New Parents Key Information
We are very pleased to welcome you and your child to Garfield Primary School. Please see below for some key information that may help you with the move to our school:
School Tours
If you would like to visit the school for a tour, please email admissions@garfield.merton.sch.uk or call 0208 540 1053 to arrange.
School Admissions Form
Before your child starts with us, you'll be asked to complete a school admissions form. This will provide us with key information, such as contact details, medical issues, dietary requirements etc.
School Uniform
Please find our school uniform requirements here: School Uniform List. We are proud of our uniform at Garfield and all children are expected to wear it.
Please clearly label all items of clothing with your child's name. Your child should also bring their own water bottle labelled with their name.
Please note, the school runs monthly second-hand uniform sales during term time and you can also request second-hand uniform via the office, 0208 540 1053.
Reporting a child's absence
If your child is going to be absent, please notify us as soon as possible by emailing attendance@garfield.merton.sch.uk , by reporting via Quick Links on the home page or by calling 020 8540 1053 and selecting option 1.
Breakfast and After School Club
We are very lucky to run our own in-house breakfast and after school club. This means we've not had to operate any waiting lists. Bookings are made online via MCAS (see School Payment section below). Breakfast club must be booked and paid for 1 day in advance and after school club must be booked and paid for by midday on the actual day.
Our breakfast and after school club is available to children in Nursery to Year 6.
Settling in: To ensure a smooth transition, we typically require children to complete a couple of settling-in days at school before they attend these sessions. If this is not possible, please contact Sarah Parker, School Business Manager to discuss on 0208 540 1053.
Nursery requirements: Nursery children joining our Extended Schools provision must be fully independent. If your child requires specific support, please contact our Senco, Gemma Vokins, to discuss what reasonable adjustments could be made to support their attendance.
MCAS login details will be provided to new parents on their second day of school.
For more information, please see here.
School Communication
At Garfield, we use a system called MCAS (MyChildAtSchool) to stay in touch with you. All school letters, announcements, and our newsletter are sent through MCAS. It is therefore very important that you have an active account, so that you don't miss any updates.
How to get started:
Within a couple of days of your child starting with us, you will receive an automatic registration notification that you have been registered by Garfield Primary school with a link to follow to register.
Simply click the link in that message to set up your account.
If you haven't received your link after a few days, please first check your spam or contact the school office to verify your details.
Please note that MCAS is fully GDPR compliant.
Ways for you to Communicate with the School
We have several ways for you to get in touch with us, depending on the nature of your query:
- School office
Email: office@garfield.merton.sch.uk / Tel: 0208 540 1053
Use for: Routine enquiries, notifying us of absences or urgent messages
- Class Teacher:
Email: you will be provided with your class teacher's direct email address when your child starts.
Use for: Questions or concerns regarding your child's educational needs or classroom experience.
Please note: Teachers cannot check emails while teaching. They aim to respond within 48 hours (Monday-Friday) although this may occasionally take longer during busy periods.
- Safeguarding or Confidential Issues
Email: school@garfield.merton.sch.uk
Use for: Sensitive, confidential matters or anything relating to child protection and safeguarding.
School Payments
Garfield Primary School is a cashless school and we do NOT accept cash or cheques. We ask parents instead to use MCAS for all payments.
You will be provided with full details along with a username/ password within a couple of days of your child starting with us.
Note, we accept payment for our wraparound care, 30-hour payments and for teacher-led clubs via childcare vouchers, Tax Free Childcare and Childcare Grant Payment Service. Please email finance@garfield.merton.sch.uk or call the office 0208 540 1053 to discuss further.
School Dinners
School meals are free for all primary school children from Reception to year 6. Unfortunately, this does not apply to our nursery so 30hr-nursery children need to pay for their school dinners in advance via MCAS. These currently cost £2.98/day but are expected to be around £3.10 from September 2026 (TBC). Nursery AM and PM children must have their lunch at home. Information on school dinners can be found here.
If your child has any dietary requirements or food allergies, you will be able to tell us about these when you complete the school admissions form.
If you ticked the allergy box, please list all allergies and provide the school office with medical evidence. Please note, if your child has a food allergy, you will be asked to complete a medical diet form and your child will not be able to have school dinners until their medical diet has been approved.
Don't worry if you don't have your MCAS login details for the first day of term. Your child will still be able to enjoy a school meal. You will just need to log in and the payment by Monday 7th September 2026 once your account is up and running. Payment is then expected to be made in advance each week.
Packed Lunch Guidelines
Children not having school meals can bring a packed lunch from home (this does not apply to our nursery am and pm children who do not have lunch in school).
- Healthy Eating: Packed lunches should be nutritious. Please do not include sweets or fizzy drinks. You may find this NHS Guidance useful.
- Nut Allergies (Strict Policy): Garfield is a nut-free school. Because we have children with severe allergies, please check ingredients carefully. Nut products (including peanut butter and Nutella) are not permitted and will be removed if found.
- Hot Food: Please note that we cannot warm up or microwave food from home.
- Safety: NHS guidance suggests that certain foods should be sliced for children up to the age of 5 to reduce the chances of choking. For more information, please refer to this How to Prepare Food Safely.
School Milk
All early years pupils (other than those who have stated a milk intolerance) are offered 1 carton of milk every day at Garfield, up until they turn 5 years old. At this point you can opt in to pay for milk for your child if you still wish them to have it.
The milk is not provided by the school, but is a free government initiative and is supplied to us by a company called Cool Milk. More information can be found on their website https://www.coolmilk.com/. If you register with them before your child turns 5, they will send you an email reminder around your child's 5th birthday to check whether you'd like to pay for milk after this point.
Snacks
There is no need to provide any snacks. Children are provided with free fruit or veg at school.
Water Bottles
All children should bring their own labelled water bottle (containing only water, no squash or juice) each day.
Google Classroom (Year 1 to Year 6)
All our children have Google Classroom logins and you will be issued with these after your child starts. In the unfortunate event that we experience another lockdown, all our learning will move online using the google classroom platform.
Nursery and Reception children
Parents of Early Years children (nursery and reception) will be sent a Tapesty consent form before they start. You should receive login details automatically the day after your child has started at Garfield. This is used as our online learning journal and through this you will be able to view your child’s observations, photographs and videos.
Toilet Training
We do expect children starting our nursery to be toilet trained before they start although we do understand that accidents may sometimes occur. Please ensure you send in some spare underwear, clothes and shoes in a named plastic carrier bag which we can keep on their pegs, or inside their own bags. Please also provide some nappy bags for any wet clothes and some wipes for staff to use.