Attendance
Rates of attendance and punctuality have a huge impact on achievement.
School starts at 8.55 am.
Any absence must be explained to the school for the absence to be authorised.
Absence is not authorised for family holidays.
Our target for attendance for every child is 96%.
Attendance rates below 90% are now the threshold for "persistent absence" and action will be taken if attendance remains below this level.
ILLNESS
If a child is absent at any time the school should be notified by telephone (01767 312 311 for West Site and 01767 312 212 for East Site) or by reporting on ParentMail.
Please note that children are not to return to school until there is a clear 48 hours since the last episode of sickness or diarrhoea.
Should a child be taken ill or have an accident at school we will contact you. Please make sure we have telephone numbers for emergencies. In the event of a minor fall or accident, first aid will be carried out in school.
Early warning of infectious diseases is also especially helpful.
We use guidance from the Public Health Agency regarding infection control (how long children need to be off school). See file below for details.
If you do need us to give medicines to your child during the school day, you will need to complete a School Medicine Record (at the bottom of this page.)
HOLIDAY
The law states that children may be granted leave of absence for family holidays only in certain very exceptional circumstances, for a total of up to two weeks in any one academic year, and the forms for this are available from the school office or by clicking here.
However, the reasons for holiday absence must be exceptional are therefore very rarely authorised. We are instructed not to accept a cheaper holiday as an exceptional reason.
Unauthorised absences and poor attendance will be noted by the Educational Welfare Officer. Regular school attendance is very important and good habits are formed early. Children can lose confidence and become apprehensive if they miss work and the pattern of the school routine is interrupted.
SCHOOL CLOSURE UPDATES
The local authority has a system to notify parents of school closures. Go to https://apps.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/webApps/SOS/ You can also register for e-mail alerts via the Central Bedfordshire Schools' Open Status (SOS) system. A guide can be found below.
We will only close the school if we have problems with the heating or if many of the staff cannot get to school due to the weather and we therefore do not have enough staff to supervise the children safely. If we decide we need to close the school we make the decision between 8.00 – 8.15 a.m. because that is when we know if we have enough staff to supervise the children. (If we make the decision earlier we may close the school unnecessarily.)
Once the decision is made we notify the local authority and BBC Three Counties Radio on 95.5 FM, 103.8 FM, 104.5 FM, who read out the list of schools closed every half hour.
If the school is open the children are expected to attend. Please let us know other reasons for absences as you would on any other day.
