FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. How do I report a child’s absence?
A. Please call the school office in the first instance, giving the reason for your child’s absence and an indication of how long you think your child may be out of school. If your child needs time out of school for an appointment, please let the school office know and please provide a copy of an appointment letter or other evidence of the appointment.

Q. How much are school dinners?
A. School dinners are £2.56 per day for children in Nursery. Thanks to funding from the Mayor London, children in Reception through to Year 6 are entitled to have a school dinner free of charge. We don’t know how long this will go on for, but we have been advised it will be until the end of the current (2023-2024) school year. However, children in any year group may bring packed lunch to school if they prefer. If your child would like to switch from school dinners to packed lunch, or packed lunch to school dinners, you must notify the school office in writing. We politely ask that lunch choices are only changed each half term, and not mid-way through a half term.

Q. How do I pay for school dinners?
A. If and when school dinners become payable again, parents should pay for school dinners on the online payment system, ParentPay.

Q. What time is the school office open?
A. The school office is manned from 8.30am – 4.30pm every day.

Q. What do I do if I need to make an appointment with my child’s class teacher?
A. You may try to speak with your teacher at the beginning or end of each school day to make an appointment. Or, contact the school office by telephone, 020 8698 4173 or email, info@goodshepherd.lewisham.sch.uk.

Q. What do I do if I want to make an appointment with the Headteacher?
A. Contact the school office who will be happy to make an appointment for you.

Q. Do you offer wraparound club or activities outside of school hours?
A. No we don’t. We offer various After School Activities that take place after school, usually finishing at 4.15pm or 4.30pm. We are a signpost for Sugarplumz, a Before and After School Club who operate in the Church Hall. They drop off at our school in the morning and pick up from our school at the end of the day. Sugarplumz also provides a breakfast club in our school for children who attend our school. Further information can be obtained from Sugarplumz.

Q. What uniform does my child require?
A. School uniform is important to us at Good Shepherd and we expect all students to wear it. The full list of uniform is available on this website under ‘Uniform’. Some items may be purchased from the school office and these are listed, together with
price list. Any uniform purchased from school must be ordered and paid for on ParentPay.

Q. Where do I buy school uniform?
A. We sell some items in school, namely, ties, rucksacks, branded green cardigans and sweatshirts, Nursery sweatshirts, school baseball caps, ski hats, green tights, PE bags. Other items may be bought from department stores such as Marks & Spencer, school outfitters, large supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda. Contact the school office if you have any queries.

Q. Where will I find the school term and holiday dates?
A. These are on our website and are also regularly published in our weekly newsletter.

Q. Can I take my child out of school during term time for holidays?
A. Holidays taken during term time are never authorised by the Headteacher, and parents are reminded that it can be detrimental to a child to miss school as it can be very difficult to catch up. If you need to take your child out during term time, whatever the reason, please complete a ‘request for leave’ form at least two weeks in advance if possible. These forms may be requested from the school office and are also available to download from the website.

Q. How do I sign up to an after school club?
A. After school club timetables are circulated termly, with instructions on how to request spaces. Call the office if you have any queries.

Q. How can I contact the Governing Body?
A. The Chair of the Governing Body is George Odeleye and he may be contacted via the
school office.

Q. Where can I get duplicate copies of letters sent home?
A. You may request a copy from the school office, or download a duplicate from the school website, under ‘letters home’ in the ‘parents’ folder.

Q. How can I find out if you have places in your school?
A. Please contact the school office.