Attendance

Attendance is very important – our school target is 97%

Regular attendance at school promotes pupil well-being, maximises progress in learning and helps pupils reach their potential. Parents/carers have a responsibility to ensure that their child receives full time education and regular attendance is essential if children are to progress with their learning. Good attendance is fundamental to a successful and fulfilling school experience and it is our duty to promote 100% attendance for all children. For our children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered it is vital that our pupils are at school, on time, every day the school is open, unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.

Absence

If your child is going to be absent from school because of illness or an unavoidable occurrence, then please let the school know by 9.30 am, you can do this either by telephoning on 01223 568836 or by email on office@spinney.cambs.sch.uk  

We can then establish if this is an authorised absence, an authorised absence is an acceptable reason for absence and could include but not restricted to:

• illness; hospital/dental appointments; religious holidays; attendance at court; funerals etc. 

You will need to inform the school each day of any absence, so that the absence can be recorded appropriately. 

If your child does need to attend an appointment, these should, where possible, be arranged after the school day or during holidays.  If the appointment is unavoidable during the school day then please ensure that the school is informed and a request for absence form is completed and handed in to the school office, along with a copy of the medical appointment invitation/card, where applicable.

Click HERE for information from the NHS to help you decide if your child is too unwell to attend school. 

Please click HERE for the Cambridgeshire County Council’s leaflet on School Attendance, ‘Is Your Child in School Today?’ The attendance pattern for all children is monitored weekly with the school seeking to work actively with parents to ensure a regular pattern is maintained. One of our basic principles is to celebrate success.

Punctuality

We believe that punctuality is an important social courtesy and regularly arriving late to school not only disrupts your child’s opportunities for learning but also those of the children in their class.  Children arriving late must access the school via the school office where they will be registered and the reason for their lateness will be recorded.  Where the child arrives after the register has closed (9.00 am when the gates are closed and 1.05 pm for the afternoon session) the absence will be recorded as a lateness and will affect their overall attendance percentage. 

Leave of Absence

Children of school age who are registered at The Spinney School must, by law, attend school regularly. The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended the previous Education Regulations (England) 2006 removing the Headteacher's discretion to agree term time holiday.  As a result, all holidays taken in term time will be unauthorised unless the absence is for 'exceptional circumstances'. In addition, where the absence is three consecutive school days or more, each parent will be liable for a Penalty Notice resulting in a fine for term-time leave.

Parents are expected to provide explanations for their child/ren's absence. Please complete an Absence Request Form to explain why your child will not be in school. If authorisation for this leave is not granted but the child is absent, or no authorisation is sought, or the period of leave is at a similar time of year to an unauthorised absence in a previous year, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. As a result, a referral will be made to the Education Welfare Officer who may issue each parent with a Penalty Notice (fine) ranging from £60 to £120 for each parent for each child and could ultimately lead to prosecution resulting in a fine of £2,500 and a 3-month custodial sentence. For more information on Penalty Notices please see the Cambridgeshire County Council's website.

Exceptional Circumstances

The Headteacher has discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.  If you wish for the headteacher to consider your wish for leave of absence as an 'exceptional circumstance', please complete the Application for Leave of Absence form and attach any supporting papers.  The Headteacher will decide and return the form with his/her decision. If leave if granted, the Headteacher will specify how many days leave is being authorised. If leave is not granted, then the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and a penalty notice resulting in a fine for each parent may result.

Further Information

If you are experiencing issues with your child and attendance then please speak to us, we can help.

Please click on the links below for our information on:

Attendance Policy

Please click on the links below for Cambridgeshire County Council information on:

• School Attendance
• Consequences of Non-attendance
• Term Time Holidays