Our School Day

School Gates Open: 8:30am

School Gates Close: 8:50am

End of School Day: 3:20pm

The school is open for a total of 32.5 hours per week.

Our Views on the Attendance of our Children

Harrietsham Church of England Primary School recognises the importance of good attendance and punctuality and the negative impact of poor attendance and punctuality on a child’s learning.  We are therefore committed to ensuring that, as an organisation, we do everything we can to improve our pupils’ attendance and punctuality.

We regularly monitor the attendance and punctuality of our pupils and work hard to send a clear message to parents that we are committed to high levels of attendance and punctuality and we will vigorously challenge those children, and their parents who are ultimately responsible, who fail to meet our high expectations.

• We will work to ensure maximum attendance of all of our pupils.
• We will work to identify any problems that may impede full attendance and assist in addressing these issues.
• We will work in close collaboration with parents to achieve our aim of 100% attendance.
• We will ensure that all parents are aware of, and understand, our attendance policy.
• We will ensure that parents are aware that it is ultimately their responsibility to ensure their children attend, as laid down by statutory guidelines.
• We recognise that pupils are individuals and will work with them to achieve good attendance.

Children are at school for 190 days in a school year; it is our school’s hope that our families will support their children’s full attendance. Holidays, birthday treats, theatre visits etc. need to be planned for outside of school time. Our term dates are sent home well in advance so that parents are able to take these into account when planning holidays. 

The Importance of Attending School

We know that sometimes our children cannot come to school because they are really unwell - and that's the right thing to do for them and other students. Medical advice is clear, however, that children with mild illness will often be well enough to attend - for example, if they have a cough, or cold, without a temperature. The NHS guidance Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) is designed to support parents in their decision making about mild illness. 

We know that our children fall behind their friends and classmates when they miss school. At Harrietsham Church of England Primary School we want the amount of missed education to be reduced as much as possible. We believe that our community is stronger together, with all of our children in school, on time, every day. We are building life skills, life-long friendships and preparing your child for future success. 

Parents and Carers can have a significant effect on their child's absences and we would really appreciate our families help and support in ensuring that all of our children come to school every day on time - so that they can get the best possible outcomes. We want to work with you to achieve this – please call or come in and meet your child's class teacher if you are struggling to get them into school, on time, each day.

Attendance Agreement

Getting children into school every day is an agreement between our school and you as families.  We all agree to follow the points below.

What YOU must do:

• Bring your child into school every day, on time.
• Try to telephone the school before 8.30am each day of your child’s absence.
• If you are not sure whether your child is well enough to attend school, send them in anyway as they often perk up on arrival.
• Book any medical appointments around the school day where possible.
• Tell the school in advance of any medical appointments and bring in appointment cards/letters.
• Only request leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and do so in advance.
• Have a backup plan for if your child misses transport, call on a family member, neighbour or friend.
• If you and your child are experiencing difficulties with school attendance then talk to us as a first step so we can help!

What WE will do:

• Check your child’s attendance every day.
• Phone home to discuss your child’s attendance with you.
• Invite you into school for attendance meetings if we are concerned.
• If we cannot establish a reason for absence, then we may make a welfare home visit.

Holidays in Term Time

It is the school’s policy not to authorise holiday during term time, except in exceptional circumstances. 

Examples of exceptional circumstances could include:

• Service personnel returning from a tour of duty abroad where it is evidenced the individual will not be in receipt of any leave in the near future that coincides with school holidays.
• Where an absence from school is recommended by a health professional as part of a parent or child’s rehabilitation from a medical or emotional issue.
• The death or terminal illness of a close family member.

It is important to stress that parents have no statutory right to remove a child from school during term time for the purpose of a family holiday.

Holiday/leave of absence which has been taken without authorisation, will be marked as an unauthorised absence. Parents should be aware that this might lead to the issuing of a Penalty Notice.

If parents or carers have an attendance request, they should email or write to the Headteacher, Jackie Chambers, headteacher@harrietsham.kent.sch.uk.

National Framework for Attendance

Every moment in school counts and days missed add up quickly. Evidence shows that pupils who have good attendance enjoy better wellbeing and school performance than those who don't. 

The school day is split into two sessions – one session counts as a morning or afternoon spent in school.

There are only a few occasions where a child is allowed to miss school, such as illness or where the school has given permission because of an exceptional circumstance. 

However, if your child misses school without a good reason, local councils and schools can intervene and you may be issued a fine. 

A new National Framework for Attendance has been introduced - which will mean all councils have the same rules in place for when they need to consider a fine. 

It’s important to note that children with long-term medical or more serious mental health conditions, and those with special educational needs and disabilities, may face additional barriers.  For children who face complex barriers to attendance, we will have sensitive conversations with children and families and work with you to put support in place for your individual needs.