Attendance
Your child must be at school punctually each day. It is a legal requirement that parents/carers ensure their children attend school once they have reached the age of 5.
Please make sure that appointments and holidays are made outside of school time whenever possible and particularly Year 6 children must not be away during SATs.
If your child has to leave school during the school day, we will only allow them to go with a responsible adult who is known to them and/or us. You should come to the school office to collect your child and in an emergency a phone call before you arrive can save time.
If your child is absent from school a note must be written or a phone call must be made as soon as possible. If your child has had sickness or diarrhoea symptoms we require them to be clear for 48 hours before they return to school. Children for whom we have no reason for absence will be seen as truanting and the Educational Welfare Officer will be informed. We will also try to contact you by phone on the first day of absence if you have not contacted us to ensure your child is safe.
Please note that illness, medical appointments or religious observance are the only normal reasons for absence. Should you require time off for annual holiday this must be applied for as soon as possible to the Principal using a holiday form available from the school office. Under normal circumstances this will not be authorised. Please be aware of the changes detailed below:
Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006
Changes to these regulations make clear that Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. This will not normally include holidays or extended leave abroad.
Penalty Notices for Non Attendance
Changes to 2007 regulations will reduce the time-scales for paying a penalty notice.
Parents/carers must, from 1 September 2013, pay £60 within 21 days or £120 within 28 days. Local Authorities will now act faster on prosecutions.
Any lates or absences result in less than 100% attendance. Therefore whatever the reason no half term 100% attendance certificates will be awarded. Please note however, it is better to be late than not turn up at all! There are prizes for 100% attendance too!
Severe Weather Conditions & School Closure Procedure
If the weather conditions are, in the opinion of the Executive Principal & Head of Academy, sufficiently severe to warrant the closure of the school before the commencement of the morning session, or the school has to close for another reason, e.g failure of the heating system or other Health & Safety issue, then the following procedures will be put into effect:
- The Executive Principal/Head of Academy will if possible consult with the Trust.
- The Executive Principal/Head of Academy will inform: via Dojo the parents/carers of the children and by email the academy staff.
- The Executive Principal/Head of Academy will inform local radio stations, quoting the school’s DFE reference number, so they can broadcast an announcement of the school’s closure.
- The staff, who are able to walk to school will man the school gates and inform parents/carers that school is closed. Children who come to school unaccompanied will be taken into school and their parents/carers will be contacted. If no contact can be made they must stay for the length of the normal school day.
NB If the Executive Principal/Head of Academy is absent; the Deputy Principal will perform these duties and if possible keep the Executive Principal/Head of Academy informed of the situation.