School Opening Hours

Our school starts at 8:50am and finishes at 3:20pm Monday to Friday which mean your child attends school for 32.5 hours in a typical week.

Attendance

For our children to gain the greatest benefit from their education, it is vital that they attend regularly, so your child should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

Nationally, pupils with the highest attainment and best rate of progress at the end of key stage 2 have higher rates of attendance compared to those with the lowest attainment. There is a clear correlation nationally between poor school attendance and a number of extra-familial harms. This includes crime (90% of young offenders had been persistently absent) and serious violence (83% of knife possession offenders had been persistently absent in at least 1 of the 5 years of study).

Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not by the parents), as either “authorised” or “unauthorised”. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required. Any pupil arriving after the register is “closed” which is 20 minutes after the start of the session is recorded as “absent through lateness”, this too is categorised as either authorised or unauthorised.

Exceptional Leave

Taking holidays in term time will affect your child’s schooling as much as any other absence and we expect parents to help us by not taking children away in school time.  Remember that any savings you think you may make by taking a holiday in school time are offset by the cost to your child’s education and any potential fine.  There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school time to go on holiday.  If you believe that there are truly exceptional circumstances that require taking your child out of school please contact our Headteacher at least three weeks before the date.  All schools in Oxfordshire are encouraged to adopt a policy of not authorising Exceptional Leave.  Certainly a request for a holiday would not meet the criteria of exceptional leave.

It is very important therefore that you make sure that your child attends regularly and our Attendance Policy sets out how together we will achieve this.

Parents/carers can gain further information and help from the DFE publication UK Government Working Together to improve school attendance.

Should you send your child to school if they are poorly?

Whilst we want to improve school attendance, children who are ill should not be in school.  We especially ask that children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days (48 hours).  If you’re not sure then you can check the NHS guidelines: Is my child too ill for school?

What YOU must do:

• Try to telephone the school before 8.30am each day of your child’s absence.
• Tell the school in advance, of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters.
• If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival.
• Have a backup plan for if your child misses transport, call on a family member, neighbour or friend.
• If you and your child are experiencing difficulties with school attendance then talk to us as a first step so we can help!

What WE will do:

• Check your child’s attendance every day.
• Phone home to discuss your child’s attendance with you.
• Invite you into school for attendance meetings if we are concerned.
• If we cannot establish a reason for absence, then we may make a welfare home visit.