Attendance & Absence Procedure
At Sunnyhill, we expect all children to attend school every day and to go straight to their classrooms at the start of the day. Periods of absence and poor punctuality are disruptive to the children’s learning and send poor messages about the value of education. We ask parents to support us in ensuring their children do not miss out through unnecessary absences.
Attendance and Absence Procedures
Absence from school can only usually be justified when your child is seriously ill. Family holidays, outings and, where possible, medical and dental appointments should be arranged out of school time. If your child is ill you must present evidence of the child’s sickness following a third day of absence, for example a doctor’s certificate, appointment card, GP letter or medical prescription.
In order to maintain safety for all pupils, the school gates will close at 9:00am. Please report to the school reception after this time.
If you know your child will be absent, please ring the school office before 9:00am which will prevent a call or text being sent by the School Attendance Officer.
Letters regarding absence should be handed into the office and not the class teacher. This will enable us to keep track of absences centrally.
Absence below 90% is a cause for concern and will result in letters from the school and an attendance panel meeting with the Deputy Head Teacher and School Attendance Officer.
Punctuality
It is very important that our pupils come to school on time. Lessons start as soon as the register has been taken; if pupils are even a few minutes late it can be confusing for them and disruptive for the class.
The school bell is rung in the morning at 8.55am and we recommend that children are in line for this time. Children arriving after 9.00am will be directed to sign in at the school office where they will be given a late pass, therefore ensuring that we know they are on the premises for Health & Safety reasons. Please try to be on time.
Failure to do so means that your child will remain absent on the school register and in the event of an emergency would be considered as absent. It could also mean that your child will not be included in the school meal numbers for the day.
Late Collection
The normal school day operates between 8.45am and 3.15pm and children have to be collected promptly at 3.15pm. It is a parent/carer responsibility to ensure children are brought to and collected from school on time.
If your child is collected late at the end of the day on more than three occasions then a late collection fee will apply.
If you are anticipating difficulties in being on time to collect your child, please contact the office in advance.
Holidays
Holidays should not be taken during term time. The Head teacher may only grant leave of absence for exceptional circumstances in which an application for leave of absence form must be completed. These forms are available from the school office. Additional documentation may be required to support the request for leave of absence. Please note that there is no obligation for the school to authorise holidays during term time.
Collection arrangements
Please ring the school office before 2.00pm if there are any last minute changes, eg. someone other than the person known to staff is to collect your child at the end of the day. Calling before 2.00pm is important as it allows time for us to get messages to classrooms before the end of the day.
If your child is collected late persistently after 3.30pm a penalty charge of £5 will be applied for every 15 minutes and at 4.30pm your child will be taken to After School Care at additional Emergency Booking rate fee of £22.00.
Attendance and Punctuality Policy is available within the Policies & Documents section.
