Reception 2025
Registration Form
Please complete the Pupil Registration Form and return to the school office in person, by post or email by Friday 4th July at the latest, along with a copy of your child's birth certificate.
Getting Ready For School
We understand that all children develop at their own pace, and that we’re all learning from birth. When it’s time to start school, some children will need more help than others.
There are key skills that schools expect children to be learning before their first day. Practising these will make your child’s journey to Reception as positive as possible.
If your child is already at nursery, in pre-school, or with a childminder, those professionals will work with you and your
child to help get them ready.
There’s lots you can do at home to build your child’s confidence and independence, helping them feel emotionally and practically prepared to start school.
Term Dates
To help you plan, Monday 1st September is an INSET day for staff only. Reception children will all start together on Tuesday 2nd September, attending for mornings only for those four days. They will be collected after lunch at 1.15pm. From Monday 8th September, they will all be in school full time.
Uniform
The school has a uniform, which we like all pupils to wear. Uniform with the school logo on is available online by clicking the below logos.
Plain sweatshirts, cardigans and polo shirts in school colours are fine too. Book bags, and PE bags are available to buy directly from the school via School Spider.
Navy jumper or cardigan (with or without logo)
White or blue shirt or polo shirt
Grey or black trousers / shorts / skirt / pinafore
Blue gingham dress
Dark coloured shoes (high-heels and slip-on sandals are not suitable)
A suitable coat
For indoor PE sessions the children need a pair of shorts, a white T Shirt and a pair of plimsolls. For outdoor sessions, children will need trainers and in colder weather jogging bottoms and a jumper are acceptable.
Children are allowed to wear only studs in their ears which have to be removed for P.E. and games lessons or covered with a plaster. The children have to be able to do this themselves. Necklaces, rings and other body piercings are not allowed.
All articles of clothing including footwear should be clearly marked with the child’s name.
School Meals
Free School Meals
At all primary schools in England there are two free school meal systems:
1. Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) provides a hot school meal free of charge for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. There is no application process and there is no additional funding to the school.
2. Free School Meals (FSM) provides a hot school meal free of charge to any child in any year group where the family meet the criteria set out below. There is a short online application to complete and the school is given additional funding for every eligible pupil to help improve educational outcomes.
Eligibility Criteria for FSM
Your child might be able to get Free School Meals if you get any of the following:
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
• Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
• Universal Credit - your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)
It is really important that if you feel you may be entitled to claim Free School Meals, that you do so. Schools are given additional funding by the government for every child entitled to Free School Meals. Our aim is to obtain as much additional funding as possible so that we can improve educational outcomes for all children at Ashchurch.
We are aware that there are children who attend Ashchurch who are entitled to Free School Meals but do not realise it. We are also aware that some parents choose not to take up the entitlement to a free school meal. Often, parents of children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 do not apply simply because they get a free meal anyway through the UIFSM scheme. This means that the school misses out on the additional funding attached to FSM. When the child reaches Year 3, UIFSM comes to an end and meals become chargeable, unless the family is entitled to FSM.
The government funding rules mean that even if you don't wish for your child to actually have the free daily meal, or only on certain days, applying will mean that the school will still receive the additional funding.
Applying is very straight forward, takes less than five minutes and is via the Gloucestershire County Council Citizen Portal which the majority of you will have used to apply for the place in Reception. You can use the same username and password which you have already set up. All you need to apply is your email address and national insurance number, and you will get an instant decision as to whether or not you are eligible. If the system says that you are not eligible, your child will still be entitled to their free daily
Special Dietary Requirements & Allergies
It is crucial for us to receive information about pupils with allergies and other dietary requirements to ensure that we have the appropriate special diet menu in place for when they arrive.
There is a four-week turnaround time for any new requests, therefore the sooner we receive the request, the sooner our caterers (Caterlink) can start work on the special menu.
For any child requiring a special menu, Caterlink require a completed Caterlink Allergen Form accompanied by medical evidence from an NHS source. Without medical evidence, they are unable to complete the LACA Risk Analysis, which is an essential analysis they have to complete before catering to any allergy. This is in line with the guidance provided in the LACA Allergen Management Guidance, which is the governing body in terms of catering for education.
Safe Meal
If we have received a Caterlink Allergen Request Form but are still awaiting medical evidence or answers to questions from the nutrition team, the pupil can choose between a safe meal (which is usually a jacket potato with suitable toppings, vegetables and fruit for dessert) or a packed lunch provided by parents/carers until a special diet menu is in place.