Attendance
Attendance Information
- Attendance Policy 2024-25
- School letter linked to Attendance for 2024-25
- Parent advice leaflet (Public Health) 2024-25
- Penalty Notice Letter to Schools from the LA - July 2024
- CSAWS flowchart Information for parents Penalty Notice Regulations 2024
- DfE Working together to improve school attendance (from 19th August 2024)
- Attendance codes from September 2024
- Attendance advice leaflet from CSAWS
- When should my child return to school? NHS guidance
New Attendance legislation came into force on 19th of August which impacts how Local Authorities and Schools issue Penalty Notices (fines) for unauthorised absences. Central to the statutory guidance for schools is the premise that schools should identify when a pupils’ attendance is becoming a concern and then work alongside parents and pupils to remove any barriers to attendance.
There will be a Support First Model approach:
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We will notify you if you’re child’s attendance is a concern and start a conversation with you to understand the reasons why and if we can offer any support.
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If you receive a letter, telephone call, invite to a meeting its important that you engage with these so that we can understand any reasons for absence and agree support, if appropriate.
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If we agree an action plan with you to help improve attendance it is important that those agreements are followed.
The school day runs from 8:45am to 3:25pm
Drop off between
- 8:45am & 8:55am
Pick up
- 11:45am, 2:50pm or 3:20pm (Nursery)
- 3:25pm (Main School)
Children will be marked as late if they arrive between 8:55am - 9:25am. After 9:25am attendance registers will be marked as unauthorised. All children arriving late must be signed in using the digital Inventry system by a parent/guardian.
Please be prompt to pick up your child at the end of the day. For later collections, children must be signed out using the digital system. If you are having difficulty collecting on time, please speak to Mrs Foley or contact Orchids Childcare to see if they have space for your child.
Illness
If a child is absent from school parents should contact the school on the first day of absence via a phone call or an email to inform the school of the reason for absence. Parents should give details of the nature of any illness including symptoms or diagnosis.
Parents are expected to contact the school by 10am to report an illness and to maintain contact with the school throughout the absence.
Not all illness requires an absence from school. For minor childhood ailments such as coughs, colds, ear aches we would not expect children to be absent. However, when a parent makes the assessment that their child is unfit for school they should follow the above absence process. No work is set for children who are ill as they should be resting.
Medical appointments
Parents/Guardians should avoid making routine medical appointments and dental appointments during the school day. In the majority of cases, appointments can be made outside of the school day/during the school holidays.
Where appointments have to be taken during the school day, only the time for the appointment and travel to and from will be classed as an authorised absence. Pupils are expected to return to school for the remainder of the day or attend school prior to the appointment taking place.
Parents/Guardians are required to provide a copy of the appointment letter or text message, so that school's can authorise the absence.
There is full guidance and linked paperwork below, to support with all attendance matters.
Requesting Time Off During Term Time
DfE guidelines make clear that leave of absence during term-time should be regarded as exceptional. A parent/guardian should complete a Leave of Absence (LOA) request form and submit this to the school at least two weeks prior to the date required. The parent/guardian should provide evidence of the exceptional circumstance and may be asked to meet with the Head Teacher.
The Leave of Absence form is available via the school's website (below), or there are paper copies in the main office entrance. School will respond to the request within two weeks. Further evidence may be requested at a later date.
If the Head Teacher deems that the reasons are not exceptional, the Leave of Absence will not be authorised. A letter informing the parents/guardians of this decision for each child and warning of the legal implications of the absence been taken will be sent to each parent/guardian.
If, once notified in writing of the decision to unauthorise the Leave of Absence, the absence is taken, it will be marked as an unauthorised absence on the register and could be referred to the Education Enforcement Team/Education Welfare Officer for consideration and may result in the issue of a fixed penalty notice.