Attendance and Punctuality
Children should arrive at school from 8.35am. On wet days we shall endeavour to allow children to shelter from the rain inside. Members of staff will be at the entrances of the school to guide children indoors when it is deemed too wet to wait outside.
Parents and carers will be welcomed into the playground from 3.20pm unless a supervised curricular activity is taking place. Parents are asked to wait until 3.20pm before entering the playground so as to minimize disturbance.
Parents collecting children from the Infant School may wait in the Infant School playgrounds until the Junior School playgrounds are opened. Please make sure that you have communicated clearly with your child and the school about going-home or collection arrangements as misunderstandings often cause distress. If extremely late, we may have to refer your children to the Duty Social Worker.
We expect all parents to abide by our professional code of conduct when in or around school grounds. Other children should not be approached regarding issues of discipline and voices should never be raised nor should any communication be anything other than polite and respectful.
Whilst we hope never to have to use it, section 547 of the Education Act 1996 allows removal and prosecution for trespass of parents who cause nuisance or disturbance on school premises.
Absence from School
If ill, please refrain from sending your child to school. If your child is unwell or is going to be late due to a medical appointment, please call the school office to advise. When returning to School, please send a brief note to explain the absence. We shall gladly accept an email from a parent instead of a letter.
Exceptional Leave
The Governing Body, following the Local Authority’s regulations, permits the headmaster to authorize up to ten days absence with the following conditions:
- that there is at least 95% attendance in that academic year;
- that the request is genuinely an exceptional circumstance and one-off request;
- a form to request special leave is available from the School Office.
Please note that the headmaster may not authorize requests where the reasons provided include reasons such as cheaper flights and so on; exceptional circumstances usually include bereavement or severe illness. Holidays in term time disrupt your child’s education and reflect on the School’s nationally-published results.