Attendance and Punctuality

Dear Parents,

You will agree that good attendance at school is vital if children are to reach their full potential. Palfrey Junior School is part of the Broadway Partnership and a shared concern for the Partnership is that of attendance and punctuality. I am very pleased to report that our attendance figures this year have greatly improved and we thank you for your support in this matter. We hope it will continue to improve in the future.

Lateness: We know you will appreciate that children who are late start their day at a disadvantage as lessons have already started and important information given. Other children’s learning may also be disrupted by those children who arrive late. We expect all children to be on our playgrounds in time for the bell at 8:40am, but the gates are opened at 8:30am. Persistent lateness will result in EWO (Education Welfare Officer) involvement.

We also expect that all children are collected on time- 3:15pm from the school playground. Names of children who are collected late are recorded and monitored. If you are going to be late collecting your child please contact the office.

Attendance: If your child is unable to attend school you must contact the school office on the first day of absence and provide a reason for your child’s absence. You may also be asked to put this in writing in the form of a brief note or provide medical evidence that your child can give to his/her teacher on their return to school.

We monitor attendance, and issue attendance data with our reports and on Parent’s Evenings. Parents whose child’s attendance causes concern will be contacted first by letter, and then if no improvement has been seen a meeting will be arranged to discuss the matter. This contact may be made by the school, but it may be made by the Education Welfare Officer. Children whose attendance is very poor will be the subject of regular monitoring by the Education Welfare Officer in conjunction with the school.

Persistent Absentees:

Children with attendance of 90% and below are Persistent Absentees and will be subject to rigorous monitoring and investigation by School and the Education Welfare Officer. This may include phone calls, home visits, fine and even prosecution. If your child’s attendance is below 90% we will need to see medical evidence (doctor’s note, pharmacy first letter or prescription) in order to authorise it.

Leave in Term Time: No leave in term time will be authorised and you may be issued with a fixed penalty fine or loss of school place. If you are thinking of taking your child out for a holiday you are required to complete a holiday request form (available from reception) and attend a holiday meeting with our EWO Marcus Tomlin and Head of School to discuss the matter.

We hope you will continue to support our efforts as every minute of every lesson counts. Like you, we want the best for our children.

Palfrey Junior School