Parents

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and for taking an interest in our school.

Hopefully you should be able to find much of the information you seek from our site. If, however, you would prefer to call us then please don't hesitate to contact the school office on 01535 604656.

The School Day

Our school gates open from 8.30am to allow for flexible drop-off times and alleviate traffic in residential streets.

Nursery morning session: 8.30am - 11.30am
Nursery afternoon session: 12.10pm - 3.10pm
Reception: 8.40am - 3.00pm
KS1 and KS2: 8.35am - 3.05pm

Total hours per (typical) week: 32 hours 30 minutes.

School Dinners

Our school kitchen makes fresh, well balanced food every day.

Children from Reception Class up to Year 2 receive Universal Free School Meals, only children in Year 3 and above pay for their school meals, unless they have been awarded Free School Meals by the Council.

If you think you may be eligible for Free School Meals, please click here and complete the online form.

All dinner money is payable via ParentPay - if you would like any assistance to register your child, please ask in the office and we'll be happy to help.

Attendance

At Keighley St Andrew's, we work as part of Keighley Community Together. Our aim is to improve outcomes for all children in Keighley by strengthening community, teaching and learning and safeguarding. Excellent attendance is essential for the exceptional educational and social development of all children and young people. Data evidences that children with the highest attainment at the end of key stage 2 have higher rates of attendance over the key stage compared with those with the lowest attainment. For vulnerable children, regular attendance is also an important protective factor and the best opportunity for identifying need and providing support. To safeguard all of our children, Keighley Schools Together are committed to working with families and community partners to ensure that all children attend school regularly.

To see the school attendance policy, please click here.

What do I do if my child is ill?

We understand that you want the best for your child- at Keighley St Andrew's, we want the best for each of our students too. Attending school regularly will positively impact your child’s mental health, it will increase their life chances, give them new opportunities, open doors for their future and enable them to maintain healthy friendships.

If your child is feeling under the weather – please inform your child’s teacher at drop off time. Staff will give them a little extra care (i.e. ensure they drink water, don’t participate in PE and make sure they are comfortable) and keep an eye on them. If their illness worsens, school will contact you and suggest they come home.

If your child is too unwell to attend school, please contact the school office 01535604656 before 8:35. For every day your child is too unwell to attend school, you must phone the school office to inform the attendance team of their absence.

You may need to seek medical support for you child. This NHS leaflet shares information for treating children who are poorly. You can find it here.

What do I do if my child is late?

If you arrive late to school after 8:45, you should make your way to the main entrance.

Your child/children must then sign in on the screen including the reason for absence. This is school policy and must be followed. The office team are their to support you should you need any help however pupils will not be admitted into the building unless they are signed in via the system.

If there are a number of families that are late, this may take some time and families must form a to log children into the system.

Please be patient during this time.

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If you know you will be late for school in advance for mitigating circumstances, please phone the school office to inform them and come to the main office when you arrive to sign your child into school and speak with the team.

Monitoring your child's attendance

Each student is tracked for their attendance. School inform parents of their children's attendance should it fall below 'good' which is 96%. You may also be invited into a school should your child's attendance be below this to discuss your child's attendance and how school can support you in improving this. As a school we would much rather work with you as a family to help and support your child to attend school regularly; if there is anything we can do to help and support please let us know.

In addition to school procedures, Bradford Local Authority attendance team work with families to support regular attendance.

Janet Arkwright is the school attendance support from Bradford LA and will outreach with families of pupils with attendance below 'good'.

Requesting a leave of absence for your child/children

Bradford Local Authority have changed the way parents now request leave of absence for any extended leave.
Parents must apply for extended leave through the online form which can be found here: https://onlineforms.bradford.gov.uk/ufs/SchoolLeaveRequest.eb?ebd=0&ebz=1_1763718717686

There is also a QR code in the school office which directs you to the online form.

Parents must not request any extended leave with the school directly. Any extended leave requests sent directly to school will not be granted and you will be directed to this online form.

Holiday Dates 2025/26

Autumn 1:

Welcome back on Tuesday 2nd September 2025 - Break up on Tuesday 21st October 2025

Autumn 2:

Welcome back on Monday 3rd November 2025 - Break up on Friday 19th December 2025

Spring 1:

Welcome back on Monday 5th January 2026 - Break up on Friday 13th February 2026

Spring 2:

Welcome back on Monday 23rd February 2026 - Break up on Wednesday 1st April 2026

Summer 1:

Welcome back on Monday 13th April - Break up on Friday 22nd May 2025

Note: School is closed on Monday 4th May for Bank Holiday

Summer 2:

Welcome back on Monday 8th June 2025 - Break up on Tuesday 21st July 2025

Holiday Dates for 2026/27

Autumn 1:

Welcome back on Tuesday 2nd September 2026 - Break up on Thursday 22nd October 2026

Autumn 2:

Welcome back on Monday 2nd November 2026 - Break up on Friday 18th December 2026

Spring 1:

Welcome back on Monday 4th January 2027 - Break up on Friday 12th February 2027

Spring 2:

Welcome back on Monday 22nd February 2027 - Break up on Thursday 25th March 2027

Summer 1:

Welcome back on Thursday 8th April 2027- Break up on Friday 28th May 2027

Note: School is closed on Monday 3rd May for Bank Holiday

Summer 2:

Welcome back on Monday 14th June 2027 - Break up on Wednesday 21st July 2027

How to resolve a problem

A good relationship between school and home is key to your child's happiness and success.

If you have any concerns, please get in touch. In the past, we have often found out about specific things via social media which can be very disheartening, especially when matters have already been sorted in school.

It is important that we try our best to work together.

Admissions

The Local Authority manages our admissions for school aged children. Please contact 01274 439200 or email them at schooladmissions@bradford.gov.uk or visit this website.

If you need any support, please get in touch.

To view our Admission Arrangements please click on the links below.

Admissions Policy

Bradford Council: About school admissions

If you would like to view the school, we are more than happy to arrange a tour with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

News and Updates

Class teachers regularly post updates using Class Dojo to share messages as well as updates on work taking place in class. If you are struggling to download the app or log in, please speak to the office who can look at your log in details and support you.

School also has an Instagram account for sharing school and local information with parents and families.

E-Safety Advice for Parents

At Keighley St. Andrew's C.E. Primary School we are committed to ensuring all pupils become safe and responsible users of existing and new technologies.

E-safety is taught as part of our curriculum and we discuss any new information with the pupils when needed.

Below are a range of websites that are useful to support parents with ensuring we keep the children safe online.

Useful Websites:

Children are growing up in a technologically rich world. They are surrounded by ICT and use it extensively in and out of school. ICT opens up a whole new world, a world that we should embrace and encourage. New technologies allow access to some of the most powerful communication, collaboration and research tools. With the new opportunities that ICT brings there undoubtedly comes some risks. It is important that we make children aware of the risks and encourage them to adopt appropriate patterns of behaviour when using ICT.

Keep all equipment that connects to the internet in a family space. For children of this age, it is important to keep internet use in family areas so you can see the sites your child is using and be there for them if they stumble across something they don't want to see.
Encourage your child to go online and explore! There is a wealth of age-appropriate sites online for your children. Encourage them to use sites which are fun, educational and that will help them to develop online skills.
Talk to your child about what they're up to online. Engage in their world! Be a part of their online life; involve the whole family and show an interest. Find out what sites they visit and what they love about them, if they know you understand they are more likely to come to you if they have any problems.
Encourage your child to talk to someone they trust if they feel worried or upset by something that happens online.
Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online. It is important to discuss boundaries at a young age to develop the tools and skills children need to enjoy their time online.
Agree rules as a family about not disclosing personal information - such as their full name, email address, phone number, home address, photos or school name - time spent online, and contacting people via the internet.
Create a family email address for registering only.
Use parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones. Parental controls are not just about locking and blocking, they are a tool to help you set appropriate boundaries as your child grows and develops. They are not the answer to your child's online safety, but they are a good start and they are not as difficult to install as you might think. Service providers are working hard to make them simple, effective and user friendly. Find your service provider and learn how to set your controls.
Make use of available filtering and monitoring software. These can help block inappropriate material but remember they are not 100% effective and are no substitute for adult involvement and supervision (see www.getnetwise.org)
Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Make sure you're aware of which devices that your child uses connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console. Also, find out how they are accessing the internet - is it your connection, or a neighbour's wifi? This will affect whether the safety setting you set are being applied.

Click on the links below to access quick and easy guides to E-Safety

What parents and carers need to know about how to combat online bullying

What parents and carers need to know about FIFA 23

What parents and carers need to know about Instagram

What parents and carers need to know about Minecraft

What parents and carers need to know about You Tube Kids

Support for Parents

Best Start in Life is a wonderful Gov.uk resource for parents looking for support on numerous issues from pregnancy through to childhood.

It has a range of support available online as well as tools for searching for specific support in your local area.

To access the website for more information, click here.

Keighley and Shipley Family Hub provides family support in numerous locations in and around Keighley. This ranges from advice and support to family days out.

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To access their website for more information, click here.

Keighley Healthy Living are a charity that provides inclusive opportunities to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the people in our community. They host lost of workshops and groups for adults within the community combatting loneliness and isolation as well as education opportunities for adults.

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To access their website for more information, click here.