Frequently Asked Questions

School jumpers and cardigans can be purchased from Johnny D’s or Pinders in Rotherham. Children can wear blue/white polos underneath and grey/black trousers or skirts purchased from any local supermarket or clothing stores. Children are expected to wear smart, black shoes and not trainers.

PE tops will be provided on your child’s first day, if anymore are required these will be at a cost. PE bottoms are plain black tracksuit bottoms, shorts or leggings and trainers. On your child’s PE days they can come to school in their PE kit.

For outdoor lessons, children should also wear trainers and a tracksuit top or sweater.

If your child is 6 years old or younger, he or she is entitled to a free school meal without charge. If your child is 7 years or older, school meals are only free through eligibility. To find out if your child is eligible for free school meals please click on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals

If your child is not eligible for free school meals you can pay for these at a cost of £2 per day. We are a cashless school.  Please download the Parentmail app to pay for your child’s meals.

Children in Nursery are expected to arrive at 8:30am and be collected at 11:30am for morning sessions. Afternoon sessions run from 12:30 to 3:30pm.

For all other children, breakfast club opens at 8:00am and the main school gate is open from 8:40am and gates close at 8:50am. Any children arriving after this time, will need to enter through the late gates (next to main reception), where they will receive a late mark.

Registers close at 9:20am, any children arriving after this time (without evidence of a medical or pre-approved appointment) will receive a U code, which will affect your child’s attendance.

The school currently subcontracts the provision of school meals for our children to Caterlink. They are contracted to provide a healthy and nutritionally balanced meal, providing vegetarian options and Halal meat. 

We have offered Halal meat and poultry, as standard, for a number of years in response to requests from parents. We currently follow the Sheffield City Council’s policy on Halal meat and poultry. This states that all Halal meat used in school meals must be pre-stunned before slaughter.

Our Halal certificates, plus details of our meat and poultry suppliers, are available should any parent wish for more information.

Please note that alongside our Halal meat and poultry dishes, we also offer a good variety of nutritional, hot vegetarian meals, jacket potatoes and sandwiches with meat free fillings.

Yes, children may bring in snacks and drinks which are to be eaten during breaktime. However, snacks should be healthy and nutritious (e.g. fruit, yoghurts and water). Children are not permitted to bring in sweets, chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks.

Nursery fees must be paid in advance for the services provided. Children will be refused access to any session that has not been paid for in advance. Any parent needing flexibility on this must discuss their situation with the Pastoral Team/SLT.

There will be no reduction in cost for the attendance of additional siblings in a family.

If a child is accessing a childcare place that will be paid for by an external agency (including training providers) the agency must be identified and all arrangements for invoicing for services agreed prior to the child accessing the place at the setting. It should be noted that flexibility may need to be applied as advance payment may not be possible although every effort should be made to achieve this by the setting.

Sickness/absence fees paid will not be refundable.

Fees will not be chargeable for the days on which Nursery is closed due to Bank Holidays and training days.

Please see the charging policy for our nursery setting: Charging Policy

Any children who are not collected at the end of the day (3:20pm) will be taken to the main reception at 3:30pm, where parents can collect from there. It is the responsibility of the parents to collect on time, or to make school aware of any exceptional circumstances causing you to be late. Recurring late collection of your children is a safeguarding issue, and we may deem it necessary to speak to the safeguarding hub.

If your child is too unwell to attend school, please contact the attendance team via 0114 244 1842 before 9am or if you are struggling to phone please email tmattendance@tinsleymeadows.sheffield.sch.uk. Evidence of illness may be required. Please follow this link to assess whether your child’s illness requires a school absence:

No jewellery should be worn apart from small stud-type earrings. Small discrete watches may be worn. Any religious jewellery should be worn beneath clothing.

We do not allow children to bring toys, games or mobile phones with them to school. Such items will be confiscated and returned at the end of the day.

We hold 2 parents evenings each academic year where you are able to discuss your child’s behaviour and progress in depth with your child’s class teacher. Meetings with your child’s class teacher or other members of staff outside of these times can be arranged if you come to reception and request one. Meetings are not guaranteed to take place on the same day.

Order and payment is done through Parentmail. You can download the IRIS Parentmail app through your app store. Orders need to be completed on the Sunday night ready for the week commencing. If meals are not ordered in time, it cannot be guaranteed that they will get the meal they want.

Please contact the pastoral team via 0114 244 1842 to make the team aware of any changes to your child’s health or new medical conditions. A care plan will be completed and we can ensure your child is receiving appropriate care in school. If your child requires medication throughout the day, this can be done by trained staff within school.

Consent and payment for trips is taken through Parentmail. You can download the IRIS Parentmail app through your app store. If consent is not provided, staff will ring to check if it is given. If consent is not given for the trip, your child is still expected to be in school and they will go into a different class.