Communication between school and home is a vital two-way process. If you have any thing you need to talk about then please bring it to our attention. The Junior School is a happy and caring school, and staff and existing pupils will do every thing they can to help your child settle quickly. The form teacher gets to know each child best and all children are encouraged to share any concerns with their teacher and ask for help when necessary. Parents are asked to make contact with the form teacher or subject teacher as soon as there is a need, and brief contact with all staff is often possible before or after school without an appointment.

If your child is to be absent, then please email Miss Noble or Mrs Evans or telephone the school on 01912818955 before 9am.

Leave of absence/holidays must be requested by email or letter in advance of the anticipated date, but please note that holidays during term time do not qualify for leave of absence.  It is the school policy that requests for term time holidays should not normally be accepted. Requests are given reasonable consideration by the Headmaster. If you have children in both Junior and Senior School then please send your request directly to Mr Stanford.

Co-curricular activities are a very important part of RGS life and we pride ourselves on the range of activities on offer.  We believe that, in addition to play time, they help to enrich the lives of the children, help to foster links between children in other classes and also enable them to develop social skills and emotional qualities. Many of the activities involve children of different ages and exposure to children from other year groups is valuable for both younger and older children. Some activities take place before school, some during lunchbreak and some after school. Some are seasonal. It is important that they join activities and parents should discuss what is on offer with their children. Where places are limited, we operate a rota to ensure everyone who wants to, has an opportunity to try the activity.

Our co-curricular timetables are all available here, and change each term.

• 4 HB pencils                       
• a rubber
• a 30cm ruler                                                            
• a glue stick
• a set of coloured pencils      
• a set of felt-tip pens           
• a document wallet to carry work to and from school
• scissors
• a pencil sharpener                                         
• a non-disposable blue ink (rollerball or fountain pen) which must not be an eraser pen (Year 4, Year 5 & Year 6 only)

• a Collins pocket thesaurus (ISBN: 978-0008141806)
• a Collins pocket dictionary (ISBN: 978-0008141820)
• a protractor
• a pair of compasses

Uniform and sports footwear is all listed in the uniform list. 

A backpack for transporting school equipment is also needed. Kitlocker stock an optional RGS-branded backpack but any backpack is absolutely fine.

Your child will need a bag for their sports' kit, again Kitlocker stock an optional RGS-branded holdall but any bag for sports kit is fine. 

You will also need a bag for swimming, we suggest a waterproof one.

Year 3 children have historically used a bookbag and a shoebag but this is no longer necessary.

All bags should be clearly marked with your child's name or a keyring etc that will make it distinguishable to your child.

Children are welcome to bring a healthy snack from home, perhaps some fruit.  This can be especially beneficial if they have a long journey to school from home, or if they are staying for a club or late room. Children are also asked to bring in a named water bottle, which they can top up at the water cooler.

Please do not send anything containing nuts, sweets, crisps, chocolate or fizzy drinks; we discourage their regular consumption in the health element of our personal social and health education (PSHE).

Some children in the Junior School do tend to lose things! Our system for returning items is fairly good: there are lost property containers in the Junior School. Items left in the Senior School take a little longer to return, but usually do eventually turn up if named.

Named items are easier to return to you!

The use of smartphones (those which can run apps) is not permitted in Junior School. We do allow the use of feature phones (phones simply with text and call functionality), particularly for those children who use public transport and or travel longer distances.

Students who bring a mobile phone to Junior School will be asked to sign a mobile phone contract which includes various rules including that phones must be handed in on arrival at school, and can be returned after school or when the child finishes any after-school clubs.  There are also various rules in place about the use of the phone once it is returned to the child.

In the Junior School we have a 'Guide to the Curriculum' for each year group, which are available on the RGS parent portal.  The guides are comprehensive and show what content children will be covering, however we do have flexibility to respond to opportunities and the children's interests.  

In classrooms we like to have fun in our learning, but we also have clear expectations that help us maximise our time in class.  We ask children to be respectful in all they do and try their best to follow these guidelines:

1. When entering the classroom, please do so calmly and go straight to your workspace.

2. Whilst waiting for the teacher, you must be gainfully occupied.  Always have a handy book to read!

3. Follow instructions carefully and promptly.

4. Focus on the task.

5. Always do your best.

6. Be organised with the correct equipment.

7. Show you are listening carefully.

Children are expected to read every night which is a very important part of their academic development.  Details of each day’s reading should be written in the reading record section of the planner and, as with homework, parents are asked to monitor this and sign it nightly.

Please remember that children should be encouraged to read different styles of literature.

As well as giving children the opportunity to read independently, it is still important that you listen to your child read on a weekly basis: this helps with fluency, accuracy, confidence and expression; it also helps children to further develop their comprehension skills and their understanding of punctuation and language. It is also a wonderful opportunity to strengthen that parent and child bond.

The planner includes a section to indicate whether reading has been aloud or done independently each day. Reading aloud should be continued through all years in the Junior School, not just in Year 3.

Electronic readers, such as Kindles, are becoming an increasingly popular method of reading with children. We are always happy to encourage reading and therefore children who are using these can bring them into school. Please note that electronic tablets, such as iPads and Kindle Fires, are not allowed in school.

Bedrock English Comprehension is computer based and all children in Year 5 and Year 6 will have two 20-minute homeworks to complete each week. On the night(s) that a Bedrock is done, extra reading is encouraged but not expected. 

As most of our children at the RGS are generally literate well beyond their chronological age, we believe that a structured reading scheme is not appropriate. In addition, as there is such a wide variety of reading material available today, we have decided it is appropriate to publish a recommended reading list. This list has been compiled using the expertise of staff. We have kept each list to a manageable size and tried to select books that represent good literature. Teachers are only too happy to help with recommending books.

Once a month, Mrs Wall produces a reading newsletter (Bonkers About Books) which is shared electronically with parents and children (past editions are available below). It recommends new books as well as including reviews from children of books they have read.

Children are asked to complete five minutes of Doodle Maths each day (your child will be issued an RGS username and password.  Other tasks will be set in Times Tables Rock Stars (TTRS). 

You can view our calculation policy here which has been devised to meet requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 for the teaching and learning of mathematics and is also designed to give pupils a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school.

We want to limit homework to what we feel is essential.  In Year 3, homework is limited to Doodlemaths, Times Tables Rock Stars, reading and spelling.

As children progress through school, details of any other homework will be written by each child in their planner.

Parents are asked to monitor homework and sign the planner each day. Please add useful comments if relevant e.g. too hard, too easy, too short, too long, spent hours, didn’t understand, please help!

As a general guideline, each piece of homework should not take longer than 20-30 minutes. Teachers, sometimes, allow more than one evening to complete work. It might include additional subjects.

The following table indicates when different year groups receive their reports and when Parents’ Conferences take place.

You are welcome to come into school at any time to discuss your child’s progress.  Formal parents’ conferences are held according to the timetable above and you will receive an invitation near to the date when you will be asked to select a time when it is convenient for you to attend.

Our school wide Safeguarding pages contain lots of information about our approach and policies.

There are nurses on site every day, and the school doctor visits regularly. Students who are involved in accidents or taken ill are quickly seen by the school nurses or by a first aid trained member of staff. Where treatment or the nature of injury warrant contact with home, we will do so via telephone or note, but we will not trouble you with information about everyday ‘bumps and scrapes’.

Any medication that you would like us to administer to your child during the day should be prescribed, clearly named and handed to either reception where you will be asked to complete a form.

Please keep us informed of any medical requirements or conditions concerning your child. Confidentiality is respected

There are also two counsellors in school who are there to support students with their mental health, ranging from anxiety and worries to dealing with grief and phobias.  Sessions can be organised through Mrs Wall (Assistant Head Pastoral). 

It is widely recognised that being active is a powerful tool to help wellbeing and mental health, and there are a variety of sports clubs that run every week.

There are a range of clubs that cater for wellbeing, including SHINE, The Art Factory, mistakes and challenges club.

We also have a Cosy Cove in Brandling House which incorporates the Wellbeing Room, The Library and the Wellbeing office.  This is available every lunch-time from 12.30 pm – 1 pm for children who would like some quiet time, some space, time to rest or just time to relax in a quiet space. 

Storm, the school therapy dog, also joins us in Cosy Cove every Friday.

We understand it can be difficult to know how to best support your child's wellbeing. You can find helpful resources for parents here and resources for students here. 

We understand how important it is to allow your child the independence to use technology, whilst at the same time doing so in a safe way. Every year, in line with the National Curriculum, we teach E-safety lessons based around:

• how to use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly,
• how to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,
• how to identify and report concerns about online material.

Please explore the following links that you could use with your child to help teach the importance of staying safe online:

• Gem education - Advice for parents on internet safety 

• Childnet - Be Smart Online 

Birthdays are an exciting time for children and staff are happy to help celebrate.  

For a few good reasons, not least keeping a tight control on allergens coming into school, we are putting an end to bringing in cakes and sweets to mark a birthday.  However, we are still very keen to party so in addition to a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ pupils (and staff) are welcome to abandon uniform and  wear home clothes on their special day. This is, of course, not compulsory!

If a birthday falls in the holidays or at a weekend or on a games day (when students wear sports kit all day), pupils can wear their home clothes on a day close to their birthday. You don’t need to ask permission, you can just go for it!

A reminder that any snacks brought into school simply must be nut and sesame free please, and remember, no chocolate or sweets!

All children have three periods of games, a double PE lesson and swimming lesson every week. This is beyond the level of provision for physical education in the National Curriculum, but we believe it to be appropriate as it helps to develop physical fitness, skill levels and team spirit. There are inter -school competitive fixtures in all years and we tr y to ensure that everybody is selected to compete on at least one occasion every year.

Children are not allowed to play in rugby or hockey lessons unless they are wearing a mouth guard. This can be purchased from a sports shop or your dentist.

Music at the RGS enjoys an outstandingly illustrious tradition. Children in both the Junior and Senior Schools are taught by music specialists and over 20 visiting instrumental tutors. A comprehensive programme of class music over flows into an extensive range of activities which take place before school, in lunch breaks and after school.

At the Junior School, all children are encouraged to become involved in musical activities, even if they have had no previous experience. All groups meet regularly and per form in concerts throughout the school year.

Instrumental tuition and Speech and Drama (LAMDA) lessons are also available, further information will be sent home accordingly.

As of September 2020, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) was made compulsory in all schools.  RSE in the Junior School includes ‘Families and people who care for me’, ‘Caring friendships’, ‘Respectful relationships’, ‘Online relationships’, ‘Being safe’.  There is more information here about the school's approach to RSE, and how this develops from the Junior School into the Senior School.

Entry into Senior School isn’t automatic but is expected on a consequence of progress and effort during time in the Junior School and respect for our values.

It is only rarely that we cannot recommend pupils for a place at the Senior School. Consequently, in the spring of the year in which your child is in Year 6, you should receive a letter from the Senior School Headmaster confirming your child’s place in the Senior School.