School Hours, Duty of Care and Use of the School Grounds
Last year we saw an increasing number of students arriving to school early. This was usually a result of parents having to meet work commitments and therefore dropping their child off in the school grounds before school hours of 8-30am.
The board has reviewed its supervision and duty of care responsibilities to students and would like to highlight these.
Before School
School hours are from 8.30 - 3.30. During these hours, the grounds and facilities are for the sole preserve of school programmes. During school hours the school will provide a duty of care for all students. This means that there is direct supervision during class time and indirect supervision during the 30 minutes before and after school. Students can enter classrooms from 8-30am onwards and teachers will be available to attend to student needs during this time.
While we discourage students arriving before 8-30am we appreciate that circumstances may not prevent this. Please note that students who arrive at school before 8-30 are not allowed to enter school buildings. There is no supervision of students unless they are part of the Before School Care Programme. Students in the school grounds before 8-00am will automatically be placed in Before School Care. Students who arrive between 8-00–8-30am may wait outside classrooms until 8-30am. If they are being disruptive or are in any distress they will be placed in the Before School Care Programme.
If your child is regularly turning up before 8-30 then we encourage you to use the Before School Care programme. This way they are inside, supervised and fed if required. Children need to be signed in by a parent/caregiver every morning that they attend our Before School Care Programme from 7.15am.
After School
The school will provide indirect supervision from 3-00–3-30pm. This means that teachers are available to attend to student needs if requested. All students should be collected from the school no later than 3-30pm. If you are not picking your child up until later then they should be enrolled in After School Care. After School Care operates from 3-00pm – 5.45pm daily. They have control of hard court areas and playgrounds during this time. If your child has come home from school and wishes to return to the school grounds to play they may be limited to the areas they can play at the After School Care Supervisor’s request.
For all Before and After School Care communication, parents can contact Raewyn Caldwell directly (2399463) or leave a message on the phone at ASC (2331339 then Option 2) or email afterschoolcare@paremata.school.nz
Held in Room 17/hall. All sessions are to be pre-paid (full and half sessions available)
Before School Care Drop Off and Sign In – Health and Safety Requirement
Please can all parents physically walk their children to the Before School Care Room (Ruma Whakamarie) and sign them in each morning. This is non negotiable for all children attending Before School Care. Children are not allowed to sign themselves in and parents need to be sighted by the Before School Care staff each morning.
I would greatly appreciate your cooperation with this. Thank you.
Weekends / After 6pm Weeknights
The school is used by a range of groups outside those of the School and After School Care Programmes. It is also seen as a safe place to play for children in the local community as it has playgrounds and playfields. The school can also be an unsafe to play as buildings are regularly vandalised over weekends and teenagers often congregate in the grounds in large numbers. We encourage parents to ensure that their children are appropriately supervised if they are using the school grounds outside school hours.