To help children achieve their very best in school, it is important that they are good attenders and are also punctual. Teachers welcome pupils into the classroom at 8.45am and registers are taken at 8.50am every day, followed promptly by the first activity of the day. Any child arriving after 8.50am is given a late mark (L).  Any child arriving after 9.15am is given an unauthorised mark (U). Parents play a pivotal role in supporting children to arrive on time every day, so they are calm, focused and ready to learn.

We have to keep a record of absences by law. If your child is absent for any reason, we request that you phone the school on the morning of his/her absence and inform us (not via Dojo). If you do not inform us of your child’s absence, we will give a first day of absence response call, asking why your child is absent.  

The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, which came into force on September 1, 2013, amended the 2006 regulations to prohibit term-time leave except in exceptional circumstances, a policy strengthened by updated National Framework guidance in August 2024. The 2024 updates introduce stricter, standardised penalty notices for unauthorised absences.These regulations make it clear that Headteachers should not grant approval for any leave of absence during term-time, including holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. These regulations also state that holidays cannot be authorised retrospectively. 

Any requests should be on an official school absence request form and handed in to the school office for consideration prior to any holiday/leave arrangements being made (minimum of two weeks before).

You may be issued with a Penalty Notice should leave be taken which is not authorised. If unpaid this could lead to prosecution under section 444(1) of The Education Act 1996.

Please note that it is the school’s policy to deem all holiday requests as being unauthorised. (Only in exceptional circumstances will a holiday request be authorised.) Pupils whose attendance is consistently below 90% are classed as persistent absentees, as defined by the Government guidelines, regardless of whether or not absence is authorised, and may be subject to involvement from Educational Welfare.