Poverty Proofing

Cost of the School Day

We are committed to ensuring that every child at Westfield Nursery and Primary School has equal access to all opportunities available to them, regardless of financial position. 

It is important that every family is aware of the support that our school can provide and therefore this section of the website provides details of some of the support available.

In addition, our school receives Pupil Premium Funding to help close the poverty-related attainment gap. Our Pupil Premium allocation is based on the number of pupils claiming free school meals and clothing grants, £1385 per pupil- we encourage you to claim the benefits available to you as this will ensure the school receives the correct amount of Pupil Premium and enable us to provide additional support to benefit individual pupils

Westfield Nursery and Primary School - Poverty Proofing Policy

School Clothing

• An electronic link to Free School meals and clothing grant will be sent out to parents and this will be included on out termly newsletters. 

          https://emsonline.cumbria.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE 

• Office staff will help anyone who may need assistance completing forms
• We will positively promote the wearing of the school uniform to create school identity. In addition this helps prevent 'competition' among pupils for the latest designer clothing/ footwear.
• We have school branded uniform available to purchase however pupils are allowed to wear plain unbranded uniform provided it matches the school colours. This can be found on the School uniform section under parents on the website. 
• We provide the first PE T-shirt free to all children who start our school regardless of what year group they start in
• We have a 'pre-loved shop' which is run by our POW group. Parents are welcome to contact POW directly or we have numerous events across the academic year where it is sold for a small donation

Food and Snacks:

• An electronic link to Free School meals and clothing grant will be sent out to parents and this will be included on out termly newsletters. 
  https://emsonline.cumbria.gov.uk/CitizenPortal_LIVE 
• Office staff will offer to help anyone who may need assistance completing the forms.
• Fruit / toast will be available for any child who complains of feeling hungry or may not have a snack.
• Fruit is provided for EYFS/ KS1 children during morning break
• If a child’s parents have not booked a lunch on ParentPay and they do not have a packed lunch we will always provide a school lunch.
• If a child regularly does not have lunch booked and paid for we will contact the family to discuss and cover the costs of lunch for an agreed period.
• We will provide cups and/or bottles for water for those children who may not be able to bring one from home.
• Breakfast club is provided free for all children however this must be booked the week before

In the classroom:

• We will provide stationery and other essentials in the classroom which pupils can use at any time

Out of school learning:

• All staff must bear in mind when setting out of school tasks/homework that not all children will have access to computer, tablet or the internet.
• All staff must bear in mind when setting out of school tasks that not all children will have access to resources such as arts and crafts, folders etc. Staff should ensure that all children are given or offered the resources they need to complete a task.
• To encourage and promote reading we have a library in the foyer and in the Gingerbread house that all children can access during breaktimes.  

Charity, Special events and Fundraising:

• We will keep ‘dressing up’ days to a minimum and consider carefully the theme to ensure no additional cost to parents. These days will always be donation only and no one will be excluded from taking part if they do not have a donation.
• Any ‘bake sales’ will be spread out across the year to avoid asking for money too often.

School Trips and Activities:

• Where a trip or activity does have a cost attached we will ask parents for a ‘donation’ towards the cost which will be discounted and the school will always part fund each pupil
• We will always give parents as much notice as we can of activities and trips to allow time to save and pay.
• We will always negotiate with families who may be facing financial difficulties a payment plan 
• We will not operate a first come, with payment, first serve policy for any trip or event.
• We will not read out names of children who have not paid. If necessary the office staff will communicate directly with parents