New Parents

Our school prospectus provides a helpful summary of life at the school and further information can be found in our booklet The High Beeches Curriculum.

The majority of our children enjoy a nutritious hot meal each day provided by our school caterers and we have amongst the highest take-up of school lunches in Hertfordshire. Find out why in our short film, Lunch at High Beeches (below).

Hertfordshire Family Centre Service video presentation (below).

Joining Reception in September 2023

The applications procedure for a place in Reception from September 2023 opened on 1 November 2022 and completed applications needed to be submitted by 15 January 2023 via the local authority's online portal. FOr information about further application rounds, please contact the local authority, Hertfordshire County Council.

We always enjoy welcoming prospective parents to our open mornings, which take place during the month of November and, sometimes, December. These provide an opportunity for parents to meet the Headteacher and Deputy Head, as well as representatives of the governing body. The sessions begin at 9:30am, usually lasting up to 90 minutes and including a presentation and a tour of the school by some of our older pupils. Parents of in-year admissions and those of late applicants for the September intake into Reception are invited to contact the school for more inforamtion and to arrange a visit where possible..

Starting School

As a school we recognise that the transition into full-time school can be a big step for both parents and children and we plan to make the process of settling in as positive and smooth as possible.

Once final allocations are made, we organise the children into two classes, striving to ensure there is a broad balance of gender, age and other characteristics, so that the children can benefit from a diverse experience in school, similar to that in real life. Where possible, we work closely with feeder settings to take account of friendship groups and learning needs based on their experience at nursery or pre-school. These class groupings are then reviewed year-on-year to consider if, at any point, the children's learning and social-emotional development would benefit from mixing up the classes as they progress from one year to another.

Parents are invited to an information evening, usually in mid June, where they can find out which class their child will be in and can learn about some of the practical arrangements for starting school and about the transition process. This usually includes a short stay-and-play session towards the end of June, for both parents and children, and two further visits in June/July where the children stay on their own. Sessions are held in small groups on a number of different days so that staff and pupils can start to get to know one another really well. Finally, the children have a phased start in September, building up from half-days only to whole days over the first week of term.