School attendance/absence

Regular School attendance is essential.  Without it the efforts of the best teachers and the best schools come to nothing.   Irregular attendance undermines the education process and leads to educational disadvantage.

It is the parents' responsibility to inform the school of the reason for a child's absence as soon as possible either by telephone, note or verbally.  This should be followed by a note of explanation when the child returns to school.   This is placed in the teacher's register.   Following the close of registration you will be contacted by text or telephone call for an explanation of your child's absence.

Lateness

A pupil arriving late may seriously disrupt not only his/her continuity of learning but also that of others.   A pupil is marked "late" if they are not present at the start of registration and where pupils miss registration altogether they will be marked as an "unauthorised absence" for that session unless an explanation is provided.   The child and parent must report to the office if arrival is after the registration period where the late book will need to be signed.  

Family holidays

As stated above, regular attendance is essential for the very best learning.   Parents thinking of taking their children away on holiday should first try and pick a time during the school holidays.    Only in exceptional circumstances will holidays be authorised during term time.   Please refer to the Attendance Policy.   Holiday permission forms are availabe from the school office or can be downloaded from the website.   Failure to ask for leave or if the absence is not authorised, then the absence is recorded as unauthorised and is placed on the child's annual report.   This also seriously affects the school in national published figures on attendance.

Appointments (doctors, dentists, opticians)

Again it is important that your child is in school during shool hours.   Appointments should be asked for outside of school hours in the first instance.   If it is an emergency then a note explaining the absence must be given to the teacher.   When picking up or bringing back a child from an appointment an adult should report first to the school office to sign the child in or out.

APPLICATION FOR LEAVE OF ABSENCE DURING TERM TIME

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