Attendance at St Cuthbert Mayne Junior School
The DfE has introduced new guidance in relation to attendance: Working together to improve school attendance. You can read the documents here. It will become statutory during the 2023-24 academic year. The guidance sets out clearly the responsibilities for parents, school, governing bodies, and local authorities. Our School Attendance Policy has been reviewed and updated in line with this guidance and is published on our website, here. Below is a summary of the key points that we believe are most relevant to you.
Attendance principles
- We believe that attendance is everyone’s responsibility – governors, school leaders, staff, local authority and other agencies, pupils and parents/carers
- We have a duty to ensure that we create a consistently calm, orderly, safe and supportive environment where pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn.
- Parents have a legal duty to ensure that their children attend school every day that it is open except in a small amount of allowable circumstances
- We believe that good attendance and punctuality matter
Morning registration
- The school gates open at 8:40 am
- Registers are taken by 8:50 am at which point they will close
- A child will be registered as late if they arrive after 8:50 am
- A child will be marked as an unauthorised absence for the morning session if they arrive after 9:20 am without a reasonable explanation offered by their parents/carers
How to report an absence
- If your child is going to be absent, please inform the school via email at attendance@cuthbertmayne.herts.sch.uk or telephone 01442 253347 (before 9:00 am), stipulating:
- Name
- Class
- Detailed reason for absence
- If known, likely day of return – if none given, parents/carers should inform the school by 9:00 am on each subsequent day of absence
- If a pupil is absent and the school has not received an email from a parent or carer by 9:00 am, school will follow the following protocol:
- Call the priority number to check everything is ok
- If there is no answer, we will call the priority number a second time
- If there is still no answer, we will try other emergency numbers on the pupils contact list
- If we have still not heard from a contact and we have concerns about the welfare of you and your child, two members of staff will undertake a Doorstep Visit to check that everyone is OK
- If there is no one at the address, the school may call external agencies to ensure the safety of you and your child
Reporting attendance
- At the end of each term all parents/carers will receive an automated email with the number of sessions attended and the number of sessions missed, along with a summary of whole school attendance. Support will be offered if attendance is approaching or below published thresholds (see our attendance flyer)
Requests for a leave of absence
- There are 13 weeks over the year where families can take holidays; however, there may be times when, due to exceptional circumstances, you wish to request a leave of absence during the 39 weeks of term time
- To do so, please complete an application for leave of absence via the school’s Application for Leave of Absence Request Google Form at the earliest opportunity
- On receipt of an application for leave of absence, the head teacher will review the attendance of the pupil throughout their time at St Cuthbert Mayne along with the specific context provided and will grant or decline the request, emailing the decision to parents via Arbor within 2 working weeks
Medical Information
It is essential for us to know any relevant medical facts about your child. The class teacher should be notified, for example, if your child:
- has suffered any serious accident
- has any allergies to foods, sticking plasters, bee stings, etc.
- suffers from diabetes or epilepsy
- has a sight or hearing impairment
- is found to have head lice
- has sustained an injury to the head within 24 hours of coming to school.
Children with medical conditions will have an individual health care plan (IHP). The school will not give medication (prescription or non-prescription) to a child without a parent’s written consent / IHP except in exceptional circumstances.
In the case of non-prescription medication, this school asks parents where possible, to administer this outside school hours. If this is not possible, medication can be administered, providing written information and consent has been received from the parent.
Children who need access to inhalers should have these permanently in school.
Children should not be sent to school if they are unwell. In the event of children becoming ill whilst at school, parents will be contacted. It is important that the school has access to current home and work telephone numbers, and that any changes are notified immediately. The name and telephone number of a friend or relative, who can be contacted in case of emergency, is also required. Parents of any child with a condition requiring regular medication at school, will be asked to complete a health care plan.
