Attendance is an important part of school life at St Martin’s CE Primary School. We know the value that excellent attendance brings to our pupils, and we have high expectations of all our pupils to attend school regularly.

Timings of the school day:

Nursery children start the school day at 8:30am or 12:15pm. Pick up time is at 11:30am or 3:15pm

Reception children are expected to be ready, in class, for registration at 8.50am. Parents should be ready to pick them up from class at 3.20pm sharp.

All other pupils are expected to be ready, in class, for registration at 8.50am. Parents should be ready to pick them up from class at 3.20pm sharp.

Please note that we monitor punctuality including the times that children are late being collected as part of our safeguarding procedures.

Attendance Matters:

Poor attendance affects children’s development in:

• Social communication
• Academic achievement
• Confidence
• Strong mental health

Attendance Matters - if a child is 5 minutes late every day, in 2 weeks they have missed one hour of school. If a child misses one day a week, they will have missed over 7 weeks of school by the end of the year. 
St. Martin's School knows that good attendance supports the social, academic, physical and mental health of a child. The school provides an engaging curriculum which is designed to enthuse all learners. 

It is vital that a collaborative approach is taken; the school understands that there could be exceptional circumstances that prevent a child coming to school, but the expectation is that your child is in school, every day and on time. 

We would like all our pupils to achieve excellent attendance and will support pupils with poor attendance. It is vital that there is collaboration between home and school, ensuring that the children have the best attendance possible. 

Term time holidays:

St. Martin's School will not authorise any term-time holidays. 
In exceptional circumstances, leave may be granted, but this is at the discretion of the headteacher. If you would like to request leave, please do so in writing, for the attention of Mrs. Coates, via email at attendancematters@fraysacademytrust.org or by letter, via the school office.
The Department for Education does not consider a holiday, of any nature, to be exceptional leave. 
The decision of the school is final. 

Lateness:

We expect pupils to arrive at school on time. Late arrivals disrupt the education of others and can make children feel uncomfortable.
Pupils who are not in the classroom when the register is taken will be marked as late and those arriving more than 20minutes late will be marked as an unauthorised absence, unless mitigating evidence is seen.
We will ask parents to provide reasons for lateness on a daily basis and this will be recorded.
Parents will be invited to a meeting with the attendance officer if there is a continued pattern of lateness to look for ways in which the school can support them. 

Illness / sickness: 

We do not expect pupils to come to school when they are sick. If your child feels well enough to be in school, then they should be in. If your child has had sickness or diarrhoea, they should not attend school for 48hours. St. Martin's School reserves the right to ask for evidence of appointments, which should be produced upon request. 

Medical appointments:

St. Martin's understands that hospital appointments very often fall through the school day: please provide appointment letters or other forms of evidence when requesting that your child attend these appointments. 
Please avoid routine dental or doctor appointments during the school day, as this is disruptive for children and could mean your child misses out on vital learning. 

Support:

If you or your children are having difficulties that impact on their attendance, please make an appointment with our Attendance Officer / Welfare Officer to discuss additional support.

Please click here, to access the Attendance Policy.

Reporting your child’s absence:

Please call the school before 8:00am on 01895 462350, leaving a message stating the following information:

• Pupil’s full name
• Class
• Reason for absence

Alternatively, please email stmartins@fraysacademytrust.org or attendancematters@fraysacademytrust.org,