Late Arrival, Late Collection and Absence Procedures
Please inform the school office before 9am on the day of your child's absence and each proceeding day.
Otherwise, the school office will contact you after morning register to check that your child is safe.
School Attendance
The staff at Bolton Primary School are committed, in partnership with the parents/carers, children, governors and the Local Authority, to building a school which serves the community and of which the community is proud. Bolton Primary School firmly believes that all children benefit from regular school attendance. Full and regular attendance at school is crucial for a child’s future life chances and establishes a positive work ethic early in life. To this end, we will do all we can to encourage parents/carers to ensure their children achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly. Pupils will be expected to achieve 100% attendance, but when absence is unavoidable, parents/carers will be required to inform the school at the earliest opportunity.
Bolton Primary School believes that in order to facilitate teaching and learning, good attendance is essential. Pupils cannot achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school.
Every day counts
Pupils cannot achieve their full potential if they do not regularly attend school. We want every child to achieve their full potential and we know that parents share this goal. There is a clear link between good attendance and educational achievement. If your child is not in school, on time, as often as possible they will be missing out on many important parts of their education.
Why is regular attendance at school important?
Regular school attendance will mean that your child has a better chance in life. Your child will achieve better when they go to school all day, every school day as:
The Government regard 95% as the minimum satisfactory attendance for a school pupil.
Days off school add up to lost learning. Please don’t let your children miss out on the education they deserve.
How does your child compare?
Attendance during one school year | equals this number of days absent | which is approximately this many weeks absent | which means this number of lessons missed |
95% | 9 days | 2 weeks | 50 lessons |
90% | 19 days | 4 weeks | 100 lessons |
85% | 29 days | 6 weeks | 150 lessons |
80% | 38 days | 8 weeks | 200 lessons |
We monitor attendance closely and contact parents to inform them and offer support where attendance has dropped and causes concern.
Good attendance is promoted in school through assemblies and rewards. We are always happy to work with families to support and improve attendance.
Absence reporting procedures
If your child is absent from school due to illness, please telephone school and inform the office staff or leave a message ideally before 9am. If your child’s illness lasts for more than one day, you must phone school daily and inform us why your child is still absent. If your child’s illness lasts longer than 48hrs and you have not already done so, we advise you to seek medical attention.
Parental illness is NOT an excuse for children not attending school. Children must attend school every day unless they are ill.
Medical Appointments
Try and make medical appointments outside of school hours. If your child has a medical appointment in school time, before the appointment takes place, please let the school office know.
It is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility to ensure their children receive appropriate education. Failing to send your child to school regularly without good reason is a criminal offence. If your child's level of absence is a concern, school will offer advice and support to improve attendance. After this and if there is no improvement, any unauthorised absence may result in the school and the Local Authority taking legal action.
Leave in Term Time Leave of Absence from School
Head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised absence of this nature will be subject to a fine. The head teacher will determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if the leave is granted. Please observe these new regulations. They have been re-written with the education of your child at their heart. Should there be any exceptional circumstances, please make an appointment to discuss them with the Head Teacher before making any bookings.
Lateness
As you may be aware, the law treats some persistent lateness in the same way as irregular attendance and parents may be prosecuted by the local authority if late arrival is not resolved.
Minutes late per day during the school year | Equals days worth of teaching lost in a year
|
5 mins | 3.4 days |
10 mins | 6.9 days |
15 mins | 10.3 days |
20 mins | 13.8 days |
30 mins | 20.7 days |
Poor punctuality can lead to your child…
If your child arrives at school after 8.55am when the gates/doors are closed, your child will be admitted by staff in the front office.
Late Collection Policy
Please inform school if you will be late collecting your child after 3.30pm. Children will be supervised in school.
Remember to let school know if your child is allowed to walk home alone after school.
Let school know if someone different is collecting your child e.g. grandparent.
Please ensure that you contact both Bolton School and Bolton Nursery regarding After School Club arrangements for wrap around care.
See link below to our attendance policy.