Attendance
At Filby Primary School we place great importance on good attendance and punctuality. Please support the school by ensuring that your child attends school regularly and arrives ready to learn and on time.
For a child to reach their full educational achievement, a high level of school attendance is essential - there is a clear and proven link between low attendance and academic outcomes, with pupils who regularly miss out on learning at risk of falling significantly behind their peers. Children who attend frequently are also more likely to build strong, positive friendships.
We monitor attendance and contact parents when we have concerns so that we can work with you and address any barriers. We understand that unforeseen circumstances may arise and there might be genuine reasons for absences, including illness, however it is essential to emphasise the importance of consistent attendance. If attendance remains a concern, you may be invited to meet with a member of staff to discuss the issues further and create an Attendance Support Plan together.
Punctuality
Children should arrive at 8:40am. Registers are taken promptly at 8:50am - all children need to be in the classroom by this time and ready to start their day. All pupils arriving after this time are required to report to the main office with their parent/carer. If their arrival is before 9:20am it will be recorded as L code (late before the close of register). The school register will officially close at 9:20am. All pupils arriving on or after this time will be marked as having an unauthorised absence for the morning session - U code (late after the close of register) and this counts as an absence.
Absence procedures
If a child will be absent, parents must inform the school office before 8:50am – 01493 369241. If you are unable to speak directly to a member of staff, please leave a voice message stating a child's name and the reason for their absence. We will often give you a call back. Remember to contact the school on every further day of absence again before 8:50am. Sometimes it can be tricky to decide whether or not to keep your child off school when they're unwell. The NHS has produced guidance to support parents: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
If your child is absent from school and we do not hear from you with a valid reason, the session will be marked as ‘unauthorised’. Birthdays, shopping for uniform or shoes, having no one to bring them to school are not valid reasons. Unauthorised absences can be counted towards fixed penalty notices issued by Norfolk County Council - please see more information below. Routine medical appointments such as dentists, opticians, doctors etc should be made outside of school hours where possible. If you have an unavoidable appointment in school time we will authorise one session of absence for that appointment.
As part of our safeguarding procedures, home visits may be made regardless of whether contact has been established.
Term-time time absence
Permission for term-time absence will only be authorised if there are exceptional circumstances. A request form must be submitted to the headteacher via the school office a month in advance with full reasons of the exceptional reasons why a child needs to be absent from school. The headteacher will respond to all requests.
Medicines in school
If your child is prescribed medicine from your GP we are more than happy to accommodate this. Please come to the school office to complete a medication form, informing staff of the timing and dosage and leave this and the medicine with a member of office staff.
Fixed penalty notices
There is a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England of 10 sessions (usually the equivalent to five school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week. These sessions do not have to be consecutive and could be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence. The 10 school week period can span different terms or school years. Penalty notice fines are issued to each parent, for each child that was absent. For example, three siblings absent for term time leave would result in each parent receiving three separate fines. Parents and guardians are legally required to ensure their children are in school every day. When parents have not engaged with attendance support offered by the school or attendance has failed to improve, this can result in referring the matter to the local authority for legal sanctions.