Attendance and Punctuality
Excellent attendance at school is important to allow your child to fulfil their potential and for them to have the best possible start in life.
It is expected that pupils will have attendance rates of at least 95% (5% is 10 school days in an academic year). Our school target is 96%.
As a parent or carer, you have a legal requirement to ensure your child attends school on a regular basis. Therefore, you hold the responsibility to promote good attendance and punctuality.
We expect parents to communicate with us around absence. If your child is going to be absent from school, you must inform the office before 9am. Where no communication has been received, we consider absence to be a safeguarding matter and we will attempt to phone or email the first contact for the child.
PUNCTUALITY
Please support your child by being on time at the beginning and end of the school day.
Being on time for school promotes:
- A settled start. Calm and ready to learn
- Improved life chances
- Building lasting relationships
- Reaching their fullest potential
- Instilling great life skills
Did you know Lateness = Lost Learning
ABSENCE
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We do understand there are times when children will need to be absent from school for a number of reasons. As a result, we will only consider authorising absences in the following instances:
- For sickness or ill health
- For medical or dental appointments which fall during school hours (we would however encourage you to make appointments outside of school hours)
- For religious or cultural observances
- For a family emergency
- Medical: We are obliged by law to report all unauthorised or unexplained pupil absences, Therefore all absences must be accompanied by a written explanation or telephone call, as soon as possible. Where a child needs to be absent from school to attend hospital or the dentist etc. please notify school in advance and inform us whether the taking of a school meal will be affected.
- Leave of Absence: Parents who wish to apply for leave of absence for their child(ren) should complete the appropriate form, available below and from the school office. All applications will be carefully considered on their merits and it should be noted that there is no entitlement to leave of absence from school. In exceptional circumstances the Head Teacher may grant authorised leave of absence. Parents should note that national regulations were changed in September 2024 and it is no longer be possible to grant authorised absence for family holidays in term time. (See our booklet above: ‘Attendance Information for Parents’).
(ii) Accidents/Illness in School: In the event of an accident or illness whilst in school your child will be given immediate care and attention. In an emergency, parents will be informed at once and for this reason you are asked to complete a contact form when children start our school giving a home/work telephone number and the name of a relative or friend who could be contacted if you are unavailable. Please inform school of any changes in this information. (No child will ever be sent home unescorted during school hours).
Attendance Matters
It is vital that all children attend school for as many days as they can over a school year. We understand that children will get poorly and need to take time off when they are ill. We ask parents and carers to consider carefully when you should should keep your child off school. Please check the link below for guidance.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
We ask that you let us know by phoning the school office when your child will be absent from school.
If your child's absence from school is planned please complete a Leave of Absence Form which is available from the school office or can be downloaded
Guidance from Local Authority - Can I take my child on holiday during term time?
Factsheet - Penalty Notices to address poor attendance at school
PENALTY NOTICES
Under the requirements of Section 7 of the Education Act 1996, it is the duty of a parent to ensure that every child of compulsory school age receives efficient full-time education suitable to their age.
New legislation came into force on 19th August 2024 regarding the issue of Penalty Notices to address attendance concerns to commence, there will be a transitional period, but this new legislation will take effect for absences recorded from the start of the academic year commencing in September 2024.
Please click on the link below for more information