Attendance

Attendance

Attendance Information

We are working hard to improve attendance and punctuality as poor attendance and punctuality affect children’s personal, social and academic skills.

We expect all children to arrive on time at 8.30am and attend school every day.

Children only have 190 school days in a school year and there is a clear link between poor school attendance/punctuality and low levels of achievement. We expect all pupils to achieve at least 95% attendance.

We want to make sure that it is everyone’s responsibility to encourage good attendance, so we will be keeping you much more informed about how you can support this.

School Timings:

• Gates open at 8.17 am
• Gates close at 8.35 am
• Register is taken and closed at 8.35 am

• Between 8.35 am and 8.45 am, pupils will be marked as late.
• 8.45 onwards, pupils will be marked as Unauthorised Absence for that session. 

 

Absence during term time request

If you would like to request an absence during term time, please fill in the absence request form below at least one month prior to the absence.

Leave of Absence Form

Any holidays taken in term time will incur a fixed penalty fine for all parents who have parental responsibility.

 

Communicating absence to school

Phone: 01635 41077

email: office@speenhamland.newburyacademytrust.org

Make sure to include your child's full name, class and the reason for absence.

We have a policy to phone parents or make a home visit if we are unsure of where the child is.

 

Is my child too ill for school?

At Speenhamland Primary School, we follow the NHS guidelines on illness.

If you are unsure whether your child should attend school, the NHS provides a very helpful website that breaks down common childhood illnesses and offers clear recommendations.
Following this guidance, helps us keep all children safe and healthy while ensuring learning continues whenever possible.

Routine medical appointments

Routine appointments, such as doctor, dentist, or optician visits should be arranged outside of school hours wherever possible.

We do understand that some hospital or consultant appointments cannot be changed. In these cases, please provide evidence of the appointment (such as the appointment letter, email, or a screenshot of the text notification).

Thank you for your support in helping us to minimise disruption to learning.

How absence can build up

We work closely with the LA Educational Welfare Officer and any child who has attendance of less than 90% is considered as a Persistent Absentee and will be given attendance targets.