Please read carefully as our policy has changed.

Dear Parents/ Carers, Over the last 3 years, since our last Ofsted inspection, we have been working hard to improve attendance and punctuality. With your help and cooperation, we are pleased to say that our joint efforts appear to be working. In the academic year 2009/10, our overall attendance was 93.7%. Last year, 2010-2011, attendance was 95% and this year we are aiming to achieve 96%. However, we cant achieve this without your continued support. We would therefore like to remind you of our current procedures concerning attendance and also to make you aware of some changes that we have had to make in response to new Government directives. Illness We recognise that children may be ill at some points and therefore some absence is unavoidable. In all cases of absence: parents should: Only keep your child away from school if it is really necessary (we can send your child home if necessary). Telephone school on: 01274 335260 on the first day of absence and before 9:30am Keep school informed if absence will extend beyond the first day Avoid booking medical and dental appointments in school time, but if absolutely necessary, your child should be in school for the remainder of the day For extended periods of illness, speak to your childs class teacher who will be able to provide you with work for your child .

Punctuality Whilst we acknowledge that most of our pupils arrive at school on time, we do have a small number of children who are late on a regular basis. Parents may not be aware of the difficulties experienced by their children, even if they are only a few minutes late each day.

Holidays in term time Guidance from the Department of Educations (DfE) states that children should not normally be taken out of school for the purpose of a holiday as it can be disruptive both to your childs learning and to the school. Indeed, a recent Government investigation into attendance and its impact on achievement found that, children with poor attendance are unlikely to succeed academically and they are more likely not to be in education, employment or training when they leave school. Following recommendations made by the report, we have therefore made the decision that holidays in term time will no longer be authorised unless the holiday is considered an exceptional circumstance. Even in these cases, the attendance record of the children concerned will be taken into account and will have to have been above 97% in the previous year in order to warrant authorisation. All requests for authorisation should be made directly to the head teacher in writing. The head teacher will then make a decision as to whether to authorise the absence based on the conditions above and will reply to requests in writing. Any holiday taken without the written authorisation of the head teacher will be classed as unauthorised absence and a Penalty Notice may be issued. Penalty Notices You could be issued with a penalty notice if your child is absent from school without permission. Since September 2012, payment of a Penalty Notice within 28 days is 60 and payment after 28 days, but within 42 days is 120. Kirklees council retains any revenue from Penalty notices . They may be issued under the conditions below: If parents have not sought permission from the head teacher before taking their child out of school for a holiday in term time; If the head teacher has refused the request but the absence occurs anyway; If a pupil has not returned to school by the agreed date with no satisfactory explanation Where the absence has been recorded by the school as an unauthorised holiday in the attendance register on at least 10 sessions (5 school days) during the current term

Did you know that.? 10 minutes late a day = almost a whole hour of lessons per week missed by your child, which over the year adds up to nearly a fortnight of schooling. A child may miss his/her teachers instructions for the first lesson; coming late causes disruption to the whole class, as well as the child who is late. Registers and school dinner numbers will have already been sent to the office. Children are often very embarrassed and upset coming into school late.

Please remember: Children can now come into school at 8:40am to give them time to change their shoes and be in class on time. If you are late you will need to accompany your child to the school office to have their attendance registered. Please do not let your child come into school late and without a responsible adult.

Should you require more information on attendance, the following documents are available either from our school office or by downloading from the Kirklees LEA website (www.kirklees.gov.uk) Gomersal St. Marys Attendance and Punctuality Policy Holiday absence in Term Time (Kirklees LEA) Supporting School Attendance (Kirklees LEA)