Attendance and punctuality at De Lucy

Dear parents and carers

Promoting good attendance and punctuality continues to be a priority for us at De Lucy as if children are not in school they are missing important learning as well as socialising with their peers. Whilst Nursery children are not of statutory school age, and Reception children are of statutory school age the term after they are five, we want to encourage and promote positive habits about coming to school regularly.  As we are nearly halfway through the school year so I thought it would be a good opportunity to remind all parents/carers about attendance processes and procedures.

This year, the Department of Education has set each school a minimum attendance target, ours is 93.9%. Whole school attendance currently stands at 94.1%, ideally we would like this to be closer to 95%.

Each week Mrs Cox and I review attendance,  focussing on a different part of the school each week. Following those reviews, Mrs Cox will then send out a number of different letters. The focus is to support familie to improve attendance and highlight any issues which may be preventing your child from attending school regularly and on time.

• Letter 1 – Expression of concern – under 95%
• Letter 2 – Expression of concern – continued absence and below 92%
• Letter 3 – Intervention support meeting invite – continued unauthorised absence and below 90%
• Letter 4 – Statutory Intervention Consideration Meeting (chaired by RBG) – continued unauthorised absence

National Framework for Penalty Notices

There is now a single consistent national threshold for when a penalty notice must be considered by all schools in England, of 10 sessions (usually equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10 school week period. The 10 sessions of absence do not have to be consecutive and can be made up of a combination of any type of unauthorised absence (G, O and/or U coded within the school’s registers). The 10 school week period can span different terms, school years or education settings.

Sanctions may include issuing each parent (for each child) with a Penalty Notice for £160, reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days (for the first offence). A second Penalty Notice issued within a three year period will result in a fine of £160 per parent, per child. If a third offence is committed the matter may be referred to the local authority for consideration of prosecution via the Magistrates Court. If prosecution is instigated for irregular school attendance, each parent may receive a fine of up to £2500 and/or up to 3 months in prison. If a parent is found guilty in court, they will receive a criminal conviction.

I have attached the guide for your reference from the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

I would like to clarify that as Headteacher, I will be responsible for referring families to the Attendance Advisory Service to request that  Penalty Notices are issued. Whilst this is not a decision that I will take lightly, I am expected to adhere to Department of Education policies and I will therefore be making these referrals if needed as I did during last academic year.

Term time holidays

There is no entitlement in law for pupils to take time off during the term to go on holiday or other absence for the purpose of leisure or recreation, or to take part in protest activity in school hours.  In addition, the Supreme Court has ruled that the definition of regular school attendance is “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school.”

The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 set out the statutory requirements for schools.   All references to family holidays and extended leave have been removed. The amendments specify that headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are "exceptional circumstances" and they do not have any discretion to authorise up to ten days of absence each academic year. 

It is a rule of this school that a leave of absence shall not be granted in term time unless there are reasons considered to be exceptional by the headteacher, irrespective of the child’s overall attendance.  Only the headteacher or his/her designate (not the local authority) may authorise such a request and all applications for a leave of absence must be made in writing, in advance, on the prescribed form provided by the school (we have a form for this). The school will usually consider that the parent who has made the application is therefore allowing the leave of absence, and also that all parents who are on the holiday are allowing the leave. Where a parent removes a child after their application for leave was refused or where no application was made to the school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised. It is likely that penalty notices will be requested, in line with the National Framework and Royal Greenwich Code of Conduct, in respect of each parent believed to have allowed the absence.

Punctuality (lateness at the beginning and end of the day)
 Beginning of the day

It is important that children arrive at school on time to have a smooth start to their day. The nursery gate opens at 8.45am and all children are expected to be there and the register will be taken straight away.

The gates for Reception to Year 6 open at 8.50am and it is expected that all children come in straight away and are in class ready for the register at 9am. Gates will close at 8.58am. 

If a child arrives to school after the gates have closed, their adult needs to bring them to the main office where staff will ask for the reason for lateness. It is not acceptable to 'drop' late children at the main gate.

Arriving promptly makes sure that your child doesn’t miss schoolwork, and prevents disruption to the teacher and other pupils. Persistent lateness can lead to a significant loss in learning time.  Persistent lateness can also result in a penalty notice, if your child arrives late after the register closes in 10 sessions in a rolling period of 10 weeks.

Today I have also reviewed ‘minutes late’ this half term. If your child has been late this term more than once or on one occasion over 10 mins, you will receive a letter home this week.

End of the school day

School finishes at 11.45am for nursery, 3.15pm for Reception and 3.20pm for Year 1 - 6. It is expected that Nursery are collected promptly at 11.45am, Reception by 3.20pm and Year 1-6 by 3.25pm. The gates will be closed as soon after 3.25pm as possible. After this time, any children who have not been collected will be taken to the school office. 

If a child is collected late, the adult collecting will be required inform staff for of the reason for late collection, which staff will be recording. Year group leaders and Senior Leaders will be reviewing late collection logs and inviting parents in to discuss any ongoing concerns if needed. 

If you are sending someone different to collect your child from school, please ensure that you have informed them of the correct time and that you have informed the school so that we know that we can release your child. 

If you have any questions about any letters you receive, please contact the school office and Mrs Cox will be able to assist you. 

Kind regards

Mrs Lodge

penalty notice changes parents guide sept 24.pdf