Attendance and Success

It is our ethos at Town Farm Primary School to pursue the highest possible standards in education so each pupil is able to achieve their full potential. 

The school staff, alongside the Local Authority, firmly believe that all pupils benefit from regular school attendance in order to make good progress and become successful learners.  We know that every day lost to education can have a serious impact on pupils’ attainment and overall progress in school. As a staff we encourage parents and carers to ensure that the pupils in our care achieve maximum possible attendance and that any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly.

Attendance and Absence

We take absence very seriously at Town Farm Primary School. During term times, your child should attend school regularly unless he or she is ill or the school has authorised their absence. Regular attendance now means 100% of the time the school is open unless you have the permission of the Head Teacher to be absent. In these circumstances the minimum target is 96% attendance. To maintain good attendance, a pupil would need to have less than ten days of absence in any school year. This includes days off sick, lateness and medical appointments.

In order to keep your child’s attendance as high as possible, you can:

• Ensure they are in school at the registration times of 8.45am and 1pm.  The school day ends at 3:15pm.
• Make any medical appointments between or after these times, so that they do not miss registration
• Send your child in to school if you are ‘not sure’ if they are ill. Rest assured that we will send them home if they are unwell in school
• Ensure that you do not take any time off school for holidays or other days unless there are exceptional circumstances, which will be determined by the Head Teacher.

Reporting Absence

If your child is absent from school for any reason then you must inform the school on the first day of absence by either:-

• Telephoning the school office on 01784254380 before 8.30 am stating your child's name, class and reason for absence and then send a note on their return to explain the absence; or
• Emailing the school office email account (info@town-farm.surrey.sch.uk) stating your child's name, class and reason for absence.
• If you need to make any medical or dental appointments during school hours, notify the school office and your child’s teacher beforehand so that your child is registered correctly.

If we do not receive a reason as to why your child is absent, they may receive an unauthorised mark. Where possible please provide the school with medical evidence such as a doctor’s appointment card or letter, this is essential where pupils are off for more than a few days. For pupils with poor attendance, you may be asked to provide medical evidence for every absence.

You may find the following Public Health guidance helpful:

http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Guidance_on_infection_control_in%20schools_poster.pdf

Leave of Absence

The school holiday dates are published a year in advance and parents/carers are expected to book their family holidays during those times. Leave of absence will not be granted for holidays to be taken in term time.

In exceptional circumstances when leave in term time is unavoidable, a leave of absence request form must be completed as soon as possible (at least two weeks prior to absence) or once the dates of the proposed period of absence are known. The Leave of Absence Request Form can be obtained from the school office.

No parent/carer can demand leave of absence for their child as a right. If leave is taken, without prior authorisation, the child’s absence will be recorded as unauthorised in the school register.

The Head Teacher will decide whether or not to authorise the absence having decided whether or not the circumstances are exceptional.

Should absence be taken without the Head Teacher’s authorisation the case will be referred to Education Welfare and a Penalty Notice may be issued. If this is the case, each parent will be liable to receive a Penalty Notice for each child who is absent. The Penalty Notice is £60 if paid within 21 days and £120 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days. Failure to pay the Penalty Notice will result in the Local Authority considering legal proceedings against you in the Magistrates Court.

Attendance and Incentives

Pupils across the whole school are aware of how important attending school regularly is and there are a range of incentives to promote excellent attendance:

• 96% attendance Lucky Draw, where pupils with 96% or more attendance are entered into a lucky draw for the opportunity to win a bicycle for KS1 and 2 pupils and a scooter/push along bike for EYFS.
• Weekly 100% attendance prize draw in assembly.
• Weekly 100% attenders stickers.
• Trophies for the best attending class and the most improved class attendance are presented in weekly celebration assemblies.
• Head Teacher’s Handshake – 5 pupils each week come and have afternoon tea with the Head Teacher for improving attendance or having 100% attendance.
• Termly Gold, Silver and Bronze attendance certificates.
• 100% attenders invited to Prize Giving Evening for special certificate presentation.