Attendance Expectations
The school has high expectations for pupils’ attendance and punctuality and ensures that these expectations are communicated regularly to parents and pupils.
Pupils will be expected to attend school punctually every day they are required to be at school, for the full day.
Registration
8.40 am: pupils expected to be on site for doors opening
8.45 am: pupils to classrooms, register will be marked and lessons begin
Pupils will receive a L (late mark) if they are not in the classroom at this time.
9.15 am: register will close.
Pupils will receive a U mark of absence if they do not attend school before this time
Registers will be taken as follows throughout the school day:
- The afternoon register will be marked by 1:00pm. Pupils will receive a late mark if they are not in their classroom by this time
- The afternoon register will close 30 minutes later at 1:30pm. Pupils will receive a U mark of absence if they are not present.
Pupils will be encouraged to communicate any concerns related to attendance and absence as soon as possible to the relevant member of staff.
Absence
Parents will be required to contact the school office via telephone before 8.45 am on the first day of their child’s absence – they will be expected to provide an explanation for the absence and an estimation of how long the absence will last, for example, one school day.
Where a pupil is absent, and their parent has not contacted the school by 9.15 am (the time the register closes) to report the absence, a member of the office staff will follow first day calling procedures and send a text message to parents asking them to contact school urgently. If no response is received 1 hour after registration has closed (by 9.45 am) a telephone call will be made to the parent to ascertain the reason for absence.
If no reason for absence has been established by 9.45 am, this absence will be reported to the Head of School. If a child is already receiving multi-agency support, this will also be reported to the Designated Safeguarding Lead and/or allocated social worker. School staff may undertake a home visit.
You can read more about our absence procedures below.
Why is regular attendance so important?
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any child’s absence disrupts teaching routines so may affect the learning of others in the same class. Ensuring every child’s regular attendance at school is the parent’s/carer’s responsibility and permitting absence from school without good reason creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution.
Attendance matters. Missing school hurts your child’s education. Below is a table illustrating the impact that absences and failure to arrive at school on time can have upon your child’s school life throughout the academic year:
Missed learning time through absence
| Attendance | Autumn Term | Spring Term | Summer Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 0 Days | 0 Days | 0 Days |
| 95% | 4 Days | 7 Days | 10 Days |
| 90% | 7 days | 13 Days | 20 Days |
| 85% | 11 Days | 19 Days | 30 Days |
| 80% | 14 Days | 27 Days | 40 Days |
Missed learning time through absence
| Average Late Arrival | Days of Learning Lost |
|---|---|
| 5 Minutes | 3 Days Lost |
| 10 Minutes | 6.5 Days Lost |
| 15 Minutes | 10 Days Lost |
| 20 Minutes | 13 Days Lost |
| 30 Minutes | 19 Days Lost = A full grade drop in targets or expected grades. |
Absence Procedures
Your child should attend school every day unless:
- They are too sick to leave the house.
- They have an infectious disease like chicken pox, mumps or measles.
- They have an injury preventing them from moving around school.
- They have an urgent appointment (wherever possible appointments should be made out of school hours). If an appointment must be made during the school day, depending on the time of the appointment, your child should still attend school before or after the appointment.
If your child is absent from school you must:
Contact school as soon as possible on the first day of absence, either by telephoning school or reporting the absence in person at the school office.
We also ask that you send your child into school with a note upon their return with an explanation of the absence (acceptable for older pupils) or (in the case of younger children) accompany your child into school and speak directly with the Class Teacher.
We are responsible for:
- Telephoning parents/carers on the first day of absence if we have not heard from them.
- Inviting parents/carers in to school to discuss the situation with the Trust’s Education and Welfare Officer or Head of School if absences persist.
- Referring the matter to the Local Authority Attendance and Pupil Support Service if attendance falls below 90%.
- Reporting to parents on a half termly basis informing them of their child’s attendance and punctuality.
Lateness:
Poor punctuality is not acceptable. If a child misses the start of the day they can miss work and do not spend time with their class teacher, getting vital information and news for the day. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons; this can also be embarrassing for the child concerned.
- Children will receive a late mark if they are not in class by the end of registration.
- All children arriving after registration period should report to the school office where the reason for their lateness will be recorded.
If a child has a persistent late record parents/carers will be asked to meet with the Trust’s Attendance and Welfare Officer or the Head Teacher to resolve the problem. However, parents/carers can approach us at any time if they are having problems getting children to school on time.
Term Time Holidays
What is the law regarding term-time holidays?
The law says that you do not have the right to take your child out of school for holidays during term-time. If you decide to take your child out of school, this will be recorded as unauthorised absence and will be reported to the Local Authority. Government legislation has been introduced to reduce absences from school. This means that local authorities have the right to issue a first time penalty notice(fine) of £160 per parent, per child if paid within 28 days of issue, reducing to £80 if paid within 21 days.