Please see the new DfE statutory attendance guidance - ‘Attendance Counts’ letter for parents below.
Key points of the Attendance policy for parents:
The school is open from 8:40am to get ready for learning at 9am.
Morning registration is 9am. Children arriving after 9am will be marked ‘L’ late in the register, children arriving after 9:15am will be marked at ‘U’ unauthorised.
Class registers are completed by 9am each morning and 1:15pm each afternoon.
Children who are absent from school at the morning or afternoon registration must have their absence recorded as being - Authorised, Unauthorised, Approved as an education activity.
Parents/carers will be contacted by the Admin Assistant (via the texting service) on the first day of absence if no reason has been given. If no contact has been made by day 2 the School Business Manager will telephone and discuss with the Head Teacher. If the Head Teacher is not satisfied with the reasons given for absence, the Local Authority/Social Care Team will be contacted for advice/guidance.
If a child is absent without a known reason at registration the absence will be recorded as unauthorised until the reason for absence is known.
Only the Head Teacher or staff acting on behalf of the Head Teacher can authorise absence.
If a child has less than 90% attendance (categorised at ‘persistent absentee’) without satisfactory reasons then the parents will receive a letter with actions from the Head Teacher. Further actions will be taken if attendance does not improve.
The school discourages any unnecessary absences from school and will only authorise for non-medical reasons in exceptional circumstances.
Children on a child protection plan who are absent without a reasonable explanation the Head Teacher will notify the relevant agencies involved.
Lateness
It is your responsibility as parents/carers to ensure your child/ren are in school by 9am every day. The back gate is open between 8:40am and 8:55am giving your child/ren the time to be in their classrooms ready to learn at 9am prompt. Arriving after 9am they are late. We understand that arriving late on an odd occasion is unavoidable but frequently arriving late not only impacts your child but the whole class. Children arriving late miss vital information at the beginning of the school day and disturb the whole class which have already started their learning.
A note from Governors
The governors of Norton Primary School, alongside the local authority, monitor attendance carefully. Following the monitoring of children’s attendance last year, concerns have been raised about the amount of holidays taken in term time.
It is important that your child is not absent from school this academic year without authorisation of the Head Teacher. No holidays will be authorised and Norton School will issue penalty notices for unauthorised holidays in line with school, local authority and government policy.
Please come and see Mrs Farren if you have any queries. The governors and Mrs Farren are committed to good attendance for our pupils and appreciate your support to ensure your child receives a good quality of education.
If you request a holiday, you will need to attend a hearing with Mrs Farren, a governor and/or an attendance officer. Please note, penalty notices will be issued when holidays fall within the penalty notice criteria.
If you would like to request term time absence for exceptional reasons, please download and complete the form below and return it to Mrs Farren, Head Teacher.
Parents must note that where an unauthorised holiday is taken the school could refer to the Local Authority and a penalty notice could be issued
Childen that have 90% attendance is equivalent to:
