Lower Wortley Primary School

Attendance

The law entitles every child to a full-time education, and it is a legal responsibility for every parent/carer to make sure their child attends school regularly. Good attendance is crucial for children to get the most out of their education, including attainment, well-being and wider life chance. Pupils with the highest rates of attendance at the end of KS2 have the highest rates of attainment. Those who attend school regularly achieve better grades by the time they leave primary school. As part of the ‘Working Together To Improve School Attendance’ agenda, it is our responsibility in school to expect high standards of attendance, to rigorously monitor attendance and to identify patterns of poor attendance as soon as possible to ensure any issues can be resolved. We will listen to, and understand the barriers to regular school attendance and work with parents/carers to improve attendance.

To read full details about our school attendance policy the please click here.

Reporting Absence

If your child is absent from school, please telephone the school on the first day of absence to notify us of the reason for not attending school. In line with safeguarding practice we will telephone parents/carers on the first day of absence if we have not been informed about the for absence. 

If your child is absent from school due to sickness or diarrhoea, they must remain off school until they have been clear of the symptoms for 48 hours.

Please let us know of changes to address and telephone numbers for home or work as soon as possible in order for us to contact you for attendance reasons or in case of emergency.

If you plan to take your child our of school for an extended period of time then you must complete an Absence in Term Time Notification form stating the reasons for absence.  These are available from the school office or using the link in the section below.

Holidays in Term Time

In 2013 legislation announced by the Department for Education (DfE) stated that schools are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time.  Therefore holidays taken in term time are not authorised. 

If you wish to take your child out of school for a holiday you must inform us in writing by completing an Absence in Term Time Notifcation form.  These are available from the school office.  Parents/carers should note that removing a child or children from school for a holiday in term time may result in a penalty notice which will be issued by Leeds City Council.

Absence in Term Time Notification forms can also be downloaded here.

Punctuality

It is important that children arrive in school on time everyday.  Children who arrive in school late can find the experience unsettling because they are out of their normal routine.  Children who arrive in school late on a regular basis miss out learning over time and this can in turn affect progress.  Puncutality is imporant for a number of reasons:

• It is the legal responsibility of parent/carers to ensure that children attend their registered school on time each day.
• If a child is late they miss important information about the day's activities.
• A child that is late will miss school work.
• Children that arrive in good time for registration are able to talk to their friends before school and settle into the school day with them.

Similarly, children who are collected late can also be unsettled and feel anxiety or worry.  If you are going to be late to collect your child/children then we advise that you contact the school office so staff can reassure your child/children and offer support.

School times relating to punctuality are detailed below: