Attendance
School Opening Hours
The classroom door is opened at 8.50 am.
All external classroom doors are locked at 9.00 am.
Once the external classroom door has been closed, entry to the school is via the main entrance.
Registers are open at 9.00 am and close at 9.10 am. Pupils who arrive at school after the register has been taken, but before it is closed, will be recorded as ‘L’ - late on the register.
Pupils who arrive at school after registers close at 9.10 am, without an unavoidable reason, will have their lateness recorded as ‘U’ - unauthorised late which then impacts on their overall attendance level.
The total number of school opening hours per week: 32 hours 30 minutes
St Anne's C of E Primary School will always support children and parents to achieve the best attendance possible. We can work together with families and outside agencies and professionals to support children who are at risk of persistent absence (90% attendance or below).
If you would like to talk to the Head Teacher or your child's teacher about any attendance issues, please do not hesitate to contact the School.
Pupil illness
While school attendance is important, sending a poorly child into school will not speed their recovery and could spread illness in the school community.
The NHS has produced guidance on whether you should send your child to school if they are suffering from a range of childhood/common illnesses at www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
Please remember to call the School Office as early as possible and before 9.30am to notify of absence through illness. You should call on each day of their absence.
Term Time Leave
If a pupil takes unauthorised term time leave for 10 consecutive sessions or more (generally 5 days) they will be subject to a penalty notice. The fine for a penalty notice is increasing - to £80 per parent, per child. This increases to £160 if paid after 21 days but within 28 days for pupils who are of statutory school age. If a penalty notice remains unpaid, parents may be the subject of court proceedings for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child and this could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 3 months per parent.
For second offences of unauthorised term time leave (10 consecutive sessions or more) within a three-year rolling period, the fine is a flat £160 per parent, per child.
For the third offence in a three-year rolling period, the referral will be automatically considered for prosecution in relation to Section 444 Education Act 1996.
These fines will apply to term time leave taken after 19th August 2024. Previous penalty notices from the last 3 years will be taken into account when a period of term time leave is taken after the 19th August 2024. Therefore, if parents have already received one penalty notice in the last three years, they will get a fine of £160 per parent per child for their next one. If they have received two or more in the last three years, they should expect to be referred for prosecution.
Requests for Absence
Requests for absence should be made by parents in line with the school’s Attendance Policy. This will be in written form with the date of the proposed absence and as much detail as possible about the reason for the absence. As is currently the case, Headteachers may still only authorise absence that they consider to be an unavoidable and exceptional circumstance. The school will reply to parents to advise them whether the absence will be authorised or not. Request for Absence forms are available from the front office.
If you have any queries, please contact office@stannes.cambs.sch.uk or call 01480 375300.
