Attendance
Grange Infants School seeks to ensure that all its pupils receive a full-time education which maximises opportunities for each pupil to realise his/her true potential. The school will strive to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels wanted and secure. All school staff will work with pupils and their families to ensure each pupil attends school regularly and punctually.
The school has established an effective system of incentives and rewards that acknowledges the efforts of pupils to improve their attendance and timekeeping and will challenge the behaviour of those pupils and parents who give low priority to attendance and punctuality.
To meet these objectives Grange Infants School has an effective and efficient system of communication with pupils, parents and appropriate agencies to provide mutual information, advice and support.
Pupils are expected to be in school every day!
Punctuality
The school day starts at 8.20am when the pupils enter the school building. If a child arrives at school after 8.20am and the doors are shut, then they will have to report to the main reception to come into school. If a child arrives after 8.30am without prior arrangements having been agreed, he/she will be deemed as late. Registers close at 8.30am and arrival at school after this time, without prior approval or extenuating circumstances, will be recorded as late after registration has closed (unauthorised absence). This will affect your child’s attendance figures.
What is expected of our Pupils?
To do all they can to attend school regularly and punctually.
To inform a trusted adult if they have any problems at school and they don’t want to come in.
To ensure that kindness and a calm environment in school helps to create a sense of belonging for all our children.
To be happy and support others when they are down.
What is expected of our parents?
To ensure that their child arrives at school on time, a reason should be offered for any lateness.
To take family holidays during school holiday periods and be aware that requests for holidays during term time will be refused except in special/ exceptional circumstances. Any holiday requested could result in a fine.
To support their child’s education and bring them to school even if they don’t want to be here.
Recognise their child’s successes and achievements.
To understand the curriculum requirements and be especially vigilant with regards to attendance during important academic times such as SAT’s/ Phonic Screener.
To keep requests for their child to be absent to a minimum.
To offer a reason, or medical proof, for any period of absence, preferably before the absence or on the first day of absence.
To ensure to phone the school when their child is ill before registration.
To work closely with the school to improve attendance for their child and to resolve any problems that may impede a child’s attendance.
Please also see our home/school agreement that can be found below or on our policies page.
As part of the White Horse Federation and Swindon LA, we work closely with both school attendance support services to ensure that all children are attending school regularly. Information about what the LA and attendance can be found here.
School attendance | Swindon Borough Council
Absences
Requests for absence from school need to be made on the request form available below or from the main reception. Requests for absence will only be authorised in particular circumstances e.g. medical appointments that cannot be made outside of school times, religious observance, funerals/ weddings of immediate family members and participation in outside examinations.
Holiday requests will not be authorised except in exceptional circumstances.
If you need to take your child out for an appointment during the school day, you will need to sign them out and back in again upon their return through the main reception office.
Grange Infants School, along with all schools in Swindon, follow the Swindon LA guidelines of reporting any authorised absence of 5 or more days to the Local Authority who may then issue a £60 penalty notice to each parent for each child.
Full details of our attendance policy are made available in leaflet form to all parents or it can be found directly below or on our policy page on our website.
For further information regarding attendance, please read:
Sickness
If your child is ill and not well enough to attend school, then please contact the school by 8.30am to inform us.
We ask parents to try not to make medical/ dental appointments during school times if this can be avoided.
If you are not sure if your child should attend school, then please bear in mind that following a bout of sickness or diarrhoea, your child must remain absent for 48 hours after the last bout. This is to make sure that they are fit and strong enough for the rigours of a school day. This also restricts infection between other children and staff members. For any other illnesses, we would ask that you work on the principle, if you would go to work with the condition, then the child should come to school. For any child that deteriorates during the school day, parents will be contacted. No child would be made to stay at school if they are clearly unwell.
For more helpful tips, check out the links below:
Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Attendance Newsletters
As a school we will be sending out attendance newsletters once a term. Please make sure that you read these carefully. You can also access these below:
Attendance Celebration
For those children achieving 96% termly across the year, they will be celebrated each term and a certificate sent home. We will also be emailing out to parents to express our thanks at continuing to make sure their child has fabulous attendance. These children will also be celebrated below with their certificates. Please do look out for these each term.
