Attendance

​Please see the Attendance Guide below for further information.

Main points of note:

School day times:

Arrive for whistle 8:45am In class – start of the day 8:50am

Gates are locked 8:55am

Lunchtime 12:00pm

Afternoon starts 1:00pm

School ends 3:15pm

A call must be made to the School, 0115 913 2331, as early as possible on the first day of an unplanned absence.

As your child is legally required to be at school, we have a Safeguarding responsibility to know the whereabouts of our children and know they are safe.

Minor reasons and regular absence are monitored by the Head Teacher and Trust. 

A reason for absence must be given. Correct information must be recorded on the attendance register that is regularly audited and received by the Local Authority.

Planned absence

Medical appointments must be communicated to the office as soon as you have these booked. We encourage parents and carers to try to organise dental and doctor appointments out of school time.

Evidence will be asked for, whether you have a text, appointment card or letter. Only then can we mark any absence in the register as Medical Appointments. If evidence can’t be provided, the register attendance mark will be ‘unauthorised’.

Other leave. Holidays, events etc. must be communicated to the office as soon as possible and a ‘Leave of Absence’ form completed and returned to the Head Teacher.

Evidence such as event details or employer letter will be asked for. The Head Teacher will follow DfE Guidance on authorising any leave in school time and the subsequent mark entered on the attendance register.

Attendance reviews

Regular attendance reviews are carried out by the Head Teacher, looking at a child's time away from school and the reasons given. 

Children with an attendance percentage of 90% or less from the beginning of the academic year will be reviewed. The Head Teacher will look at the figure and the reasons for absence and make a decision whether they are to be monitored, send an information letter home or have a phone call or a meeting with the parent/carer.

Absence including medical appointments, will contribute to a child’s attendance figure on their school record which is monitored regularly and follows them through their education.

Please avoid leaving verbal messages with Teachers or Teaching Assistants; they are busy with children in class and can often find it difficult to pass messages to the office in a timely manner.

The office should always be contacted in the first instance, by phone, answer phone message or email, as registers are administered from there.

Phone: (0115) 913 2331

Email: office@horsendale.notts.sch.uk