SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Timekeeping

Our school day runs from 8.45am until 3.15pm, with a collection at 3.00pm at Burford Road to enable parents with siblings to travel between settings.  This provides a maximum of 32.5 hours per week.  Children should arrive in good time for school in the morning and specifically before the bell goes for the beginning of the school day. A late arrival can be distressing for the child and disruptive to the whole class. Children arriving late for school and after registration has been taken  will be marked as absent on the register and parents should therefore formally notify the school of the reason in writing.

Unavoidable absences

When a child is unable to attend school e.g. due to sickness, parents should contact the school on the first morning of absence.

On the child’s return to school, parents should send in a letter or email the school, formally notifying the dates of absence and the reason for the absence.

Where a child needs to take time out of school to attend an appointment (e.g. to visit a doctor or dentist), the class teacher should be notified in writing and in advance. Parents are encouraged to arrange appointments outside school hours wherever possible.

 

Requests for planned absence

The school recognises that there may be some occasions when a child will need to be taken out of school e.g. where there is a family bereavement or to attend a religious event.

However, parents are not entitled to take any holidays during term time, not even for a single day. Any absence has a detrimental impact on the child’s education and is disruptive to the teacher and class. Furthermore, pupil attendance is one of the indicators considered by Ofsted when inspecting schools.

Parents who wish to take their child out of school must formally apply for permission at least 6 weeks before the proposed absence, using the form below.

Parents are advised that where a request for absence is not granted and the child is then absent without permission, this period will be recorded as Unauthorised Absence and may be investigated by the Local Authority.

A full copy of our latest Attendance Policy is available to download below.