Attendance
The Department for Education has issued new statutory guidance for attendance called Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This comes into effect on the 19th August 2024. It details what schools, parents and Local Authorities should do to improve pupils’ attendance at school.
There are some important changes to attendance management from the 19th August 2024 which will affect the support parents and pupils receive from schools, and the legal sanctions that are used in certain circumstances.
Schools are legally obliged to provide support and intervention for pupils who are at risk of persistent absence (90% attendance or below). This will take the form of meetings with parents, school-based interventions, and the offer of support from outside agencies and professionals.
Schools are very keen to identify the barriers to attendance that families face and will welcome opportunities to overcome these barriers together. However, when a child's attendance falls outside of the parental legal obligations to send their child to school, there are legal pathways that must be followed.
We track our attendance records closely. Parents will be informed by letter if school is concerned about your child's attendance.
Notifying the school of absence
Where a child is absent and this is known in advance parents/carers should provide written notice of the absence prior to the start of the absence. This prior notice will be entered onto the electronic register. A 'Leave of Absence' form can be obtained from the School Office, or it can be accessed via the link at the bottom of this page.
Where an absence is not known in advance, the parents/carers have a responsibility to communicate the absence to the school on the first day of absence. Please either telephone the School Office on 01480 398028 and leave an answerphone message giving your child's name, class and reason for absence. Alternatively, email:absence@eynesbury.cambs.sch.uk
Medical & Dental Appointments
We request that all medical and dental appointments are made outside of school hours. We understand that this is not always possible, especially for urgent appointments, but please do your best to arrange appointments outside of school hours to avoid disruption to your child's learning.
Please provide proof of every appointment to the School Office, in order for the appropriate absence code to be identified and recorded.
Office staff will enter the appropriate code for the absence on the child’s record. If the illness/reason for absence is such that a longer period of time is needed parents should keep the school informed either by letter or phone calls. Parents/carers may wish to send in a letter to the class teacher explaining an absence, on the child’s return. Where notice of absence is not received by 9.30am the school will contact the parents by phone to enquire about the reason for absence. If no contact is made by the parent/carer in response, the absence will be marked as unauthorised.
Punctuality
Punctuality is important in providing an effective start to the day and developing children’s responsibility for their learning. It is a key responsibility of parents/carers to ensure their child is ready for school at the start of the day.
Lateness
If your child is late to school for any reason it is important that a responsible adult reports to the school office after bringing the child into school through the front entrance. They will then be signed into school by a member of the school staff. The register is closed at 9:00am, subsequent arrival is recorded as an unauthorised absence and will be shown on your child’s report.
Children can enter the school building via their outside doors from 8.40am to 8.50am.
Any child arriving after this time must enter the school via the office and must be signed in.