Attendance

Good attendance for all children is our priority. Parents have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly and our aim is to work in partnership with you and support you to achieve this. Research shows a clear link between regular attendance and educational attainment and progress. We closely monitor attendance, particularly cases that drop below 95%. The Government considers attendance of 90% or below as persistent absence

We regularly inform you about your child's attendance and punctuality to help you understand if they are at risk of persistent absence. Please contact us if you need any help or support with your child's attendance or punctuality. Please see our full attendance policy for further information. 

Please visit Working Together to Improve School Attendance to see the DfE's guidance and expectations for school attendance. 

The School Day

Doors open for children in the morning at 8:45am with registration at 9:00am prompt.  The school day ends at 3:15pm. This equates to 32.5 hours per week.

Children arriving after 9am should sign in at the school office.

The register officially closes at 9.15am. Children arriving between 9 - 9.15am will be marked as late. Children who arrive after  the register has offically closed at 9.15am will be recorded as absent. 

Absence

If your child is ill, please notify the school on a daily basis by 9.30am by leaving a message on the answerphone or speaking to the school office on 023 8086 8819. Unexplained absence is recorded as unauthorised. 

If you are unsure whether your child is well enough to attend, please contact the school office on 023 8086 8819 for advice or visit the Hampshire and Dorset NHS Can My Child Go To School Today webpage for handy online guidance to help you decide.

On the website is a list of common childhood illnesses and conditions from conjunctivitis to head lice, as well as symptoms such as a high temperature and a sore throat and what these might mean. There is advice about what to do and when a child should return to education after being treated. Please bookmark this website so it is easy to find if ever your child becomes unwell. The National NHS Is My Child Too Ill For School guidance also provides parents and carers with useful advice. 

If you are unsure about a child’s wellbeing, please talk to your local pharmacist, call the NHS helpline on 111, or contact your GP.  

Children who have been physically sick or have had diarrhoea should be absent for 48 hours from the last episode of either. 

Medical Appointments

Where possible, we ask all parents to book routine medical appointments outside of the school day or in the holidays. Please inform the school office in advance of any medical appointments. 

Holidays in term time

Requests for leave of absence in term time can only be agreed for exceptional circumstances and term time holidays will not usually be authorised. An absence request form needs to be completed for all planned absence in advance. This form is available from the office or you can print your own using the link below. 

Unauthorised absence of 5 days (10 sessions) or more will trigger a penalty notice to both parents for each child absent.