Attendance

Attendance Policy HERE

Parent/Carer Application for Leave of Absence Form HERE

At Wilby Primary School we are committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all our pupils and we  recognise that this can only be achieved by promoting punctual and    full-time attendance for all.

All staff (teaching and support) at Wilby Primary School have a key role to play in supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and will work to provide an environment in which all our children are eager to learn, feel valued members of the school community and look forward to coming to school every day.

Staff will also do all they can to work with parents/carers if they are finding it difficulty to ensure their child's punctual and consistent attendance. Please Do contact your child's class teacher or Mrs Wiseman, who is our Attendance Lead, and they will be pleased to support you if at all possible.

School absence

Irregular attendance leads to pupils missing important lessons and therefore not fulfilling their true potential - every day that a child misses school is a missed opportunity. For example, if a child only attends school for 90% of the school year, they are missing the equivalent of four weeks a year or half a year over five years.

The Department for Education guidance on school attendance states that schools are required to ensure that pupils attend school unless:

• they are ill or have a medical appointment
• the school is closed (e.g. due to bad weather)
• the school transport service is not running or
• the day is a religious festival for that family

Any other occasion for absence must be an exceptional circumstance.  Headteachers are only permitted to authorise term time absence for family holidays if there are exceptional circumstances. There is no entitlement to absence from school in term time. Details of what constitutes an exceptional circumstances can be found in our School Attendance Policy (see above)

Schools are required to enforce good attendance and therefore there is a government system of penalties for unauthorised absence that we are required to follow.   

As per government instruction, Wilby School will refer a family to Suffolk County Council if a child has eight or more unauthorised absences.  Each half day is one absence. These do not have to be consecutive, each unauthorised absence is counted and once they total eight, the penalty referral is made.

The Headteacher does not issue fines but is required to pass the information on to Suffolk County Council who issue the fines. The penalty issued is charged at £60 per parent, per child. A parent is classed as any person who normally cares for the child. For example, if a family has three children and two parents, this will result in a fine of £360.

The money from a fine is paid to the Department for Education, once Suffolk has taken out the cost of issuing it. The money does not go to the school.

Lateness and Punctuality

Children who arrive late for school (after 0845 or 1300), but before the registers close (0910 or 1310), will be marked as late. Any pupil who arrives after the closing of the register will count as absent for the session (a.m. or p.m). Persistent lateness could lead to a Penalty Notice.