Attendance

It is the responsibility of parents to make sure that their child attends school regularly. Our target is for all children to have 96% attendance which is also the national minimum attendance target set by the government of 96%.

Frequent absence significantly disrupts your child’s education. If attendance falls below 96%, parents will be contacted by letter detailing our concerns. Children with attendance below 90% are classed as persistent absentees.

Punctuality is also very important. When children are late, they can often become distressed which disrupts their learning considerably. Children are marked late if they are not in school when the register closes at 8:55 in the morning and 1:00 in the afternoon. We will write to parents if we have punctuality concerns and ask to meet to discuss ways to improve.

Poor attendance can lead to a referral to Lancashire County Council’s Pupil Attendance Support Team (PAST) which could result in legal action being taken. Parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their child attends school regularly and punctually. 

Holidays and Leave of Absence

The school’s Attendance Policy' states, 'No holidays in term time will be approved'. Taking a holiday during term time can have a negative impact on your child’s learning and their attendance. Parents must request an ‘Application for Absence from School: Holiday / Extended Leave’ form from the school office in advance of any planned absence and explain your situation. 

Appointments

Appointments should be outside of the school day or between registration sessions. If you know in advance that your child is going to be absent for an appointment, then please contact the school office. We may ask parents to complete a ‘Medical Evidence Slip’ for the absence to be authorised by the school.

Illness and Medicines

If your child is ill and cannot come to school, you must contact the school office via telephone or School Spider. We check registers every day and if we have not heard from you we will call to make sure everything is alright under our safeguarding obligations and can sometimes make unannounced home visits. When we have attendance concerns, we may ask parents for medical evidence before any absences are authorised.

Children who need to take medication daily to manage permanent conditions will be supervised as they take the medication. Any such medication is stored safely away from children. Parents will be asked to sign a form giving school staff permission to administer medicines to your child. If you feel that your child has special circumstances, please contact the Headteacher to discuss your particular case. Always let us know if your child has or develops a medical condition, such as asthma, diabetes etc. so we can update our records.

Unfortunately, the school accepts no responsibility for the safe keeping or administration of short term medicines. No medication can be administered without a consent form from parents. Only prescribed medication can be given. Children with asthma should have an inhaler in school and an up to date asthma plan. 

If your child becomes ill during the school day and we feel they should be at home, we will contact you. If your child has a bump to the head, which our qualified first aiders deem not to be serious, we will send you a School Spider message to inform you of the care received and details of the accident.