Please note that the school is not able to authorise any holidays during term time. Parents taking their child out of school for holidays during term time are likely to be fined.

As a parent or carer, you are responsible for ensuring that your child attends school regularly and on time. 

What does regular attendance mean?

Regular attendance means that your child must:

• Attend school every day unless there are justified reasons for not attending which are unavoidable.
• Arrive at school on time each day, properly dressed, having had breakfast and with the right equipment for the day.

Why is regular attendance important?

• Good attitudes to school attendance and punctuality will set firm foundations for your child in the future, both at secondary school and as they enter the world of work, where employers will be looking for people with the right attitudes.
• The more they are here, the more they can learn. Research clearly shows that children who attend school for more than 95% of the time make the amount of progress we would expect for them, while those whose attendance was 100% made, on average, more than expected progress. Children with attendance below 90%, however, made a lot less progress and their educational achievement was impacted by their non-attendance.

  Every Day Counts (pdf)

• Absence can damage confidence. When children are away, they miss chunks of the learning. Not only do they miss what they are not in school for, but when they do come back into school, they don’t understand the new learning because of the gaps that now exist. So they can feel that they don’t understand what is going on for some time until they have managed to catch up. Every lesson missed can cause them to struggle more.

What can I do to help my child’s attendance?

There are several things you can do to keep your child’s attendance high:

• Make sure your child knows the importance of regular school attendance. Your own attitude to school is vital. If you place great importance on attendance and punctuality, your child will do the same.
• We appreciate how difficult it is sometimes, as a parent, to know if your child is genuinely unwell, or if they just do not want to go to school. If you are not sure if your child is genuinely ill, it is best to send them into school, as often once the learning has begun, the child forgets they felt poorly and is absolutely fine. Should they still feel ill later, however, we can contact you.
• All children have their moments of not wanting to go to school. But if your child begins to show unusual reluctance to come to school, contact the class teacher as soon as possible to discuss this. Encourage your child to speak to their class teacher about any issues they might be having, academic, social, or emotional.
• Make any medical or dental appointments outside school hours or in the school holidays where possible. If this is not possible, we would urge you to bring your child to school for their register mark in the morning, then take them to their appointment later, ensuring they are back in school for 1pm registration.
• Make sure your child only misses school if it is absolutely necessary. See our guidance on ‘Managing Sickness Absence’. Remember that your child must never miss school for birthdays, visiting relatives, holidays, or because of siblings or parents being unwell.
• If your child has issues with attendance and punctuality:
  • Make early contact with the school and keep in touch.
  • Work with the school to sort out any issues.
  • Make sure that your child understands that you do not approve of absence.

Safeguarding

All absences must be reported by 8:30am on a daily basis. If your child is absent and we have not received notification from you, a call home will be made. This helps us to ensure our pupils are safe.  If there is no response at home, the school will take further action to locate your child and may refer to safeguarding services.

If my child is late for school what should I do?

Children can arrive at school from 8.30am when the gates are opened and should all be in school by 8.45am. Any child arriving after this time will be marked as late (L). If children arrive at school after the gates have closed their parents must sign them in at the school office. If registers have already closed when the child arrives in class, even if it only a few minutes afterwards, this will be counted as a half day absence and it will be marked as unauthorised. Continual unauthorised lateness or poor attendance will draw the attention of the governing body when they do their regular monitoring checks and could result in further action being taken.

Can I take my child out of school for another reason?

The Education Regulations state that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Family holidays, day trips, shopping or birthdays are not classed as exceptional.  Parents who believe their reasons to be exceptional and unavoidable should complete a request for leave of absence in advance, using the form from the school office. In the event of a holiday or unauthorised absence being taken, a Penalty Notice may be issued by the Local Authority in accordance with Hampshire guidelines. The Penalty Notice is £80, per child per parent/carer, if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days.  Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in you being served a summons to appear at the Magistrates Court. Repeat offences could result in a fine of £2500 and a criminal record.

Information on Penalty Notices for non-attendance at school – August 2024

Will I be made aware if my child’s attendance is a concern?

We will keep you informed about your child’s attendance percentage. If you or we are concerned about your child’s attendance, we will invite you to come and speak with us about it and will work with you to improve it.

Form to request leave of absence for exceptional circumstances 2024

Please see below a Quick Guide to our Attendance Policy with advice on how to keep your child’s attendance high. For the full policy, please see our policies section of this website.

Attendance Policy Quick Guide for Parents 2024