Good levels of attendance are important for academic progress and personal development. Children with irregular attendance can feel unsettled from school. We understand that sometimes there are reasons for absence. We hope the following information will help.
Parents/Carers must notify school by telephone, letter or in person each morning of the absence giving details of the illness and the likely date of return by 9.15am please. We require advance notice of any appointments during school time. An appointment card/letter from the hospital, doctors or dentist will need to be shown to the Office Staff before permission is given to authorise an absence for a medical appointment.
Children are not allowed to leave school during the school day unless clear information is given by the parent/carer regarding who is collecting the child and when. The person collecting the child will be asked to sign them in and out from school.
Parents may request leave of absence for days of religious observance related to the family religion e.g. Eid. If you are likely to do this you must inform the school and give as much notice as possible of the intended leave.
Returning to school after illness.
Parents need to make the decision about a child’s level of fitness to return to school. Problems can occur when a child returns to school too soon and is not able to cope with a full day. If children are sick and/or have diarrhoea they should not return to school until 48 hours after the last bout.
Late for school.
Any child arriving at school after 9am must enter school by the main office. A child arriving between 9am and 9.20am will receive a ‘L’ mark on the register. A child arriving after 9.20am will receive a ‘U’ mark on the register. This mark will affect the attendance level of the child and will count as one missed school session. The parents of children who are late on a regular basis will be contacted. Some children do walk to and from school alone; this means it is vitally important to know from parents/carers should their child be ill or late for school.
Requesting permission for absence.
As directed by the Government, absences during term time will only be authorised if permission has been given by the Headteacher. Permission is only granted in exceptional circumstances. To request a term time leaven absence, please collect an ‘Exceptional Term Time Leave’ form from the School Office.
You will be notified in writing of the decision. In making a decision previous requests for absence and current levels of attendance will be taken into account.
You can be fined (penalty notice) for taking your child on holiday during term time without the School’s permission.
Here to Help.
If there are any family circumstances that are causing you difficulty getting your child into school, please come and speak to us.
We work closely with outside agencies such as Multi-Agency Support Team (MAST), if your child’s attendance becomes a concern we will work with these agencies for the benefit of your child.
We do realise there are certain circumstances that will result in your child being late for school on rare occasions e.g. a sibling has been born overnight. Do remember we would rather your child be late for school than miss a full day, so please get your child into school as soon as possible.
Full details of our attendance policy can be found here
What do our children think of attendance?
“Good attendance is important as it helps you get the best grades you can” Y6 child
“We should come to school so we can learn more and get a good job” Y5 child
“Coming to school every day helps you learn new things” Y6 child