Attendance Matters

School Hours

Arrival time: 8.40am Gates locked: 8.45am

Finishing time Rec and KS1: 3.15pm

Finishing time KS2: 3.20pm

 Lates

If you arrive after 8.45am the gates will be locked. You will need to bring your child to the main school gate on Crowden Road to be signed in at the office your child will get a late mark. Please telephone or use the intercom system to alert the office that you are there.   

Late Collection at the end of the school day

We teach all children that if their parent/carer has not arrived at the end of school, they must wait at the school office. 

We ask that parents and carers advise the school office if they are delayed, so that your child can be reassured.   

In the unlikely event of a delay of over 30 minutes, your child will be taken to after school club – please be advised there is a charge for this.  

We ask parents to complete a collection form so we know who has permission to collect your child. Please ensure you keep us up to date. If you will not be collecting your child, please ensure you inform your child who is collecting them before they come into school. Year 5 and year 6 children are allowed to walk home alone if we have written consent from parents stating this. 

Reporting an Absence

Parents and carers are expected to notify school by 9.30am on the first morning their child is absent, by either telephoning the school office on 01827 896666 and pressing option 1 to leave a message on the absence line, or by Dojo messaging Mrs Bevan and Mrs Clifton. Please do not notify teachers of absences, all absences should be reported to the office.

If notification by the parent/carer is not received by 9.30am on the first day of absence, a telephone call or text/dojo message will be made to the parent/carer to determine the reason for non-attendance.  In cases where the school is unable to ascertain a reason for absence, the session will be recorded as unauthorised (O).  Where children are absent for second and subsequent days (this does not have to be consecutive) and there has been no contact from parents/carers, Mrs Claire Bevan, School Liaison & Support Officer, will attempt to make contact via telephone, home visit or letter. Should the unexplained absence continue and a child’s attendance falls below 95% the attendance procedures will be followed. 

If your child has an illness that may be contagious, please check with the school office before sending your child to school. 

If your child has suffered with sickness or diarrhoea, please keep them at home for 48 hours after the last bout. 

Please click on the useful link about childhood illnesses for more information

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/  

Medication 

We are only able to administer medication prescribed by a doctor when an indemnity form has been completed.  Paper copies are available from the school office or a digital online form can be found below.  

https://forms.office.com/r/jtMSFhcBGb 

Medication must be handed in to the class teacher or at the office and should not be kept in your child’s bag.  If it is necessary for your child to take medication longer term, a care plan will be created by Mrs Bevan in consultation with you. 

Missing Children

If a child is absent for a continuous period of 10 days or more without school’s permission we must notify the Local  Authority. School will contact SCASS and take due regard of  safeguarding procedures where absence of a particular child is less than 10 days but presents a cause for concern. A home visit may be made to clarify the  whereabouts and  safety of your child. 

Attendance Monitoring

Our aim is to ensure parents/carers are fully informed regarding their children’s attendance.  To support this we use a colour coded system. As a school our aim is to achieve an overall attendance of 96%, which will give every young person the best chance of achieving their full potential, and bringing us in line with  national attendance expectations.

To ensure every family is fully aware of their child’s current attendance percentage each term we will send out a letter detailing which group your child is in.  If your child is in the red or yellow group a copy of the attendance certificate will be included.

Regular checks of the percentage attendance of all students below 96% will be completed and further action taken as below:

Below 96% - A standard letter may be sent to parents/carers reminding them of the importance of regular school attendance.

Below 90% - Parents/carers may be sent a Stage 1 concern letter setting out timescales for improvement.

If no sustained improvement occurs within set timescales  - Parents/carers may be invited in to a meeting with the School Liaison & Support Officer and school Governor to discuss attendance and support available. Parents/carers may also be informed that no further absences will be authorised without medical evidence, this will be confirmed in writing. Should carers fail to attend this meeting the school may contact Education Welfare and/or SCASS for further support.

If there is no sustained improvement and attendance continues to fall - The School will contact Education Welfare and/or SCASS and an application for a Penalty Notice will be made. 

Rewards

At Stoneydelph Primary School we are keen to reward children who’s attendance is good (98% or above). There are a number of strategies we employ to do this including termly certificates for those children who have achieved  above 98% attendance, class based attendance rewards and our colour coded system rewards the children with 96% attendance and above through receipt of a letter congratulating them and their parents for good attendance. 

Medical Appointments

Missing school for a medical appointment is counted as an authorised absence. Parents should try to make these out of school hours.  Where this is not possible, the student should only be out of school for a   minimum amount of time necessary with appointments being made at the beginning or end of the day to minimise disruption to the school day. 

Illness at school

In cases where a student is unwell at school, parents/carers will be contacted, they should then make arrangements for the child to be collected from school. Please ensure we have your up to date contact details.