Late/Absence Procedures
At Aldeburgh Primary School we take attendance very seriously as we recognise the importance of your child being in school, as it not only benefits them educational but also socially, both elements are very important to a growing child.
The school day begins at 8:45am and ends at 3:15pm.
MORNING
Main doors open from 8:40am, which allows children time to come in, unpack bags and get ready for the day ahead.
Registration opens from 8:50am and closes at 9:05am.
Morning registers close at 9:15am - if a child arrives between 9.05am and 9.15am, they will be marked as LATE.
If a child arrives after 9.15am they will be marked as UNAUTHORISED LATE, unless a call to the School is made to confirm why your child will be late.
AFTERNOON
Registration opens from 1:00pm and closes at 1.05pm.
Afternoon registers close at 1:20pm - if a child arrives between 1.05pm and 1:20pm, they will be marked as LATE.
If a child arrives after 1:20pm they will be marked as UNAUTHORISED LATE, unless a call to the School is made to confirm why your child will be late.
The office will call to find out where your child is, if they have not shown for school or a message is left on the school absent line.
If your child has a medical appointment, the school requires to see an appointment letter. Please let the school know as soon as possible to all medical appointments, this will save us calling you to find out where your child is.
If you require a Leave of Absence Form, please contact the School Office.
Attendance
It is important that all children attend school as much as they are able to. At our school we expect children to attend for 97% of sessions (a session is a morning or an afternoon; there are 2 sessions in a day). Attendance is monitored regularly and parents of children whose attendance falls below 90% (the DfE threshold for persistent absence) may be contacted to discuss the reasons for this.
If a child is absent from school, it is the parent or carer's responsibility to contact the school to let them know of the absence and the reason for it. This phone call should be made as soon as the parent knows their child will be absent. If a parent does not phone to notify the school of their child's absence, we will call during the morning.
Sometimes an absence is known about in advance, such as medical appointments. In these cases, the parent should inform the school office of the intended absence.
There may be circumstances where a parent wishes to take their child out of school for a day or longer. All such requests for absence should be made in writing to the head of school, using the form provided by the office. These absences are authorised at the head's discretion and only in significant extenuating circumstances. Family holidays during term-time are only authorised if the head of school is satisfied that the family would not have been able to take the holiday at another time.
We try hard to work with parents whose children are experiencing attendance issues. This will include identifying the underlying reason for the absences and seeking to put into place measures to support the family. This may happen through a CAF or other support from school. Sometimes, despite the help that is offered, a child's attendance does not improve and the school may refer the case to the Education Welfare Officer. It is always the school's intention to work with the family to achieve the next possible result for the child.
Non-School Uniform Friday's
To help encourage attendance from all children, we run a Highest Attendance Class Competition. The class with the highest attendance percentage of the week, will be invited to come into school in their home clothes on next Friday. An email is sent out to parents on the Wednesday before the Friday to inform, which class has won the highest attendance for the previous week and can come in their home clothes on Friday!
Our Attendance Policy can be found HERE
