Attendance
Registration
Every school, by law, has to register pupils twice a day, in the morning and again in the afternoon.
The morning attendance register will open at 08:45am and will close at 09:00am.
The afternoon attendance register will open at 13:00pm and close at 13:05pm
The School Day
The school day starts at 0845am and finishes at 15:15pm. All mandatory school age pupils should be in school during this compulsory period. Each week your child will be in school for 32.5 hours.
Westcott provides both a breakfast club and afterschool club should you need wraparound provision for your child. For further details, please go to the Wraparound Club page.
Absence
In the event of a pupil’s absence from school, parents or carers are requested to telephone the school prior to the start of school, or at least by 9.30 am, in order to provide a reason for the absence.
Children do not need to be absent from school for minor coughs, sniffles, mild headaches or just under the weather. If a member of staff believes they are not well enough to remain in school, parents/carers will be contacted.
In line with our policy of safeguarding children the school may ring you after that time or make a home visit if you have not been able to contact us.
Please avoid making dental/doctors/optician appointments during the school day; if an appointment is absolutely necessary please show your appointment card/letter (preferably in advance) to the office as evidence for this absence.
Important Changes to Fixed Penalty Notice Fines
Please find details of the changes regarding fixed penalty notice fines effective from August 2024
Holidays in term time
Any holidays during term time are to be discouraged.
Please consider the following:
While you are away for 1 week your child will miss approximately:
- 5 hours of Maths
- 7.5 hours of English
- 10 hours of science, religious education, music, art, physical education, geography, history, design & technology and information technology
If your child has a holiday of 2 weeks during term time and has a 1 week period of sickness in one school year they will miss:
- 15 hours of English
- 22.5 hours of Maths
- 30 hours of learning other subjects
If this pattern were to be repeated throughout your child’s school life they would miss 36 weeks of their education!
One School Year = 39 school weeks!
Ask yourself – Can my child keep up with other children if they miss out on 60 hours of education a year?
Thinking of taking a holiday in term time? Please think again!
The Headteacher may not grant any leave of absence, including those for holidays, to pupils during term time unless they consider there to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’.
‘Exceptional circumstance’ means that the parent must make the case as to why their child should be treated differently to the norm. All requests will be treated on an individual case by case basis.
Parents/carers should make a request for authorised absence in term time, only if absolutely necessary, as these are not automatically authorised. Parents/carers need to request a ‘Holiday Form’, which needs to be completed 4 weeks prior to the leave of absence date. These are available from the school office.
