Attendance
Good attendance and punctuality are vital.
The school gates are opened by our Senior Leadership team at 8:20am every day.
Early years and KS1
Children need to arrive and be in school by 8.30 am.
Children arriving any later than 8:30am must report to the school office to register.
School finishes at 3:00pm
KS2
Children need to arrive and be in school by 8.40 am.
Children arriving any later than 8:40am must report to the school office to register.
School finishes at 3:10pm
Remember to be punctual!
If your child is regularly late, even by three minutes every day, this can add up to over seven and a half hours of lost learning time in one month, 15 minutes late each day is the same as missing two weeks of school.
Children must also be collected promptly when after-school clubs finish
The school week amounts to 32.5hours.
Lateness and Sickness Absences
Please notify the school in writing or by telephone if your child is absent due to sickness or late.
The office is open from 8.30a.m, however there is a voicemail specifically for absence and you can leave a message at any time with your child's name, class, and reason for absence. A verbal message from a sibling is not acceptable.
We will follow up any unexplained absence or lateness with a phone call and/or a letter.
Punctuality and absences are regularly monitored by the school’s Inclusion Team and our attendance officer. School attendance is a legal requirement which is enforced by Hampshire County Council.
How do know if my child is well enough to attend school?
When a child is obviously unwell, the best place to be is at home with an adult.
A sick child will be very unhappy at school and unable to cope with schoolwork.
If the illness is infectious, other children and teachers may also become ill, so the child must be kept at home.
Please see our leaflet below about illness and how long children should be kept off school. Should your child have an infectious illness, tell us as soon as the doctor has confirmed this.
Medical appointments
If your child needs to leave school during the day for medical appointments, please let us know in writing or by telephone. Unless we have contact from the parent, the child will not be allowed to leave the school premises.
Doctors / dentist appointments are not absences unless the child misses the whole session.
Please note The local authority and OFSTED monitor unauthorised absence and therefore we ask you to always contact the school if your child is absent.
At St. John’s C of E Primary School we work hard to achieve good attendance rates, and these are reported in our weekly newsletter which is sent to all parents/carers.
Holidays and other requests for Absence
Holidays should not be taken during school term time - see our Attendance Policy below for more information.
The Headteacher is only allowed to authorise an absence if it falls under the definition of ‘exceptional circumstances.’
All other absence requests will be recorded as unauthorised on your child’s records.
EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES in which absences may be approved include:
- Attendance at family funerals and ceremonies
- Medical reasons and appointments
- Attendance at extra-curricular events (e.g. sporting competition or tournament)
- Religious worship or commitments
- Visiting prospective future schools or educational establishments (including examinations)
- Visiting relatives, family or friends who may be gravely ill
Should a Penalty Notice be issued as a result of unauthorised absence then one notice will be issued to each parent/carer for each child involved. At time of writing, each Penalty Notice is for £120, which is reduced to £60 if paid within the first 21 days. If a Penalty Notice goes unpaid after 28 days, then court proceedings will be initiated.
We understand the disappointment that the refusal of a leave request may cause and we apologise, but as you can appreciate this policy represents the school’s responsibility and commitment towards providing your child’s education.
We hope that you will support us by ensuring that your son/daughter obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually for the 190 days each year that the law requires (unless prevented from doing so by unavoidable circumstances).