In order to achieve their full potential at school, children must attend regularly and arrive at school on time. There is a clear link between good attendance and achievement in class. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to ensure that their child has good attendance and is punctual.

School starts at 8.45am. The gates will be open from 8.40am for children to filter in. All classes have an hour for lunch. Lunches usually run from 12 noon. School finishes at 3.15pm for all full time children. This equates to 32.5 hours of school time.

Children will be dismissed at 3.15pm at the end of the school day. Parents/carers are invited to come down onto the playground and wait. Children will be dimissed to you. If you have more than one child, please wait in the area of your youngest child.

Illness

If a child is ill or has a valid medical reason for not being able to attend school, school must be contacted before 9am on each day of the absence so we can keep a record and assess whether we can authorise the absence.

There are two ways you can do this:

• Message the school office dojo page
• Call 0115 9320585

If we have not had any contact to explain the absence, we will send a safe and well text and then call the family. If we are unable to speak to anyone, we may do a safe and well home visit. If we are still unable to make contact, we will consider informing other agencies such as the police, social care or a health visitor.

Leave of absence requests during term

Leave of absence requests are very rarely authorised and the following information must be considered:

• An absence request must be completed and received by school at least 10 school days before the first requested day of absence. 
• If there are extremely exceptional circumstances, evidence should be provided to help the authorising process. 
• Penalty notices are issued for unauthorised absence, poor attendance or reoccurring lateness.  
• Penalty notices will be issued even if attendance has previously been good. 
• Leave of absence requests for family holidays will not be authorised.
• Requests for holidays for family weddings or to see relatives are not deemed to be exceptional circumstances.

Should you still decide to take your child out of school for a holiday, we still require you to complete an Leave of Absence Request Form, which is available as a download at the bottom of this page or from the school office. You can return the form to school or email it to [email protected]

Attendance Figures 2023-24

Total number of registered pupils: 299 (Based on Reception - Year 6)

Percentage of half days missed through authorised absence: 5.15%

Percentage of half-days missed through unauthorised absence: 0.87%

Pecentage of half days attended: 93.98%

Attendance is in line with national average.