Attendance & Absence
Attendance
At Leighton, we work in partnership with parents to ensure children attend school regularly and are punctual to school. It is the expectation of Leighton Primary School that pupils should attend every day that the school is open, unless there are exceptional circumstances which have lead to an absence being authorised.
We firmly believe that when children are in school every day and on time, then this is reflected in good progress being made in the classroom and will give children the best opportunities to succeed and achieve in our school.
Our school day is from 8.45am until 3.15pm.
Leighton Primary School employs our own attendance officer, Mrs Green, who manages the attendance data for our school and will contact you if there is a concern about your child’s attendance. Please ensure that if your child is absent from school then you contact Mrs Green to give an explanation otherwise it could result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised.
As of September 2013, Leighton Primary and the Local Authority have decided they will issue Fixed Penalty Notices under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 to parents/carers for failing to ensure the regular school attendance of their child.
The change in government legislation means that family holidays are no longer authorised absences. Family holiday taken in term time may result in our school requesting that a penalty notice be raised. This is also the case where there are a high number of unauthorised absences within an academic year. Leave of absence during term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances and this is to the discretion of the Headteacher. Please book an appointment to speak to the Headteacher and the Attendance Officer direct if you feel that you need to discuss an absence or if you are struggling to ensure that your child is regularly attending school.
Doctor's Appointments
The Extended Hours GP Service is an opportunity for children to see a doctor on an evening between 6:30pm and 8:30pm and every Saturday and Sunday between 9:00am and 5:00pm.
The service can ensure that
- Children can have access to appointments outside of school hours, they do not need to be taken out of school for GP appointments and, therefore, do not miss any learning.
- A child being removed from lessons for GP appointments can be disruptive to your child's day.
- Working parents do not have to take time off work to take their child to the doctors and therefore reduce issues with their employer.