Starting Our School
Whether your child starts with us when they have just turned 3 and spends their whole primary school life here or comes to us mid-year from another school we want them to be happy from the moment they set foot in the door. You may find our School Introduction Booklet 25/26 helpful – click Introduction Booklet January 2026
We want to build a strong partnership with you so that together we can help develop your child’s confidence and build positive attitudes to learning from the outset.
We aim to make coming to Christ Church School a happy and positive experience for each individual child. We do this by providing a safe, secure, happy and stimulating environment and by building warm relationships between our whole learning community.
Nursery and Reception children
We want your child to have a happy start to school. Starting school is a big step and some children settle into the new routine quicker than others. Many of our children attend Nursery on our school site as part of our integrated EYFS Unit in Acorns. Transition to school for them is seamless as they are already familiar with the building and the staff.
However we know other children come to us from other settings and we plan carefully so that parents and children can feel confident and enthusiastic about starting school. We usually hold four induction sessions for your children to get to know our staff, other children who will be in their class and our school building. The sessions are carefully planned to increase gradually. On the first visit your child comes to school for half a day, and you can help them settle. For the second visit your child comes for the morning and you are invited to join them for lunch. On the third visit your child will come for the morning and for lunch by themselves and be collected by you just before the end of lunchtime. The fourth visit to school is for a whole school day.
Your child’s Reception teacher will also come out and make a home visit to you, if you are a new family to our school. The home visit is a chance for you to talk to us about your child and what makes them special. We welcome this opportunity for you to tell us anything you want us to know about your child and to ask any questions you may have.
It is useful if your child can practise the following skills before they start school but don’t worry if they haven’t ‘cracked it’ before they start with us:
- Getting dressed and undressed
- Taking off a coat and hanging it up
- Fastening buttons and zips
- Using the toilet properly and flushing it
- Washing hands
- Using a knife and fork
- Tidying away toys/ sharing toys and taking turns
- Looking after their own belongings
Your Child’s First Day
We find that by the time children have gone through our induction process they are usually ready to start school. We will give them all the support they need to settle in happily.
Mid-year and year groups other than Reception
If you are a new parent of a child in another year group we encourage you to bring your child for a taster session if at all possible before they start full time. We realise that this is not always possible if your arrival involves a house move. We are a friendly, welcoming school and will make every effort to help your child feel they belong to our happy community as quickly as possible.
We have lots of information on our website for new starters but do just ring us up and ask – we are a very friendly staff team and are happy to answer queries!