All Saints Laxfield
Church of England Primary School
A family. Uniquely made and loved by God.
Attendance & Punctuality
All Saints Laxfield Primary School is committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all its pupils and recognises this can only be achieved by supporting and promoting excellent school attendance for all. This is based on the belief that only by attending school every day the school is available and punctually will children be able to take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. High attainment depends on school attendance.
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The All Saints Schools Trust (ASST) takes attendance seriously and all our school follow the Trust wide attendance policy. Please read the policy and if you have any questions, please contact the school office who will be more than happy to help.
ASST School Attendance Policy (Sept 2024)
Applications for a leave of absence or term time holiday
Applications must be made in writing at least two weeks in advance of the absence, using the form available from the school office. Please note any leave of absence will not be authorised when children are due to take national/school tests: May/June for Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Term time holiday
The All Saints Schools Trust Attendance Policy, in line with DfE and Suffolk Education advice, is that all holidays should be taken in school closure periods, of which there are 13 weeks over the course of the academic year and the school will not authorise any term time holidays, regardless of the reasons, including what job parents/carers do. If you decide to take your child out on a term time holiday, a leave of absence form must be completed in advance and you may receive a fixed penalty notice fine if your child misses 5 days or 10 sessions of school, which is unauthorised.
Leave of absence request
The school may grant a leave of absence only in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Headteacher, for example to attend a funeral or a wedding of a close family member. This is reserved for a day or two. A leave of absence form must be completed in advance of the request.
Fixed Penalty Notice
There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England, of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10 sessions of absence do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence - family holiday not agreed, unauthorised absence and/or unauthorised late. The 10-school week period can span different terms, school years or education settings.
Sanctions may include issuing each parent (for each child) with a Penalty Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (for the first offence). A second Penalty Notice issued within a three-year period will result in a fine of £160 per parent, per child. If a third offence is committed the matter may be referred to the local authority for consideration of prosecution via the Magistrates Court. If prosecution is instigated for irregular school attendance, each parent may receive a fine of up to £2500 and/or up to 3 months in prison. If a parent is found guilty in court, they will receive a criminal conviction.
Punctuality
It is very important that children arrive at the stipulated time and ready to start school at 8:45am.
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The school gates open at 8:35 for drop off and will be locked at 8:45am. Rregistration will then begin. If your child arrives between 8:45-9am they will be recorded as being late. If they arrive after the registers have closed (from 9am) they will be marked as an unathiorised late, which is an unauthorised absence and will count towards a possible fixed penalty notice.
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Being punctual and arriving on time is an essential life skill and one that is learnt from an early age. Arriving late does impact on the child’s education as they miss early morning work or the start of lessons.
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All attendance and punctuality is monitored by the school and the Education Welfare Officer (EWO) and parents/carers will be contacted if the school or the EWO have a concern.
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For more details on pupil school attendance and punctuality, please read the ASST School Attendance Policy or speak to the school office.