Background

The PTA works with the school and local community to raise funds for additional school resources and organise a variety of social activities throughout the school year.

We are a friendly and enthusiastic team of parents, guardians and teachers who want to make a positive contribution to school life.

Every parent/carer and teacher at HVS is automatically a member of the PTA and we hope that there is something we organise that attracts your interest – it’s a great way to meet other like-minded parents while building a strong school community. Help is always welcome!

If you would like to be involved or get in touch for more information please contact us via pta@hoevalleyschool.org.

Joanna Cunningham
PTA Chair Person

Updates

At HVS we firmly believe that students should be given the opportunity to use the resources available to them responsibly and be supported in doing so. We are committed to helping them understand the dangers they face in an online world and have systems in place to support this.

As parents and carers, it is your responsibility to understand their online world and to help them be safe.

1. Educate yourselves
2. Talk with them and listen to them
3. Encourage them to think critically and develop a healthy suspicion of what they see and who they meet online.
4. Be a positive role model
5. Agree on some family ground rules

Internet Safety Resources

There is a wealth of resources to help support you and your child navigate this digital world

The Ultimate Parent Guide for Protecting Your Child on the Internet at the vpnMentor blog https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/

Stop It Now prevents child sexual abuse by engaging with and supporting adults, families and communities and through research and speaking out. Their booklet The Internet and Children contains tips and jargon explanations. https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/

Parents Protect! is a child sexual abuse awareness and prevention website with Internet Safety information. https://www.parentsprotect.co.uk/

Childnet International works in partnership with others around the world to help make the internet a great and safe place for children and produced a safety guide for parents and a Guide to Online Gaming. https://www.childnet.com/

National Online Safety makes it their mission to make the internet a safer place for children through equipping school staff, parents and children with the knowledge they need to understand online dangers and how best to react should an incident arise.
You can access their parent guides here https://nationalonlinesafety.com/guides.
They also have an excellent free Parent App which you can read more about https://info.nationalonlinesafety.com/mobile-app

Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP) are part of the police who investigate and deal with cases of online grooming. Their Child Protection Advisors are fully trained to offer support and guidance to any young people who are worried about online grooming. You can find more information and contact CEOP directly on their website ThinkUKnow.

ISP Provided Filtering

Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have some provision for parental controls. We’ve listed some of the more popular options below further information should be obtained from your provider directly.

The school do not endorse any of the ISPs listed above.

The school can not take responsibility for the use of school devices outside of school hours.

Additional Resources:

Staying Safe Online (by Catch 22)
App Safety.pdf (By Catch 22)
Internet Watch Foundation
NSPCC Net aware
Transl8it
Google Safety Centre
CEOP Think you know
Childline
Swiggle (safe Search Engine for kids)
Cybersmile Foundation

Restriction/Monitoring Solutions

Other options

Personal Google Accounts, Chromebooks and Android devices
Including – Google Play, Chrome, Search, YouTube etc
Google’s family link app: https://families.google.com/familylink/
Please note; the school provided Google accounts aren’t compatible with Google’s Family Link

ScreenTime on Mac/iPad/iPhone
Visit the website: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982

Screen Time on Windows 10 and X-Box One
These are all covered by Microsoft’s Family Experience.
Visit the website for Windows 10: https://www.howtogeek.com/666985/how-to-use-parental-controls-in-windows-10/

Visit the website for Xbox: https://www.howtogeek.com/672818/how-to-limit-screen-time-on-an-xbox-one/

Playstation
Visit the website: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/account/ps4-parental-controls-and-spending-limits/

Netflix
Netflix has a very limited set of restrictions available just around the maturity rating.
Visit the website: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/264

Paid for solutions

Norton’s Family Premier
Makes the Web safer for your kids to explore – by keeping you informed of which sites your kids are visiting, and letting you block harmful or inappropriate sites.Visit the website: https://uk.norton.com/norton-family-premier
PROS

• Appears well reviewed and from a well known company (we haven’t had reason to test it)

CONS

• Small cost
• Not compatible with the school  issued Chromebooks

The school do not endorse any of the software listed above.

Other options

PCMag have a good run down of other resources: https://uk.pcmag.com/parental-control-monitoring/79219/the-best-parental-control-apps-for-your-phone

HVS are delighted to work in partnership with Innovate to provide school catering.

Covid-19 Catering Restrictions

Due to restrictions placed on us to operate in a Covid secure manner, our normal catering provision has been temporarily suspended. Our school kitchen is not able to offer breakfast, break time or after school dining options at present.

Lunch is served in 3 locations, in separated year groups and times, and due to this each lunch time we are serving a choice of a hot meal with vegetarian option or a jacket potato. Please click here to view our temporary 3 week rolling menus to the end of the Summer Term 2021. The Week 1 menu is for week commencing Monday 7th June and Monday 28th June, the Week 2 menu is for week commencing Monday 14th June and Monday 5th July, and the Week 3 menu is for week commencing Monday 14th June and Monday 12th July 2021.

Under normal circumstances, the following information regarding our catering service applies;

We will be offering a supervised breakfast drop-in each morning from 7.45am-8.15am, which is a calm way to start the school day.

Students will have the opportunity to buy healthy snacks at break time.

There will be a full range of healthy lunch options.

Snacks will be available at the end of the formal school day prior to after school clubs.

All food can be purchased using our cashless catering system, sQuid.

Are you eligible for Free School Meals?  Please click here to apply

For those of you who have students entitled to Free School Meals, the School will allocate funds to your child’s account each day to the sum of £2.45. You will not see this on your Parent Pay account and if it is not used, it does not roll over to the next day. You are of course welcome to add your own funds to your child’s account.

If you have not yet created a Parent Pay account for your child or you have any questions, please email parentpay@hoevalleyschool.org and we will be able to help you.

We have developed our uniform with the aim of balancing cost with quality. A full list of uniform requirements, showing which items are compulsory and optional can be found by following this link: HVS Uniform List September 2021. This document will also explain which items can be purchased anywhere and those that are only available from Valentino Schoolwear in Knaphill.

You can view the uniform available through Valentino Schoolwear along with up-to-date prices on their website by clicking here. Please note that they offer an in-store fitting service as well as an online ordering and delivery service for your convenience.

Students should enter through their designated year group gates which will be opened to students at 8.15am each morning and the students will be greeted by Year Group Staff as they arrive. Parents should not accompany their child into school unless they have forms to drop off or specific questions for our staff. All students must be in school by 8.30am each morning.

We are fortunate that students live so close to the school and we therefore expect most of our students to walk, cycle or use their scooters to get to the site. This is better for the environment and promotes health and wellbeing. Parents should remind students, for their own safety, to take great care when crossing the Egley Road using the signalled pedestrian crossing at the main entrance pathway and helmets should be worn. Cycle and scooter racks are available in each Year Group entry point, as well as outside our main Reception area. Please ensure that students bring a lock with them. Please remind your child not to leave their bike or scooter in the public racks at Woking Sportsbox.

If you are dropping off your child by car, please enter the shared car park and park your car in a marked parking bay before letting your child get out of the car. Please do not attempt to drop off your child on the Egley Road or in the surrounding roads or the garden centre next door. Please take care to look out for other students being dropped off when you are driving through the car park. Students who arrive late after their Year Group gate has been locked should report to school reception. If you arrive by car early to collect your child at the end of the school day, pleas ensure that you park in a marked car parking space and do not wait in other areas of the car park. The car park is not owned or operated by Hoe Valley School, but is owned by Woking Borough Council and is shared use with the Woking Sportsbox.

In the event of severe weather, the School will make every effort to open as usual. It will implement the following plan.

A decision as to whether School intends to open or not that day will be made as early as practically possible. This decision will be based on the safety of the School site and the immediate surrounds as well as the ability of sufficient numbers of teaching staff to get into work.

Updates will be posted on the School website. Additionally, if the School is closed, all parents will be sent a text message informing you of this decision.

If the School is open, registration time will be extended and students should aim to arrive by 9am. If your son/daughter is not coming to School, please inform the School. We would urge you to do so via email at absence@hoevalleyschool.org as you will appreciate the phone line is likely to be very busy with the School making arrangements.

If insufficient teaching staff are able to get to School to be able to have a safe ratios, it may be necessary to close the School. You will be informed by text and email if this is the case.

If the severe weather/conditions are forecast to continue during the day, it is likely that alternative lunch arrangements will be made, the formal School day will end at 2.45pm and there will be no after-School clubs. You will be informed by text and email if this is the case.

OUR SCHOOL DAY

Our compulsory school day starts 8.30am with Tutor Time, and ends at 3.30pm. From 3.45pm, a range of option enrichment activities take place. School opens for optional Breakfast Club in the Dining Hall from 7.45am each school morning where students can enjoy various breakfast items including cereal, toast, pastries and filled breakfast rolls and meet with their friends before the school day starts – there is no need to book, and access is via School Reception.

The main gates open to students at 8.15am each morning, giving them time to visit their lockers etc before the start of compulsory school at 8.30am. The main gates close at 8.30am, and students arriving after this time enter via School Reception, where they can sign in. They will be marked as late for school.

We ask that all students are off site by 5.00pm