Attendance

Attendance at Joseph Hood Primary School

We take absence and punctuality very seriously. Research shows that children with high attendance (95% and above) make the best progress at school.  Children need to attend school every day unless they are ill.

 
The school does not authorise leave of absence unless there are exceptional circumstances. Holidays during term time must not be taken and will not be authorised. Holidays during term time may also incur a fine from the Local Authority. Planned absence during term time cannot be authorised unless there is an emergency which requires a family to travel.

Please also make sure that your child arrives at school on time. It is upsetting for a child to join a class that is already settled and can be disruptive to other children in the class.
 
Every week the classes with highest collective attendance and/or highest punctuality are mentioned on the school newsletter.  Every term children with 100% attendance are awarded a certificate in a special assembly.
 
If your child becomes ill during the school day or has an accident, we will need to get in touch with you. Please make sure that the school office has up to date contact numbers for you and for someone you have nominated in case you cannot be contacted.

If a child is going to be absent from school, parents should:

• Inform the school in advance if they expect a child to be absent for any reason
• Contact the school on the first day of absence, usually by phone, if a child is absent through sickness
• Send a note giving the reasons for absence when a child returns to school (if they omitted to contact the school beforehand)
• Inform the school if they need to pick their child up from school early
• Telephone the school if they are unavoidably delayed in picking up a child from school
• Make sure the school has correct addresses and phone numbers
• Ensure the school has names, addresses and phone numbers of people who can be contacted in an emergency

 Special Leave

• If parents are requesting term-time leave they must complete a request form which is considered by the Head Teacher
• Merton Education Welfare Service support its schools in discouraging such absences.
• The law in regards to term-time holiday states that parents do not have the right to take their child out of school for holidays during term time. All requested leave during term time must be discussed with the Head Teacher/Head of School. It is not a right to take absence during term time.
• If the request is not authorised (absence will only be authorised in very exceptional circumstances) a warning letter will be issued and a copy will be placed in the child’s record folder. The absence will be marked as an unauthorised absence and will be reviewed by the School’s Education Welfare Officer. This can lead to a £60 fine payable by both parents.
• The school can off roll your child if they have been gone for 20 consecutive days.
• Further absence could result in other legal action being taken.
• See policy for further information