By clicking on the PDF link below parents will find all the general information about the school and additional information about each of the Phase Groups.

Within South Grove Primary School we recognise the clear link between good attendance and children’s attainment. We therefore expect all children to attend school regularly and on time. If there is a need for a child to be absent from school due to illness, a medical appointment or another reason then th e school should be contacted on the first day of absence.

The Education Welfare Officer and our Attendance Manager work very closely with the Early Years Foundation Stage parents to encourage regular attendance and develop good habits from the beginning of formal schooling. Workshops and meetings are arranged for parents to discuss their child’s attendance.

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Lunch Time

If your child is attending school full-time they will be staying for lunch-time. School lunchtime is a good opportunity for children to socialise with other children. Parents have the option for their child to have a school cooked lunch or provide a packed lunch.

Healthy Eating

At South Grove we want to help our children stay healthy and happy as they grow up. We want to help children lead a healthy lifestyle by offering healthy food choices at lunchtime.

You can find out much more about healthy eating at the Children’s Food Trust website.

School Meals

School meals are a really good way to be sure your child is eating a healthy and well-balance meal during the school day.

Our school lunches are freshly prepared and cooked on the school premises. They are nutritionally balance and within Government guidelines. Waltham Forest Catering’s school lunch bunch ensure that tasty school lunches, on average, provide one third of a child’s daily nutritional needs. Menus are prepared on a three week cycle and available from the school office.

To find out more about Waltham Forest lunch provision, please visit Waltham Forest Free School Meals.

Paid School Meals

At South Grove we collect dinner money using ParentPay. We do not take dinner money at the school office. Parents can pay on line or at shops with the PayPoint sign.
Once your child starts attending Year 3 you will receive a letter which will include a username and password for online payments and a bar-code for shop payments. School meals accounts must be in credit for your child to receive a school meal and so you must as a matter of urgency make the necessary payments. We ask that you pay at least one week in advance and keep the account in credit.

If your child’s account falls below zero (£0:00) you will receive a text advising you of this and you should bring in a packed lunch as we will not provide a school meal to your child.

Online payments take 24 hours to show on the account, shop payments take 3 days, so please allow for this when arranging payments.

Please see the  ParentPay FAQs page for more information.

Free School Meals

If you are in receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance you may be entitle to apply for Free School Meals for your child. Please go directly to Waltham Forest Free School Meals page by clicking here. and complete the Free School Meals application form. This process needs to be completed  before your child is due to start school.

Please note that we are unable to provide your child with a free school meal until we have received written confirmation from the Local Authority.

Universal Infant Free School Meals

From September 2014, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 in state-funded schools in England are eligible for free school meals.

Extra Funding for your child’s education

The pupil premium is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the achievement level of pupils. This means that the school will receive an additional £1,300 every year for six  years from the Government to support their education if your child would have been entitled to free school meals because of families income.

This money must be spent on your child, but it is for the school to decide how it is spent. Click on the following link to see how South Grove uses the pupil premium to improve achievement. (Pupil Premiums page).

We ask that all parents and carers of children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 whose children attend South Grove to complete the Benefits Service Form, available from the School Office and return it to us. We will then be able to confirm throughout the year whether the school is entitled to the additional pupil premium funding for your child.

Please speak to a member of the school office if you need further information or support.

Packed Lunches

If a packed lunch is your child’s choice then we ask for parents to provide a healthy balanced packed lunch box.  Therefore, we request parents to avoid crisps, chocolate or sweets. Children should not have anything in their packed lunches that contain nuts of any kind. No sugary or fizzy drinks please, water may be provided from home or is available at school as this will help to keep them hydrated.

Try to ensure it is as easy as possible for your child to get through their lunch in the allotted time for example by peeling/chopping fruit in a small plastic tub; buy fromage frais and yoghurts in handy tubes. Provision of snack pots with various vegetables, crackers and fruit allow the children to build their own lunch.

There are lots of alternatives for healthy packed lunches and you can find out more from the Children’s Food Trust website.

The Local Offer is a guide to all the services for children and young people in Waltham Forest with special educational needs and/or disabilities aged from birth to 25 years.