Attendance
Senior Leader Responsible
Mrs Howe is the senior leader with overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance.
What we learned from lockdown...
Attending school makes a significant difference to a child's education.
Learning is a progressive activity; each day’s lessons build upon those of the previous day(s).
Reading the material and completing learning independently does not compensate for direct interaction with a teacher.
Many classes use discussions, demonstrations, experiments and participation as part of daily learning activities, these cannot be made up by those who are absent.
Timings
School gates open at 8.35am.
All children should be in school by 8.45am.
School ends at 3:05pm.
Holidays
Mrs Howe cannot authorise holidays during term time.
A ‘Leave of Absence’ form, which is available from the school office or below, must be completed for any request for time out of school, whether it be that exceptional circumstances apply or your child is taking a music or dance examination and requires time off for that.
Penalty notices may be issued if parents choose to remove children from school without approval.
Reasonable Absences
It is the legal responsibility of parents to ensure their children attend school continuously. Legislation requires schools to keep a register of attendance and to record the reasons for a child’s absence, such as sickness, medical or dental appointments. A school can authorise such absences. However, the school cannot authorise all absences.
An absence may be unauthorised if no communication is received from parents. Parents should telephone the school before 9am on the first day of the child’s absence, stating the reason. We expect a note of explanation if the child returns after a period of absence that has not been notified. To avoid spreading illness, please consult the NHS guidance for further information.
As you would imagine, your child’s attendance is rigorously tracked. If your child’s attendance is a concern, a member of staff will communicate with you, either in writing or by a phone call.
As an example, Andrew is currently in Year 2. His attendance at the end of the school year is 90% - this is the equivalent to a half-day every week or, put another way, is the equivalent to Andrew missing four weeks of education in a school year. Just think about the potential effect this could have on his education.
Reasonable explanations includes:
Medical, sickness, dental reasons
Receiving part-time/temporary education at an off unit site
Educational visit (i.e. with the school)
Leave of absence due to exceptional circumstances granted by the Headteacher
Excluded for fixed, indefinite or permanent period from school.
Any child who arrives late at school, after the registers have been closed, will be recorded as having an unauthorised absence with the exception of the explanations above if this is not a regular occurrence.
Please inform us as soon as possible if you wish your child to leave early for a medical appointment or family emergency. We would expect him/her to be collected from school in these circumstances.
Please note that we only release children in school time to a parent or guardian and with prior notification.