Your child should be at School in good time for registration. The morning register will be called promptly at 8.50 am and the afternoon register at 1 pm. The School day ends at 3.10 pm.
Registration finishes at 8.50 am in the morning and 1 pm in the afternoon. If you child arrives between 8.50 and 9.00 he/she will be marked late. If your child arrives after 9 am he/she will be marked late and this will be counted as an unauthorised absence for the session (unless the Headteacher has authorised the absence).
If your child arrives after 1 pm he/she will be marked late. If your child arrives after 1.10 pm he/she will be marked late and this will be counted as an unauthorised absence for the session (unless the Headteacher has authorised the absence).
Pupils who arrive after registration should report to the School office and use the sign in system. If a pupil is late on two or more occasions a letter will be sent offering a meeting to discuss any problems contributing to the lateness.
We would expect a parent to telephone the School on the first day of absence. If you do not phone us, we will phone you. However, we need a written explanation of your child’s return to School. If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence, and this will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
·Illness
·Emergency dental/medical appointment (Please make routine appointments after School or during the Holidays)
·Day of religious observance
·Family bereavement
·Leave of absences only when prior approval has been given
·Extended family visits abroad – only when prior approval has been given.
Except in the case of illness, you should ask for permission for your child to miss School well in advance, giving full details. In cases of recurring absences through illness you may be asked to produce a medical certificate.
The School will not authorise absence for day trips, visiting relatives, shopping or birthdays.
The School operates a first day response to absences: we will phone you if we have not heard from you. This is because we believe it is our responsibility to ensure your child’s safety as well as their regular School attendance. (An unreported absence could indicate a child has gone missing without their parent’s knowledge).
If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality we will contact you to discuss the best way forward.
The Government states that family holidays during term time are not allowed. In exceptional circumstances permission will be granted at the Headteacher discrection. You should complete a leave of absence application form (obtained from the school office or on the website), at least three weeks in advance, statting the reason why the holiday must be taken in term time. The Headteacher may refuse permission having given consideration to:
· your child’s age
· the time of year
· overall attendance pattern of your child (even if poor attendance has resulted from extended or repeated illness)
. coincides with testing.
Make sure that your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning. Ensure that he/she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest and support, that School is important and that you value his/her education.
Contact your child’s class teacher immediately and openly discuss your worries.
Your child could be avoiding School for a number of reasons – difficulties with work, friendship problems, family issues.
At Barrow, we work very closely with our EWO to check the attendance of pupils. Patterns of absence and children at 85% and below are monitored and tracked. Also the school will monitor attendance carefully and when attendance issues are not resolved, a referral will be made to the EWO.
The law says that parents and carers whose children of compulsory school age are absent from school without good reason are committing an offence, and those parents may be prosecuted in the Magistrate’s court.
Local authorities have the power to issue penalty notices in cases of unauthorized absence from school.
The following situations can result in a penalty notice being issued:
A pupil is stopped with parents/carers during a truancy sweep and the absence is not authorized by the school (often given immediately no warning)
Where a pupil has missed at least 8 sessions (5 school days) due to unauthorized absence during a
school term. Parents and carers will be issued with a formal written warning of the intention to issue a penalty notice, before it is sent out. You have 15 school days to improve your child’s attendance, in that time your child must have no unauthorized absences from school. If there is improvement, no penalty notice is issued.
If issued with a penalty notice you must pay in full. The penalty is £60 (per child, per parent) if paid within 21 days, increasing to £120 if paid between 21 and 28 days.
If not paid in full within the 28 days, the LA is required to start legal proceedings against you. This may lead to a fine of up to £1000.
