Attendance & Absence
Regular attendance is vital to the children’s success in school. The school, therefore, places a high priority on encouraging good attendance.
All pupils are expected to achieve an attendance target of above 96% except in exceptional medical circumstances.
All pupils are expected to arrive at school between gates opening at 8.40am – gates closing at 8.55 am each morning ready for registration and the start of the school day.
At Barry Primary we use an absence reporting app called Studybugs. If your child is going to be absent due to illness the app should be used to directly inform the school office of what is wrong with the child on the first day and to provide updates each day until they return to school. Any other absence should be reported by calling the school absence line by 8.45am for each day the child is not in school.
The school uses a computerised registration system and the register is completed promptly in the morning and afternoon at 9.00am and 12.45pm in Reception and KS1 and at 1.15pm in KS2. A late pupil will receive a ‘late’ mark between 9.00 - 9.30am and 12.45 – 1.15pm (R/KS1) and 9.00 - 9.30am and 1.15 - 1.45pm (KS2) and an absent mark after that time. All pupils who are late must be signed in at the school office. Parents should avoid, where possible, making routine medical/dental appointments during school hours.
The end of the school day is at 3.20 pm.
If there is a problem with collecting your child, please ring the school before 3.20 pm so that staff and children are notified of the delay.
Absence
Absences will only be authorised for exceptional circumstances at the Headteacher’s discretion and these may include: bereavement of immediate family, marriage of immediate family, religious observance, sporting events representing school (county or country) and performance.
Once your child is five, unexplained or repeated absences or lateness will be followed up and, where necessary, advice taken from the School Attendance Support Service.
Holidays
Holidays in term-time will NOT be authorised and parents can be fined if they do so choose to take children out of school for this reason. From 2024 there have been national changes in law to Penalty Notices for non-attendance. These are in our Attendance Policy and shared below:
National changes in law to Penalty Notices from 2024:
In line with the New National Framework for Penalty Notices and West Northamptonshire County Council policy, parents/carers may be fined if they take a child out of school for the purpose of a holiday or recreational purposes. The period for parents receiving a fixed term penalty notice is for 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in a rolling period of 10 school weeks. This can be any combination of unauthorised absence (e.g. four sessions of holiday taken in term time plus six sessions of arriving late after the register closes all within ten school weeks). These sessions can be consecutive or not. The period of ten school weeks can also span different terms or school years. The school will deem this as irregular attendance and will consider a referral to the Local authority for consideration of penalty notices and/or legal action.
