If you need to notify us of an absence due to illness, please contact the School Office at 020 8883 0608 or fill out the form provided below. 

Parents should notify the school of any medical issues relating to their child on admission to the school, including details of any medication. Children with a long-term medical condition will need to complete a Medical Care Plan (MCP) and email it to the school office. 

Please read our Medical Needs Policy for further information.

We have qualified first-aiders (list below) on site at all times who will administer first aid for minor accidents. Parents are contacted when any serious accidents happen or if a child sustains a head injury. For this reason, it is imperative that you ensure we have a current phone number for home and work as well as the number of a close friend or relative who can be reached in case of an emergency.  Please ensure the school is updated if there are any changes in this respect. 

List of First Aid Qualified Staff

Leonie Gosling-Brown

Therapis Georgiou

Gail Roose

Mitchell Browning 

Margret Soful-Arslan

Seraphina Coffman

Pinar Parlayan

Nia Harding-Rickards

Beata Potoniec

Pinar Dalkiran

List of Paediatric First Aid Qualified Staff

Leonie Gosling-Brown

Seraphina Coffman

Pinar Parlayan

Nia Harding-Rickards

Beata Potoniec

Pinar Dalkiran

 

Please read our Medical Needs Policy and our Health and Safety Policy for further information.

Please note that we are bound by the Local Authority regulations which seek to exclude any drugs from school premises unless absolutely necessary. This means that any antibiotics taken three times a day should be administered before school, at the end of the school day and at bedtime.

Should a child have to take antibiotics four times a day or have other medication during the school day as specifically instructed by the GP, we are happy to administer this medicine. However, before we do so, parents must provide consent and complete the Administering Medicine form. Medication should be provided in the original packaging giving clear administering instructions.

The School's Responsibility

Other medication will not be administered in school (excepting crisis management medication, such as Epipen to combat anaphylactic shock, or upon instructions from the doctor). 

As a general rule, children who are unwell should not be sent to school. Any child with a stomach-related 'bug', for example diarrhoea or vomiting, should not attend school for at least two days (48 hours) after the cessation of vomiting and/or diarrhoea.

Please note, should your child continue to be ill, then it is after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea that the 48-hour rule will begin.  If a child is returned earlier, you will be asked to return to collect your child.

For medical absences, please complete the absence request form.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy

The role of the Educational Psychologist

 

SMARTPHONE FREE CHILDHOOD – Webpage

This is a parent-led initiative at Coldfall Primary School that is supported by the school.

 Supporting Our Children's Wellbeing Together

 At Coldfall, we believe in fostering a childhood free from the pressures and risks associated with smartphones and social media. 

 In a powerful display of our school community coming together, so far over 170 parents have signed a pact pledging not to give their children smartphones before the age of 14 and to delay access to social media until 16.

 This initiative, part of the national Smartphone Free Childhood movement, is designed to ensure children can grow, play, and develop without the negative effects of digital distractions.

Coldfall Primary School is proud to be a Smartphone-Free School

Coldfall Primary School is smartphone-free. As part of our policy initiative, students in Years 5 and 6 will not be permitted to bring smartphones to school. We believe this approach will support parents who wish to delay the purchase of such devices and will help reinforce a consistent and unified message between home and school. In addition, we do request that parents and family members do not use their mobile phones on the school playground at drop off and pick up. This is to allow parents to be present for their children at two of thew most important parts of the school day.

Exceptions to this policy will be made only for students who require a smartphone for medical reasons, such as managing diabetes. Non-smart mobile phones (commonly referred to as "brick phones") may be allowed for years 5 and 6 children, if they are walking to and from school unaccompanied, and with prior approval from the School. We appreciate your support in promoting a focused and healthy learning environment for all our pupils.

Why Delay Smartphones and Social Media?

 More and more scientific research is backing up parental experience to show that early smartphone and social media exposure can be harmful to children. Some of the biggest concerns include:

• Mental Health Impact – Studies show that children who spend more time on social media are twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
• Addictive Nature – Social media apps are designed to be highly addictive, with children spending an average of 4 hours per day on their phones by age 12.
• Exposure to Harmful Content – Research shows that 40% of children are exposed to inappropriate content within a week of joining social media.
• Reduced Sleep and Focus – Screen time before bed significantly reduces sleep quality, with studies linking smartphone use to an increase in attention difficulties.
• Cyberbullying – Over 60% of teenagers report experiencing cyberbullying, with younger children being particularly vulnerable.

There are many great sources of information on the challenges that come from Smartphones and Social Media. Here are a few:

• An excellent 12 minute video from Papaya Parenting
• A half hour summary of the leading book on the subject, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 
• An excellent and entertaining documentary called “Swiped” on Channel4
• A five minute impassioned plea from Hugh Grant (yes, THE Hugh Grant!)

 A Community Effort to Reduce Social Pressure 

One of the biggest challenges parents face is peer pressure – both for themselves and their children. Many parents feel forced to give their child a smartphone simply because “everyone else has one.” The Parent Pact at Coldfall Primary School helps remove this pressure by creating a unified community approach.

 Today, 94% of primary school parents think smartphones are harmful. Yet 90% of children have smartphones by year 7. This happens because the social pressure becomes unbearable once the majority of children have smartphones in a class.

 The Parent Pact aims to break this cycle by enabling parents to socially coordinate and to have the confidence that their child won’t be socially excluded if they don’t have a smartphone.

 We’re not anti-tech, we’re pro-childhood

 We recognise that technology has immense benefits, and young people should be able to enjoy the opportunities it creates – when they’re ready and when it’s safe to do so.

 But childhood is precious and fleeting. All children should have the opportunity to learn, develop and grow free from the addictive-by-design algorithms and age-inappropriate content of social media and smartphones.

 The Smartphone Free Childhood Movement recommends that if parents want to give their child a phone, that they give their child a simple phone instead of a smartphone until the end of Year 9 (at the earliest). That means you can keep in touch when they’re out and about using calls and texts, without any of the harms associated with smartphones and social media.

 When children want to use the internet, we recommend that they do so on a shared family computer, which could even have WhatsApp on it if you feel comfortable with that. This way they can get acquainted with the digital world and stay connected to their friends without the temptation of having it in their pocket 24/7.

 For a list of alternatives to smartphones, see here.

  Why do I need to do this now? Can’t I wait?

 We recognise that for parents and carers of children in younger years that this challenge may feel a long way off. However, it is far easier to engage with this topic before it becomes an issue. As children start to get smartphones in the later years of primary school, it is much, much harder to socially coordinate. We therefore encourage all new parents to sign this pact so that it is not something that you have to worry about during your time at Coldfall.

PLEASE SIGN THE PARENT PACT: https://parentpact.smartphonefreechildhood.co.uk

Smartphone free Childhood resources for parents: https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/resources-for-parents