Attendance
At Hasland Infant and Nursery School, we want every child to thrive and make the most of the opportunities available to them. Regular attendance and good punctuality are essential to this, providing children with the best opportunity to learn, develop positive relationships and flourish. We expect all children to attend school every day they are well enough to do so. Promoting good attendance requires a strong partnership between the school, parents and carers
Our doors open at 8.40 am and children must be in school by 8.50 am. Registers close at 8.55 am.
If your child is unable to attend school, you must contact the school by 8:55am on the first day of absence to notify us of the reason. If no contact is made, we will initiate our attendance procedures.
Research shows that good attendance has a positive impact on children's learning and achievement. Children who attend school regularly are more likely to make good progress, achieve their full potential, build strong friendships and thrive. There are only 190 school days in each academic year, so it is important to make every day count. To help every child achieve their full potential, we carefully monitor attendance and punctuality and work closely with families to provide support before attendance becomes a persistent concern. If your child is experiencing difficulties with attendance, we encourage you to contact us as early as possible so that we can work together to support your child and family.
Lateness:
Any child arriving at school after 8.55 will be marked as late. Children who are persistently late after the close of the register may experience difficulties in establishing a settled and positive start to the school day and are at risk of falling behind in their learning.
Attendance Policy:
Our Attendance Policy provides information on how to apply for a leave of absence in exceptional circumstances.
In September 2013 the Government introduced new regulations making it clear that Headteachers must not give approval for any leave of absence during term time, including holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. These regulations also state that holidays cannot be authorised retrospectively. Any requests should be on an official school absence request form and handed into the school office for consideration prior to any holiday/leave arrangements being made. You may be issued with a penalty notice should leave be taken which is not authorised. If unpaid this could lead to prosecution under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996.
Exceptional circumstances may include:
- Religious observance, where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the family belong. Where necessary, the school will seek advice from the relevant religious body to confirm that the day is designated for religious observance.
- Service personnel returning from a tour of duty overseas, where evidence is provided that leave cannot be taken during school holiday periods.
- Attendance at the wedding or funeral of a close family member.
We will normally authorise up to three days' leave for a wedding taking place within the EU: one day for travel to the event, one day for attendance at the event, and one day for travel home. Evidence that the child will be attending the wedding, such as an invitation, will be required.
Please note that the fundamental principles for determining whether circumstances are exceptional are that they are rare, significant, unavoidable, and short in duration. If leave of absence is requested on multiple occasions during the same academic year for the same reason, this would not normally be considered rare.
Requests for leave during term time will be considered on an individual basis and in line with current attendance guidance.
Please ensure you apply for a leave of absence AT LEAST two weeks before the first date your child will not be in school in order to give enough time for processing.
Application forms for leave of absence are available to download below or from the school office.
For further information on our approach to attendance please refer to our attendance policy.
Contact Us:
If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s attendance, or if you need support, please talk to us. You can speak to your child’s class teacher, our Family Support Worker, Miss Boucher, or our Attendance Champion, Mrs Lavender.
Family Support Worker: Miss Boucher (n.boucher@hasland-inf.derbyshire.sch.uk)
Attendance Champion and Headteacher: Mrs Lavender (headteacher@hasland-inf.derbyshire.sch.uk)
We are here to support you and your child, and we look forward to working together to ensure that every child at Hasland Infant and Nursery School has the best possible start in life.