Regular attendance is fundamental to the future success of children.  We expect pupils to attend every session of every day that the school is open to them and that they arrive on time.   Your child should be at school by 9am but not before 8.45am, unless they are attending breakfast club, to be ready to go into class at 8.45am. The register is taken twice a day.  Morning registration time for all year groups is between 8.45am – 9am.  It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of term dates.

Any pupils that arrive after 9.00am have to enter the school through the main entrance.

A pupil who arrives through the front office between 9am and 9.30am will be marked as late (Code L).

A pupil that arrives by the front office after 9.30am will be registered by the front office, with reason for absence noted and will be marked as unauthorised (Code U).

L and U codes are closely monitored on SIMS.

The school may consider referring to Gloucestershire Council for legal action (see legal sanctions information section) if there are a series of unauthorised late marks and parents fails to engage with guidance and support.

The School expects prompt collection of all children at the end of the school day (3.10pm Infants and 3.15pm Juniors).  However, we do appreciate that unforeseen circumstances (e.g. traffic, illness) may occur from time to time.  We would ask parents to advise school as soon as possible if this happens, by phoning 01452 527 020.  The school closely monitors late collections.  Pupils who remain uncollected after 3.30pm will be admitted into After-School Care whilst their parents are contacted to collect them. The parent / carer will incur a £5.00 non-booking fee per child in addition to the session charge.  If this persistently happens, we will initially meet with you to discuss this.  If no improvement is seen, this may result in a charge for child care.

We expect parents to notify the school every morning of absence by 9.30am, unless the length of absence is known in advance. We will contact you if your child has not arrived in school by 9.30am and no message has been left.  If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence. You may leave a telephone message 01452 527020) or e-mail to admin@linden.gloucs.sch.uk .

Yes, all adults, parents and carers have a legal responsibility including absent parents.

DEFINITION OF A PARENT Section 576 of the Education Act 1996 defines 'parent' as

• All natural parents, whether they are married or not  
• Any person who, although not a natural parent, has parental responsibility for a child or young person  
• Any person who, although not a natural parent, has care of a child or young person (having care of a child or young person means that a person with whom the child lives and who looks after the child, irrespective of what their relationship is with the child, is considered to be a parent in education law).

An accumulation of unauthorised absences will lead to a referral to Gloucestershire Council which may result in legal proceedings.

At Linden Primary School we recognise the clear links between attendance and progress and attendance and safeguarding children.  Pupil’s attendance rates will be monitored.

If there is a problem with a pupil’s attendance, the parents or carers will be informed of the school’s concerns and will be encouraged to keep absences to a minimum. The school will always work with parents and carers and pupils to try to remedy the problem.

We will mark absence due to illness as authorised unless the school has a genuine concern about the authenticity of the illness.

If the authenticity of the illness is in doubt, the school may ask the pupil’s parent/carer to provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s note, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily.

If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and parents/carers will be notified of this in advance.

The headteacher will only grant a leave of absence to a pupil during term time if they consider there to be 'exceptional circumstances'. A leave of absence is granted at the headteacher’s discretion, including the length of time the pupil is authorised to be absent for.

We define ‘exceptional circumstances’ as rare, unavoidable events that significantly impact a child's ability to attend school and are outside of a family’s control.

Family holidays should only be taken during school holidays.

Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning. Ensure that he / she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value his / her education.

Contact your child’s teacher or a member of the inclusion team for support immediately and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons – difficulties with schoolwork, bullying, friendship problems, family difficulties. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school and work together to tackle the problem.

It is important to communicate with school should you wish to transfer your child to a different school. When pupils leave the school and no information has been received by the school regarding their new placement and parents/carers are unable to be contacted, the school has a duty of care regarding safeguarding and must contact the Local Authority.  The child will be classed as ‘Children who are absent from education for prolonged periods and/or repeated occasions’.  This means that Gloucestershire Council has a legal duty to investigate, which will include liaising with Social Services, the Police and other agencies, to try to track and locate the child. By giving the school details of the child’s new school and location, unnecessary investigations can be avoided.

It is paramount that parent/carers keep school updated with all new contact details of change of address and landline or mobile telephone numbers. If you start a new job and have a work contact number, please let us know immediately. This is to ensure we can contact you in an emergency.

Children cannot work under the age of 13 unless they hold a performance licence. During term time children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:

• a maximum of 2 hours on school days and Sundays
• a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds, or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds

Businesses intending to employ children are required to apply for a child employment permit. The Local Authority may turn down a request for a permit if a child has a poor attendance record at school. Further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/minimum-ages-children-can-work.