Attendance

We take attendance and punctuality extremely seriously. If your child is absent from school, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can authorise the absence in our register.

You will no doubt understand that as the Head Teacher I have a duty, along with the school governors, to promote the highest attendance levels possible.

The school is set very high attendance targets by the Government; and our attendance data is regularly scrutinised by the Local Authority and Ofsted and is one of the factors by which they measure the success of the school. The academic progress of a child, whatever his/her level of academic ability, will be adversely affected if they miss school. Obviously, if a child is unwell then they should not come to school, but if, in addition, they have other time off school, then this will definitely have a detrimental effect on their progress.

For these reasons, taking holidays or days off in school time are not permitted except in exceptional circumstances. I am aware there is sometimes confusion as to what constitutes an exceptional circumstance, however each case will be considered on an individual basis. If you believe your circumstances may be exceptional, then please discuss your request with me before making final plans. I will review each request for absence carefully, consulting with the Local Authority’s Attendance Improvement Officer where and if necessary, and give you an answer as soon as possible. If you need to make a request for leave, then please collect a holiday request form from the school office or download a copy from here. We ask that all requests are put in writing using the form at least three weeks prior to any leave.

The overall attendance record of the vast majority of our pupils is very good and I very much appreciate your support in respecting and supporting the school’s policy on attendance. A copy of the school term dates for the coming year are available here, please keep these dates in mind when making any arrangements for holidays.