New Parents

We, at Mortimer St. John’s, aim to ensure that your child’s first experiences of school are positive ones. We try to make the transition from pre-school to school as smooth as possible and organise many opportunities for the whole family to get to know the school community and the school itself. We believe that children who are familiar with us, and the school environment, feel happier and are more confident when starting school in September. 

Parents of young children with Special Educational Needs are welcome to visit Mortimer St. John’s to see the school and learn about the provision available.  Parents may choose to visit with a relevant professional who has been supporting the family.

Parent Partnership: At Mortimer St. John’s, we welcome and encourage parental involvement in the life of the school. We view education as a partnership between home and school, where everyone works together to benefit the children and enable them to gain the most from their time at school. This partnership begins in the term before the children start school and continues throughout their time with us.

May: The Foundation Stage teachers aim to visit as many pre-school settings as possible to meet the children who will begin school in September. This gives your child the opportunity to meet the Foundation teachers and staff in a familiar setting, before they come to visit the school and allows us to chat informally to their key workers.

June: New children are invited to visit the Foundation Stage for the afternoon. They are given the opportunity to explore their new surroundings, play in the setting and meet all Foundation Stage staff members. Roughly ten new children from each class attend each visit, allowing them to settle before they meet the whole class.

July: In July we run a ‘Moving Up Morning’. During the morning, children who currently attend the school move up to their new classes. All children starting school in September are invited to spend the morning in their new classes enabling them to meet their whole class and have a clear idea of what to expect in September. Towards the end of the visit parents/carers are invited to attend a brief presentation to meet the Foundation Stage teachers and find out more about the school.

September: During the first two weeks of school we offer families a home visit. This is a great chance for your child to meet with their new teacher and classroom assistant in their own familiar home environment. The home visits also give parents the opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher informally to share information about their child or ask any questions.

We understand that starting school can be as daunting for parents as it may be for their children. We therefore aim to be as helpful and informative as possible. We do appreciate that parents may have additional questions that they wish to ask, so please do not hesitate to approach any member of staff with any queries, or contact the school office who are always willing to answer questions.