At Witchampton C of E First School, all the pupils, parents and staff know how important good attendance is for children’s well-being and progress.

School Times

Gates open at 8.45 a.m and the School day starts at 8.55am. Anyone arriving after that time should come in through the school office.  The start of the day is crucial to help prepare the children for the school day and maximise their time with us, making sure they are ready for their learning once the registers are complete and lessons start. 

 The school day ends at 3.05 p.m for Hedgehogs, 3.10 p.m for Badgers and 3.15pm for Foxes. Children will be dismissed from their class doors for Hedgehogs and Badgers and the door next to the white gate for Foxes.

Pick Up

In order to help the teachers and teaching assistants with seeing the children out of school safely, we ask parents to let us know who will regularly be collecting their child/ren. This means that as long as the person collecting the child/ren are on the list, parents do not have to call the school to advise who is collecting their child/ren. Without this information only parents will be allowed to collect their own child/ren.

If there are any changes to collection arrangements, it is the parents' responsibility to inform the school.

An Average School Day

Each day the children will have the chance to engage with a broad and balanced curriculum, including a daily commitment to reading and maths.  The children have a morning break of 15 minutes and a lunch hour that is broken up in to time for eating (20-30mins) and time for play (30-40mins) depending on how quickly they eat.  Our teachers may also decide that a short afternoon break is necessary to refresh their brains, depending on the nature of their afternoon activities. 

Length of the School Week

Hedgehogs: 6 hours and 10 minutes long which is a total of 30 hours and 50 minutes a week.

Badgers: 6 hours and 15 minutes long which is a total of 31 hours and 15 minutes a week.

Foxes: 6 hours and 20 minutes long which is a total of 31 hours and 40 minutes a week. 

The school day will likely be extended from September 2023 in order to reach the 32.5 hour school week (as stipulated by the Summer '22 Education White Paper).  We are also open for breakfast club from 7.45 a.m until 8:45am and we have after school club until 5.15 p.m from Monday to Thursday and until 4.15 p.m on Fridays.