The Importance of Attendance
Regular attendance and punctuality are important for pupil progress and attainment.
Parents are reminded that school begins at 8.45am the gates and doors are open from 8:40am. Children arriving in class after 8:50am will be marked as late.
Acceptable reasons for absence are:
- Illness or medical visits
- Dental or medical appointments
- Bad weather conditions
- Family bereavement (normally parents)
- Very exceptional occasions, such as illness of a parent
The Government guidelines state that holidays during term time are not authorised and could incur a fine.
Health and Illness
- If your child is ill: Please telephone the school first thing in the morning, or let the teacher know if the child has any siblings. You will need to give a reason for your child's absence. A doctor's note will be required for extended absences.
- Hospital and Dentists appointments: We appreciate that this is not always an option, but wherever possible, please make your child's appointments outside school hours.
- Head lice: In a close community like a school it is not unusual to find head lice. If you discover head lice in your childs hair treat it with one of the recommended products. If you inform the office we will alert other parents to check their childrens hair. We will not identify children or classes where head lice have been found. Please check your own childs hair on a regular basis.
- Height, weight, hearing and sight tests: An annual check will be conducted with Year R and Year 6 children as part of the West Norfolk Primary Care Trust's child health policy. You will receive a consent form prior to this check.
Attendance Figures Explained
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.
Authorised 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.
Absence from school will be unauthorised in all other circumstances unless deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Head Teacher.
Unauthorised Term Time Leave (includes Holiday)
Any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave of more than 10 consecutive sessions over a 6 week period, not authorised by the school (under exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice.
Why We Feel a Child’s Attendance is so Important
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.
