At Havelock Schools we recognise that attending school on time has a positive impact on learning, every lesson really does count for your child. Therefore we must ensure that attendance and punctuality are the highest they possibly can be in order to prepare our children for their future adult life.
Good attendance is linked to achievement, better relationships with other children and better overall behaviour in school. Children can quickly fall behind if even on day is missed.
In-line with the Local Authority guidelines we expect a minimum of 96% attendance.
The Legalities of Term Time Absence
- All absences must be recorded.
- All absences are either authorised or unauthorised.
Examples of authorised absence:
- Genuine illness
- Days of religious observance specified in advance
- Exceptional family circumstances eg bereavement
- Approved sporting activity
- Medical Appointments – evidence to be provided
Examples of unauthorised absence:
- Frequent absence due to minor ailments
- Shopping during school hours
- Looking after siblings of sick parents or carers
- Birthdays
- Day trips
- Holidays
- Arriving late for school after the close of register
Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child is not late for school.
Infant school start 8.50 am Junior school start at 8.55am PLEASE NOTE VARY DEPENDING ON YEAR GROUP DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS
|
Minutes late per day |
Equivalent of missing |
|
5 Minutes |
3.4 school days a year |
|
10 Minutes |
6.9 school days a year |
|
15 Minutes |
10.3 school days a year |
|
20 Minutes |
13.8 school days a year |
|
30 Minutes |
20.7 school days a year |
Absences Including Term Time Holidays
We actively discourage term-time holidays and would ask that you should only book future holidays within the school holiday times. From September 2013 the Department of Education has tightened attendance guidelines, so that any child who takes 5 or more days for unauthorised reasons including holidays is now referred on and could be fined £60 per leave period per adult per child. We understand that it can be difficult for some families to take holidays within school holiday time but we are required by law to follow this guidance.
Monitoring Attendance
At the end of every term we monitor attendance for each child. If your child falls below 95% that term we will notify you in writing that we are concerned about their attendance. If your child's attendance falls below 90% then you will be put on a monitoring schedule with our attendance and pastoral manager. This will involve a meeting and then monitoring for a period of at least 4 weeks where attendance needs to be significantly improved. After a period of monitoring if attendance still does not improve then we will refer your case to CH Education Welfare Solutions. As a last resort legal procedures will be instigated.
We are here to Help
We have Parent Link Worker who can help you if you are struggling to ensure your children attend school regularly. Talk to your child’s class teacher about this or call either school office and ask to speak to Sam Foster