Crabtree Farm Primary School
Steadfold Close
Bulwell
Nottingham
NG6 8AX
0115 9155737
Welcome to the Crabtree Farm Primary School Website
Weekly Attendance
Why is attendance important?
Children who attend school regularly and punctually achieve more than those who do not. A two week absence over the year will reduce your child's attendance to 95% and will impact on their ability to reach their full potential.
You can help by ensuring that your child attends school on time every day. This means being in the classroom and ready to learn at 9.00 a.m.
Please do not allow your child to have any unnecessary days absence, for example, days off for birthdays, parents' appointments, visitors to the home etc. because the school is unable to authorise any absence of this nature. If you need to make alternative arrangements for the care of your child before school opens we may be able to assist you by allowing your child to attend Breakfast Club.
Parents/Carers are responsible for getting their children to school on time.
Procedure for late children:
Class doors open at 8:50 am, to allow the children time to get coats off and get settled before registers are taken at 9:00 am.
If your child arrives after 9:00 am they will be greeted at the school gate, details of the child and reason for being late will be taken. The child's dinner choice will also be recorded and then they will be issued with a late pass to give to their teacher. Your child should then walk to their class via the playground.
If your child arrives after 9:15 am they should report to the school office where they will need to be signed in (using our electronic system) and taken to class.
Procedure if a child is staying at home because of illness:
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All absences should be reported to the attendance officer or to the school office. A parent or carer should notify school by telephone on 0115 9155737, or send a message via the school's communication app.
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When reporting an absence, please give the reason(s) why the child will be absent. It is the parents/carers responsibility to make sure a satisfactory reason is given and provide any evidence they may have to explain the absence e.g. medicine bottle, hospital appointment letter, emergency dental appointment text. Any absence that does not have a satisfactory reason will be marked as unauthorised. If a satisfactory reason for illness or a medical appointment has been provided, an authorised absence code will be recorded.
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All absences should be reported every day the child is off school, unless it is a serious injury or a long-term illness that we have received proof of.
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If a telephone call or message via the school's communication app has not been received, school will make contact with parents/carers to enquire about their child's absence. It is important you keep contact information up to date with the office, providing at least three emergency contacts.
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If we have any queries regarding absence or we have not received a reason, we will follow this up with a telephone call or a home visit.
Day to day
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If a child is not in school by 9.30am we have a duty of care to ensure that all children are safe. You may have seen the sad and tragic reports recently in the news, this has meant now all schools must ring and speak to an adult if a child is not accounted for. The government has now stated we must have at least 3 up to date contact numbers and if none of these are answered we could make a home visit or request a police safe and well check.
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Parents are invited to call or meet with a member of the attendance team to discuss individual health concerns or other reasons for excessive absence.
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To keep your child's attendance within the 96% expected by the end of the school year, parents/carers are reminded to, where possible, make medical appointments outside of school time. If this is not possible, please remember pupils get two marks for attendance every day and they would get at least one of them if they were brought to school before and or after their appointment.
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If your child has an unavoidable appointment or has been absent on medical grounds, school may ask for proof e.g an appointment letter or medication prescribed by a G.P. This is to support authorisation of the absence.
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If attendance is below 90% during the school year and 10% or more is unauthorised the Education Welfare Officer could prosecute. A letter will be sent to the parents of children with less than 90% attendance to advise that their attendance will be monitored for improvement, or you will be invited to a meeting to discuss the issues.
Children with attendance dipping below 90% without genuine reasons for absence can be passed to the Education Welfare Officer, who can take the matter to court and a fine could be issued.
Holidays
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We would like to remind you that Crabtree Farm Primary School do not give permission for family holidays during term time. Any time taken for a family holiday will be recorded as unauthorised.
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A ‘Leave of Absence request form’ needs to be completed four weeks prior to the leave, the request will then be reviewed by the headteacher and the attendance officer. After the review, a letter will be issued with the outcome of the decision. Holidays will only be accepted if there are exceptional circumstances.
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You can get a copy of a 'Leave of Absence Request Form' from the school office.
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You can be fined for taking your child on holiday during term time without the head teacher's permission. Penalty notices are issued at £120 (per child, per parent) and must be paid within the statutory 28-day deadline. Penalty notices are only reduced to £60 if they are paid in full, within 21 days of issue. All fines must be paid within 28 days of issue otherwise you may be prosecuted in court.
Attendance Information
Lateness and absence procedures
Attendance and Absence Policy
You can get a paper copy of Crabtree Farm Primary's Attendance and Absence Policy from the school office or click on the link at the top of the page to read it on the website.