At St Edmund Arrrowsmith CHS we place great emphasis on excellent attendance. To be successful at school and take advantage of all the amazing opportunities that school can offer, your child should aim to attend school for 100% of the time and arrive on time to school and lessons every single day. In order to support your child in attending 100% of the time and reaching their full potential we request that whenever possible medical appointments are made outside of their school day, as losing time during the school day will impact upon their overall attendance figure and also hinder their progress.
The start of the school day
- You should arrive on the school site by 8.35am.
- If you arrive after 8.40am you will be marked as late (L)
- If you arrive after 8.55am YOU MUST sign in at reception, this will record a (L) mark
You will be marked as Unauthorised Late (U) if you arrive after 9.30am as the morning register closes at this time. Pupils receiving a (U) lose their attendance mark for the morning session. ​Failure to sign in means that your Parents/Carers will be contacted and advised that you are absent from school. All students who arrive late twice in one week will serve a detention the following week. You will be notified of the time and date by your Director of Learning (DoL).
Absences
If you are too ill to attend school, we ask that your parents/carers contact school on the first day of absence wherever possible before 8.35am on 01942 728651 or send a message to School Absences via Synergy. We ask to receive updates from parents/carers until you return to school. If we do not receive an explanation for your absence, your parents/carers will be contacted via text and/or by phone requesting a reason for your absence. Until we have been updated with a viable reason for your absence, it will be recorded as Unauthorised.
The example below shows the impact that losing school time can have upon your child's education
Requesting Time out of school during term-time
By law, you are legally responsible for ensuring your child receives full time education, and government legislation states that schools are unable to authorise any term time holidays as outlined below.
Parents can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school (see the Education Penalty Notice Information Below). There will be gaps in your child’s learning and education, that will impact upon their progress in the long term, making it difficult for them to catch up on work when they return.
The school closes for 70 days during the year, providing plenty of opportunities for holidays to be taken when it has the least impact upon your child’s education. Any parent wanting to take a holiday during term time should apply in writing to the Headteacher, Mr Dumican. Each application will be considered on an individual basis and you will be informed by letter, of the outcome.
However, we should inform you that it is highly unusual for leave of absence to be granted for holidays during term time. Any holiday or leave from school, taken without the headteacher’s permission, will be unauthorized and legal action may be sought from the Local Authority.
Term Time Absence Request Form