Arbor - when your child joins Oakfield, you'll be sent a welcome email inviting you to set up a password. Click here for more information on Arbor.

ClassDojo - we'll email you a code to register. Click here for more information on ClassDojo.

If you haven't received these emails, please speak to the school office. 

The primary place you can find updates and events (for individual classes and the whole school) is on ClassDojo. Click here for more information on how to access and use it.

We also post whole school dates and events on this website's Calendar.

The back gate (from Testwood Recreation Ground) and the side gate by Reception are open between 8.40am and 9am for children to be dropped off at school, and again between 3.05pm and 3.30pm for collection (3.15pm is the end of the school day). They remain locked outside of these times.

The main entrance on Sylvia Crescent is open all day during term-time. Please come to reception outside of drop-off and collection times. 

Parking is limited on site and is reserved for school staff only.

We will open the gates to the junior playground to allow parking during events such as Parents' Evening, school discos, etc.

If you park in Sylvia Crescent / The Redfords / Testwood Recreation Ground at drop-off and collection times, please do so responsibly and allow residents access to the roads and driveways. Unfortunately we do receive complaints from residents about inconsiderate parking now and again.

Oakfield use the Arbor system for ordering and paying for meals, and for requesting permission and payment for school trips. We are a cashless school.

Hot meals can be pre-ordered and paid for through Arbor. School meals are free to children in Year R, 1 and 2 (Key Stage 1), and for pupils in all year groups that are eligible for Free School Meals. You can check your balance and add funds via debit/credit card any time on Arbor.

Click here for more information on meals.

Click here for more information on trips and using Arbor.

For some events that require tickets, we will use other apps to facilitate payment and will send you the link in the event information.

The current menu is published on the School Meals & Sandwiches webpage.

We can give prescribed medicine to children during the school day, as per our Administering Medication policy available on our Policies page. Please speak to the office if you need us to do so.

The medication must be in-date, in the original packaging/container, with the pharmacist's instruction label attached.

Emergency medication such as asthma inhalers and Epi-pens can be kept at school.

If your child is unwell at school, we will telephone you to ask if we can administer paracetamol (Calpol) or an antihistamine (Certirizine) if we feel it would help. We won't give medication without consent from parents/guardians.

If your child requires antibiotics three times a day, please give them a dose before school, after school and at bedtime.

You can provide a list of trusted adults that you authorise to collect your child on Arbor.

If there is a last-minute change, they're going to a classmate's home for a playdate, or the adult isn't on your list of trusted people, please phone the school office on 023 8086 2530 or email admin@oakfield.academy.

Please notify us before 2.30pm on the day, otherwise we can't guarantee that the message will be read and be passed to the teacher on time for collection at 3.15pm. Please don't use ClassDojo to message the teacher during the school day, as they're unlikely to read it while they're teaching.

We only allow children from Year 5 and Year 6 to leave school without a responsible adult to accompany them, with express permission from parents/guardians.

Please email admin@oakfield.academy to confirm, so we can add your permission to their file and notify the class teacher.

If you arrange for your child to attend an After-School Club (either run by New Forest Childcare or an independent provider in the school hall), please let your child know they will need to go to the club at the end of the school day, as we have no record of which children have been registered for those classes and will allow them to walk home as usual. 

Please ensure your child knows what they should do if things go wrong (where they should go/who to call if you're not at home, they've forgotten their key, or you aren't at the agreed pick-up point, for example), as if they try to return to school via the back gate, it may be closed. If they have a mobile phone, you could add the school's number to their contacts (we'll answer until 3.30pm).

Each classroom has a lost property box for unnamed items. Children are encouraged to check through these boxes regularly to find their belongings.

If items are unclaimed for 1-2 weeks, they will be transferred to the Lost Property cupboard in the school reception area. Parents/guardians are welcome to look through this cupboard at the start and end of the school day.

At the end of term, we will either send out pictures of lost property on ClassDojo or put a table out on the school field for adults to look through lost items (weather permitting!)

If they're still unclaimed at the end of the term, belongings will either be donated to charity, added to our stock of emergency uniform (for accidents), or given to the Oakfield PTA to sell to raise funds for our school. 

You can help us prevent things ending up here by labelling all belongings (and ensuring labels are secure!). Biro will fade over time and with washing, and most lost jumpers/cardigans have illegible names previously written in Biro on the label. 

You may want to invest in a clothes labelling marker (around £3 each on Amazon), or a permanent marker.

Please ring the office on 023 8086 2530 as soon as you know you're not going to be at the school ready for collection at 3.15pm, so we can let your child and their teacher know. If you're able to, please arrange for another responsible adult to collect them instead. 

If you don't arrive by 3.20pm, the teacher will take your child to the school office. If we haven't received an update, the office staff will ring the primary guardians and any other trusted adults you've listed on Arbor in priority order to arrange the child's collection. Our office is manned until 3.30pm.

The back gate leading onto Testwood Recreation Ground will be shut promptly at 3.30pm. If you're expecting to arrive around or just after this time, please come to the school through the main entrance on Sylvia Crescent.

New Forest Childcare operate our Breakfast and After-School Clubs on site if you need childcare before or after the school day. More information is available here.

Independent providers also run classes and clubs after-school; more information here.

School staff also run some clubs for part of the academic year. Click here for more information.

Please telephone the school on 023 8086 2530 before 9am on the first day and every following day of your child's absence through illness. We have an answering machine so you can press 1 to leave a message at any time.

Please don't send messages on ClassDojo or email the office to report an absence, as we may not see the message before the register closes at 9.15am (at which point we'll call you to ask where your child is for safeguarding reasons).

The NHS website has guidance on whether your child should go to school or stay home, based on their symptoms, and how long they should stay at home for when they have a specific illness.

Please allow 48 hours from the last bout of sickness and diarrhoea to allow your child to recover fully and to avoid passing these illnesses onto other children and staff. This is in line with NHS guidance.

We all have 'one of those mornings' from time to time! Tiredness isn't an illness on its own, but fatigue can be a side-effect of a viral infection or another illness. 

If they are just tired without any other symptoms, they should come to school. If they don't, we will have to log it as an Unauthorised Absence.

If they're regularly feeling tired, it can have a major impact on their learning. It's important to look at the possible causes and promote healthy sleep habits, or to consult your GP if their fatigue is caused by an undiagnosed illness.

Click here for some guidance on healthy sleep from our local NHS 'Healthier Together' website.

We understand that the cost of holidays increases significantly outside of term-time (since all school staff have to pay extra too!). However Miss Bray cannot authorise holidays during term-time.

A ‘Leave of Absence’ form must be completed for any request for time out of school (printed copies are available in reception). Whether it be that exceptional circumstances apply (such as a funeral of a close family member), or if your child needs a morning/afternoon off to take a music or dance examination.

Penalty notices may be issued if parents choose to remove children from school without approval. More information is on the Attendance page.

Our gates are open between 8.45am and 9am for pupils to arrive, before the register is taken by the class teacher. If you arrive after 9am, please go to the school reception (via the main entrance on Sylvia Crescent as the back gate will be closed) and sign your child in on the iPad.

The register closes at 9.15am and arrivals after that time will be marked as an Unauthorised Absence (unless you've arrived late due to a medical appointment or other sufficient reason).

If a child hasn't arrived by 9.15am, office staff will call their primary guardians to find out where they are for safeguarding reasons.

If you know you're going to be late, please call the office before 9.15am on 023 8086 2530.

In an ideal world, we'd ask for all appointments to be made outside of school hours so that children don't miss out on learning... but GPs and hospitals don't allow you to choose times!

If the appointment time is in the morning and your child will be late to school, please let us know at least 24 hours in advance (or on Friday if the appointment is on Monday morning). Please also confirm whether they will have a packed lunch, or a school meal so we can order it for them (your choice on Arbor will be deleted if they're marked as absent).

If you need to collect your child during the school day, please tell the office when you'll be arriving, so we can notify the teacher. If there is sufficient time after the appointment, your child should return to school via reception to be signed in.

Please either pop into the office to let us know, give us a ring on 023 8086 2530, or send us an email at admin@oakfield.academy.

Occasionally, adverse weather conditions will force us to close the school for the safety of pupils and staff, and we have a robust action plan to aid in our decision-making.

We will send all parents/guardians a text message to confirm if the school is going to be closed early in the morning to give you as much notice as possible.

We'll post updates on our website and Facebook page. Additionally, Hampshire County Council's website provides an up-to-date list of any school closures.