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Attendance

At Wolfreton we know that good attendance and punctuality are crucial for success.

We expect all students to:

  • Attend school every day
  • Attend school punctually to be welcomed though the Carr Lane or Well Lane gates before they close at 8:30am
  • Attend school ‘Prepared to learn’ fully equipped, for the day ahead

We expect that all parents / carers, as the people responsible for their children will:

  • Be aware of their legal responsibilities and will encourage regular school attendance
  • Ensure that their child/children arrive at school punctually and prepared for the school day

We challenge and support all to achieve the highest levels of attendance, recognising the positive impact of strong attendance. We celebrate and reward those with high attendance regularly, challenging all to secure, ‘Excellence’ and ‘be the best they can be’.

Reporting absence due to illness

If you are concerned your child may be too unwell to attend school, you can check this NHS guide to see if absence is necessary:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

We have a dedicated First Aider and wider first aid team on site who will contact you to arrange for your child to return home if they become too unwell to stay in school during the day.

If your child does need to stay at home, please contact the Attendance Team before 8:25am on:

To report an absence please call 01482 659356 and select Option 1.

When you ring, please give your child’s full name and year group, as well as the full reason for their absence. Please make a separate call each day that your child is unwell.

Unauthorised absence

Any unexplained absence is treated as unauthorised absence.

School attendance that drops below 95% is considered a cause for concern. If this does not improve there is a graduated response that could result in legal action.

To help avoid this, please make every effort to make medical and dental appointments outside of the school day, take holidays out of school term time, and communicate any reasons for absence as soon as possible with the Attendance Team.

Absence from school during term time

Legal background and Department for Education (DfE) guidelines.

While schools are required to consider parental requests for absence from school in term time, it remains the legal duty of parents to ensure the regular attendance of a child of compulsory school age. Failure to do so could result in the local authority issuing a penalty notice or prosecuting the parents in the magistrates’ court.

DfE guidelines clearly state that absence from school can be taken in exceptional circumstances, and this means that the parent must make a strong case for taking a child out of school in an academic year. Exceptional circumstances must be explained fully to the school who will then consider the request. Any medical appointments/procedures during school time are always authorised but the school does require evidence, such as appointment cards or letters.

Parents should not expect that schools would automatically agree to absence from school during term time. The school is not able to authorise any leave of absence during term time unless it is for an exceptional circumstance. Requests for exceptional leave of absence should be sent to Mrs Perry (Assistant Headteacher) in writing. These will be reviewed with the Headteacher as appropriate.

Request for absence – key points for parents / carers

  • Requests for absence during term time will not be authorised.
  • Any requests for the purpose of visiting family, attending family occasions, or celebrations cannot be authorised.
  • Parents are at risk of receiving a penalty notice for unauthorised absence. This is a fine of £80 per parent, per child, if paid within 21 days or £160 if paid within 28 days.
  • If prosecuted and found guilty, the parent faces a punishment of up to £2500 and/or 3 months imprisonment.
  • Request for absence of 20 days or more may result in students being removed from the school register.
  • If a student is removed from the school register:
    • the student cannot return to school
    • parents will need to register their child with the local authority to apply for a new school place.

Supporting those with poor attendance

We encourage communication with us at the earliest opportunity if you have concerns about your child’s attendance. Understanding these concerns will enable us to support you in improving their attendance. Our experienced Attendance Team work within our wider pastoral team. They, and those they work with, are on hand to provide advice and guidance, and also a range of bespoke support to enable your child to attend school regularly.

We can help you by referring to Early Help if you need support at home to help your child attend.

Punctuality

All students are expected to arrive on time for school. The gates at Carr Lane and Well Lane will open at 8:00 am with staff on hand to welcome students. Gates at both entrances close promptly at 8:30 am. After this time, students can only access the site via the main entrance at Well Lane at which stage they will be marked as late and be issued with a same day detention at lunchtime.

If lateness to school is repeated, students should expect to spend time in Internal Exclusion.

If your child is late due to an unforeseen circumstance, please contact the Attendance Team. The school will then be able to decide whether the detention is warranted.

To view our Wolfreton Attendance Procedures, click here.

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