Absence and Holidays

Holiday dates 2023 2024

Holiday dates 2022 -2023

Punctuality

Pupils arrive at  school at 8.50am and the official start of the school day is 9.00am. This system allows for a more relaxed start to the day where pupils take part in supervised mental maths, reading or other activities. It may also be an opportunity for pupils to respond to teacher’s marking and target setting and engage in one to one discussion regarding individual progress.

Absence

The national target for all children is 96.4% attendance. In order to achieve this it is vital that children attend school regularly and are only absent in the case of illness.

If your child’s attendance drops below 90% the Attendance Officer will contact you. You will receive a letter of concern to inform you if your child’s attendance is low. If this doesn’t improve you will be invited to attend an Attendance Panel with the Attendance Officer,Deputy headteacher and your child to discuss ways to improve this. If this fails you will be referred to the Education Welfare Office who will look at different options such as a fixed penalty notice or court proceedings.

Absence due to illness

We all know that everyday attendance at school is vital for children to get the most out of their education. However, we recognise that children may be ill at some point and therefore some absence is unavoidable.

Please telephone school – 01706 812913 - on the first day of any absence with a reason, as records of all absences have to be kept by the school. We will telephone you if we have had no reason for an absence, usually during the morning of the first day. Please do not email the office.

Appointments

Parents should ensure, wherever possible, that medical appointments are taken outside of school hours. If this is not possible then we require proof of the appointment; this can be in the form of a letter, appointment card or hospital text message. Children who have an appointment in the morning should come into school as soon as possible following this to ensure that they are not missing important learning.

Any requests to take your child out of school during term-time must be made in writing, in advance, to the head teacher.  A planned absence form will need to be completed for ALL types of absence, including holidays, a long-term absence or any appointments. 

Holidays

Amendments have been made to legislation around attendance and admissions. This came into force on 1^st September 2013.

‘Amendments to the 2006 regulations remove references to family holiday and extended leave as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days. The amendments make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.’ Department for Education, .

Holidays should be taken within the ample holiday periods provided, additional time will only be approved in exceptional circumstances. Any requests to take your child out of school during term-time must be made in writing, in advance, to the head teacher. 

Forms are available from the school office or can be downloaded here:

Absence Request form

New attendance letter.

Please return completed forms to the office. Please note that several factors will be taken into account when authorising such a request, including previous attendance and prior attainment in school.