Halfway Junior School

Attendance

Good Attendance

Our attendance target for this year is 96%. 

Good attendance and punctuality are vital if pupils are to achieve their maximum potential. Halfway Junior School is committed to working with parents/carers and pupils to ensure that each pupil benefits from the academic, personal and social opportunities available to them during their years with us. Children who miss out on education are at an immediate disadvantage relative to their peers, and at a great cost to themselves and the community as a whole. 

By working together with families, we can keep attendance at school at the highest possible rate for all pupils.  This will ensure that children get the absolute most from their education at school.  The young child, however, is dependent upon the adults in his/her life to get them to school regularly and on time. We aim to work with parent/carers to start to develop ‘self’ responsibility in the children. The school operates within a framework of local schools, including the linked secondary school.

We are, therefore, committed to a Family of Schools approach to attendance and a partnership relationship with parent/carers.

Our policy has been developed in conjunction with DfE and LA Guidance, implementing the principles and statutory framework of the Working Together to Improve School Attendance Guidance taking effect from August 2024. Follow this link for the full DfE strategy.

Attendance Procedures 

The school will monitor and record attendance using the following registration system: 

• Registration begins at 8:50am each morning, and at 12:40pm for years 3 and 4, and 1:30pm for years 5 and 6 in the afternoon.
• Registers will close no later than 30 minutes after opening
• Staff will welcome children into school from 8:50am. All children must be at school to start the day at this time. School gates will be closed at 9amam.
• Any child arriving after 9am must report to the school office, providing a reason for their late arrival. They will be marked as being late (L). The morning register closes at 9:20am. If a child arrives after this time it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence (U), unless proof of a medical appointment is presented to the school office. This proof must be shared with the office within 5 school days for the code to be adjusted. 

Please contact the school as soon as possible on the first day (and thereafter) of absence before 9:15am on 2482629. A voicemail service is available to leave a message for our office team. We will call you on the first day of absence if we have not heard from you and could invite you in to discuss the situation.

 The school will respond to lateness (punctuality) in the following ways: 

• Pupils arriving after morning or afternoon registration will report to the school office, where a late record will be completed (time and reason for the lateness.)
• Persistent lateness will be discussed with parents/carers during parent consultation meetings and also with the school attendance team should this be necessary.
• Referrals may be made to external agencies within the Local Authority to assist and support pupils and their families in arriving at school on time.
• Punctuality fining.

Term-time leave

All requests (one form per child, per request) for term time leave must be made to the Headteacher  / Head of School on the 'Leave of Absence in Term Time Request Form', available from the school office, 20 days in advance of the leave of absence. A return date must be provided and a prompt return to school is essential.

Schools cannot grant leave for recreation, holiday or leisure. Only in exceptional circumstances will request of leave in term time be authorised.

• Religious observance
• Approved sporting representation
• Bereavement or travel for severely ill relatives in exceptional circumstances.
• Wedding of a close family member (the day of the wedding will be authorised but surrounding days will not)
• Exceptional circumstances, such as housing crisis 

Legally there is no entitlement for parents to take their child on holiday during term time and unauthorised absence may result in prosecution. If the request for exceptional leave/ term time absence is not authorised by the school, and a fixed penalty fine is issued, any further correspondence must be made through the Local Authority as per the letter received. Please note, financial considerations or parental leave opportunities are not considered exceptional circumstances under the national guidelines. 

If queries are raised about holidays, parents/carers may be asked to provide evidence of the days taken e.g. flight tickets or accommodation receipts. 

If the school has reason to believe a term time leave has been taken without request, it is the parents’ responsibility to prove otherwise (e.g. doctor’s appointment card, proof of medication etc). 

Penalty Notice and Fining

The Local Authority have the right to enforce penalties for term time leave and irregular attendance in response to data collected by school. Please be aware that absence fines do not come back into school; the Local Authority reinvests this money into education across the city.

Please see the poster below, outlining how fines will be issued: