Kimberley Primary School
Good Attendance Matters
Attendance
Your child will only be successful at school if they attend school. Our aspiration is for everyone at Kimberley Primary & Nursery School to attend for more than 95% of the year. If your child’s attendance falls below 95% then they will fall behind. Days off add up to lost learning.
Attendance above 95% gives your child the best chance meeting age related expectations and being ready for the secondary curriculum when they move to year 7
Attendance below 95% means your child has less chance of meeting age related expectations and more likely to struggle when they move to secondary school
Attendance below 90% means that they have limited chance meeting age related expectations are likely to not cope with the expectations of secondary school.
Even if your child’s attendance is at 95% this will mean that they have missed 40 lessons in one year – the equivalent of 8 full days of lessons.
All parents and carers should know that:
Every morning that your child is absent you must contact us before 8:45 am and set out a valid reason for the absence by dialling 0115 9385050 and selecting option 1 or emailing absence@kimberleyprimary.org. If you do not contact us then the absence will be unauthorised and you could be issued with a penalty notice by the Local Authority
If your child is absent from school and you have not contacted us with a valid reason then a member of staff may conduct a home visit to check the child is safe and well.
It is your legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends school. Your child has a right to attend school, it is not your right to keep them at home.
We do understand that there are legitimate health reasons why some children miss school. Our approach is not punitive. Our first instinct will always be to work with parents and carers to support you in ensuring good attendance for your child whatever the circumstances you face.
Following the pandemic it is more important than ever that your child attends school so that they can make sure that they get quickly back on track to achieving their academic and social potential.
There are 175 days a year when school is not open, this is time for your child to spend on family time, visits, shopping, holidays, household jobs and other appointments. They should not miss school for these reasons.
The final few days before a school holiday are not a "good time" for your child to stay off school. Teachers across the school will continue to teach normal curriculum lessons and if your child misses these they will fall behind.
Parents should not keep one child off school because a parent/sibling/friend or cousin is ill. We do monitor this and we are unable to authorise an absence where we believe a child has missed school because a parent/sibling/friend or cousin is off school.
If your child’s attendance falls below 95% the attendance officer will send a letter to you to alert you to this. This contact is intended to be supportive and no student will be penalised.
If your child’s attendance falls below 90% we will then contact you again and will more closely monitor future attendance. The Headteacher of Deputy Headteacher may contact you to arrange a meeting so that we can put in place a plan to help you improve your child's attendance.
If, following this, your child's attendance continues to drop and we do not think there is a legitimate reason then we may refer you to the Local Authority who may issue you with a penalty notice or even prosecute you.
If you are concerned about your child’s attendance and you need support, then the first point of contact is your child's class teacher. They can be contacted via Class Dojo in the first instance. Mrs Clarke (Headteacher) can also be contacted via Class Dojo if you wish to discuss any attendance issues.
Holidays
Parents wishing to take their child on holiday during term time should request a holiday form from the school office at least 4 weeks before the holiday takes place. Any holiday taken will have to be recorded as 'family holiday – not agreed – Unauthorised absence'. You may be issued with a fine if you take your child out of school for an unauthorised, family holiday.
Details of term dates for the current year and next year, along with additional school closure days can be found on our Term Dates, Holidays and Inset Days page.
School Times
We operate a staggered start to our school day. Children may come straight into their classes from 8.30am until 8.45am. The pedestrian gate to the playground will be locked at 8.45am to ensure that we keep our children safe and late arrivals should go to the main office to register.
Persistent lateness and absence will be challenged directly by the head teacher and if necessary a referral will be made to the targeted support team or early intervention team at local authority level.
More information about attendance, absence and truancy can be found on the Nottinghamshire County Council website.
You can also find out more about the responsibilities of parents in relation to school attendance, and the potential penalties parents can face for non-compliance on the Direct Gov website.