Attendance and Absence

Attendance

At Lunsford Primary School we have high expectations of our pupil's attendance and expect them all to come to school every day, on time, unless they are unwell.

Lunsford Primary School is committed to the continuous raising of achievement of all of our pupils. Regular attendance is critical if our pupils are to be successful and benefit from the opportunities presented to them.

One of our basic principles is to celebrate success. Good attendance is fundamental to a successful and fulfilling school experience. Lunsford Primary School actively promotes 100% attendance for all of our pupils and we use a variety of weekly, termly and annual rewards to promote good attendance and punctuality.

We recognise that parents/carers have a vital role, and a legal responsibility, to ensure good attendance and we promise to identify, investigate and work in partnership with parents/carers, pupils and other agencies to resolve attendance problems.

We never authorise term time holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Please see our Attendance Policy under Policies for further details and information.

Department for Education - Information

Attendance and the Impact on Attainment

Please refer to the table below which shows the clear impact on attainment that good attendance has for a child. We continue to reward our children who have good/outstanding attendance throughout the school year.

Attendance and Punctuality Factsheet

Absence

If your child is going to be absent from school for any reason you must let us know. We will then be able to make any necessary arrangements that your child may need upon their return.

In cases of vomiting, please be aware that your child must not return until 24 hours after their last episode. If the sickness is from diarrhea and vomiting then your child must not return until 48 hours after their last episode. This is to ensure that the sickness bug is cleared before returning to school.

In cases of absence due to appointments, please let the office know with any documents you have showing the appointment.

Schools are required to account for each half day of every child’s absence from school. Parents are, therefore requested to telephone the school on 01732 843352/Option 1 (available 24 hours a day) for any absence and send a brief note when their child returns.

Please notify the school in writing at least 24 hours in advance if your child has a medical or dental appointment and is likely to return to school part way through the day, so that we can provide you with a pupil pass. If your child will miss morning registration and requires a school dinner on that day, you will need to let the office know in advance so that a dinner can be pre ordered.

If at all possible please arrange medical appointments outside of school hours.

Please note: We operate a 'first day calling' system when children are absent from school. If we have not had contact from a parent and we are unable to contact by telephone, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised.