Attendance
Our attendance policy is here
At Stukeley, we expect all children on roll to attend every day, when the school is in session, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We do all we can to encourage the children to attend, and to put in place appropriate procedures. We believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school and we strive to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for all children. We will also make the best provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to school.
The school keeps accurate attendance and absence records which are regularly reported to the Governing Body.
Absence
Government legislation requires parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly and punctually and has laid down guidance on authorised and unauthorised absences. Authorised absence includes illness, medical and dental appointments and religious observances.
Lateness
School starts promptly at 8.35 a.m (EYFS/Y2/Y4/Y6) and 8:40am (Y1/Y3/Y5). If a child arrives at school after this time, they should go to the school office to sign in. This will then be coded in the register as “L” to indicate that the child was late. If a child arrives at school more than 30 minutes after the start of the school day, this will be considered an unauthorised absence.
Illness and Medicines
If your child is absent from school, or unavoidably late, please telephone the school office as soon as possible (ideally by 8:20 am), giving the reason. If the child is absent for more than one day, please telephone each day to give the reason for the absence. If no reason is given for subsequent days, then our school office will ring to request this information. If absence continues without explanation further contact will be made to ensure safeguarding, this may be a home visit – where we will place a letter through letter boxes asking an adult to call as soon as possible – or a phone call to the police to make them aware that a child is not in school.
Children with mild coughs, colds, sore throats, sneezing and runny noses who are otherwise well can continue to attend school. However, if they develop a high temperature they should stay at home until their temperature has reduced and are well enough to return to school. Please do not send your child to school if they are unwell; we have very limited facilities for looking after sick children. Children who have suffered sickness or diarrhoea should not return to school for at least 48 hours after the sickness or diarrhoea has stopped.
It is essential that we have an up-to-date day time telephone number where we can contact parents should children become ill or have an accident.
If it is necessary for medicines to be brought into school, then the prescribed medicine should be clearly labelled with the name of the child. It should be brought to the school office where you will be required to complete a consent form detailing the dosage and times when the medicine should be administered. Over the counter medicines such as ointments must also be agreed with the school office and a subsequent form completed. We will not accept any medicines that do not come in original packaging.
Parents of children requiring regular or long-term medical treatment are welcome to discuss this with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Collecting Before the End of the Day
If it is necessary for your child to leave school before the end of the day, please ring or email the school office stating the time at which the child will be collected. No child will be allowed to leave the site unless collected by their parents or another adult who is known by the school to have permission from the parent to collect their child. All children must be signed out at the school office.
Leave of Absence
We believe that children need to be in school for all sessions, so that they can make the most progress possible. However, we do understand that there are times where a parent may request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. Holiday requests will not be authorised. Prior to any leave of absence, a request should be made by completing a ‘Term Time Leave Request’ form. These forms are available below and should be completed at least three weeks before the absence. Parent/Carers will be informed, by email, as to whether the request meets the criteria for an authorised absence.
Please note that the majority of requests from parents for holidays during term time are regularly marked as unauthorised; this is in line with guidance at a local and national level.
Unauthorised Absence
Unauthorised absence or truancy is defined as any unaccounted for absence from school or a child arriving 30 minutes after the register has been taken without a suitable explanation.
Monitoring
Our Attendance team continue to regularly monitor attendance in conjunction with the Local Authority Attendance Improvement Officer. Should you have any queries about the policy please speak to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.