Attendance
Attendance & Absence
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Langer Primary Academy’s Attendance Procedures
The morning register will be called promptly at 8:50 am. Any child arriving after 8:50 am but before 9:00 am will be marked as late. Any child arriving after the registers have closed at 9:00 am will be marked as unauthorised absence.
The afternoon register will be called promptly at 1:00 pm. Any child arriving after 1:00 pm but before 1:10 pm will be marked as late. Any child arriving after the registers have closed at 1:10 pm will be marked as unauthorised absence.
Please note that Langer, like all schools in Unity Schools Partnership, will not authorise any term time holidays unless the circumstances are judged exceptional. The decision of the Headteacher is final.
If your child is late or needs to leave during the school day, parents will need to complete the signing in/out register, which is located inside the front entrance. National regulations require us to record the incidence and reason for pupil absence in detail. Please keep us informed by telephone on the first day of your child’s absence.
Absence procedures
To report your child’s absence please contact the school, before 9:00am, on the number shown above, you do not have to speak to a member of staff. When telephoning the office to report an absence, please remember to state what the condition is and not just that the child is ‘ill/poorly’. If we do not have full details we will need to call back to ask for more information for our records.
Parents should also send a letter of explanation on the child’s return to the school. Any absence for which we have no satisfactory explanation must be recorded as “Unauthorised”.
Our attendance registers are checked every six weeks by the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO). Under government legislation, periods of prolonged absence will be investigated by the Educational Welfare Service, which may result in the issuing of fixed penalty notices.
Further information can be found in the Guide for Parents below and in the Attendance Policy in the attachments section.
Guide for Parents
Your child should be at school in good time for registration. School gates open by 8:50am. The morning register closes at 9am and the afternoon register at 1:15 pm.
Registration finishes at 9:00 am in the morning and 1:15 pm in the afternoon.
If your child arrives after 9:00 am they will be marked late.
Pupils who arrive after registration should be brought to the School Office by a responsible adult. If a pupil is late on several occasions, parents will be contacted to discuss reasons/difficulties for lateness.
We would expect a parent to telephone the school by 9am every morning the child will be absent. If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence and this will be shown on your child’s end of year report.
For absent pupils of compulsory school age, the register must record whether or not their absences are authorised. If no acceptable reason for the absence has been received at the time of registration, the absence is unauthorised unless or until a satisfactory reason is given. A note or explanation from a pupil’s home does not mean an absence becomes authorised. The decision whether or not to authorise an absence rests with the school.
- Illness
- Day of religious observance
- Emergency dental/medical appointment (please make routine appointments after school or during the holidays)
- Family bereavement
- Extended family visits abroad (only when prior approval has been given – see question 9)
- Difficulties caused by travel due to severe disruption from weather.
Except in the case of illness, you should ask for permission for your child to miss school well in advance, giving full details. In cases of recurring absences through illness, you will be asked to produce a medical certificate or proof of medication i.e photo of prescription.
The school will not authorise absence for day trips, visiting relatives, shopping, birthdays or looking after brothers or sisters, etc.
The school will only phone you if we have not heard from you by the first day of absence. This is because it is our responsibility to ensure your child’s welfare and safety as well as their regular school attendance.
If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality, we will contact you to discuss the best way forward.
Holidays during term time will not be authorised. You must complete an authorised absence form which will be referred to the Head teacher if you wish to take your child on holiday during term time. If annual leave is governed by employment conditions e.g. armed forces, a letter from the employer may be required.
The school recognises that such trips are important and help children keep in touch with their extended family. Contact your child’s class teacher as soon as possible to discuss the best time for such a visit.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning and eats a
healthy breakfast. Ensure that he/she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value his/her education. Your child will bring home a home/school wallet each evening. Please ensure you look at it with your child and sign it regularly.
Contact your child’s class teacher immediately, either via email or class dojo and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons – difficulties with school work, bullying, friendship problems, family difficulties. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school and work together to tackle the problem. In some cases you may find it helpful to discuss the circumstances of your child’s difficulties with an Education Welfare Officer. The school may also refer you to an Education Welfare Officer who works with staff and families if difficulties with attendance arise.