Home • Attendance and Absences

Attendance and Absences

Attendance

Times for our school day.

Children arrive at school for 8.45. Punctuality is vital as we start the day with early morning work – a range of tasks that includes keeping up with missed learning due to absence,  opportunities for practising and applying knowledge and skills learnt previously.

Lessons start promptly at 9am, if children are not in class by then they will miss vital learning that stops them accessing other activities effectively that day or during the rest of the week. If your child is half an hour late each day this is the equivalent of missing over three weeks of school.

If you are struggling to get to school on time please do contact us for help.

Our school day finished at 3.15. Pick up takes place for the playgrounds around school. We will not let a child go home with someone other than parents or named adults unless we have received confirmation for parents or carers. If you child attend a club, they will need collecting at 4.30.

Late pupils

alarm-clipart-4c9AzrgcEIf a child arrives after the register has been taken, at 8.50am, then they are officially late and this is recorded as such in the register. Pupils who arrive after 9:00 am must go to the school office to inform staff that they are in school. This allows us to update the register to meet fire regulations and to provide the kitchen with the correct dinner numbers. Any parent bringing their child in late will not be able to see the class teacher. Any messages for the teacher will need to be given to a member of the office staff.

If parents know that their child is going to be late then it is important to let us know as soon as possible. If a child arrives at school after 10:00 am, without prior notice, we cannot guarantee that a school meal will be prepared for them.

Absences

Informing school

If a child is unable to attend school parents are asked to inform us of the nature of the reason for absence. This can be done by either contacting the school on or before the day of the absence, or by sending a note into school when the child returns. It is important that school is informed of the reason for absence so that we can complete government statistical returns and answer questions raised by Educational Welfare Officers on their termly visits.

Holidays during term time

Parents have a legal duty to ensure that children of compulsory school age attend on a regular and full-time basis, and should avoid booking family holidays during term time (“Guidance on applying the Education Pupil Registration Regulations – Oct 2007”).  If this is absolutely unavoidable they should arrange to complete a “Leave of Absence Request Form”  (available from the school office, or to download above) at least two weeks in advance of the period for which leave is to be requested.  Schools may only agree absence in exceptional circumstances (see Amendments to Education (Pupil Registration) Regulations 2006 – Sept 2013).

Holidays which are taken for the following reasons will not be authorised:

• availability of cheap holidays;
• availability of the desired accommodation;
• poor weather experienced in school holiday periods;
• overlap with beginning or end of term.