Good school attendance habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for your child. Showing your child the importance of attending school every day not only helps your child to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy the school environment.

By law, all children of compulsory school age (normally five to 16) must receive a suitable full-time education. As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to make sure this happens – either by registering your child at a school or by making other arrangements to give them a suitable, full-time education. Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend regularly. This means your child should not have sessions of unauthorised absence.

If your child becomes reluctant to attend school, it is important to act quickly. Take the time to listen to your child, share any concerns you or your child may have with the appropriate member of school staff and seek support at the very earliest opportunity.

It is our duty to consistently strive to achieve a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance, for example during parent consultations and written communication if your child's attendance falls below 95%. 

Our Attendance Policy is available to view here, please make sure yourself familiar with it so you fully understand your responsibilities as well the schools responsibilities and statutory duties.

Make every minute count by being on time for school, gates are open at the following times:

Infant School - 8:30am to 8:55am Children must be in school ready to learn by 8.55am when lessons begin.

Junior School - 8.30am to 8:45am Children must be in school ready to learn by 8:45am when lessons begin. 

Once you have registered your child at our schools it is your responsibility to make sure your child attends regularly and punctually. If you fail to do so the Local Authority has a statutory duty to consider legal action to enforce school attendance.

There are a number of legal measures that the Local Authority can pursue, these include:

• an Attendance contract
• being included in the fast track system which means you will be expected to improve your child's attendance within a given period of time
• receiving a penalty notice. A First Penalty Notice is £80 if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 22-28 days. A second Penalty Notice may be issued if a Penalty Notice has previously been issued in the preceding three-year period in respect of the same child. A second Penalty Notice is £160 if paid within 28 days with no option for this second offence to be discharged at the lower rate of £80
• being prosecuted in the Magistrates’ Court. This means you could receive a community order, a fine of up to £2,500 per parent/carer, a custodial sentence or an Education Supervision Order