Attendance
The national target for all children is 95% attendance. In order to achieve this, it is vital that children attend school regularly and are only absent in the case of illness. The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.
Improving school attendance has been a focus for the government over a number of years and during the summer holidays the government introduced a new framework for improving school attendance. This framework introduced some changes to way schools and local authorities approach attendance, in particular unauthorised attendance and term time leave. For more information, please read the Working Together Improve School Attendance August 2024.
Attendance Changes Letter Sept 2024
Penalty Notice Information for Parents
Please look at the below documents to see how we monitor attendance at Shade Primary School.
Shade Primary School Attendance Procedures
Punctuality
Pupils arrive at school at 8.50am and the official start of the school day is 9.00am. This system allows for a more relaxed start to the day where pupils take part in supervised mental maths, reading or other activities. It may also be an opportunity for pupils to respond to teacher’s marking and target setting and engage in one to one discussion regarding individual progress.
Pupils arriving after 9.00am must be brought to the main office. Any arrival after 9.30 is marked as an unauthorised absence.
Illness
We all know that everyday attendance at school is vital for children to get the most out of their education. However, we recognise that children may be ill at some point and therefore some absence is unavoidable.
We understand it can be tricky deciding whether or not to send your child into school. Please use the NHS link below to help you decide.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Please telephone school – 01706 812913 - on the first day of any absence with a reason, as records of all absences have to be kept by the school. Please do not email the office. We then expect parents to contact school everyday of their child's illness. Children should be back in school as soon as they are well enough.
Parents should ensure that medical appointments are taken outside of school hours. If this is not possible then we may require proof of the appointment; this can be in the form of a letter, appointment card or hospital text message. Children who have an appointment in the morning should come into school as soon as possible following this to ensure that they are not missing important learning.
Term Dates
Holidays
Holidays should be taken within the ample holiday periods provided. No holiday or absence request for leisure will be authorised except under extremely exceptional circumstances. Any requests to take your child out of school during term-time must be made in writing, in advance, to the head teacher.
Penalty Notice Information for Parents
Forms are available from the school office or can be downloaded here:
Please return completed forms to the office.