Attendance

It is imperative that children are in school, on time, every day. We aim for our all children to have at least 97% attendance with as many children on 100% attendance as possible.  We know that children who attend school every day are more likely to learn more, have more friends and get a good job when they are older. To give your children the best chances and opportunities, they must be in school. 

Which section does your child currently sit within?

It is soon going to be that time of year (if not already) where colds are on the increase. We understand that when feeling under the weather, staying at home can feel like the best form of recovery but as the NHS says, “not every illness needs to keep your child from school.”

Here are the recommendations from the Public Health Agency for common illness that often, but not always necessary, result in absences from school;

If your child is going to be absent from school:

Phone the school on 0115 9649388 to speak to our Attendance Officer. This phone is manned from 8:00am -11:00am. If you are calling outside these times, or no-one is available, then please leave a voicemail message with the following information:-

• Name of your child (please spell if necessary)
• Name of class
• The relationship to the child of the person who is reporting the absence
• Nature of illness, we cannot accept, illness, poorly or not feeling well, in order to authorise the absence we need to know exactly what is wrong with your child.

If your child has a doctor, hospital or dentist appointment during school time, then you must bring the letter/appointment card into school for us to photocopy and put in your child’s record.

If you do not report your child’s absence, we will phone you to ask where your child is. As part of our Safeguarding policy we have to ensure all children who are not in school are safe, please help us to do this!!

A massive thank you to all parents/carers who keep the school informed on a daily basis when their child is absent. This helps us tremendously in the safeguarding of all children who attend Arnbrook.

Punctuality

At Arnbrook we are trying very hard to reduce the amount of children who arrive late for school. It has shown that pupils who used to be late for school and no longer are, have improved their attainment and social achievements. Arriving late is very unsettling for your child, and also for the other children in class who have arrived on time. Please make sure they are here in plenty of time, remember our classrooms doors open at 8.40am and close promptly at 8:50am. If a child arrives late, they MUST be brought into school by an adult and signed in our our touch screen system. It is unfair to send your child into school alone when they are late as they are unable to complete this independently.

Leave of Absence

We have clear procedures that MUST be followed if you are planning to take your child out of school for any reason (including holiday).

• A leave of absence form must be completed (this is available from the school office) at least four weeks in advance.
• A letter addressed to Mr. Fowlie, Headteacher, explaining why it is essential to take your child out of school during term time.

You must supply confirmation of your travel details either in hard copy or electronically.

• Leave of absence will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances only.
• If you intend to take your child out of school for the purpose of a religious festival a leave of absence form must be completed.
• All unauthorised absences will result in a Penalty Notice being issued, this will incur a fine to both parents for each child.

Failure to follow this procedure could lead to a prosecution.

Please remember that if your child has a significant number of unauthorised absences recorded this could lead to the Education Welfare Service becoming involved. The school will also liaise closely with you to help support you if this is likely. To avoid this from happening we are requesting this evidence to be produced.

It is important that we work together in improving our attendance, you can help by:-

Remembering to phone us every day your child is absent from school. Save the school’s attendance number in your phone 0115 9649388.

Supervision before school

We are unable to take responsibility for children on the school premises before 8:40am. It is very important that children do not play on the play equipment before or after school as there is no supervision at these times. Thank you for your co-operation.