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Attendance
For our pupils to gain the greatest benefit from their education it is vital that their attendance is excellent. At Great Yarmouth Primary Academy we encourage all pupils to be an ‘Attendance Hero’:
H – Here
E – Every Day
R – Ready
O – On Time
All pupils should be at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable.
Why regular attendance is so important:
Any absence affects the pattern of a pupil’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. If a pupil’s attendance drops below 90%, the pupil will have missed over 95 lessons in a year, significantly impacting their potential to learn.
Ensuring pupils attend regularly at school is a parent/carer’s legal responsibility.
If a pupil is unable to attend school parents must:
Contact us as soon as possible on the first day of absence through the “Report an absence” facility on the main school switchboard;
Contact the school on each subsequent day that the pupil is absent from school and inform the school of an expected return date;
Avoid making medical appointments during the school day if possible.
If a pupil is absent we will:
Contact parents on the first day of absence if we have not heard from them;
Provide support to pupils to help them improve their attendance if needed.
Lateness
We expect pupils to arrive at school punctually. If a child misses the start of the day they can miss work and do not spend time with their form/class teacher getting vital information and news for the day. Being late to school will also result in a 30-minute after-school detention.
Requests for leave of absence during term time
The Education Act (1996) requires you to ensure your child attends school regularly. There is however a discretionary power to allow leave of absence in exceptional circumstances during term time. This is not an entitlement and is purely at the discretion of the Principal.
Before booking a holiday or requesting a leave of absence for your child you should consider very seriously how the absence will affect your child's education. If you still feel that you need to make a leave of absence request, this should be in writing and addressed to the Principal.
All requests for pupil leave of absence from school during term time will be considered but it is extremely unlikely that requests purely for holiday purposes will be granted. Where exceptional circumstances exist, it is possible that a leave of absence may be authorised. However, each case will be carefully considered on an individual basis.
