Late/Absence Procedures

Children should be in school by 8:50am each day

Parents can drop off from 8:30am when the gates open & the playground is supervised for an optional play

If your child is going to be absent Tel: 01753 644471

You can leave an answer machine message stating  the reason for the absence and to advise of a date for return

It is important that parents phone the office to give a reason for absence as this avoids the necessity for Fisrt Day Calls

The School operates a system of First Day Calls which means if you fail to contact school and your child is absent, you will be contacted by the school. You can help us by contacting us first.

Pupils need to arrive at the gate before 8.50am and any child arriving after 9.00am will be registered as late.

• Arriving late can have a detrimental affect on your child’s learning, as they miss the beginning of numeracy/literacy lessons.
• Arriving late may mean your child misses the daily deadline for ordering a hot school meal

The registers will close at 9.15am and any child arriving after this time will have an unauthorised mark in the register.

If you are concerned about attendance or need support please contact:

• Pastoral Support Leader - Mr James Farmer    PSL@smfr.co.uk

Tips for Good Attendance

• Make sure school uniforms and bags/lunches/homework are ready the night before to avoid panic/ lateness in the mornings.
• Find out who else lives nearby, so if you or one of your children are unwell they may be able to travel to school with another family.
• As far as possible, make all doctors, dentists or other appointments for after school or at the weekend so as not to affect their attendance. An absence for an appointment is still an absence.
• Think carefully about whether your child is really too ill to attend school. If you are unsure, let the school make the decision - bring your child to school and if they are unwell the school will contact you to collect them.
• If you are worried your child does not want to attend school talk to them and the school to check there is nothing else going on or any issues that can be resolved.

Why is attendance so important?

• Attendance is linked to safeguarding & child protection
• Evidence shows that if a child does not attend regularly.
• They  cannot keep up with their class  work.
• They do not achieve the results
• They miss out on the social side of school and can have problems maintaining friendships.

I would like to book a  holiday in term time, am I entitled to 10 days holiday?

• No. Holidays will not be authorised during term time.

My child has 90% attendance, that is good isn’t it?

• No, in relation to the amount of days absent over a year it would equal 19 days absence, nearly four weeks off school.

My child has odd days off now and again, surely they are not going to miss too much?

• These odd days can surprisingly add up and during this time they could be missing out on crucial learning.

My child is only absent when they are ill.

• If your child is ill you need to contact school to let them know.  If your child is persistently absent due to illness we may request medical confirmation e.g. Doctors certificate.

What difference does it make if my child is a few minutes late?

• Arriving late causes disruption and can be embarrassing for the child. e.g. Walking into class when everyone is working.
• By arriving late they can miss the initial teacher input which would make it difficult for them to understand the lesson.
•