New Entrants September 2024

We are delighted that your child has been offered a place at Pennington Infant School and we look forward to welcoming you into our school. This page is for parents and carers whose child has been offered a place to start school in Year R from September 2024. This is an exciting step in your child's educational journey, but perhaps an anxious one for you as a parent. We will be providing you with further information in the coming weeks regarding transition, but hope this page will offer you initial guidance. We are all here to help you and your child to become settled into school life.

Accepting your place

In order to accept your offer of a place, you must provide the school with some important information. This includes:

- confirmation of your child's date of birth (normally the short birth certificate or passport)

- 2 pieces of evidence of the address used on the application (we ask for the child's permanent address as of 15th January 2024). This could be a bank statement, council tax bill or utility bill.

It is important that you bring these to the school so we can begin the process of enrolling your child. The school office is open from 9:00am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday.  We kindly ask that you provide the school with this evidence by Monday 29th April 2024

Important Diary Dates

Transition is an important time for all members of the family and we provide many opportunities to ease this process.  Please make a note of the following dates:

Wednesday 5th June 2pm - New Entrant Parent's Meeting at school

Tuesday 2nd July - Stay and Play session with parents (sorry no siblings) - further details to follow.

Tuesday 9th July - Stay and Play independent sessions (parents to drop off and pick up later) - further details to follow.

Communication is key to a good home school partnership and we try to ensure that important information is accessible to all. We send newsletters weekly, posted to our school website and a link can be found on our Facebook page. We send reminders about key events via email, text messages and on your school Facebook page. Please sign up to these so that you continue to receive updated diary dates throughout your time with us. 

Uniform

It is never too early to start collecting uniform and we have a selection of preloved items available in our school office. Why not have a browse when you bring in your paperwork.  Our uniform consists of a red jumper or cardigan and a yellow polo shirt. Children are asked to wear grey skirts or trousers and black shoes. Items do not require a school logo but we recommend you purchase one that does for school events and photos.

Further information can be found on our school uniform page. 

You can also contact PMG Schoolwear in New Milton directly or visit their website:

School Meals

Our school meals are cooked onsite by our fabulous team from Education Catering.  Education Catering provides a variety of options to children with special dietary needs.  You can find details of the school meals by following the link below:

Should your child have a medical need requiring an adapted menu, you must register your child's information on the Education Catering online portal. Deadline to apply for special diet menus for children starting reception in September 2024 is Monday 1st July. 

Menus will be approved by an NHS dietician over the summer and appear in the portal for schools and parents to view ready for September if this is completed on time. Please register any special requirements using the following link:

Wraparound Care and Afterschool Sports

We are proud to offer a range of after school activities in addition to our Early Birds (Breakfast Club) and Night Owls (After School Provision). In preparation for September we are aware that many families may be keen to register their interest for these clubs. Please complete our Google Form below as an expression of interest for this service.

Are you eligible for Pupil Premium?

You may be eligible if you or your partner receive:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  the guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on – paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit – if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get

It is a quick and simple online form and the only information you will need is:

• Your own name and date of birth
• Contact details
• National Insurance Number or National Asylum Seekers Number
• Child’s name and date of birth
• School your child is attending/will attend     

Click here to see if you are eligible

Top Tips for School Readiness

Between now and September, here are a few top tips that can be practised at home to help your child prepare for starting school. 

• getting dressed by themselves including removing a jumper.
• using the toilet independently.
• practising with a knife and fork.
• recognising their own name.

We hope you have found this page informative as we look forward to working together at...