Attendance
Being in school matters
We want all the children attending Northwick to achieve their full potential. To do that, it is really important that they attend school regularly, providing they are fit and healthy enough to do so. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children with poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and secondary school. We really want your child to enjoy being at school and for you to feel that school is a positive and enriching experience. So do talk to us if you have any concerns about attendance.
School Day
Registration is at 8.55 am. The school day ends at 3.15 pm.
The school gates are opened at 8.40 am. Parents are asked to ensure their child’s safety until that time. Children come into the classroom where teaching staff are present to greet them. Parents/carers are requested not to enter the building for health and safety reasons. Gates are locked at 8.55 am.
Children arriving after 8.55am must enter through the main Reception and sign in the late arrival book.
Parents are asked to collect their children promptly at the end of the day.
Absences/Lateness
Every child must have as full attendance as possible so that they have the very best chance to fulfil their potential. If your child has to be absent please ring or email (nwoffice@riverscofe.co.uk) to inform the school. A cover note should be sent on your child’s return to school. If your child has an infectious illness please let the school know as soon as possible.
Any absences not reported to school must be treated as unauthorised absences and recorded as such.
Children arriving after 8.55am will be marked as late.
The Education Welfare Officer will be notified of any children who are persistently late/absent. All attendance data is sent to the Local Authority weekly. Every school’s attendance figures are published nationally. Records of attendance will be published on individual children’s reports.
Unavoidable visits to dentists, doctors, and hospitals should be notified in advance and arrangements made for your child to be collected and returned to school. Children are not allowed out of school unless accompanied by a parent or guardian who should collect the child from the main Reception.
Leave of absence during term time
There is no legal entitlement to holidays during the term time and this should be avoided if at all possible.
Schools rarely agree to parents/carers taking their children out of school for the purposes of leave of absence / holidays in term-time. This is not an automatic entitlement and only the Headteacher can authorise this if a parent applies in advance and the Headteacher’s view is that there are exceptional circumstances.
If your child misses school for the purposes of a holiday or a trip and the absence is not agreed, you may be issued with a Penalty Notice, or you may be prosecuted.
Penalty Notices are a fine of:
£120 per parent per child if paid in full within 28 days (reduced to £60 if paid within 21 days)
- If a Penalty Notice is not fully paid within 28 days, the Local Authority has no option but to prosecute a parent in the Magistrates’ Court for failing to ensure regular school attendance.
- In Court, if a parent pleads guilty, or is found guilty, they will then have a criminal record. The court can fine each parent up to £1000 per child, order payment of the prosecution costs and/or make a parenting order.
Leave of absence forms are available from the office or can be downloaded from this website. Please fill them in and return them to the school office at least four weeks before the planned absence. Any leave of absence over 6 days will automatically incur a fine, regardless of attendance. A request for leave of absence that is 5 days or less will be unauthorised (unless in exceptional circumstances outlined in our policy) and will not incur a fine, so long as attendance has previously been good, i.e. over 93%.