SCHOOL RULES, MUTUAL RESPECT & CONDUCT
At Long Lane, our school rules are designed to help every member of our community feel safe, valued and respected.
We do not have rules for the sake of it; our expectations are in place to support the physical and emotional safety of all children, parents and staff, while ensuring that effective learning can take place. We value working in partnership with children and parents so that there is consistency, fairness and mutual respect across the school.
Our approach is equitable, which means we take account of individual needs and circumstances while maintaining high expectations and a strong sense of belonging for everyone.
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We recognise that some pupils and families may need reasonable adjustments to help them access school life positively and successfully. Where this is the case, we will always aim to work together with families to find supportive and appropriate solutions that are fair, proportionate and in the best interests of the child and the wider school community. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments linked to our school rules or expectations, please make an appointment with your child’s class teacher or a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Children – Rules & Conduct
"Doing the right thing for the right reason when no-one is looking."
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Toys, cards and items from home
We do not allow toys and trading cards in school. There are plenty of activities in school for breaks and having fun. Bringing things in from home can cause issues if they go missing or get broken. We can't take liability for this. We realise that, at times, that reasonable adjustments may need to be made in this area, may be part of a plan or a special occasion where the teacher has requested to bring something. Any reasonable adjustments need to be discussed and agreed with the class teacher.
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Smart watches, mobile phones, online and recording devices
We do not allow mobile phones in school (even our staff only use these in staff only areas of the school). If your child needs a mobile phone for before or after school parents must fill in a permission form from the office. Children will be asked to hand these in to the office before they go through the playground gates and pick up when they have left. We do not allow smart watches either (this is those that are connected to the internet, a phone or can make schools or other contact. When your children are in school they are being looked after by our experienced, caring staff and we will contact you if necessary. Equally we expect you to contact the office for anything necessary also. Recording devices are strictly not permitted. As a school we are transparent in what we do but need to be trusted as professionals and need to protect the GDPR of other children and our staff.
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Respect for other pupils, staff and equipment
We ask children to be respectful of other children, adults and school and their own equipment. We actively teach this aspect of respect regularly through their school journey. We respect children always and serve to listen, understand and protect all children without bias. This is our promise to you.
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Safe moving around the school
This is obviously for safety purposes. We expect all children to walk around the school and encourage manners such as holding doors open, giving others space and putting things back where they found them.
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Allergies and snacks, lunchboxes
We take allergies really seriously. We expect everyone to do this regardless of their preferences of food as it keeps all children safe. We ask children not to share food at all (as they will know what it safe for someone and what is not). We also have children who have strict dietary requirements and this also needs to be respected. Please ensure that children's lunch boxes and snacks do not have nuts in as these are strictly forbidden in school. Any products with nuts will be taken by staff and held at the office to return to the parent after school. We expect children's snacks to be relatively healthy, whilst also ensuring that they have something that they will eat.
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Having the right equipment in school
Your child needs to have the right equipment in school (you can find out what this is through the 'Meet the Teacher' presentations on all the class pages. The school provides most of what they will need during the day and is happy to help with any items that may be needed where families are not able to provide. Please don't put additional items in their pencil cases that may cause distraction in class.
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Bags and keyrings
Sometimes children need to bring additional equipment or clothing in for clubs after school. We have very limited space in our cloak rooms and when they are very full this can make it harder for children to find belongings and be independent in doing so. We ask that you limit the number of bags, clothing and items that they bring into school. Each class has a lunch trolley for packed lunches so these do not need to be in a bag. Please limit the number of identifiable keyrings to one per bag. Please don't bring in clothes for play dates as we don't have the space to accommodate this.
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Appearance
We ask that hair cuts are reasonable (we love style but this must be conducive to learning). Long hair should be tied up for safety (unless this is a reasonable adjustment agreed with the teacher). Children should not wear nail varnish in school or have body tattoos. Please ensure that this is kept for home. Earrings need to be studs (this is for safety). Children need to be able to take their earrings out for PE and swimming or cover them with tape. Jewellery should not be worn in school. If it is for medical or religious reason, please seek permission from the Head teacher.
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Outdoor shoes
We have an active and outdoor curriculum and as part of our uniform policy we allow comfortable shoes and trainers. They must be black with black soles, black shoelaces and with no logos or added pattern. In the winter we want our children to still play on all the equipment but also want our school to stay clean so we ask children to bring in a spare pair of trainers or active shoes (practical) to play on the field. These will stay in school and they will change in and out of them at the beginning and end of breaks.
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Fidget toys and class aids
We know that many children may find fidget toys useful and for some they are essential and part of a plan. We provide fidgets for every class and in our outside areas. You do not need to provide this unless this has been discussed and agreed with the teacher. We have one rule – they must be out of sight (under the table) our teachers need to concentrate too. If a fidget aid is not helping concentration or is distracting others it will be taken away until we can teach the child how to use it correctly. Class aids are available to every child (this is part of our 'liberated' learning strategy) and may be bespoke as part of a plan. You do not need to provide your own.
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Labelling clothes and items
Please, please, please label all clothing and other items – this avoids unnecessary lost property. It is your child's responsibility to keep their items together and organised. We know they lose or leave things behind but labelling them means they can be independent.
Home learning
We don't ask much of the children with regards to home learning as we believe that there needs to be a balance between school and home. However we do ask them to read everyday as this will open up new opportunities and is good practice (see Home Learning page for more details).
Parents' Responsibility & Conduct
"We are all on different journeys but we tread the same path to supporting our children reach their goals."
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Attendance
Please work together with the school with attendance. It is imperative that children are in school everyday where they can be. We understand that there are a number of reasons why this may be a challenge and want to work with you to support and remove any barriers. We rely on you to provide reasons for absence and contact us if your child is unable to attend school. Holidays need to be taken out of term time. Please see Safeguarding and Behaviour page for more details.
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Emailing and contacting school
All parent correspondence should go through the office (as this is the central inbox for the school and is manned most of the day). This will ensure a quicker response. Please make it clear who the correspondence is for so that it can be passed on to the right person.
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Medicines and medical appointments
If your child needs medicine in school you will need to fill in a permission form (in the office) for us to be able to administer this to them. If antibiotics, please try to arrange for one that does not to be administered at school. We can provide Calpol for children by prior permission. Please ensure that all medication (including lip balm, cough sweets, etc) are handed in at the office to avoid concerns around allergies. Please try to arrange medical appointments outside the school day. Where this is not possible, please let the office know (see administering medicines policy).
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Drop off and collection arrangements
Please make sure that you let the office know these. These will then be added to the spreadsheet so that all staff are aware and can keep children safe. If we do not have permission for an adult to pick up a child (other than mum and dad) then we will not release them. You can provide us with a list of carers that can pick up at any time. If it is a one off please give plenty of notice informing the office. If you are likely to be late, please ensure that this is a one off and let us know at your earliest convenience to ensure that your child is not distressed. Bookings for After School Club need to be made in advance and can't be just a back up option.
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Labelling clothes and personal items
Please, please, please label all children's items of clothing, bags and other items. This is essential and we cannot be responsible for items that are not named going missing.
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School lunches
It is up to parents to order school dinners in advance on the school parentmail system. You can do this on the morning of the day or prior to this. If your child comes in without food and we can't get hold of you, we will automatically issue them with a school dinner and charge for this (unless we have an agreement with you otherwise). Please make sure that packed lunches are reasonably healthy and the children are able to eat them independently.
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Keeping details up to date
It is imperative that we have the correct details for you and your child for safety reasons and in case of an emergency. This includes having a few contacts in case we can't get hold of you. Please ensure these are up to date using the parentmail system (ask in the office if you're not sure).
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Mobile phones and photos in school
Children are not permitted to have mobile phones in school. Staff only use mobile phones for emergencies in staff only areas. We expect our parents to stick to this rule also. Some of our children need specific protection from the outside world so we politely ask for no photos to be taken on the school grounds or for adults to show children the contents of their phone (unless your own child). You can take photos at events but please don't post them on social media for safeguarding reasons.
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School trips and voluntary contributions
We ask for voluntary contributions for school trips as we understand that this can be expensive and don't want any children to miss out. All school trips are subsidised by the school already. If we don't have enough contributions, we may need to cancel trips or visitors.
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Home learning
It is really important that we work as a partnership. We have given lots of support for parents in helping their children at home. Our main expectation is reading and we need parents to support this at home. Please see the Home Learning page for more information.
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Behaviour and conduct in and around the school
Just as we have high expectations of our children and staff, we do also of our parents. Please remember that children copy what we do and say and the way we behave. We need to be the role models that we want them to turn into. Sometimes we may not see eye to eye but there are many ways in which we can approach this respectfully with staff, other parents and children. We take misconduct towards others in our school family very seriously.
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Respectful and safe parking
This is something that is non-negotiable. Our residents are important to us but most of all the safety of our children and families. You must not park on double yellow lines or areas where there could be a blind spot. No parking up high on curbs (respect the pedestrians) and absolutely no poor conduct towards others. We do not allow parents to park in the car park unless they have a permit (this is discretionary and based on a non bias need and priority). We also ask you not to turn around in the car park as this can be really dangerous.
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Working together with professionals
Our staff are professionals and do know what is best educationally. We ask that you are prepared to listen and work with us in order that we can all support your child in the best way that also takes into account others in our care. We will always find a way to meet you and understand your concerns. Although we do our best, we cannot fix everything.
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Parent What's app groups
It is really important that these are kept respectful of each other and those in school who are not a part of them. What's app parent groups are really helpful for supporting each other, last minute reminders and networking with other parents. If you have a concern about something in school, please come straight in and let us know. This will ensure that you get the right answer straight away and we can learn from each other in how to improve communication going forward.
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Children and social media
Please keep an eye on your child's access to the internet, monitor how long they are online and who they are talking to, including their conduct. It is your responsibility as a parent to do so. In the older years children start to use What's app (this is actually rated 13years and up). They are often not mature enough for this and cyberbullying and online misconduct can become an issue. I suggest that any groups have a parent admin to keep an eye on things. We will do our best to support incidents for the children but what happens outside school is difficult for us to police and resolve without your help.
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Outside club providers
Our outside club providers have their own safeguarding procedures, insurances and policies. If you need to discuss something that has happened in a club or have a query then, in the first instance, go directly to them to resolve. If you still feel that we, as the school, need to know then please report to us separately.