If your child is unable to come to school
ALL Parents/Carers should contact the school on the first day of any absence with an explanation and the school will then decide whether
or not the absence will be authorised.
All absences will be recorded as either authorised or unauthorised. Should an explanation for an absence not be received or should the explanation be deemed unsatisfactory then that absence will be recorded as unauthorised.
Pupil registration requirements - There are four broad classifications in attendance registers:
Parents/Carers should be aware that if your child is absent regardless of the reason and whether or not it is authorised or unauthorised it will affect their overall school attendance (e.g. if your child is absent with a medical or hospital appointment and have not come into school to be registered then this will be an authorised absence but will reduce your child's attendance)
If you have any queries regarding this or anything else to do with attendance please contact the school office.
Leave of absence or Holidays in Term Time
In order for children to achieve their full potential, it is essential that they attend school regularly. The expectation is that children will attend for at least 95.6% of the time, taking into account illness (this is the equivalent of having 10 days absence in total over the year). If a child’s attendance becomes a concern we will inform parents/carers and meet with them to try and resolve the situation. However, if progress is not made, the Governors will be informed and the process may become official.
Leave of absence or holidays in term time will NOT be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances in line with the regulations issued by the Department for Education.
If parents/carers still decide to take their child out of school, this could lead to the issuing of a fixed penalty notice of £60 per child per parent/carer which increases to £120 if not paid within the first 21 days.
ALL late children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Their names will be written into the ‘Late Book’ and the register will be marked accordingly. We understand that the school mornings can be hectic, but when your child is late for school they are missing out on vital parts of their education. If your child arrives 30 minutes after the register has been taken, they will have an "unauthorised" late mark - this is the same as an "unauthorised absence".
We will be recording late arrivals and parents will be asked to come in and discuss this if their child is persistently late for school.
If your child is late it can lead to missed learning, an unsettled day and disrupts the learning of all the other children too.
Being late to school can have a considerable impact over the whole school year. The table below shows you just how much time can be missed over a year just by being 5 minutes late to school every day:
| 5 minutes late every day = 3 days of school lost a year |
| 10 minutes late every day = 6.5 days of school lost a year |
| 15 minutes late every day = 10 days of school lost a year |
| 20 minutes late every day = 13 days of school lost a year |
| 30 minutes late every day = 19 days of school lost a year |
We know that there are many parents and children who work hard to ensure that their children do come to school on time and always call to let us know if their child is ill.
Thank-you for your support in helping to raise our school attendance. Children only have one chance in school and every second counts.
If you would like any support or advice on attendance then please contact the school and we will do our best to support or signpost you to someone who can help.