St Andrew’s School Day:

Children can be dropped off between 8.35-8.45am and then school finishes at 3.15pm (with the option of booking paid wraparound care or pupils attending a club).

All children need to be in school at 8.45am (the gates will then close) until 3.15pm (the children are brought out of class).

Please do not arrive late as it disturbs the learning not only of your child but of the rest of the class. Please do not pick up early for the same reasons. In the event of an emergency medical appointment which cannot be arranged out of school time please let the office know and give them copies of the appropriate paperwork.

 

'Success is earned one day at a time. Start by showing up.'' 

 

Thank you for your support. Please remember that  it is more important than ever that pupils are in school. There is often a direct link between attendance and attainment, please help your child by not taking them out of school during term time.

Please remember if you need support getting your child into a good routine, please put a note in their pupil diary for the class teacher and they can see how they can help. Alternatively, a member of the Senior Management Team and a Teaching Assistant are always at the gate on a morning and are happy to help.

Should your child be unwell and not able to come to school we have a 24hr answer machine, just leave a message before the start of the school day. If your child needs an urgent medical appointment (which is unavoidable during the school day) please email the office the appointment letter.

We aspire for all children to attain 100% attendance. Attendance percentages are shared with families once each term at parents’ meetings with the teachers or in the annual written report. To aid holiday planning we set our INSET days in the Spring Term before the start of the next academic year.

 

The Priory Learning Trust is committed to providing all children with the best start in life and works hard to ensure that all children attend school regularly. Reducing absence from school is a key priority both for our Trust and the Government. The majority of parents ensure that their children attend school regularly.

Attending School on a regular basis is the key to your child doing well at school and will set them up with good routines for later life and the working world, as well as giving your child the opportunity to:

• Make lots of friends and feel included.
• Learn new things and develop many skills.
• Increase confidence and self esteem.
• Improve social skills.
• Achieve their potential and fulfil aspirations.

As a parent you are committing an offence if you fail to make sure that your child attends regularly,

even if they are missing school without your knowledge. The details of parents with children who

have unauthorised absence (including those who have taken an unauthorised holiday) will be

passed to the school’s Education Welfare Officer.

 

Effects of non-attendance:

Attendance during school year	Days lost (yr)	Weeks lost	Lessons missed
95%	9.5 Days	2 Weeks	50 Lessons
90%	19 Days	4 Weeks	100 Lessons

 

For information of term dates and INSET days please look at the calendar.

 

Arriving at school on time

Arriving at school on time is not only essential for the children's own learning, it encourages habits of good timekeeping and lessens any classroom disruption. Late arrival means pupils risk missing important information which can seriously disadvantage them.

Gates open at 8.35am at St Andrew's Church Junior School and pupils are expected to arrive at school in good time for the start of the school day at 8.45am. Anyone arriving late to school after registration has closed will be marked as late. 

Illness

Pupils should attend school every day the school is open unless they are really not well enough to. Minor ailments should not be a reason for staying at home. If your child attends school when feeling slightly under the weather, do let a member of staff know and we will monitor them and contact you if we think they need to go home. If you aren’t sure whether to send your child to school, please contact  us at the school office  via 01278 783 558 or email office@saja.theplt.org.uk. 

If your child is too ill to attend, you must notify us before 9:00am on the first day of absence. If your child is ill for more than one day, you will need to notify the office on each morning of the absence, unless otherwise agreed.

To report an absence, please telephone the school and select option 1 and leave a clear message stating your child’s name, class and reason for absence. Please clearly explain the symptoms your child has, when the symptoms started, and when you expect your child to be well enough to return to school.

By law, schools must record all pupil absences and whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

Medical/dental appointments

Please try to avoid making and attending medical and dental appointments during school time. If this is unavoidable, arrange appointments so the minimum school time is lost. Unless it is an emergency appointment, parents/carers are expected to let the school know about the appointment in advance, with evidence of the appointment.

Reporting absence from school 

● Where a pupil is to be absent from school without prior permission, the parent/carer should inform the school on the morning of the day of the first absence and let the school know when they expect the pupil to return. If the return date is not confirmed on the first day of absence, parents/carers must contact the school on each day of absence.
● On the day of return to the school, parents must also provide written confirmation of the
reason(s) for the full period of absence.
● Any unexplained absence will be followed up by the school promptly.

Unexplained absences

The school will follow up any pupil absences where the parent/carer has not contacted us to explain why, or where we are unclear about the reason for absence. If you fail to notify us of the reason for your child’s absence, it will be recorded as unauthorised.

Where the school has cause for concern about the reason for a pupil’s absence, staff may seek additional information or evidence from parents/carers, and/or make a home visit to verify the reason. Unauthorised absences may result in a penalty notice or prosecution.

Important reminder about term-time leave

Attending school every day helps children and young people maximise their learning and enjoy the benefits of their education. It really does make a difference. For that reason, the school will not authorise any leave of absence in term time, unless satisfied the reason is exceptional.

We ask parents and carers to request permission in advance, and only if absolutely necessary. Any requests should be put in writing via the appropriate form (available from the school office ) and wherever possible with at least four weeks’ notice. The parent or carer who the child normally lives with should make the application. Parents/carers are reminded that unauthorised term-time leave may result in a penalty notice or prosecution.

Attendance Policy 

To view our attendance policy click here 

Click here to view 'Working Together To Improve School Attedance' - The Department of Education