Attendance

Parents and carers have a legal responsibility to ensure their children have an education. Section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996 states that: “If a child of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, his/her parent is guilty of an offence.” For the purpose of Education Law, the definition of “Parental Responsibility” lies with whomever the child resides. This could be one parent, both parents or carers.

We believe that all children have an entitlement to quality education. In order to receive this, regular and punctual attendance is expected. Attendance is an important feature of ‘Our Positive Rewards’ System and children are rewarded for good attendance. Parents/carers are informed where attendance is causing a concern and is impacting on a child’s learning. We have a policy of first-day absence call, which means that we will contact you if your child is absent and we have not received an explanation.

Punctuality

The day begins at 8.45am for K.S.2 (Juniors) and 9:00 for Early Years & K.S.1 (Infants). All children are expected to be in for registration at this time. K.S.2 children arriving after 9.15am will have an unauthorised late mark (U) recorded. Early Years and K.S.1 children arriving after 9.30am will have an unauthorised late mark (U) recorded. We ask parents/carers to accompany late children to the office to provide a reason for lateness, which will be recorded in the office. If you are experiencing difficulties in getting your child to school please talk to your child’s class teacher. Children who are consistently late are disrupting not only their own education but also that of others. Where persistent lateness gives cause for concern further action will be taken.

Leave of Absence from School

Holidays in term time are no longer permitted. Parents/Carers must be aware that, due to changes in the law, (September 2013) holidays during term time cannot be authorised by us. Any unauthorised absence during term time may result in a Penalty Notice being issued by Cheshire East Council. Any parents/carers intending on taking their child/children out of school in term time, will need to make an appointment to discuss the leave with the Attendance Lead at least 2 weeks before the expected absence. Absence must not be booked in advance of any request for absence. See Flowchart for Request for Leave of Absence.

Medical Appointments

Please try to make any medical appointments outside of school hours. If this is unavoidable then we do ask for your child to attend the morning or afternoon session in school before or after the appointment. Medical appointments will only be authorised if you are able to provide a letter from the hospital/clinic or doctors’ (appointment card) showing the appointment details.

Reporting Absences

If your child is medically unfit to attend, we ask parents/carers to inform us by 9am on the first day of absence and everyday thereafter. Our telephone number is 01270 814040. Alternatively you can report an absence through the Arbor App. Please note we do not accept messages from siblings. Absences with no reasons will be followed up by a phone call by the Office staff. The Attendance Manager will be informed if we cannot make contact with the parent/carer.

Every Minute Counts
Lateness = lost learning (figures below are calculated over the school year)

5 minutes late each day – 3 days lost

10 minutes late each day- 6.5 days lost

15 minutes late each day – 10 days lost

20 minutes late each day – 13 days lost

30 minutes late each day – 19 days lost

Please click on the links below to view related files in PDF format.

Attendance Policy
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (English)
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (Chinese)
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (Romanian)
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (Polish)
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (Slovak)
Attendance and Punctuality Guide For Parents/Carers (Portuguese)
Request for Leave of Absence
Request for Leave of Absence