School Attendance and Punctuality Policy

Our attendance policy is designed to help improve the attendance of all of our children and to give them the best chance of achieving well and enjoying their education.

A child is expected to have an attendance of 95% or above at Eaton Primary School.

If your child has an attendance of 90% this is equal to one day lost every fortnight and 80% attendance would be one day a week!

• In-term family holiday and extended holiday as well as the statutory threshold of ten school days have had to be removed. Therefore holidays and visits in term time may no longer be considered as exceptional and if taken would be recorded as unauthorised.
• Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.  For leave of absence to be considered as exceptional then you will need to complete and return a Request for Exceptional Leave form (which can be found in the office letters section of the website) and submit this with written verification made in advance – such as an employer’s letter stating that they are have been made aware of the governments regulations, the nature of the leave and that this time cannot be taken at any other time.
• All such requests will be considered in conjunction with achievement and previous year’s attendance which would need to be 95% or better.

The Attendance team and health care professionals advice regarding whether an ill child should come to school or not guides parents to only withdraw where sickness or diarrhoea or a contagious disease exists alongside a common sense approach.

We would suggest where appropriate that a child is encouraged to attend, even with sniffles or coughs and we would of course advise you later in the day if they have taken a turn for the worse.  If you are not sure either call the school or seek medical advice from your GP. It is important to recognise that for some children good attendance habits are formed at an early stage.

Punctuality

8.30 am: School gates open
8.35 am: The playground is supervised and children enter classes from the playground

8.40 am - Lessons begin and registration starts
8.50 am: Class doors are closed. Any pupils arriving after 8:50am will need to enter via the school office and will be registered as Late.