Who are the attendance support team?

What are the times of the school day, and what happens if my child is late?

We ask that all pupils are on the school playground at 8:30am, ready for learning to begin at 8:40am.

All pupils are dismissed from school at 3:15pm.

If pupils arrive later than 8:40am, they will receive a late mark and will need to sign in at reception. Where pupils are late without a suitable reason or are repeatedly late, they may receive a consequence. Registers only remain open during AM registration, after which point pupils are marked absent.

What is good attendance?

It is more important than ever that children are in the classroom as much as possible. Every minute missed represents learning lost. Good attendance means being in school every day that children can attend. We will write to you with updates around your child’s attendance regularly.

We recognise good and improving attendance with celebrations throughout the year, and, most importantly, by maintaining excellent attendance, we enable all pupils to achieve their potential and flourish at Ipsley.

What is poor attendance?

Poor attendance means missing school when it is not absolutely necessary. For example, when a child is a little bit unwell but could still attend school, or miss lessons for appointments which could have been scheduled outside of school. We will write to you with updates around your child’s attendance regularly.

Where pupils’ attendance is poor, the attendance support team will review what support is in place for your child and work together with families to improve this. We want to work with families to ensure all pupils have good attendance, which enables them to succeed in school, so please contact us if you have concerns about your child’s attendance, and we will work together to improve this.

Where we are monitoring a child because of poor attendance, we may need to work with Educational Welfare Officers and the Local Authority to secure pathways to attendance improvements. Unfortunately, this can include issuing fines for non-attendance.

How should I decide if my child is too ill to attend school?

The NHS has produced some excellent guidance where you can check if your child is well enough to attend school: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/. Please ensure you have checked this website before deciding to keep your child off school.

How do I inform you that my child is not going to be in school?

Children should be in school every day unless absolutely necessary. If your child is too ill for school, you should complete the online form on our school website or on ePraise by 8:15am on each day of their absence. If you cannot access the online form, you can call our answerphone on 01527 525725.

What should I do if my child has a medical condition that may impact on their attendance?

It is really important that the attendance support team know if your child has a medical condition that may impact their attendance. This helps us to make sure they have all the support they need in school to succeed. Please ensure you have contacted Mrs Cross (Behaviour & Wellbeing Leader for Attendance) to inform her of any medical conditions.

How do I request a leave of absence for school?

Please be aware we are unable to authorise leaves of absence from school except for in especially exceptional circumstances. Holidays should not be booked in term time.

If you would like to request a leave of absence from school, you will receive a response informing you whether it has been granted or not. You must complete your form ahead of the leave of absence.

You can download a form from our website (on the ‘Parents’ tab), or by contacting the school office.

Who should I contact to discuss attendance further?

Mrs Cross (Behaviour & Wellbeing Leader for Attendance) is a brilliant point of contact for your attendance questions. You can contact her by emailing or calling the school office. You can also speak to your child’s class teacher or form tutor.