Attendance

Every Day Counts

We aim for an environment which enables and encourages all members of the community to reach out for excellence. For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that they attend regularly. Your child should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

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With effect from 19th August 2024, amendments have been made to the Education Regulations governing school attendance.  The amendments make clear that headteachers must not grant leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Regular school attendance is vital to ensure that our children maximise the educational opportunities available.  School can no longer grant leave of absence for holidays during term time.  If you take your child on holiday during term time you risk getting a Penalty Notice fine.  Families taking holidays in term time have a significant impact on attendance figures.  Therefore, your co-operation in this matter is appreciated.

We monitor and offer support to our most vulnerable families to improve their attendance further.  During the past acdemic years we have provided support to families to maintain or increase their child's attendance.  

Attendance incentives include; Weekly Class Certificates;  Awards Evening; extra play

With your continued support we will continue to improve attendance and ask that you adhere to the following procedures:-

• Please contact school on the first day of absence.   There is a messaging service in place for you to leave a pupil absence message. If we do not receive a call from you the school will contact you as part of 'first day response'. Tel: 01744 678000
• Please send a letter addressed to your child's teacher when they return to school stating the reason for absence.
• Please make routine or non-urgent medical appointments after school or during school holidays.
• Please ensure your child arrives at school in time for registration. If your child arrives late this will generate a late mark and this also disturbs lessons which have already started.

in Autumn term 2023-24 term our whole school attendance was 94.6%. Y1-Y6 was  94.3%. Our school attendance target of 96%.  

Fixed Penalty Notices

With effect from 19^th August 2024, the school is unable to authorise any requests for absence relating to holidays in term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.

In order to have requests for a leave of absence considered, school expects parents to complete a leave of absence form, at least two weeks prior to the proposed start date of the leave of absence, providing the reason for the proposed absence and the dates during which the absence would be expected to occur.

If term-time leave is not granted, taking a pupil out of school will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and may result in sanctions, such as a Fixed Penalty Notice. An unauthorised holiday of 10 sessions (5 school days) or more, within a 10 school week period, will incur a Fixed Penalty Notice- please see Penalty Notice section above.

School cannot grant leaves of absence retrospectively; therefore, any absences that were not approved by school in advance will be marked as unauthorised.

Religious observance

Parents will be expected to request absence for religious observance at least two weeks in advance.

School will only accept requests from parents for absence on grounds of religious observance for days that are exclusively set apart for religious observance by the relevant religious body. School will define this as a day where the pupil’s parents would be expected by an established religious body to stay away from their employment to mark the occasion.

School may seek advice from the religious body in question where there is doubt over the request.

For more information and frequently asked questions, please visit Fines for parents for taking children out of school: What you need to know – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

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