Attendance & Reporting Absence
Netherfield Primary School has high expectations, and we believe all pupils should fulfil their potential academically.
We know that children who do not attend regularly are put at a serious disadvantage and they often underachieve. Parents and carers are legally required to send their child to school every day (and arriving on time) so that they can benefit from the education which is offered to them. The school has a legal responsibility to record the attendance and punctuality of all its pupils which we fulfil in accordance with our attendance policy. We expect all children to be achieving 95% attendance or higher.
Parents are responsible for ensuring that their children:
- Attend school regularly
- Arrive at school on time, in uniform and are ready to learn
- Are absent only for reasons that can be authorised
Reporting a Child's Absence
Parents/carers are required to inform school of the reason for any absence and the likely return date, as soon as possible.
Please support the school by:
- Informing school immediately of any changes to your contact telephone number and/or address (this is very important if we need to contact you in an emergency)
- Please telephone the school or email the office before 9am on the FIRST day of your child’s absence and every day after that
Telephone: 0115 961 0580
Email: office5@netherfieldprimaryschool.com
- There is also a facility to notify us of your child’s absence via the Piota App. This can be downloaded for free from the App Store or Google Play
- Please inform the school office or class teacher prior to a medical or dental appointment. A copy of the appointment letter will need to be seen and photocopied. If possible please try to arrange these for out of school hours
Daily absence notifications from parents/carers are requested to ensure safeguarding procedures are followed. If you do not notify school of your child’s absence an attendance officer will make contact with you. This will either be by telephone or a personal home visit with the Head or Deputy Headteacher.
School begins at 8.45am, if your child arrives after this time you will be required to sign your child in at the school office, stating the reason for being late.
Registers are monitored regularly by Mrs Balfe, our Home/School Liaison and the Local Authority Enforcement Team. Mrs Balfe and the Head or Deputy Headteacher will visit parents where attendance and lateness is of a significant concern.
Holidays During Term Time
Recent amendments to the 2006 Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 make it clear that a Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Should your child be absent from school during term time, they will be marked with the Family Holiday Not Agreed Code (G) and this will be treated as an ‘Unauthorised Absence’.
We believe it is extremely important that we work very closely with our families to ensure that we maintain excellent attendance. Lost learning time impacts negatively on each child and often means it is very difficult for them to keep up with their work and achieve their best.
Furthermore, in accordance with our attendance policy, a Fixed Term Penalty Fine will be issued by the Local Authority at a cost of £120 per child.
For other unauthorised absences, a fixed penalty notice will be issued for absences of more than 3 days (six sessions) over a rolling, six-week period. Please note that the unauthorised absences do not have to run consecutively and can be on any day or session in a six-week period.
Download the full version of our attendance policy below for more information, If you would like a paper copy please speak to a member of our office staff.
Breakfast Club
Your child is welcome to come along and join us for breakfast club, from 7.45am, each morning. Breakfast Club is supervised by our Breakfast Club team and children can purchase something to eat or just come along and have a play! Attending Breakfast Club ensures your child enters their classroom on time every day.