Our school day meets the expectation of the DfE’s minimum school week guidance (32.5 hours per school week), with children expected in school every day from 8.55am until 3:30pm.
Children are very welcome from 8:45am, with classroom doors opening at this time.
Break Times and Lunch Times at RJS
Play is essential for all children to learn, grow and develop as individuals. Play promotes:
- mental and physical wellbeing
- effective communication skills
- empathy and understanding towards others
- reflection for learners to think about their feelings and experiences
- an understanding about boundaries and rules, such as what is right and wrong and how to create fair games
- children managing the excitement of success and disappointment of losing games
Our aims for free play at Ranvilles Junior School:
- Engage children in structured play
- Encourage daily physical activity
- Provide a range of resources and equipment to encourage free play
- Offer a wide range of options to include quiet play
- Support children who find free time difficult and require more structure
- Promoting and supporting children to develop positive friendship groups
- Provide leadership opportunities for children in year 6
Ranvilles’ Playground Zones
To achieve our aims, we have created a number of zones in our school grounds. Children are allowed to choose and move freely between the vast majority of the zones and each zone has an adult supervising and supporting the children’s play within it. On occasions, a child may be assigned to a particular zone in order for a key adult to support them with their play.
Zones 1 and 2: Basketball and Netball
- Available every day to all year groups
- Children play in small groups
- Supports children to develop as Responsible Teammates and Talented Contributors
- Increase children’s agility, strength and stamina
- Develop sporting skills of shooting, passing and evading defenders
- Improve the balance and co-ordination of children
- Year 6 Sports Leaders manage the resources and can referee the games
Zones 3: Scooter Zone
- Each year group has a day allocated to the scooters:
- Monday: Year 3
- Tuesday: Year 4
- Wednesday: Year 5
- Thursday: Year 6
- Friday: Mixed Play
- Children are required to wear a helmet while using the scooters and can choose whether they wish to wear the knee pads / elbow pads.
- Parents and carers must sign a permission slip before children can use the scooters – available at the office.
Zones 4, 5, 6 and 7: the Quiet Zones and Team Games Zones
- Zones are available both on the playground and school field
- Gives the opportunity for quiet play
- Outdoor classrooms and reading huts provide children a space
- Gives children the chance to pursue their own interests, such as drawing and colouring, reading or playing with Lego
- Space to promote team games
- Adventure Play apparatus also available for children to use on the playground and the school field
Zones 8 and 9: Football Pitches
- Available every day to all year groups when the field is open
- Children play in year groups – each year group will play either at break time or lunch time on a rota basis
- Supports all children to develop as Responsible Teammates and Talented Contributors
- Increase children’s agility, co-ordination and stamina
- Supports the PE curriculum in developing skills of shooting, passing and teamwork
- Improve children’s aerobic capacity and cardiovascular health
- Can enhance self-esteem and self-belief
- Refereed by our staff team or the Year 6 Sports Leaders
In order to maintain the variety of activities offered, we hope to keep our field open as much as possible. We want the children to enjoy play in all seasons. The drainage is good but it can be damp or wet from rain or dew, particularly in the winter months. Play occasionally does involve children getting muddy – parents and carers must be prepared for this on occasion. If parents and carers do not wish for their child to play on the field when it is likely to be muddy, we request that they please do advise their child of this. At certain times of the year, we may also request that children have a change in footwear to ensure the school building remains clear of mud. When this change takes place, children will only be permitted to use the field with a change of footwear.
Zone 11: Library
- Open every day at break time for all year groups – children’s choice to come to the library
- Mrs Cochrane and the Year 6 Librarians will supervise and support children in changing their books and choosing books of interest
- Gives the opportunity for children to enjoy reading for pleasure
- Children can sign-up to produce an informative powerpoint presentation in the Computer Suite, which will be shared in assembly
- A quiet, calm environment for all children
- Allows the chance for learners to change their books every day