This is the process from September 2024. Please see 2023 policy below for current arrangements. 

All children should be at school by 8:45am every day when the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. 

The school applies the following procedures in deciding how to deal with individual absences: 

• Parents are required to telephone and inform school on the morning of the first day of absence no later than 9:15am.
• The school operates a first day contact system, which means that should we not have been informed of a child's absence, we will contact parents in order to receive an explanation for this.
• Parents may also be prompted to contact school via a text message or an e-mail.
• Parents should maintain contact with school for absences longer than one day.
• Unexplained absences are followed up with a letter from the school office. No reply will result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised. (O code -no reason for absence has been established, or the school isn’t satisfied that the reason given would be recorded using one of the codes for authorised absence). 
• When learners arrive late, they are required to report to the main office and parents are asked to sign them in to record their arrival and reasons for lateness.
• Arriving after 8:45am will result in a child having their attendance recorded as a Late (L code) on the register. 
• Arriving after 9:05am will result in a child having their attendance recorded as unauthorised (U code). 
• Pupils collected before 2:45pm without good reason will be recorded as unauthorised (U code). 
• In appropriate circumstances, entering into Parenting Contracts and issuing Penalty Notices will be considered.

Here is a useful link to the NHS website 'Is my child too ill for school?'

Further details can be found in our Attendance Policy below.