Attendance and Lateness

Details on length of time to keep children away from school for common illnesses:

ATTENDANCE

Research shows that a child needs at least 95% attendance for them to make the expected academic progress and to develop socially and emotionally. Low or irregular attendance will be challenged by the school. Lack of improvement will lead to involvement from the School's Education Welfare Officer.

LATENESS

If a child arrives late, they are less likely to be ready to engage with their learning. Children need to know the importance of punctuality for later life, especially in  the work place.

We have a soft start at the beginning of the day where children can start coming into the school building from 8.55 a.m. in Reception and 8.50 a.m. for Year 1 and above. The official start time is 9 a.m. when all children should be in their classroom to enable them to fully engage with the day's teaching and learning.

If your child arrives later than 9 a.m. when the doors are closed, they need to be brought to the office where you will need to sign them in.

The registers close at 9.10 a.m. Any child arriving after the registers closed is marked as being absent for the whole morning. Regular lateness can seriously impact your child's attendance record and can result in a referral to the Education Welfare Service. 

ABSENCES

All absences must be authorised by the school. It is  vital that you telephone the school (020 8807 4292) leaving a voicemail or send an email (office@firsfarm.enfield.sch.uk) stating the reason for your child's absence and the class clearly. If your child is unwell, we request you to state the symptoms when you report the absence. If your child begins to feel better, you can bring them into school later in the day. If a child has frequent absences, you will be asked to provide medical evidence e.g. prescription, GP's appointment card. Please notify the school office in advance if you know your child will be absent for a medical appointment, music exam for example. We would only expect your child to be out of school for the appointment and travel time.

FAMILY HOLIDAYS/EXTENDED ABSENCES FOR FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES IN TERM TIME

Requests for children to go on family holidays or day trips in term time are not authorised. Special requests, for example to attend funerals or weddings, must be made in writing in advance to the Headteacher. In the exception circumstance of an extended absence being authorised, we encourage a project to be undertaken.  Where there is uncertainty about the date of return the school may need to remove the child from the school roll and parents/carers would need to apply again on their return by which time another child may have been enrolled in their place.