Absence & Punctuality
Punctuality
School opens at 8:40am, and pupils are expected to be in their classroom, ready to begin lessons by 8.50am.
The morning register will be marked by 9:00am. Pupils will receive a late mark if they are not in their classroom by this time. Pupils attending after this time will receive a mark to show that they were on site, but this will count as a late mark
The morning register will close at 9:30am. Pupils will receive a mark of absence if they do not attend school before this time
Pupils will receive a mark of absence if they are not present for the afternoon register.
Absence due to Illness
All absences must be reported to school.
If your child is unwell, please contact the school office, either by the School Spider app or by telephone before 9:30am. Please provide an explanation for the absence and an estimation of how long the absence will last, e.g. one school day. There are certain incubation and exclusion periods for the commoner communicable diseases. If you are in doubt as to these please contact the school.
If a parent or carer doesn't contact the office by the close of the morning register, the school will send a Schoolspider absence message.
If your child becomes ill at home, we suggest that they should be kept at home until recovery is complete. At least 48 hours following vomiting and diarrhoea . There is no point coming to school only to feel miserable. If the doctor says that your child may return to school but must continue taking medicine we may administer this for you if it has to be taken 4 times a day, but we prefer you to come into school yourself to administer the medication.
We will only administer medicine in school if the medicine is prescribed by a doctor, brought to school by the child’s parent/carer and handed to the Headteacher or First Aider and a medical form is completed with clear written instructions . This then constitutes formal permission for us to administer the medication. This needs to be brought each morning and taken home at night. Please note - we only give 1 dose of antibiotics if it needs to be taken 4 times a day.
If your child has a long term condition such as asthma or epilepsy it is especially important that a medical plan is completed so that we have clear, written information and that you tell us about any special provision which should be made.
We do not administer paracetamol or ibuprofen and children are not to bring these medicines into school in their bag as this is a risk to other children.
We have three separate medical forms:-
- Permission for staff to administer Asthma Medication
- Permission for appointed member of staff to administer medication
- Request for child to carry his/her medication for self-administering (this must still be given to the teacher and not left in any bags)
Absence due to holidays and other circumstances
Parents/Carers should submit any absence requests via the School Spider app.
Please see our Trust Attendance Policy for further details.
The second most common reason for absence from school is family holiday. We must stress that any holiday planned in term time will not be authorised by school. There is now an expectation that all schools introduce stringent checks to ensure that there is a significant reduction in the number of absences during term time. When your child drops below the minimum requirement for school attendance of 90% then they will be classified as a ‘persistent absentee’ and you may be liable for prosecution. Please see the letter from Warrington Borough Council for more information about this.
Fixed Penalty Notice
In line with national expectations and Warrington Borough Council’s policy, schools are required to monitor attendance closely and take action where there are unauthorised absences.
Where a child has 10 or more unauthorised absences (equivalent to 5 full school days) in an academic year, this may result in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) being issued. Schools are advised not to authorise holidays in term time and parents should be aware that this may result in a FPN being issued if the above criteria are met.
School will monitor attendance, and where appropriate they will refer cases to Warrington Borough Council for consideration of a FPN. The local authority will review each referral and determine whether a FPN should be issued.
Fixed Penalty Notice Charges
- £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days.
- £160 per parent per child if paid within 28 days.
- Failure to pay may lead to prosecution in Magistrates Court.
A maximum of two Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued per parent for the same child within a three-year period. After this, any further unauthorised absence may result in a prosecution.