The school must be informed of any absence. It is very important for us to know where children are from a safeguarding perspective so keeping us informed is important.  If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, parents are asked to telephone the school office on the first day of absence, before 9am and to keep the school updated on any consecutive days. Any absence that has not been accounted for will be recorded as unauthorised on your child’s school records. 

 If the school has concerns about the level of absence of a particular child, parents will be contacted, made aware of the issue and given the opportunity to come into school to discuss the matter. If a family is having on-going problems with school attendance, additional support can be offered.

The school is only able to authorise absence from school in exceptional circumstances. In making a request for an authorised absence from school you will need to explain why the circumstances are exceptional. Please note: There is no general right to authorise absence for a family holiday. If you take your child out of school without permission the absence will be unauthorised and may be subject to legal action.

Late Arrivals

Changes to the Attendance Code of Conduct means that schools can now issue a Penalty Notice to parents/carers if their child(ren) has been persistently late before the register closes for up to 10 sessions.  At Owslebury Primary School this means that if a child arrives at school after 9.00am (when the gate is closed) on a regular basis a family could very quickly reach the stage where a Penalty Notice is issued.

The morning register is taken at 9.00 am and the register closes at 9.30 am.  Pupils will receive a ‘L’ late mark if they are not in the classroom at 9.00 am when the register closes.

Parents of children in Foundation Stage and KS1 are able to see their child into the classroom but are asked to leave promptly to encourage all the children to settle to the morning routine as quickly as possible. From Year 3 onwards, we encourage children to say goodbye to their parents and walk around to the classrooms unaccompanied. Parents are not allowed into the school building via the cloakrooms at any time of day. Entry into school must be via the school office.