Attendance
Let’s begin with four startling facts:
Did you know….?
1 in 3 students with poor attendance (below 80%) do not achieve any qualifications at all when they leave secondary education.
A student with 85% attendance will miss 29 days in a year – that is a half term of learning lost!
A student who misses 38 days each year will miss 2 whole years of learning by the age of 16
Never being late - a vital life skill and also good manners
Punctuality is very important. Please see below our start times:
Nursery
8.45am Classroom entrance opens and children come into class.
9.00am School day starts
Reception
8.40am Classroom entrances open and children come into class.
8.50am School day starts.
Years 1 and 2 (Key Stage 1)
8.40am Classroom entrances open and children come into class.
8.50am School day starts.
Years 3-6 (Key Stage 2)
8.45am The bell is rung and KS2 children line up quietly until staff bring them into school.
8.55am School day starts.
At 9.15am the registers will be closed. In accordance with the Regulations, if your child arrives after that time, they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site – ‘U’, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean that they have an unauthorised absence. Immediately after the register has been taken the children are straight into their first lesson. If children do arrive late they find it very hard to catch up on the work they have missed.
Religious observance
Where children are required to be absent from school for religious festivals they will be marked R in the register but this will not count against their actual attendance figure.
Hertfordshire County Council's role
Hertfordshire Local Authority Attendance Support Specialists work strategically by offering support to schools, to reduce persistent absence and improve overall attendance. The service can and does levy penalty notices (fines) for poor attendance and taking holidays during term-time without permission (see below).
It is important that parents understand that there is no automatic right to taking holidays during term-time. The authorisation of holidays is at the discretion of the headteacher. Any request must be made in writing. It is our policy to be sympathetic when a family finds themselves in extreme circumstances. We would not authorise a holiday close to assessment times (in particular for Year 6 SATS).
Exceptional Leave of Absence
Applications must be made using the link below at least 10 school days prior to the first date of exceptional leave. Any application for leave must explain why the absence is exceptional and unavoidable. Please contact the office if you have any questions or difficulties completing the application form. You will be notified of the Headteacher's decision via email.
