We use an electronic registration system. The school day starts at 8.55 a.m. and parents are reminded of the need for punctuality. The vast majority of pupils arrive on time and ready for the school day to begin. Pupils who arrive late may lose their attendance mark for the morning. Pupils with a high rate of absence (without a valid reason) or persistent late-comers may receive a visit from the Inclusion Welfare Officer linked to the school.
The Governors and staff of the school firmly believe that prompt and regular attendance is in the child’s own interest. Only through regular attendance will a child be able to participate fully in school activities. If your child has been absent for any reason it is essential that he/she brings a written explanation to school. A phone call, text,email or verbal message from a parent is acceptable in place of a letter.
To ensure a greater degree of security for your child, we ask parents to ring the school before 8.55 a.m. on the first day of absence. Following Government legislation, the school is obliged to differentiate between AUTHORISED and UNAUTHORISED absences. An unauthorised absence has to be recorded if no letter of explanation (or verbal/phone message – see above) following an absence is received.
We strongly recommend that holidays are taken during the school holidays as any absences from school during term time will obviously cause problems for individual pupils who have to catch up on missed work when they return to school. If you need to request a holiday during term time, you must complete a holiday request form which can be obtained from the office.