Headteacher – Mrs Danielle O’Connell
Belchamp St. Paul C of E Primary School,
Vicarage Road,
Belchamp St. Paul,
Sudbury,
Suffolk,
CO10 7BP
All website content copyright © Belchamp St. Paul C. of E. Primary School. Website by Yuuzuu
What is the atmosphere of the school?
Belchamp St. Paul School has a warm and friendly atmosphere. We are a thriving Christian community that cares. Our friendly primary school prides itself on making school life a safe, encouraging and nurturing experience for all of our children. Our photo gallery shows a little of what life is like at our school.
What time does school start and finish?
The school day starts with drop off between 8.40am and 8.55am for all children. The day ends at 3.20pm, although currently due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are operating staggered collection times with Reception and class 1 children finishing at 3.15pm, class 2 at 3.20pm and class 3 at 3.25pm.
Do you offer wrap around care at Belchamp St. Paul School?
We provide wrap around care from 7.30am to 6.30pm each day. This is run by Little Oaks Wrap Around Care on our behalf and is available to book directly with them via their website. Breakfast is provided at breakfast club and there are a range of activities included in the after school sessions, from arts and crafts and Lego, to yoga and French club. Visit www.littleoakskids.com for more information.
Do you run extra curricular activities and school trips?
We offer a range of after school and before school activities, although this is currently limited due to the pandemic. Please take a look at our school clubs page for more information of what is on offer currently and we hope to be able to resume clubs such as ballroom dancing and cross country in the future. We also traditionally run a number of school trips for all year groups, such as farm visits, theatre trips, Harry Potter World and even a residential trip to Wales for our Year 6 children. Learning beyond the classroom is a very important part of our school ethos! Whilst our options are currently a little limited, we hope to be able to resume many of these trips soon and in the meantime are being creative with other activities that we can do within our local community.
How are classes organised at Belchamp St. Paul School?
We pride ourselves on our warm and friendly atmosphere and are fortunate to be able to offer comparatively small class sizes at Belchamp St. Paul School. We have one Reception Class with up to 12 children who have a dedicated full time reception class teacher as well as support from our teaching assistants. Class 1 is made up of children from Years 1 and 2 and two class teachers as well as a teaching assistant work together to make a fun and engaging learning environment for all. Class 2 consists of Years 3 and 4 and two class teachers as well as teaching assistants support them and finally Class 3, which includes Years 5 and 6 have one full time class teacher as well teaching assistants working with them. You can find out more about each of our classes in the Classes and Curriculum area of our website.
How do you communicate with parents?
We are a friendly school and our door is always open to discuss anything you may wish to concerning your child. For children in our reception class, we use the Tapestry online learning journal where we keep parents updated about progress and activities that take place each week with photos and observations. All children in the school have a planner where messages can be exchanged and staff are at the school gates morning and afternoon should you have any questions. We have a regular newsletter – The Belchamp Brief which includes stories and updates from the month and of course we are always happy to communicate via email or phone.
Where can I order the uniform from?
At Belchamp St Paul, presentation is extremely important to us. We value how we present ourselves and our work to others.
Parents/carers are able to order the Belchamp St Paul uniform from belchampstpaul.gooddies.
Please note that Belchamp St Paul logo items can also be ordered all year round through Tesco Uniform Service.
If you have any queries regarding uniform orders, please contact the school office.
Can we visit the school?
Normally we would organise open days and taster sessions, however the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic has put some of these on hold for the time being. We are of course happy to organise visits for prospective parents. Currently we are running these visits in line with the Government guidance around Covid-19 safety and so are not able to run visits during the school day, however we can still show parents around at the end of the day and request that you contact us and we will make all the arrangements with you.
How and when can I apply for school
Admissions are undertaken by Essex County Council and all the information you require can be found at https://www.essex.gov.uk/topic/admissions
Please do not hesitate to contact the school office for any further information required
What are the school opening times?
Do you offer wrap around care at Belchamp St. Paul School?
We provide wrap around care from 7.30am to 6.30pm each day. This is run by Little Oaks Wrap Around Care on our behalf and is available to book directly with them via their website. Breakfast is provided at breakfast club and there are a range of activities included in the after school sessions, from arts and crafts and Lego, to yoga and French club. Visit www.littleoakskids.com for more information.
Do you run extra curricular activities and school trips?
We offer a range of after school and before school activities, although this is currently limited due to the pandemic. Please take a look at our school clubs page for more information of what is on offer currently and we hope to be able to resume clubs such as ballroom dancing and cross country in the future. We also traditionally run a number of school trips for all year groups, such as farm visits, theatre trips, Harry Potter World and even a residential trip to Wales for our Year 6 children. Learning beyond the classroom is a very important part of our school ethos! Whilst our options are currently a little limited, we hope to be able to resume many of these trips soon and in the meantime are being creative with other activities that we can do within our local community.
How do you communicate with parents?
We are a friendly school and our door is always open to discuss anything you may wish to concerning your child. For children in our reception class, we use the Tapestry online learning journal where we keep parents updated about progress and activities that take place each week with photos and observations. All children in the school have a planner where messages can be exchanged and staff are at the school gates morning and afternoon should you have any questions. We have a regular newsletter – The Belchamp Brief which includes stories and updates from the month and of course we are always happy to communicate via email or phone.
Where can I order the uniform from?
At Belchamp St Paul, presentation is extremely important to us. We value how we present ourselves and our work to others.
Parents/carers are able to order the Belchamp St Paul uniform from belchampstpaul.gooddies.
Please note that Belchamp St Paul logo items can also be ordered all year round through Tesco Uniform Service.
If you have any queries regarding uniform orders, please contact the school office.
What happens during severe weather?
If we do decide that we need to close the school as a result of bad snow or bad road conditions this is not a decision that we take lightly. Adverse weather really does mean ‘severe’ as opposed to a slight flurry. If circumstances are such that you think there is a possibility that we may be forced to close either first thing in the morning or during the day, we would please ask you to check the following:
Come to this school’s website to see if a message has been posted on the home page.
You can tune into the local radio stations listed below where closure information will be broadcast on a regular basis (note that BBC Essex’s website is updated before any broadcasts). However, it can take us up to 20-30 minutes to get connected, and then the message will only be broadcast in the next ’round’ of announcements.
BBC Essex: 103.5 FM / 729 AM
Dream 100: 100.2 FM
If weather conditions should deteriorate badly once the children are already in school please first check the school’s website to check for any new message that has been posted on the home page. Please try to avoid calling the school office for information. It is very difficult to function with such a high volume of incoming calls.
If we decide we must close early, we will inform the radio stations (again, BBC Essex will update their website before any broadcasts take place) and also text & email parents.
What is your Lateness Procedure?
What is your Absence Procedure?
As a school we aim to:
Good attendance is important because:
As a parent you can help us by:
We shall:
Authorised Absence
Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if a child is ill, family bereavement, religious observance.
We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent. Please let us know and we shall try to deal with it sympathetically.
Unauthorised Absence
There are times when children are absent for reasons, which are not permitted by law. These are known as “unauthorised absences”. Examples of unauthorised absence are:
Unauthorised Absences have to be reported to the Local Authority. The EWO (Education Welfare Officer) may contact you and consider taking legal action against you if your child has unauthorised absences.
Term Time Leave of Absence
As from 1st September, 2013 the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 have been amended. All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed, together with the right for parents to apply for up to 10 days.
Therefore, the school will no longer be permitted to grant leave of absence during term time, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Taking your child out of school during term time could be detrimental to your child’s educational progress. A pupil who takes 10 days absence will only attain 94.7% attendance in the year. 10 days absence also means the pupil will miss 50 hours of education.
If the absence is not authorised and the holiday is taken the case will be referred to the Education Welfare Service which could result in a fine.
Please remember that the more time your child misses from school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up with their work. Valuable learning time is lost.
My child is sick. Should they still come to school?
NHS Poster – Advice on Childhood Illness
Local NHS experts have joined forces with Essex County Council to produce an at-a-glance guide to 17 childhood illnesses including Chicken Pox, Glandular Fever, Ringworm and Tonsillitis.
The poster above highlights key symptoms of common illnesses which are traffic light colour coded to indicate whether children should go to school or stay at home.
Illnesses in the green category – for example colds and conjunctivitis – are those where children should continue to go to school.
The amber category is when an illness could be catching and there are some restrictions on school attendance.
Children should not go to school and should see a GP if the illness falls into the red category. Red category illnesses are German measles. Impetigo, Measles and Whooping Cough.
The poster also advises parents on where they should first seek treatment, either from their local pharmacist or their GP.
There is guidance on when to consult a GP if symptoms persist and advice on when it should be safe for a child to return to school if they have a particular illness.