Starting School

Uniform

We are extremely proud and love seeing our students wear their school uniform. We think it really helps everyone feel like they belong and are part of our school family. You can find all the details about our uniform policy here.

Just a few friendly reminders for everyone:

• Outdoor play: Our kids spend time playing outside every day, so please remember to send them with a coat or jacket. The weather can be a bit unpredictable, even throughout a single day.
• Sunny days: In the summer, make sure your child has a sunhat and sunscreen to stay protected.
• Label everything: It's a huge help if you could label all clothing items and lunchboxes. This helps us make sure everything gets back to its rightful owner.
• Jewellery & nail varnish: For everyone's safety, we ask that students don't wear jewellery. Watches and small stud earrings are acceptable, but only if your child can take them off by themselves for PE. And please, no nail varnish.
• Valuable items: To avoid any lost treasures, it's best not to bring valuable watches or earrings to school.

Where to buy uniform

If you're looking for items with our school logo, here's where you can get them:

Monkhouse Schoolwear

• You can visit them at 8, Bishopric, Horsham
• Shop online at monkhouse.com

• Or give them a call on 01403 330218

MyClothing School Uniform

• This is a convenient online service where you can order items for home delivery.
• Just follow this link: My Clothing Limited and enter our school postcode: RH13 6NS
• An added bonus: the school actually gets a little bit of profit from uniforms purchased through MyClothing, which is fantastic!

Buy Pre-Loved Uniforms - Great for the environment and the pocket

You can get great deals on pre-loved school uniforms from our PTA. It’s a fantastic way to save money, and every purchase helps raise funds for our school. Reusing uniforms also has a positive impact on the environment by reducing textile waste, keeping clothes out of landfill, and lowering the demand for new manufacturing. If you’d like to see what's available, please contact the school office.

Of course if you are happy to purchase uniform items such as skirts/trousers from other retailers eg. Marks and Spencer, that's absolutely fine. The only requirement is that the items are purchased from an authorised school uniform retailer and that the colours are consistent with those specified in our uniform list.

Should you have any questions regarding our uniform policy, please see our full uniform policy here.

School Meals

Delicious School Meals at Holy Trinity

We are delighted that all our children can enjoy hot, nutritious and balanced meals daily at Holy Trinity, prepared using high-quality ingredients. Our fantastic partners, Chartwells, supply the meals to school each day, which are then cooked on-site.

Free School Meals for Infants

The following meals on offer are free of charge for all our young children in Reception, Year 1 & 2 as part of the national Free School Meals Scheme.

To order these meals, simply book them with Chartwells through ParentPay.

Find out what's on the menu and order your child's meals by following our parent guide to using ParentPay here or by going directly to the ParentPay website. Full details of how Chartwells operate can be found on their website: chartwells.co.uk.

Could Your Child Be Eligible for Free School Meals?

If you're receiving certain benefits, your child may qualify for free school meals even after the infant stage. Please feel free to ask in the school office for more details or apply directly on the County Council website.

Here's an important bit: by claiming free meals we could receive an additional £1,300 for our school. This funding from the government, for each eligible child, is extra money we can use to fund additional support (such as extra tuition or extra staff). So even if your child is in Reception, Y1 or Y2 and already receives a free meal it is important to claim if you are entitled to do so as it maximises the amount of funding our school can get to benefit all of our pupils.

Packed Lunches Welcome Too

Of course, children are welcome to bring a packed lunch if they prefer. Children eat in our hall together or outside when the weather is nice in the summer. We ask that any packed lunch provided must be a healthy choice of fruit, protein and carbs and contain no chocolates or sweets. Children must bring a non-fizzy drink, with water being preferred.

Medicines at School

We are aware that your child's health and wellbeing is of utmost importance and it is the role of parents, guardians and carers to administer medicines to children.

If the medicine only needs to be given three times a day or less (such as every 8 hours), then it is more appropriate for it to be administered at home. Please do not bring these medicines into school for us to administer to your child.

Planning of the timings can usually be adapted around school times. As a further help, you could also speak to your GP to prescribe a medicine which is a three times daily dosage so that all doses can be given at home.

If the medicine needs to be administered four times a day or more, and the child is well enough to be in school, then please do inform the school office. We will ask you to sign a consent form with full details of how the medication is to be administered.

You can even download a copy of the form here to save time.

School Absence

What to Do If Your Child Is Unwell

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please could you inform us by telephoning 01403 891263. It is very useful if you can leave a message on the answerphone before 8.45am. However, you must ensure that the absence is reported by 9.10am, as this is when the registers are closed. The answerphone is on all day, so please leave a message at any time.

School Attendance and Absences

The law requires that parents must ensure that their children receive a full-time education that is appropriate to their age, ability and aptitude. This means that we can no longer grant authorisation for absence for family holidays. Leave may only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

If a request for a holiday or any other unauthorised reason for absence is made, it will be recorded as unauthorised.

If a child's unauthorised absence totals more than 5 full days the headteacher may be obliged to refer the case to the Local Authority who will issue a Fixed Penalty Notice and fine. We really don't want it to come to that so please co-operate and communicate with us as much as possible.

A Request for Absence form can be downloaded by clicking here.

Why Attendance Matters So Much

Did you know that your child only attends school for 190 days per year? That means there are 175 other days for holidays and all sorts of other fun activities.

Here is a breakdown of what attendance equals:

• 80% attendance is equal to your child missing approximately 1 day off each week
• 90% attendance is equal to your child missing approximately 1 day off each fortnight

We really do expect all children to have 95% attendance or above. Every day at school is valuable towards your child's learning and progress.

You can find out more information about attendance on the West Sussex County Council website.

If you have any questions regarding absences or attendance please do not hesitate to contact us.