Attendance
Good attendance is crucial to your child’s progress, both academically and socially. There are just 190 days in an academic year and with the pace of learning now required of children since the introduction of the new curriculum, each day is crucial. With this in mind school will not be able to authorise any absences for the purpose of a family holiday. If you do feel your child needs to be absent from school due to exceptional circumstances (such as a family bereavement or family crisis) please write a letter detailing the circumstances and hand it into the school office.
Absences
Thank you in advance for your co-operation in contacting school via telephone, email or letter if your child is not going to be in school for any reason. Although wherever possible we ask that dental and medical appointments be made out of school hours. We appreciate that this can not always be the case, therefore could you please make school aware of any appointments via the school office in advance if possible.
To report illness absences please let us know as soon as possible if your child will not be in school either by phoning on 01623 408259 or email us at office@kingsway.notts.sch.uk
If a child does not arrive at school and we have not been informed of the reason we will contact parents / carers to find out why the child is absent. This is to ensure your child’s safety.
Attendance Management Procedures
Attendance is tracked regularly and where there is cause for concern, due to significant absence or a pattern identified, school; will follow the attendance management procedures outlined below;
Stage 1
You will be sent a letter to alert you to the attendance issue and the impact on your child’s learning and progress.
Stage 2
If your child’s attendance has not shown improvement you will be invited to a meeting in order to discuss the absences, any relating issues and to put in place any support required.
Stage 3
If your child’s attendance has still not improved significantly you will be invited to a further meeting during which involvement of other agencies may be required.
*Attendance will continue to be monitored to ensure any improvements are sustained.
Holidays During Term Time
The law requires that once a child is on the school's register, they should be sent to school every day that it is open. There is no right to time off for holidays and frequent absences negatively impacts on your child’s learning.
Just two weeks absence in a year would result in your children having an attendance of less than 95%. Over the period of primary education two weeks absence each year means that your child would miss 14 weeks of school. This is more than a whole term and consequently we would expect their attainment and progress by the end of year 6 to be affected.
Changes to the 2006 regulations made clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances and that penalties may apply. More details are available from school.
Please see the link below for more information from Nottinghamshire County Council
Attendance Policy
Download Attendance Policy 2017 - 2018 June 2017
Attendance Matters Booklet for Parents