Pupil attendance

We are very proud of our high levels of attendance. Our last pre-Covid reported school’s attendance figure was 96.7% - well above the national average.

If your child is unwell and unable to attend school please telephone us by 10am on the morning of the first day they are absent – a voicemail facility is available to record absences, please leave a brief message stating child name, class and reason for absence. The school telephone number is 0191 9170004.

Absence is regularly monitored and the parents of those children who are missing a lot of school will be contacted. If we do not have a note or a message from you then we will contact you on the first day of absence. Failure to identify a reason for absence will result in the child being marked as an "unauthorised absence" and this will be shown on their report. This is a legal requirement.

If your child is unwell please ensure that they are fully fit before returning to school. Our policy, in line with the Department for Health guidance is that a child is clear of symptoms for 48hrs before returning after sickness or diarrhoea.

Punctuality

A punctual start to the day is vital to allow children the best start to their learning day.  Pupils must be in their class by 8:50am.  Classroom doors will close promptly at 8:50am and pupils arriving after this will have to enter school via the main school office.  Regular lateness will be managed in the same way as regular absence.

Holiday during term time

Attendance levels are high in school and we would like to thank parents for their support in achieving levels well above the national norm.  A large percentage of our annual absence is holiday leave in school time and in 2013 the government made changes to the regulations surrounding 'leave of absence' in term time.

The amendments state that headteachers may NOT grant any leave of absence during term time (including family holidays) unless there are exceptional circumstances.  Therefore leave of absence authorisation for holidays in term time cannot be granted.

The headteacher will determine if a request is an exceptional circumstance, and if leave is granted, the number of school days a child can be away from school.

Parents are asked to complete a leave of absence form which is available from the school office to explain the nature of the exceptional circumstances that necessitate their child being absent from school during term time.

If leave of absence is taken without permission from the headteacher it will be marked as unauthorised.  Unauthorised absences are monitored by the Education Welfare Service and in persistent cases of poor attendance they may become involved.