Change To Times Of The School Day

Dear Parents / Carers,

RE:  Change to times of the school day

I am writing to you to confirm that following a period of liaising with parents, carers, staff and the Local Authority, from Tuesday 7th January 2025, the Cardwell Primary School day will begin at 8.40am and finish at 3.10pm.

Please note the following main points:

• All gates will be open from 8.40am in the morning
• Gates will open in the afternoon at 3.10pm
• We are proposing a 5-minute grace period of lateness for Spring 1 term only while children, parents and carers settle into the new school start.

Clubs

Breakfast club will start at 8:00am as ever. The rest of our extra-curricular offer will run between 3:20pm - 4:20pm unless it is a shorter club. This will ensure there is little disruption to the current timing of clubs.

Class gate arrangements:

We would like to thank parents and carers who contacted the school with question regarding the changes.  Please see the attached responses to those questions attached.

Finally, we thank you for your prompt drop off, collection and support in making this a successful transition.

Yours Sincerely,

Lisa Lazell                                                                    Mr Dunbabin

Executive Headteacher                                              Head of School

Answers to parent questions raised:

1. Will the after school clubs still finish at the same time?

Clubs will continue to run with most starting at 3.20pm and ending at 4.20pm.  Some clubs that are run by outsider providers will run at different times.  These will be shared with you.

The school is looking at a variety of ways to be able to offer more clubs in the Spring term.

2. Will there be alternatives for working parents for after school care?

After school clubs make up part of our enrichment offer for children.  The clubs are not in place to provide after school care as the places are not guaranteed to the same children for the whole year.  This can change term by term.  Local schools do run wrap around care.  We have tried to have this at Cardwell previously, but it was not well attended.  We will consult with other companies to see what they can offer and share this with parents

3. Will there be a consultation?

Schools do not have to consult to change the time of the school day.  They are required to share proposals and make changes in a structured way that gives parents/carers notice.

4. When will it start?

We will start the new times in January.  A letter containing further details is attached to this document.

5. Is there a way we can go back to pre-covid times and parents come into the playground?

This is something the school are exploring and will share further details. 

7. 8:40am is an early start for Primary school. Some parents do not leave until 8.45am.

We will work with our parents to support getting to school on time.  For the first half term, we will allow a 5-minute period of grace before closing the gates and recording arrival as late.