Learning starts at 8.45am every morning and children should be in class and ready to learn at this time.

We promote excellent school attendance, recognising the clear links between attendance and progress, and attendance and safeguarding. Our aim is for all children on roll to attend school every day, provided that they are fit and healthy enough to do so.

Parents/carers are asked to only withdraw their child from school if it is absolutely unavoidable. For more details, please see the school’s attendance policy. There are 175 non-school days per year for holidays, shopping and appointments. There should be little need, except in ‘exceptional circumstances’ for your child to miss a day’s education.

• If, exceptionally, you know that your child is going to be absent from school for any period of time (even if it is part of a day) please seek the Headteacher’s authorisation in advance by completing the Authorised Absence Request Form available at the school office. The Government and the school wish to discourage children from missing lessons whenever possible and ask parents to take family holidays during school holidays.
• We would expect medical and dental appointments to take place outside of school hours, but if children do need to be taken out of school to attend such appointments please sign them out at the School Office when they leave and then back again when they return.
• If your child is late for school and misses registration, please sign your child in at the School Office.
• We target intervention for children whose attendance falls below a target of 96%.
• If your child does not attend school they will not make progress and achieve. We want all children to have high levels of attendance and give themselves the very best life changes and choices.

If your child does not attend school or is consistently late, then a 3 step process will begin:

Step 1

–       Class Teachers. Your child’s class teacher will contact you to meet with you. They will discuss the impact of your child’s lateness/absence on their learning and how this can be improved. If your child’s lateness/absence does not improve, then we move to step 2.

Step 2

–       Attendance Officer. Our Attendance Officer will contact you to meet with you. They will put in place a Parent Contract referring to improving your child’s lateness/absence. If your child’s lateness/absence does not improve, then we move to step 3.

Step 3

–       Referral to Attendance and Engagement Team at Oxford County Council. We will submit a formal referral to OCC regarding your child’s lateness/absence to school. They will issue you with either a Parenting Order, a School Attendance Order or an Education Supervision Order. This may result in you attending parenting classes, a court summons, a penalty payment between £60 and £2500, a community order or jail sentence for up to 3 months.

When deciding whether or not your child is too ill to attend school, ask yourself :

• Is your child well enough to carry out the activities of the school day? If not, keep your child at home and consult your GP as appropriate.
• Does your child have a condition that could be passed on to other children or school staff? If so, keep your child at home.
• Would you take a day off work if you had this condition? If so, keep your child at home.

Most illnesses can be classified as one of a few minor health conditions. Whether or not you send your child to school will depend on how severe you judge the illness to be. This guidance can help you to make that judgement. If you’re concerned about your child’s health, consult a health professional.

Cough and cold: A child with a minor cough or cold may attend school. If the cold is accompanied by raised temperature, shivers or drowsiness, your child should stay off school, visit the GP and return to school 24 hours after they’re feeling better.  If your child has a more severe and long-lasting cough, consult your GP, who can provide guidance on whether the child should stay off school.

Raised temperature: If your child has a raised temperature, they shouldn’t attend school. They can return 24 hours after they’re feeling better.

Rash: Rashes can be the first sign of many infectious illnesses such as chickenpox and measles. Children with these conditions shouldn’t attend school.  If your child has a rash, check with a pharmacist, GP or practice nurse before sending them to school.

Headache: A child with a minor headache doesn’t usually need to be kept off school. If the headache is more severe or is accompanied by other symptoms such as raised temperature or drowsiness, then keep the child off school and consult a pharmacist or GP.

Vomiting and diarrhoea: Children with these conditions should be kept off school. They can return 48 hours after their symptoms disappear. Most cases of vomiting or diarrhoea get better without treatment, but if symptoms persist, consult a pharmacist or GP.

Sore throat: A sore throat alone doesn’t have to keep a child from school. If it’s accompanied by a raised temperature, the child should stay at home.

By law, only the head teacher can authorise your child’s absence. It is important to keep us informed if your child is going to be absent as soon as possible at the start of the day. Telephone us to tell us that your child will be staying at home. We will ask about the nature of the illness and the expected duration of absence from school. If your child is frequently absent due to illness we may request permission to contact your GP for confirmation that they are too ill to attend school. If it becomes clear that your child will be away from school for longer than expected, phone us to explain this as soon as possible.

If your child attends school and feels unwell during the school day then we will contact you to arrange collection.

Punctuality to school

 The school day starts at 8.45am and children should arrive to school promptly and ready for learning by this time.

Registers are taken at 8.45am; if your child is late their teacher will record the minutes late on the register. If your child arrives later than 8.50am, please sign them in at School Reception.

Children who are late for school miss out on vital learning at the start of the day and can quickly fall behind.  If a child is late by 5 minutes every day this adds up to 3 days lost learning a year, 15 minutes late is the same as being absent for 2 weeks in a year.

It is your responsibility to make sure your child arrives on time for school. We monitor punctuality to school and record the minutes late to school. If a child is regularly late for school we hold late panels with parents and put a parental contract in place.

If you have any questions regarding the attendance of your child, please contact reception and ask to speak to Vanessa Louch, School Attendance Officer.

 If you would like to arrange a meeting to speak to the Headteacher, please contact the office or email office2000@jhnacademy.co.uk .