2024/2025
AUTUMN TERM 2024
Monday 2nd September	INSET Day
Tuesday 3rd September	Start of term
Thursday 24th October	INSET Day
Friday 25th October	INSET Day
Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November	Half term holiday
Thursday 19th December	End of term
Friday 20th December	INSET Day
SPRING TERM 2025
Monday 6th January	INSET Day
Tuesday 7th January	Start of term
Monday 17th – Friday 21st February	Half term holiday
Friday 4th April	End of term
Monday 7th April- Monday 21st April	Easter Holiday
SUMMER TERM 2025
Tuesday 22nd April	INSET Day
Wednesday 23rd April	Start of term
Monday 5th May	May Bank Holiday
Monday 26th May – Friday 30th May	Half term holiday
Friday 18th July	End of term
Monday 21st July	INSET Day
Tuesday 22nd July	INSET Day
2025/2026
Autumn term 2025
Monday 1st September	INSET Day
Tuesday 2nd September	Start of term
Tuesday 21st October	End of term
Wednesday 22nd October	INSET Day
Thursday 23rd October	INSET Day
Friday 24th October	INSET Day
Monday 27th October - Friday 31st October	Half term holiday
Monday 3rd November	Start of term
Thursday 18th December	End of term
Friday 19th December	INSET Day
Monday 22nd December - Friday 2nd January 2025	Christmas Holiday
SPRING TERM 2026
Monday 5th January	INSET Day
Tuesday 6th January	Start of term
Friday 13th February	End of term
Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February	Half term holiday
Monday 23rd February	Start of term
Friday 27th March	End of term
Monday 30th March - Friday 10th April	Easter holiday
SUMMER TERM 2026
Monday 13th April	INSET Day
Tuesday 14th April	Start of term
Friday 1st May	INSET Day
Monday 4th May	Bank Holiday
Friday 22nd May	End of term
Monday 25th May - Friday 29th May	Half term holiday
Monday 1st June	Start of term
Friday 17th July	End of term
Monday 20th July - Monday 31st August	Summer Holiday
Tuesday 1st September	INSET Day

School Organisation

Our school is organised into ‘Strands’ (Chalkhill, Grayling, Meadow and Skipper) which include classes from each of the three stages of education at Damers:

Foundation Stage

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)

School Times

All children attend school for 32.5 hours in total each week. 

School gates will open at 8.30am for all children regardless of their strand - please keep to year group gate allocated: 

Foundation gate for Foundation pupils. 

Lych Gate for Years 1, 2 and 4. 

Liscombe Street Gate for Year 3 and Copper Base pupils.  

Children will be welcomed by either a year group teacher or a member of the senior leadership team at the gate.  They will then walk to their classroom where their teacher or TA will be ready to welcome them to class.  If you have any information that needs sharing at the start of the day, please use the Year group email ahead of the school day or contact the office as normal where we will be happy to help.  

Learning then starts at 8.45am and the gates will close promptly for all children at this time.  Registers will be taken at this time with children arriving afterwards will be marked as “late”.  Those arriving after 9.15 will be marked as an “unauthorised” for the morning.

If your child is late, they will need to be dropped at the school office. 

There will be no access via your child’s gate after 8.45.  

School will finish at 3.15pm for all children, regardless of the strand they are in. 

The gates will be opened at that time for parents and carers to make their way to their child's classroom door.  Please line up outside the door where you will find the classroom "lollipop" sign.   We respectfully ask all parents not to go past this point. 

Collection time will be an opportunity to speak to the class teacher as normal but the Year Group email will also be available to share any information, worries etc.  

Some safety notices:

No vaping/smoking or dogs are permitted on school grounds. 

No use of mobile phones is permitted on school grounds. 

Bikes and scooters should be collected as normal and walked to the gates ie. Not ridden.  

Does your child have a sibling in school? 

Please collect your younger child first.  Then, walk to your older child’s classroom to collect them. 

School gates will close at 3.25pm promptly.  

 

A few more details:  

Safeguarding on school premises. It is our absolute priority to ensure that your child/children are safe in school. 

To uphold this:  

• No parents are allowed into the school building without prior invitation and signing in at the school office. You can always arrange a meeting with your child’s class teacher as normal if you need to speak to them at length. 

• On collection of your child, you must leave the grounds.  Once handed over to parents, children are not allowed to stay in the grounds and/or play with or on any equipment.   

We have many clubs and activities after school and need to be aware of any adults in school to ensure that children are safeguarded and adults are accounted for.  

• No use of mobile phones in any circumstances is permitted on school grounds at any time.  In continuation of current practice, please wait until you are off the premises to use your phone, this allows us to ensure that the privacy of all children is protected in this respect.  

Clubs and Kids’ Club will operate as normal.  Club information will be shared as usual, each half term.  

Does my child attend Copper Base or have bespoke entry or exit arrangements?  

All Copper Base pupils will continue to have a bespoke plan agreed with the Copper Base team for entry and exit times. For other pupils who may have an adapted entry or exit plan these will be discussed on a case by case basis with the relevant member of staff during the Summer Term.  

 

Breaks - All classes have their lunch break between 12.00 pm and 1.00 pm

All classes take a 15 minute break during the morning session and Foundation, Year 1 and Year 2 may take an additional 10 minute break during the afternoon session.

Assemblies

Assemblies are very much part of our school life. They provide a regular opportunity to enhance the community life of the school and are used to explore and embed the values and principles which underpin our values and everyday life at Damers.

Our week begins with a Key Stage assembly (KS1 - Years 1 & 2 and then KS2 - Years 3 & 4) focusing on our values alongside our Jigsaw themes and any learning and links with relevant current local, national and global events. Children are set a challenge for the week which will involve putting our learning or focus value into practice throughout their week.  Year groups then meet on a Wednesday for singing together and a look at global issues, observances in different religions, Black History Month and other important and notable times in our calendar.  We gather again on a Friday afternoon in key stages to celebrate individual achievements linked with our theme.