Attendance

To view our attendance handbook please click here.

Our school gates to the playground open at 8:30am. Children are allowed to go straight to their classrooms from 8:45am when the doors open. The doors will close at 8:55am and anyone arriving after this time will need to go to the main office where their reason for lateness will be recorded. If you are late, you must go to the office as we need to know that your child is in school and whether or not they require a hot lunch.

A Guide to Good Attendance

What is ‘good’ attendance and why is it important?

Attendance at school isn’t just important, it is a legal obligation for children over the age of five. Being in school every day gives your child the best chance possible to achieve their potential. For that reason, it is the local and national expectation that children attend school 100% of the time. However, it is important to note that we understand exceptional circumstances and illness happens. Your child’s health and wellbeing are important to us.

We continually strive to make this a school that children bounce out of bed in the morning and feel excited about getting to!

What are the timings of the school day?

The gates to the playground open at 8.30am for breakfast club and the school day begins at 8:45am. From 8:45am, your child is invited into school to prepare for the start of their day. The gate closes at 8.55am to enable the register to be taken by 9am. If you arrive after 8.55am, please visit the main office where Mrs Bowman will meet you. The register closes at 9am. The school day finishes at 3.05pm. It is important you let us know who is picking your child up if it isn’t you… we cannot release them to anyone without your permission!

What is the difference between authorised and unauthorised attendance?

Authorised attendance is when you have informed the school that your child will not be in and the reason you provide is acceptable. For example, your child might have a sickness bug and is unable to attend school. Unauthorised attendance is when your child does not attend school and you do not inform us of the reason why, or the reason you provide is not acceptable. For example, we couldn’t authorise the absence if you wanted to keep your child at home for their birthday. If your child has a pattern of unauthorised attendance you become vulnerable to a not-insignificant fine from the Local Authority.

What are the rules around lateness?

The school register closes at 9am. Should your child arrive at school after that time, they will be registered as ‘late’. We closely monitor who is arriving around or just after 9am each day. Should your child arrive later than 9.20am, without a legitimate reason for this e.g. a doctor’s appointment, their morning attendance will be marked as ‘unauthorised’.

What should I do if I am struggling to get my child to school?

Get in touch! There are many things we can do to help you get your child to school and we take our responsibility seriously here. The idea of a child not wanting to go to school in the morning is Mrs Preedy and Miss Tyler’s least favourite thing!

What are the rules of term-time holidays?

As you may be aware from the national press and the story of Jon Platt from the Isle of Wight, term time holidays are a much-debated issue. The Government has renewed appeals to parents not to take their children out of school during term time and this is something we support at our Rowanfield Schools. Children will only be given permission to take leave in term time if there are exceptional circumstances.