Attendance

As a school we place a very high priority on attendance at school. Daily attendance at school is a legal requirement. We ask that parents notify us by phone or e-mail if a child is to be absent and we ask for a reason to explain the absence. We need to be informed on a daily basis of continued absence.

Classroom doors open at 8.40am and close at 8.45am. The school day ends at 3.15pm.

Registers are sent to the office at 8.50am. The classroom doors are shut at 8.45am.  Arrival at school after 8.45 am is classified as 'late' and a child will need to be signed in at the main office.  

All reason for absence are recorded and reported to the school Attendance Officer.

Permission must be sought from the Headteacher for all planned periods of absence. An unacceptable level of absenteeism could result in legal action being taken by the authority. We strongly discourage holidays in term time and except in exceptional circumstances all absence will be unauthorised.

All request for holiday absence will be considered individually. It is the responsibility of the head teacher and governors to decide whether or not to authorise leave of absence. When making the decision the following factors will be considered:

• the amount of time requested
• age of the pupil
• the pupil’s general absence/attendance record
• proximity to SATs and public examinations
• length of the proposed leave
• pupil’s ability to catch up the work
• pupil’s educational needs
• general welfare of the pupil
• circumstances of the request
• purpose of the leave
• frequency of the activity, and
• when the request was made.

When requesting absence for a child from school, we ask parents to bear in mind that:

• there are only 40 teaching weeks in the school year; there are 12 weeks of holiday. 
• missing five days of learning every term of every year is the same as missing one whole school year
• whilst 95% attendance sounds good your child is missing one day of learning a month

We expect children to be in school and on time every day. We celebrate the class with the best punctuality and attendance each week in our Celebration Assembly. The class with the best attendance each week will be awarded The Golden Clock Award. This will be displayed in their classroom for the week. 

The benefits for children with good attendance and punctuality include: 

• Higher motivation to learn and attend school 

• More confidence in themselves and their learning 

• Greater chances to experience extra-curricular opportunities available to them at school 

• Positive self-esteem that comes with knowing they have achieved their best at school

 • The ability to make and maintain strong friendships 

Research shows that children with poor attendance are at a disadvantage later in life. They often: 

• find it harder to make and maintain friendships 

• are less likely to achieve good grades / qualifications 

• earn lower wages 

• have a higher chance of being unemployed

• have lower motivation and self-esteem and less confidence in school than their peers

So how can you help your child to improve their attendance? 

• Book family breaks and vacations during the school holidays and schedule all non-urgent medical appointments outside of school hours

• Set a consistent, regular bedtime and morning routine 

• Prepare clothes and pack school bags the night before 

• Don’t let your child stay home unless s/he is too unwell to attend school

• If your child seems anxious about attending school, talk to their class teacher 

• Develop ‘back-up plans’ for getting to school in case of an emergency in the morning. Call on a family member, a neighbour or another parent/ carer