Attendance Officer: Mrs Julie Brown

 

SLT:  The Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher have overall responsibility for championing and improving attendance

 

The attendance policy can be found through the pathway- Key Information- Policies

At Cardinal Road, we believe that education is important. Missing school means missing out.

Children should be at school, on time and ready to learn every day that school is open, unless the reason for absence is unavoidable.

The school has a legal duty to promote good attendance. Equally, parents have a duty to make sure their children attend school regularly and punctually. School staff are committed to working closely with parents to ensure their child reaches their full potential. Please work with us.

Punctuality
Arrival at school must be on time for your child to be counted as present.

The school gates open at 8:40am and close at 8:50am. The Teachers are ready to take the register at this time and then lessons will begin. Registration must take place by law at the beginning of each morning session and again in the afternoon. Children who arrive more than 30 minutes after the register closes, without a reasonable explanation, will be recorded as missing the whole session.

Attendance
No matter how good the teaching, children cannot learn if they are absent. Those who frequently have time away from school risk their entire future prospects and are likely to become increasingly disaffected and alienated from both their peers and the world of work.

Every half day absence from school has to be recorded and the reason provided noted. Please phone the School Office on 0208 890 6306 to advise if your child is going to be absent or late, before 9:30 if possible.

The most common reason given for absence is illness.
Children with a contagious condition such as sickness and / or diarrhoea, should be kept at home for 24 hours from the last bout of illness.

It's normal for children to get 8 or more colds a year. Gradually, they build up immunity and get fewer colds. Most colds will get better within a few days, without the need for medical intervention. The severity of the cold will determine whether a child should stay at home.

Children's temperatures will naturally rise and fall during the course of the day and night, this is not always a sign of illness.

If your child is on a prescribed medication, such as antibiotics, with prior arrangement, we can administer these during the school day with your written consent.

If your child is absent for more than one day, with a minor illness, work can be requested to be sent home. If this is a known absence, for example they are having an operation, work can be provided in advance upon request.

Please make routine medical and dental appointments outside school time wherever possible. Parents are asked to avoid taking their child out of school during the school day as this is extremely disruptive to the whole class, not just the child who is leaving. Where such appointments are unavoidable, please advise us in advance and bring your child in as soon as possible afterwards.

The School and Local Authority do not authorise term time leave, regarding it as truancy. It is disruptive to the learning of the individual child and also to other children in the class, to group activities and teacher planning. It impacts on the progress and performance of the children. We do not legally have to keep school/ nursery places open for children of non-statutory school age. If a child of statutory school age is absent for 20 or more school days, they will be removed from the school register.

If your child is not attending school regularly, we have a legal responsibility to report this to the Local Education Authority. This may result in a fine or prosecution.

Other helpful points of contact:

Education Wefare (Duty) 0208 583 2622

School Nurse (Children over 5) 0208 630 3787

Health Visitors (Children under 5) Feltham 0208 630 3757  Bedfont 0208 630 3880

Asthma Nurses 0208 630 1825