Late/ Absence

If your child is absent you must:

• Contact us as soon as possible on the first day of absence, either by phone or you can call into school and report to reception.

If your child is absent we will:

• Telephone you on the first day of absence if we have not heard from you we will do a home visit;
• Invite you in to discuss the situation with our in-school Attendance Lead and/or Headteacher if absences persist;
• Refer the matter to the Local Authority School Attendance Team where appropriate as per Local Authority protocol.

Poor punctuality is not acceptable. If your child misses the start of the day they can miss work and do not spend time with their class teacher getting vital information and news for the day. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons, which can be embarrassing for the child and can in turn, encourage absence. Being 10 minutes late every day throughout the academic year is the same as missing two weeks of school.

How we manage lateness: The school day starts at 9.00am and we expect your child to be in class at that time. Registers are marked by 9.10am and your child will receive a late mark if they are not in by that time. At 9.30am the registers will be closed. In accordance with the Regulations, if your child arrives after that time they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean they have an unauthorised absence. This may mean that you could face the possibility of a Penalty Notice if the problem persists. If your child has a persistent late record you will be asked to meet with the Headteacher and/or a member of the pastoral support team to resolve the problem, but you can approach us at any time if you are having problems getting your child to school on time.