The law requires all children of school age to attend school on a regular basis (every day that the school is open except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.). The attendance of every child is closely monitored. It is important that we receive an explanation from parents or carers for every absence. It is the school’s responsibility to decide whether to authorise the absence or not, using current regulations as a guide.

You can find information about school attendance on this webpage and on Suffolk's School Attendance webpage.

As a school, we have set a target of every child achieving at least 96% attendance throughout the year. You will be able to see you child’s attendance on the Arbor app. If your child’s attendance drops below 95% during the year, or we notice a pattern developing (such as every Wednesday or the two days before a school holiday), we may contact you to discuss our concerns. Any child who has an attendance figure of less than 92% is deemed to be a persistent absentee; at this point we will liaise with the Education Welfare Officer for the Children’s Endeavour Trust.

What should I do if my child is ill?

Please let us know as soon as possible. You can do this by:

• Ringing the school office (01449 613112) and either speaking to a member of staff or leaving a message on the answerphone (option 1).
• Speaking to one of the office staff.
• Sending in a written note on the day.
• Sending an email to admin@combsford.suffolk.sch.uk. Please do not send an email to the class email addresses as they are not monitored as regularly.

If we have not received a reason for your child’s absence by 09.00, we will contact you by telephone or text message.

If we become concerned about the number of days your child misses due to illness, we may ask that you provide evidence of a medical appointment before we will authorise the absence – this can either be an appointment card/text or a prescription label (for instance on a prescribed medicine).

Can I take my child to the doctor, dentist or optician in school time?

We ask that you try to make appointments out of school hours whenever possible. Please let us know, in advance, of any appointments during school time. We will ask to see a copy of the letter or appointment card/text to be able to authorise your child’s absence.

Can I take my child on holiday in school time?

If you are planning a holiday, please fill in the ‘Request for Leave’ form (available on the school website or from the office).  As a general rule, we will not authorise requests for term-time holidays and a holiday of more than 3 days (6 sessions) may trigger a Penalty Notice Referral (please see the Attendance Policy for further details). A second term-time holiday may lead to legal action being taken, including further fines.

Can my child attend family events, such as a wedding or a funeral?

We will authorise a child’s absence in the case of a close family wedding or funeral when we receive a completed ‘Request for Leave’ form. According to our policy, we can authorise one day’s absence. Any further time off will be counted as unauthorised.

Can my child miss school for religious celebrations such as Eid or Diwali?

Yes, the school can authorise days for religious observance, but please let us know in advance.

When is my child late for school?

The school day starts at 08.40 for EYFS and Years 1 and 2 and 08.50 for Years 3, 4, 5 and 6. If your child arrives on site late, we ask that you bring them through the main door and registers with the office. Your child will be marked in the register as late (L). If your child arrives 15 minutes or more after their register closes (08.55 for children in EYFS and Years 1 and 2 and 09.05 for children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6), their lateness will count as an unauthorised absence for that morning.

What happens if my child has unauthorised absences?

Our agreed school policy says that, once a child has had more than 6 unauthorised sessions (1 day = 2 sessions), you may receive a Penalty Referral Notice which could lead to a fine of £60 per child, per adult with parental responsibility.

Does the school reward good attendance?

Yes! Every half-term, we award trophies to the two classes with the highest attendance (one trophy shared between Years R, 1 & 2 and another trophy for Years 3 to 6). The winning class are also given a personalised Attendance Champions poster to proudly display on their classroom door. We also celebrate class attendance in weekly whole school celebration assemblies.

Finally, we would like to thank the many parents and carers who support us to achieve high standards of attendance. By working together to improve the attendance of every child in the school, we can be sure that they are receiving the best opportunities throughout their time with us.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact us – we are always happy to help!

The Impact of Poor Attendance

Poor attendance can have a huge impact on a child's future.

Page reviewed on 18/08/24 by KJD.