School Day and Attendance

Time away from school

The law states that parents / carers have a duty to ensure their children received a suitable education and do not have the automatic right to take their children out of school.  From September 2013 the Government  has said schools will not be able to authorise any holiday in term time.  The Local Authority can issue Penalty Notices or institute legal proceedings if parents or carers do not co-operate in ensuring their child's attendance at school.

All absences from school must be requested on the appropriate form held in the school office.  This includes absences for medical appointments, including hospital and counselling appointments.  In addition parents / carers will need to bring any letter or documentation detailing the absence to the school office so the school can take a copy.  For example, a letter from the hospital. 

The law requires us to regard any absence or lateness for which we do not have a reasonable explanation and evidence where it exists to be recorded as 'unauthorised' holidays. 

Emergency School Closures

During the day

In extreme circumstances (severe weather or failure of the heating system for example) it may be necessary to close the school early.  If this should happen, we will contact parents initially by text via Group Call.  We will follow this up with individual phone calls depending on the nature of the closure.  It is essential that we have contact details for all our families including friends/extended family should parents be unable to come into school. 

Before the School Day starts

In the event of severe weather meaning that the school cannot open in the morning, we will send parents a Groupcall text and post a message on our website.  We will also put out a message on local radio.  If parents do not receive a message before 8am then the school is safe to open and children should come in. One of the considerations the school has when making a decision not to open is the safety of staff travelling in from outside the local area and the impact travel difficulties for them may have on the pupil to staff ratio.  We will always do our best to ensure the school is open in the event of weather disruption.