Attendance

 

SCHOOL HOURS
The school gates open at 8.30 a.m. and children may come into school from 8.40 a.m. School starts promptly at 8.50 a.m. when the registration is taken.

                                 MORNING                        AFTERNOON
Reception:              8.50 - 11.30                         12.30 - 3.20
KS1:                         8.50 - 12.00                         1.00 - 3.20

KS2:                         8.50 - 12.15                         1.15 - 3.20

TOTAL WEEKLY TEACHING TIME

Reception/KS1:                32 hours 30 minutes
KS2:                                   32 hours 30 minutes

This time exceeds the DfE recommendations.

Please do not send your child to school too early in the morning, especially in the cold and wet weather. The school gates open at 8.30 a.m. and we would like to remind parents that children are not supervised in the playground until 8.40 a.m. and all external doors will be locked until 8.40 a.m.

Lessons finish at 3.20 p.m. and children are expected to have left the school premises by 3.30 p.m. unless attending an after school activity supervised by a member of staff. Any child who has to wait after 3.30 p.m. will do so in the school office and the parents will be contacted. If pupils are regularly collected late we would recommend they go to the after school club which would mean a cost to the parents.

Teachers of some classes  will collect children from their playgrounds at 8.40 a.m. and your child is expected to be in school then. Children in Years 1, 3, 5 and 6 are permitted to make their way into class at 8.40 a.m.

 

Attendance

Any absence from school will have a detrimental effect on a child's schooling and it is parents’ legal duty to ensure that their children attend school. Howard Primary School aims to have a yearly attendance figure of 96%+ and to achieve this, parents must accept that any absence is undesirable. Should your child, for any reason, not be at school we will require an explanation for the absence. We would expect you to telephone the school on the first day of absence by 9.30 a.m. or send a text and a written note when your child returns to school. Should an explanation not be received, the school will investigate to ensure the parent has authorised the absence.

At the end of each year the school has a statutory requirement to publish the percentage of unauthorised/authorised absences in each year group per term.

If your child’s attendance or punctuality gives us grounds for concern, we will notify you. If your child’s attendance  However, if the attendance/punctuality continues to be poor we will ask the Authority’s Family Liaison Attendance co-ordinator to help us to see if we can support you in improving this. The Family Liaison Attendance co-ordinator and Attendance Consultant has the power to fine parents £60 per parent per child, if not paid within 28 days, rising to £120 thereafter until the final deadline of 42 days. Non-payment of penalty notices within the prescribed time limits will result in prosecution. At Howard, we do not approve parents taking children out of school during term time. See our attendance policy.

 

BEING AT SCHOOL EVERY DAY IS VERY IMPORTANT.

Leave of Absence During Term Time

The headteacher may no longer grant leave of absence during term time except in exceptional circumstances. This means that there is no entitlement for you to take your children on holiday during term time.

An application for leave must be made, in writing, to the Head Teacher detailing any exceptional circumstances. Clearly there are many situations that may constitute exceptional circumstances but in general I interpret ‘exceptional’ as being of unique and significantly emotional, educated or spiritual value for a child which outweighs the loss of teaching time. We will consider religious festivals during Ede on a case by case basis and in some instances, we may request supporting evidence. If you are going abroad, the only days that will be authorised are the religious days and the remainder of the time will be unauthorised.

Unauthorised Leave of Absence during Term Time

Any pupil who takes leave of absence of 5 days or more without the school consent may lead to a fixed penalty notice issued by the Local Authority of £60  - £120 per parent per child. This is payable within 28 days rising to £120 thereafter until the final deadline of 42 days. Non payment of penalty notices within the prescribed time limits will result in prosecution. Only Local Authorities can institute court proceedings for penalty notice or for non attendance.

Leave of absence during term time should be avoided in all but exceptional circumstances because children can fall behind with their work and may find it difficult to catch up and re-integrate into friendship groups. Every lesson in school matters and frequent absence from school results in gaps in children’s learning.

We do understand that there are times when absence is unavoidable; if you believe that you have exceptional circumstances which warrant a leave of absence, please complete an absence request form (available from the school office) and return it to the school office as far in advance of the intended leave as possible.  If you intend to leave the UK with your child/family, return flight bookings must also be provided.

Your leave request will be assessed and you will be notified of the Headteacher's decision in writing.

Lateness

As with absence, lateness disrupts a child's schooling and we will require a parental explanation for lateness. The school will investigate all incidents of lateness that have not been adequately explained. Frequent lateness will be reported to the Education Welfare Officer.

 

Games, P.E. and swimming are compulsory parts of the curriculum. Therefore, if a child is to be excused on the grounds of illness or injury parents should write a letter to the class teacher stating the reason and likely length of non-participation.

Jewellery should not be worn for these lessons.