Welcome!

Welcome back to the Second Half of the Autumn term.

We hope that you all had a restful and enjoyable half-term and enjoyed the good weather.

Firstly a huge THANK YOU to all families who contributed to the Shoebox appeal. We collected 35 shoeboxes and these have been collected by the local Rotarian representative who was extremely grateful for your generosity. We are also grateful for your contributions to the Barnardos appeal which we ran before half-term. The winner of the Barnardos bear was Rowan MacPherson.

The FOBRS Bonfire night on Saturday 7th was a huge success and enjoyed by all those who turned out. We are grateful to all the Committee members and their various helpers for their time and trouble.

Here are some dates for your diaries:

Saturday 5th December	FOBRS Christmas Fayre in the School Hall
Monday 7th December	Christmas Play at 2 p.m.
Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th November	Christmas Play at 6.30 p.m.
Friday 17th December	FOBRS Children's Christmas Party
Friday 18th December	Christmas Service in the Church at 1.30 p.m. - Last day of term!
Monday 4th January 2010	Return to School

As you can see there are many activities and events in the lead up to the Festive season and we look forward to seeing you at any or all of them! Further details will be available nearer the time.

We have recently had to reiterate our request to parents and visitors that dogs are not bought onto the school premises, nor tied up on the outside perimeter fencing. We trust that you can understand that the health and well-being of the children both in School and at Ragamuffins make this decision necessary.

We can now offer all children hot school meals at lunchtime at a cost of £2.10 per day. This scheme has been running since September and is proving very popular - please contact the Office if you need any information.

We have recently sent home to all the children copies of our Home School Agreement, and ICT Permission Slip and a Travel to School information form. We would be grateful if these could all be returned to the Office so that we can keep our records up-to-date.

Breakfast/After School Club

Our Breakfast and After School Club (COBRAS) continue to run in conjunction with Ragamuffins. The breakfast club operates from Monday - Wednesday and COBRAS Mondays - Thursdays, with various session times to cater for all needs! If you require any information about any session time/cost/availability please contact either the Supervisor, Mandy Kennard on 07774 574457 or the Office on 01929 471334.

We will offering a Saturday session on 21st November to enable parents to go and tackle the Christmas shopping whilst leaving the children safe and occupied. This will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a packed lunch will be required but drinks and a light tea will be provided. Please contact the above if you require any further information.

Child Protection

In line with current legislation and our commitment to helping parents and carers understand the school's responsibility for the welfare of all pupils, we have recently sent home a copy of our current Safeguarding Policy for your information. This Policy, which appears below, has been adopted by our Governing Body and is adhered to by all members of staff and any other outside agencies who may work with the children whilst they are in school.

Our Designated Senior Person for Child Protection is the Head Teacher, Mr S Battishill and the Deputy Designated Senior Person is Mrs D Tibbey, who can be approached in the absence of the Head Teacher.

SAFEGUARDING POLICY FOR BERE REGIS SCHOOL

Bere Regis school recognises that the welfare of the child is paramount and takes seriously its responsiblity to safeguard and promote the welfare of the children and young people in its care.

An agreed definition of safeguarding is 'All agencies take all reasonable measures to ensure that the risks of harm to children's welfare are minimised. Where there are concerns, all agencies take action to address those concerns, working to agreed local policies and procedures in full partnership with other local agencies' - Joint Chief Inspectors' Report 2002.

Promoting welfare involves 'creating opportunities to enable children to have optimum life chances in adulthood' - Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (Government guidance 2000).

The Governing Body will act in accordance with Section 175 (or Section 157 for Independent Schools) of the Education Act 2002 and the supporting statutory guidance 'Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education'(2006) to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in this school.

All children have the right to be safeguarded from harm or exploitation whatever their

race, religion, first language or ethnicity
gender or sexuality
age
health or disability
political or immigration status

Governors, staff and volunteers in this school understand the importance of working in partnership with children, their parents/carers and other agencies in order to promote children's welfare.

The purpose of this policy is to:

afford protection for the pupils at Bere Regis School
enable staff and volunteers to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
promote a culture which makes this school a safer place to learn.

This policy applies to the headteacher, all staff (including supply and peripatetic staff), volunteers, governors or anyone working on behalf of Bere Regis School.

We will endeavour to safeguard children and young people by

valuing them, listening to and respecting them
involving them in decisions which affect them
making sure all staff and volunteers are aware of and are committed to the safeguarding policy and child protection procedures
sharing information about concerns with agencies who need to know, and involving children and their parents/carers appropriate
recruiting staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made
adopting a code of conduct for all staff and volunteers
providing effective management through induction, support and training.
ensuring staff and volunteers understand about 'whistle blowing'
dealing appropriately with allegations/concerns about staff or volunteers, in accordance with Government guidance.

The school DESIGNATED SENIOR PERSON for Child Protection is

MR S BATTISHILL (HT)

The school DEPUTY DESIGNATED SENIOR PERSON for Child Protection is

MRS D TIBBEY (DHT)

Holiday Activities in Dorset

We have been advised that there is a free information website for parents which provides details of many events in Dorset during school holiday times. The website address is www.kidsoffschool-dorset.com.

INTERNET SAFETY

We have been in contact with the Police regarding the above - to read a letter with regard to children's safety on the internet, together with contact addresses if you have any concerns, please click here.

SCHOOL PROFILE

Our School Profile for 2008 - 2009 is available to read by clicking here.

BEHAVIOUR AND DISCIPLINE POLICY

We have recently reviewed the above Policy. If you wish to read this, please click here.