Attendance is based on a child being at school in time for the morning register as well as the afternoon register so being marked present for 2 sessions a day.

Both these sessions count towards their overall attendance figure which is simply a percentage of how many sessions your child has been present throughout the current academic year.

The only reasons a child will be marked as present when they are not in school are if they are being educated at a different location, or at a school event such as residential or sporting.

There are a variety of different reasons that a child may be absent from school and the school will assign an appropriate code on the register to make staff aware of the reason.

Lateness 

The start of the school day is 8.50am, this is when the register is taken. The register will remain open for 10 minutes, if your child arrives during this time they will be marked late.

Any child arriving after this time will be marked as an unauthorised late.

Any child arriving after 30 minutes will be marked as having an unauthorised absence unless there is an acceptable explanation.

In cases where the absence at registration was for attending an early morning medical appointment, the appropriate authorised absence code will be entered. Medical evidence will be requested to support the absence.

Absence from school can be authorised for the following reasons:

Medical appointments

Illness where the school has been notified by phone or in writing

Religious observance

NOTE: An authorised absence is still recorded as the child not being in school and will have a negative effect on their attendance figure.

​Sickness/ Absence 

If your child is unwell, please inform the office first thing in the morning, there is an answer machine available to leave a message if the phone is not answered. Please phone on each day of absence.

On the first day of an absence, parents/carers should contact their child’s school before the registration period closes. If no contact has been made, the school will endeavour to contact parents/carers as quickly as possible during the school day and will transfer information to the registers, alerting the Headteacher or other key staff to any wellbeing issues. We will continue to make daily contact until a response is received. We will also make general enquires during this time and try other contact numbers. If there is no known reason for the absence at registration, then the absence must be recorded in the first instance as unauthorised.

Any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave of more than 9 consecutive sessions over a 6 week period, not authorised by the school (under exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice, or enter Fast Track procedures. 

Children’s learning in school is based on a build up of skills and knowledge.

This build up is continually planned by teachers on a day to day basis. Children that miss one session could miss out on a potentially important session and although every effort is made to catch children up when they return, this is usually not as effective and takes time away from the rest of the class.

If children miss out on a number of sessions this can significantly affect their overall progress.

Children that are away from school on a regular basis can miss out on opportunities to build strong friendships and can sometimes find it harder to build strong friendships within school.

Attendance reviews are carried out half termly, we will write to parents where attendance is below 90% and is a cause for concern. Attendance below 90% falls into the persistent absentee category and will be raised with the attendance officer.

Good attendance is rewarded – each term children with attendance of 100% or above are awarded an attendance certificate, children with 100% attendance at the end of the year also receive an attendance trophy.