Attendance/Lates

We thank you for your support in ensuring that your child attends daily and arrives on time to school.

The gates open at 8:35am for children to arrive and start their day on the playground. The bell is rung promptly at 8:50am for children to line up and go into class for registration. If your child arrives after 8.50am, they will receive a late code 'L' with minutes late. Should they arrive after registration closes after 9.15am, they will receive a 'U' code which means an unauthorised absence. If your child is late, please report to the school office, where you will need to sign your child in, providing a reason for being late.

Reading is the first lesson every morning, and lateness causes disruption not only to your child’s learning, but the learning of the other children in the class.

Should your child be too unwell for school, please ensure that you contact the school office no later than 9:15am each day. Please provide the child’s name, class and your relationship to the child. Please provide details of the reason for your child's absence. To state they are unwell is not sufficient.

Good attendance and punctuality are important skills that are learnt at an early age. Children who arrive late to school are not only getting into bad habits, but are also risking future success by missing learning.

Should your child need to attend a medical appointment during school hours, please inform the school office in advance and, where possible, provide a medical appointment letter/text or email. Should your child be absent for a medical procedure, again please provide any relevant information.

For routine opticians and dental appointments, where possible, try to make these either before or after school.

As part of our commitment to improving the attainment of our pupils, we monitor pupil attendance on a regular basis. During our regular monitoring of pupil attendance, we identify any pupil whose attendance causes concern. We then issue a first letter to register our concern and monitor attendance closely. Further correspondence will follow if improvements are not made.

Poor punctuality impacts on the child, their peers and staff. Parents have a legal obligation to ensure their children get to school on time. From the 27^th February 2004 Penalty Notices were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 as an additional sanction to address the problem of poor school attendance. Section 7 of the 1996 Education Act also states that you have a duty to ensure regular attendance at school.

From August 2024, the Department for Education introduced a new national framework to improve attendance. As staff and parents, we all share a common goal - ensuring the best educational outcomes for our children. The guidance provided emphasises the importance of working together to improve school attendance. Parent guidance from the DfE document is listed in the attachments at the bottom of this page, for your information.

The information below shows how attendance can affect your child’s future progression. There is a clear link between attendance and attainment. If there are any issues surrounding attendance, please feel free to contact the school.