Attendance and Late/Absence Procedures

Attendance

We actively encourage good attendance at school in order for children to maximise their learning potential. Lessons are planned in sequence and build upon the skills learnt previously, therefore, if children miss lessons, then they will be at a disadvantage.

Our school target is for everyone to achieve at least 96% attendance. In order to reward children with good attendance, each Monday a report is produced to show which class has the highest attendance for the previous week.  This gives them the chance to win the attendance cup which they then get to keep for a week in their classroom.  There is also a draw for children who have achieved 96% attendance for the term.  A child from each year group will be randomly selected to win a prize culminating in a Grand Prize for the winning child who has achieved 96% attendance for the whole school year.

Absence/Holiday Requests

We appreciate that there are problems with the taking of family holidays. Children with unauthorised absences of 10 sessions (5 days) or more during a 10-school week period whether for holiday or other reasons is now likely to result in a referral to Pupil Entitlement: Investigation, unless approval has been granted under exceptional circumstances.

Late arrivals

Late arrivals are disruptive, not only to your child’s own education, but also to the education of other students. Additionally, the teacher has to spend time recapping on what your child has missed. If your child is going to be late for school, please make sure you have called the office team to let them know. On arrival you must accompany your child to the school office as they will need to be signed in. You will be asked to give a reason for your child’s late arrival unless you have already supplied the office with that information.

What to do if your child is ill

Naturally, there are occasions when children are unwell and need to have time off school. If your child is absent due to illness, please phone the office on 01243 825871 by 9.00am on the first day of absence and please send a letter in with your child on return.  If you are unable to speak to a member of the office staff please leave a message on the absence line. If we do not have a reason for an absence it will be recorded as unauthorised.