Attendance
At Robert Sandilands we believe that there is a very strong link between school attendance and achievement - our children can only learn effectively if they attend school on time and every day.
We hope our children develop good habits of attendance from the beginning of their time in school. It is vital that we work together closely with our parents to ensure that our children do not miss key learning due to lateness and non- essential absences.
If children are absent for 10% or more of a school year, they are classed as a persistent absentee. 10% of a school year is 19 days or 38 sessions. Children that miss 10% of their time in school will miss over 1 year of schooling throughout their education.
Absence Procedure
We appreciate that there will be times when your child’s absence is unavoidable, such as if they are unwell or they have an urgent medical appointment. If there is a valid reason, the absence will be authorised.
If your child is unable to attend school you must:
Contact the school office on 01635 40318 before 8.50am and leave a message.
Inform us of any prolonged absence, providing copies of medical evidence.
Advise us in advance of any absence that you know will occur in the near future, for example, unavoidable medical appointments. Please provide copies of appointment letters.
We ask that our parents endeavour to make any medical appointments outside of school hours.
We will:
Call you, if we haven't heard from you.
Invite you to school to discuss the situation if the absence persists.
Provide support via our pastoral manager or an educational welfare officer to families who have difficulty maintaining good levels of attendance.
Ensure that you have an accurate record of your child's attendance.
If there is not a valid reason for your child’s absence this will be recorded as unauthorised.
Holidays and Planned Absence
School holiday dates are published well in advance and we encourage parents to check the term dates when booking holidays to ensure that these fall within the school holiday dates. Holidays taken in term time can not be authorised.
If parents feel that there are exceptional circumstances to taking their child out of school during term time, an application in writing, must be made to the Head Teacher in advance. The Head Teacher will decide on an individual basis whether or not to authorise the absence.
