William Murdoch Primary School works hard to ensure that all pupils reach their potential and excellent attendance and punctuality are key to achieving this.

Meeting our ambitious school target of 97% attendance during the academic year will help to ensure pupils do not miss key learning opportunities and are able to make good progress as a result. To achieve this pupils should not miss more than 5 days during an academic year.

We therefore regularly monitor attendance for all pupils. Where a pupil’s attendance becomes a concern, we work closely with parents and carers to identify barriers and provide appropriate support to secure improvement.

The school’s attendance policy follows Department for Education (DfE) and Local Authority guidance. All pupils are expected to attend school every day unless there is an authorised reason for absence.

Authorised Absence

Please telephone the school as soon as possible if your child is unwell and unable to attend school. This will help us to ensure your child’s safety and avoid unnecessary follow-up action.

Unauthorised Absence

Any absence judged to be unauthorised may be referred to the Education Welfare Service (EWS).

In line with current government regulations, penalty notices may be issued to parents or carers where there is unauthorised absence, particularly where support has not led to improvement.

Persistent Absence

Since September 2015, the DfE has defined persistent absence as attendance below 90%. This means that if a pupil misses 19 or more days over an academic year, they are classed as persistently absent, regardless of whether the absence is authorised or unauthorised.

If a pupil becomes persistently absent, parents and carers will be invited to attend a meeting with the Pastoral Team and/or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) to discuss concerns and agree a plan for improvement. Further action may be taken where necessary, in line with school policy and local authority procedures.

Leave of Absence

The Headteacher may only authorise leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, in line with DfE guidance.

A written request must be submitted in advance, and where approved, a return date will be agreed with parents or carers.

If a pupil does not return on the agreed date and no further communication is received, the school may follow local authority procedures, which could include removal from roll.

It is school policy that holidays during term time will not be authorised, and parents or carers who take their child out of school without permission may be issued with a penalty notice or face legal action.

Appointments

Wherever possible, dental and medical appointments should be made outside of school hours. If this is not possible, parents or carers should provide evidence of the appointment (e.g. a letter, text message or appointment card).

If a pupil needs to leave school during the day, they must be collected from the Main Office by a parent or authorised adult and signed out. If another adult is collecting your child, the school must be informed in advance.

The school reserves the right to refuse collection if there are safeguarding concerns.

Punctuality

William Murdoch Primary School operates a soft start, with doors opening at 8.40am. All pupils must be in school by 8.50am, which is the official start of the school day.

Arriving on time each day is extremely important, as late arrival can result in lost learning time and disruption to the start of lessons.

Pupils arriving after 8.50am must enter via the Main Office and sign in using the InVentry system.

Collection of Pupils After School

Pupils should be collected promptly at 3.20pm (Group A) or 3.25pm (Group B), unless they are attending an after-school club.

Timely collection is essential to ensure pupils’ safety and wellbeing. Where late collection becomes a regular occurrence, the school will work with parents and carers to resolve the issue. If concerns persist, external agencies may be involved where appropriate.

If your child attends an after-school club, they should be collected promptly at 4.30pm from the location provided on the club letter your child brings home. Repeated late collection may result in a place in the club being withdrawn.

Pupils who are in Nursery to Year 4 must only be collected by a parent or other individuals whose name is recorded on the Pupil Information Form (which is sent to parents at the beginning of each academic year to be updated) unless alternative arrangements have been made via the office.

No pupil will be permitted to go home with anyone under the age of 16, including siblings who attend William Murdoch Primary School.

Year 5 and 6 pupils may go home alone if permission has been sought by parents and agreed by school. Parents who wish for their child to go home alone must go to the Main Office to complete the relevant form, which will be assessed in school to decide if permission will be granted or not.