Attendance
ATTENDANCE MATTERS AT GRAMPIAN
Regular school attendance is an important part of giving children the best possible start in life. Students who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well academically. School allows children to participate in many social situations that are vital for understanding the world around them. Socialising with peers helps them understand social cues, social etiquette, and how to express their thoughts and feelings. Good attendance also shows potential employers that a young person is reliable.
Good attendance is 95% or above.
Between 94% and 91%, your child is at risk of being persistently absent.
Below 90%, your child is classed by the DfE as being persistently absent.
You can view your child's attendance in MyChildAtSchool (MCAS).
WHAT WE ASK FROM YOU……
Attendance and punctuality are essential to unlocking positive futures. Our attendance team work incredibly hard on this. As well as ensuring every minute of learning time counts, it is essential that registers are accurate for safeguarding. Please ensure you are aware of the school timings.
- 08:30am - Breakfast club begins
- 08:45am - Classroom doors open - a member of the leadership team will be available for any questions.
- 09:00am - Classroom doors and the playgrounds gates close.
- 09:00am - Registers are completed at 09:00am.
- 09:00am onwards - late arrivals must enter school through the front gate and reception where a late slip will be completed.
Our gates close at 9am and after this time, your child will be marked as late.
If your child arrives at school after 9:30 they will not get a mark in the register, and it will be an unauthorised absence.
MEDICAL APPPOINTMENTS
It is essential that medical appointments are made outside the school day where reasonably practical. If this is absolutely not possible, please arrange them for after the afternoon registers have been taken at 1:30pm. We require evidence of such appointments. Please provide this to the school office in order for the appointment to be authorised.
If your child is a little under the weather, send them in! Often distraction is the best method. We can administer pain relief and other medicines for you. Please bring the medication to the school office where you will be required to complete an authorisation form - students are not permitted to keep any kind of medicines in their bags or trays for their safety and that of the other children. If your child is too unwell to remain in school, we will call you to collect them.
We also have a robust safeguarding and attendance strategy in place for children absent from school. We call it the '5 day plan'. To view the school procedures, please view the attendance 5 day plan below.
TERM TIME HOLIDAYS
Unfortunately, since the law changed in 2013, we have been unable to authorise term-time holidays. As a result, a request for leave of absence will not be granted for the purpose of a holiday unless deemed to be 'exceptional circumstances’. See our school policy.
Term-time holidays will receive a fine from the Local Authority. From September 2024, fines have increased and also periods of unauthorised holidays/absence now link together within a 3 year period - attracting a higher penalty charge. Please be aware non-payment of these fines will result in legal action where the cost of the fine increases significantly along with the risk of further legal action.
We would politely ask that you avoid time off where at all possible. Where this is not possible, please complete a holiday request form as soon as you can. Any exceptional circumstances must be clearly set out in the written request to the Head Teacher who will consider each case. Please be aware, the need or desire for a holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure and recreation is not considered to be an exceptional circumstance.
FINALLY….
We are here to help, so if you are struggling to get your child to school for whatever reason, then please reach out to us and we will try our very best to support you.
