Attendance and Punctuality

If your child is unable to come to school:

1. If your child is going to be absent due to illness, please log the absence on Arbor before 8.45am if possible.
2. Please ensure you complete the reason for their absence before you send the form as we are required to keep records of why children are not in school. Please tell us the nature of your child's illness, for example a temperature, tonsillitus or chicken pox.
3. Hospital/dental/GP appointments should be made outside school hours, if this is not possible, please provide a copy of the appointment letter/card to the office either before the appointment or once your child has returned to school.
4. If you need to request a day off for any other reason, please use the form below which can also be collected from the school office. Once completed return to Debbie Miller, the school's Attendance Officer.

If your child is late:

Children should arrive to school in between 8.45am and 8.55am. Any children arriving after 8.55am will need to be signed in as late by their parent at the school office. Registers are taken promptly at 8.55am.

School timings:

The school day begins at 8.55 and the end of the school day is 3:25pm for all children in reception-year 6. Children are in school for 6 hours and 30 minutes a day which equates to 32 hours and 30 minutes a week.

Updated information of some important changes the Department for Education has introduced regarding school attendance and the issuing of penalty notices:

Updated information of some important changes the Department for Education has introduced regarding school attendance and the issuing of penalty notices when children are absent from school. A new National Framework for Penalty Notices has been introduced. The new regulations have come into effect. The aim is to improve consistency in the use of penalty notices across England.

 What is a penalty notice?

A penalty notice allows parents to pay a one-off fine without the matter being referred to court.

 The national framework includes:

• A single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered of ten sessions (usually equivalent to five school days) for any unauthorised absence within a rolling ten school week period. The 10-week period may span different terms or school years. For example, two sessions of unauthorised absence in the summer term and a further eight during the autumn term.

• An increase to the rate of a penalty notice from £120 to £160 if paid within 28 days and £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days. If a second penalty notice is issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling three-year period, the notice will be charged at the higher rate of £160 with no option for this second offence to be discharged at £80.

• The Penalty Notice fine is issued per parent per child.

• A national limit of two penalty notices that can be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling three-year period, so at the 3rd (or subsequent) offence(s) another tool must be considered (such as prosecution or other attendance legal interventions).

 This means that if you have applied for a leave of absence to take place from September 2024 - July 2025 and the school has not agreed to authorise it, you may receive a penalty notice

 Please be aware that new legislation does not allow schools to authorise any holidays in term time or authorise leave retrospectively. Grange Park will not normally authorise any leave of absence, taken between September 2024 and July 2025 unless there are exceptional circumstances. If your child is absent from school without approval during this academic year you may be liable for a Penalty Notice at the level prescribed by the new framework. This will be applied for by the school and issued by the Local Authority.

The Local Authority does not accept late, or part payments and no reminders will be sent. If a penalty notice issued is not paid within the time limits (as shown above), the Local Authority may make the decision to refer the matter to the Magistrates court for prosecution under the Education Act 1996 for the original offence of failing to ensure your child attends school regularly.

 Should you fail to request or seek approval for any leave of absence, and/or fail to provide evidence (if requested) to support the absence, a penalty notice may be issued without further notice.

 If you would like to discuss this matter further please contact Tracy Murray (Deputy Headteacher and senior attendance champion on the school’s leadership team)

Some additional guidance from the Department for Education

Maintaining consistent attendance is vital for your child's academic progress and overall educational experience. Regular attendance not only ensures that they keep up with the curriculum but also fosters a sense of routine and engagement in the learning process. More information for parents can be found here: 

Everything you need to know about school attendance - The Education Hub

We acknowledge that circumstances can vary, and sometimes absences are unavoidable due to illness or unforeseen events. It is usually appropriate for parents and carers to send their children to school with mild respiratory illnesses. This would include general cold symptoms: a minor cough, runny nose or sore throat. However, children should not be sent to school if they have a temperature of 38°C or above. We would like to share the NHS ‘Is my child too ill for school?’ guidance with parents in our school, which has further information.