We would prefer to know of any concerns as soon as possible in order to help settle them quickly.
School readiness
We hope that your family will join us in September 2023 but until we are a little closer to your children starting school, here are a few things you can be practising over the year to get your child ready for school