Attendance
Good attendance is so important to ensure that your children can access the best learning opportunities at school and are effectively prepared for their future world!
Why does attendance matter?
- School gives children the life skills to prepare them for the future.
- They make friends, learn about themselves and their bodies and how to build relationships.
- They learn fundamental skills in English & Maths as well as learning about the wider world.
- We help them to grow in faith, grow in their learning and grow our future world.
How can I report my child as absent?
The law states that all children have a legal right to a full-time education.
It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that their child attends school every day.
It is important for your child to attend school regularly. However, if your child cannot attend, please contact the school on the FIRST DAY OF ABSENCE as soon as possible via 01359 221 297.
In this way, we can ensure that all our children are safe and that we know where they are. If we do not know the reasons why, we are obliged to record the absence as ‘unauthorised’.
Where can I find the attendance policy for the school?
We have a new attendance policy starting in September 2022 where the school will ‘listen, understand, empathise and support – but will not tolerate poor attendance’
A parent summary of this policy can be found here.
The policy in full can be found here.
How will I know about my child’s attendance?
Parents will be regularly notified of the overall attendance for their child, their class and the school via parent letters and newsletters. This will also be shared with children during assemblies and children with high attendance will be celebrated in school.
How can I request a leave of absence for my child?
Headteachers can only grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances, it is highly unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.
In the exceptional case where families know in advance of a reason why their child may not be able to attend school, they must request a ‘Leave of Absence’ form from the school office. This must be completed in its entirety, detailing the reasons for the request of leave. Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence.
If granted, it is for the Headteacher to decide the length of time a pupil can be away from school. Parents will be notified of this in writing.
If rejected, and parents decide to not bring their child to school this absence will be marked as unauthorised. This could lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice.