Attendance and Absence

At Five Lanes Primary, we believe that good attendance is essential for children to achieve their full potential.

Regular attendance allows children to build strong learning habits, develop friendships and feel part of the school community.

We work closely with parents and carers to encourage all pupils to attend school regularly so they can benefit fully from the opportunities available to them.

Our vision of “Firm foundations for learning and flourishing” begins with strong attendance.

Why Good Attendance Matters

Research shows that regular attendance has a direct impact on children’s progress and attainment.

For example:

• 90% attendance means that, on average, half a day of school is missed each week.

• Over a year, this is around four weeks of learning missed.

• Missing lessons can make it harder for children to keep up with learning and feel confident in class.

Regular attendance also supports children’s wellbeing by helping them feel settled, connected and part of their class community.

What Parents and Carers Can Do

Parents and carers play a vital role in supporting good attendance. You can help by:

• Ensuring your child attends school every day unless they are genuinely unwell

• Arriving on time each morning

• No holidays during term time

• Booking medical or dental appointments outside the school day where possible

• Speaking to the school early if there are concerns affecting attendance

If your child is unhappy or struggling with something that is affecting their attendance, please contact us so that we can work together to support them.

Reporting an Absence

If your child is unable to attend school due to illness, please contact the school office before 9:00am on the first day of absence.

Please provide:

• Your child’s name and class

• The reason for the absence

If we do not receive a reason for absence, we will contact you to ensure your child is safe.

Holidays During Term Time

There are 190 school days each year, leaving 175 days for weekends and holidays.

The Department for Education states that holidays should not be taken during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Requests must be made in advance to the Headteacher.

Unauthorised absence may result in a penalty notice issued by the Local Authority.

The law says that parents do not have the right to take their children out of school during term time and Five Lanes CE Primary School does not authorise any holiday during school time.  Any holiday taken during term time will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and could result in parents being fined by the Local Authority.

Working Together

At Five Lanes Primary, we believe that good attendance is built through strong partnerships between home and school.

If you are experiencing difficulties that are affecting your child’s attendance, please contact us. We are here to work with you so that every child can develop the firm foundations for learning and flourishing that we value at our school.

Medical/Dental Appointments

We recognise that some medical and dental appointments are unavoidable. If your child needs to attend an appointment during the school day, please complete a Leave of Absence form and return it to the school office in advance.

Where possible, we ask that appointments are arranged outside of school hours to minimise disruption to learning. If an appointment must take place during the school day, we encourage parents and carers to bring their child into school for part of the day (either the morning or afternoon session) where possible, so that valuable learning time is not missed.

Absence Reporting

If your child is unwell and not able to attend school, please telephone to inform us by 9.00 am – 01380 723565.  Please do not send your child if he/she is unwell.

If your child becomes ill at school we will use the phone numbers you have given us to contact someone who can take your child home.  In cases of serious illness or accident we will act in loco-parentis to seek urgent medical aid and will contact you as soon as possible.  Parents must keep the school informed of changes to telephone numbers and emergency contacts.