Late/Absence Procedures

 GEMS Twickenham Primary Academy opens at 08:30 am for a soft start to support a calm and orderly arrival to school. All our pupils are expected to be in class for registration by 09:00 am. The school gate is the locked at this point. 

Lateness: 

 Pupils need to be in school by 09:00 am for registration. If your child arrives after 09:00 am, they will receive a late mark (L). If your child arrives after 09:10 am, they will receive a 'U' code (missed session) on their registration certificate which will impact on their overall attendance percentage. If you know that you are going to be late, please ring the school office on 020 3019 6196 to report this. 

Absence:

If your child is unwell, please ring the office by 08:00 am to report their absence. Depending on the illness the school office will advise on how long, if any, time needs to be taken off. If your child's attendance falls below 90%, the school will not authorise any further absence without a medical note. 

Whilst your child is unwell, we do ask that you update us regularly to give the school an indication of when your child is likely to return. 

Appointments:

The school asks that you refrain from taking your children to appointments during the school day. However, in exceptional circumstances the school with authorise an appointment providing that sufficient evidence is presented. 

Holidays:

In line with DFE guidance, the school does not authorise any holidays. 

General Attendance Guidelines: 

We wish to work in partnership with parents and carers and so are seeking your full support in ensuring that your child attends the school every day and on time.  We are always pleased to work together with parents/carers in resolving any difficulties but we are also committed to ensuring that attendance levels are high at GEMS Twickenham Primary Academy.

We expect a minimum of 97% attendance from all pupils.  If your child's attendance falls to 95% this is a cause for concern, and if it is at 93-94.9% there is a risk of underachievement.  Even within the Reception classes, children are learning something new every day and this is not always very easy to catch up.

Regular attendance is not just a legal requirement, it is a vital element in order for children to maximise their learning and achieve their full potential.  There are a number of important steps you can take to ensure your child maintains a high level of attendance:

• Ensure the school has up to date addresses and phone numbers. We will contact you by phone if your child is absent and your have not contacted the school.
• If your child is ill, contact the school on a daily basis.
• If no contact is received regarding the absence, it is recorded as unauthorised.  Ultimately the school is responsible for deciding if the absence is acceptable or not.
• Only genuine absence will be authorised.  You will be asked to provide medical evidence if your child has a poor attendance record (below 90 %).
• Ensure that medical appointments are made outside of school time where possible.
• Avoid trivial absence such as 'buying new shoes', hair cuts or birthday treats. These would not be accepted as reasonable absence and will be treated as truancy.
• Holidays should not be taken in term time and will not be authorised.