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and follow Jesus who says,
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
Lunchtime Policy
Legal Status: Non statutory
Version Date: September 2012
Last Review: September 2011
Next Review: September 2013
Responsible Person: Governing Body
S.M.S.As –
Lunchtime Preparations
At the beginning of each duty SMSA staff need to read the ‘Daily Information for
SMSA Staff’ book. This will inform them of daily news eg which children have
permission to be in school and the teacher responsible for them. Staff are also
requested to check the rota for their weekly duties and ensure they are in their
designated area. You must be ready to collect your class promptly at 11.45 or
12.15.
Eating Arrangements
Infants
SMSAs must ensure classes are collected promptly. They should be taken out into
the playground until the dinner hall is fully prepared.
Grace must always be said in the classrooms. Children must be encouraged to do
this in an acceptable way.
Packed lunch children collect their boxes from the trolley and line up behind those
having dinners. Class moves to the hall quietly in pairs and lines up for their lunch.
Good table manners are to be encouraged at all times.
On completing their meal, packed lunch children are to have their lunch box checked
by an SMSA before placing them on the trolley and going out to play. School dinner
children take their trays to the table, scrape off all leftovers and stack them. The new
intake will be closely supervised until they are able to do this unaided.
Juniors
Grace must always be said in the classrooms. All children, both school dinners and
packed lunches are to sit at the round tables.
All pupils go out and are called inside by an SMSA. The order of classes is rotated
on a daily basis.
Children collect their food, class by class. At the hatch children are encouraged to be
polite to the kitchen staff and to make sensible food choices. If they choose the food
they are expected to eat it.
Second helpings. Children should go to the hatch table by table in an orderly fashion
and must not eat while they are in the queue. On completion of meals they must
carefully stack their trays, mugs etc.
Packed lunches. These may be checked for contents as children tend to leave some
of their lunch to enjoy a longer playtime.
Children of all ages needing assistance must remember to raise their hands. This
usually indicates a spillage, please respond swiftly.
Poor Eaters
These pupils should be closely monitored;
a) Slow eaters
b) Those unable to use a knife and fork
c) Children who have made the wrong food choice (new intake should be told
what the food is until they have learned to recognise it).
d) If children dislike school food, this must be reported to the Head Teacher
who will inform the parents
e) Those who refuse to eat the food because their friends eat quickly and
have gone out to play
f) Nervous children who feel intimidated by the large number of children in
the hall
Try to discover the reason for their poor eating habits and encourage children to
overcome them if possible. All children should place uneaten food back in their
lunchbox and not in the bin so parents can monitor their eating.
Summer eating
Infants eat inside but Juniors may be allowed to eat outside at the discretion of the
Senior Management Team.
Infant lunch boxes are returned to the trolley, junior boxes are returned to the trolley /
shelf.
In the Playground.
New pupils will find the play area a little overwhelming. Look out for them and
encourage good natured children to take them into their circle of friends.
New Intake. Devise strategies which will encourage them to play with their own peer
group. Older siblings will soon tire of them and abandon them. The playground is a
huge unknown area if you are very small and new.
Apparatus. Please encourage children to play sensible games with the apparatus
and make them aware that it is their responsibility to replace it in the bag when they
have finished or to report if it is no longer in play – eg on the roof or over the fence.
Equipment is stored in the green shed and distribution is organised by the Zoneparc
Manager (Miss Ewa).
Behaviour Policy.
Children follow the THINK rules. Please refer to the behaviour policy for full details.
At lunchtime children should be observed for good behaviour. One child from each
class will be selected weekly to receive a certificate for good behaviour. These will
be presented at certificate assembly. The winning children will also be allowed to
participate in “Class of the Week” playtime. The names of these children are to be
given to the Deputy Head Teacher at the end of Monday lunchtime.
Points can be awarded to an individual or groups of children for good behaviour and
citizenship. They can be added to the ‘Class of the Week’ board. This applies to
outside as well as in the hall.
There is a designated “Time Out” area in the playground where children can be sent
for up to five minutes for inappropriate behaviour. Please report any incidences of
bad behaviour to the class teacher.
Stickers may be awarded to children for good behaviour. In Key Stage 2 children
may also receive raffle tickets.
Disputes. When children become physical with each other, do not attempt to split
them up unless absolutely necessary as you could get hurt. Send a sensible pupil for
help. DO NOT LEAVE THE PLAYGROUND TO BRING IN A DISRUPTIVE PUPIL
AS YOU ARE LEAVING YOUR PUPILS UNATTENDED – SEND FOR HELP.
When children are arguing and your opinion is sought do not start to shout, this will
not help. Try to get to the root of the problem and encourage them to sort it out for
themselves.
Children must not climb trees or fences. They must be kept away from the perimeter
of the play area at all times. You must patrol your area at all times, keeping your
allocated pupils under CONSTANT SUPERVISION.
All pupils must be aware from day one how to behave in the playground, where they
can play in the playground and where to line up. Work with the class teacher to
promote this objective. Pupils must be reminded of this at regular intervals.
SMSAs are to inform the class teacher of any incidents or disputes, which may have
occurred during lunchtime. Incidents are to be recorded in the class incident book.
Any child needing to go to the toilet should approach the relevant SMSA who will
hand out the appropriate toilet pass.
End of Playtime
The bell should be rung by the teacher on duty or one of the SMSAs at 1.15pm. Do
not shout at the children to line up, try to find other strategies such as award stickers,
weekly certificates etc. It is not your job to collect the apparatus. SHOUTING AT
THE CHILDEN IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
It is your responsibility to have a reasonably orderly line ready to lead off for the
afternoon session. Always stop, gather, stop and, if necessary, learn to walk
backwards so that the class is always kept together in close formation.
Nursery Playground
A bell will be rung by a member of the foundation team at 1.15 to signal the end of
playtime. At this point the children will be organised to proceed sensibly into class.
First Aid
First Aid must be administered wearing a disposable glove. DO NOT give large
swabs of cotton wool to pupils who are bleeding, tell them to hold it against the
wound and then move away. All swabs for cleaning wounds etc should be put into a
disposable bag. If a child receives a head injury they must be given a note to take
home to their parent/carer. If a child is seriously injured, stand by them and send for
help. NEVER MOVE THEM. Call on another SMSA to keep the group of inquisitive
children away that is bound to congregate.
Look out for habitual attention seekers of medical attention, they are often the loners
who just need you to find them someone to play with or a distraction.
First Aid should be undertaken on an agreed rota basis. A record should be kept of
children who require first aid in the school incident book and the class incident book.
Wet Playtimes
Infants and Juniors stay in their classrooms with crayons, paper and wet play games.
No scissors or sharp objects to be used during this period.
Packing up. You are advised to start packing up at 1.10pm as teachers return to their
classes at 1.15pm.
Under no circumstances are pupils allowed to run around in classrooms or project
areas.
Extremes of Temperature
Heatwave / severe cold spells. A decision will be made on how long children should
stay outside during these conditions and SMSAs will be informed. Juniors follow wet
play procedures. Infants stay in their classrooms with access to project areas in
small groups on a planned rota basis.
This procedure is for pupils’ protection and this should be made quite clear to them.
Zone Parc
Zoneparc is a playground improvement project developed by Nike, the DfES and
Youth Sport Trust. The project aims to tackle social exclusion and increase the
activity levels of young people. It will do this through introducing innovative break
time activities and playground management systems.
The Zoneparc programme is overseen by the PE Coordinator with the day to day
management falling to the Playground Manager.
Equipment
Bright, safe and durable equipment is provided for both traditional sports and
innovative games.
Supervision
Zoneparc players will help to run games in each area daily in accordance with
instructions from the Zoneparc manager. Children are expected to follow the
instructions of the zoneparc players and treat them with respect. SMSAs will be
expected to support these players by supervising each area and ensuring suitable
activities are taking part in each. One SMSA will be allocated to various zones of the
playground each day on a rota basis, with one responsible for first aid.
Final Note
Please ensure you are supervising in an appropriate manner e.g. spread out
and encouraging the children to participate in activities. The role should be
active and not passive.
I confirm that I have read the Lunchtime Policy 2012 and agree to abide by the
guidelines set out within it.
Name____________________________________
Signed___________________________