Attendance
Going to school regularly is important for your child's future. Children who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work and do less well in exams. Just 90% attendance can have a significant impact on a child's learning.
All schools are required to record details of pupils’ attendance and absence at school. They do so at the beginning of morning and afternoon sessions. If your child is absent, it is required that you inform the school the reason for the absence.
Illness
If your child is sick we ask that you notify the school office before 9.00am. This is a child protection security measure and ensures that no child will go missing without our knowledge. For this reason, we ask that you call on every day of your child’s absence.
Although most parents are very conscientious about phoning school, from time to time they can forget. For this reason we have adopted a ‘phone home’ procedure to be used if we have not heard from a parent before 9.30 am. If a child is absent without notification the school office will then contact home or phone the other contact numbers available on the child’s school record. The following procedures are in place for safeguarding:
- A minimum of 3 contacts to be held by school for each child/family whom we would be able to contact either in case of emergency or non-attendance.
- If we have not been notified of your child’s absence from school by 9.30 am, a phone call will be made to the primary contacts. If we can’t get through a voicemail will be left asking that you make contact with the school by 11 am.
- If we have still had no contact by 11 am the school office will ring the third emergency contact.
- If we are still unable to make contact and have heard nothing by 1 pm a member of the Senior Leadership Team from Tiptoe Primary School will visit the family home. If there is no answer then they will call the Police.
Medical Appointments
We ask that you try to make most appointments outside of school hours. However, if your child has a medical appointment, please ensure you notify the class teacher as well as the school office.
Holidays in Term Time
Children have 13 weeks annual holiday from school and school holiday dates are published well in advance. As such, all parents/carers are expected wherever possible to plan and take their family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their children’s education. Education law states that parents do not have a right to take their child out of school for a holiday during term time. Only in exceptional circumstances may a headteacher grant permission for leave; and it is the headteachers decision on whether the absence is exceptional and how many days to approve. If you think you are in an exceptional situation, please make an appointment to see Mrs Smith via the school office.
Parents/carers who take their child out of school without the absence being agreed and authorised by written permission from the school can be issued with a penalty fine.
In Hampshire, Penalty Notices are issued when a pupil has had 10 or more half-day sessions (equivalent to five school days) of unauthorised absence, in any 10 school week period; or one or more unauthorised absences during a public exam,assessment or test (where the dates have been published).
Please click here to read our full Attendance Policy
Please find below some useful leaflets regarding attendance at the school:
Term Time Absence - Every Lesson Counts Leaflet
HCC Information on Penalty Notices for non-attendance at school