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Attendance
Good attendance is 97% or above. This has a positive impact on a child’s opportunities for progress and attainment. 90% or below is classed as ‘persistent absence’ and school attendance meetings will be convened to address this.
We have informative leaflets about attendance which you can read by clicking the links below.
Attendance in Primary SchoolAttendance in the Early Years
Holidays
Schools may agree holiday absence in exceptional circumstances with consideration being given to pupil’s attendance, attainment and public examinations. Absences may only be authorised at the discretion of the Head Teacher.
Applications must be made well in advance and not left to the last minute assuming permission will be given - the new 2024 Department for Education statutory guidance 'Working together to improve school attendance' makes it extremely unlikely that any term-time holiday will be authorised. Applications for term-time holiday are available from the School Office.
Circumstances which are notified to the school or Local Authority after a decision has been made by the head teacher will not be considered. Therefore, please be certain to provide details of the exceptional circumstances relating to your application and attach any supporting evidence with the completed form.
If approval is not granted, and the absence still taken, it will be regarded as unauthorised.
When a child has 10 sessions of unauthorised absence, the equivalent to 5 full school days, then you may be subject to a penalty notice. Wiltshire Council information about penalty notices for unauthorised leave of absence during term time explains that Section 444A and Section 444B of the Education Act 1996 give powers to the Local Authority (LA) to issue Penalty Notices where the parent/carer is considered capable of, but unwilling, to secure an improvement in their child’s school attendance.
Please read our Attendance Policy in the policies section of the website, which stipulates all the necessary details and procedures that will be followed if attendance is a concern.
Click here to see our attendance policy
Illness and appointments
Where possible, please try to schedule routine appointments outside of the usual school day. We understand at times children will need to attend emergency appointments and sometimes it is not possible to choose a time, such as attending hospital or for exams, so please provide copies of relevant letters with the request for absence forms.
If you child is sick, then we follow Public Health England guidelines regarding the period that a child needs to be kept from school. Please follow the guidance below and please don’t send your child to school if they are clearly unwell, as it may be passed onto other children and staff. It is the responsibility of parents/carers to contact the school if their child is unable to attend, and this should be done before the start of the school day by contacting the office on 01380 723991.
Wiltshire Local Authority Information on Penalty Notices
The Local Authority (LA) has powers to issue Penalty Notices where the parent/carer is considered capable of but unwilling to secure an improvement in their child’s school attendance. Details can be found on the LA website and at the link below.
