Attendance
At Wescott we place great importance on good attendance and punctuality. We know that a child’s attendance has a direct impact on their learning. Those children who are regularly absent from school and regularly late do not achieve their full potential and it can lead to them falling behind in class. Please support the school by ensuring that your child attends school regularly and arrives ready to learn and on time at 8.45am.
Attendance matters! It is important that your child gets to school on time and aims for 100% attendance!
Promoting Attendance and Support
We believe that working together with parents is the best way to result in positive attendance outcomes for our children.
We have lots of high profile rewards and systems in school to promote good attendance and punctuality with the children.
Our Attendance Lead is happy to work with both children and families to improve attendance and punctuality. Come and talk to us if you are having problems.
Types of Absence
Every half-day absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for.
Authorised Absences
These are mornings or afternoons away from school for a valid reason such as illness, emergency medical or dental appointments (routine appointments should always be made out of school hours) and emergencies.
Unauthorised Absences
An absence is classified as Unauthorised if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as to what is acceptable and what is not.
Examples of reasons that would not be accepted:
- A birthday
- A shopping trip
- Day trips
- Holidays – unless they have been agreed as exceptional circumstances
What to do if your child is absent from school
Notify the school office on every morning of absence by 9:15am either by email or phone, along with the reason.
Contact Information
Tel: 0118 9786313
Email: admin@wescott.wokingham.sch.uk
Request for Leave
As a school, we are no longer allowed to authorise any requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time.
Requests for leave can only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and a holiday would not be considered exceptional. Requests for leave must also be made to the school in advance. To do this please come in to the school office to complete the necessary Leave in Term Time application.
Parents may receive a penalty notice if their child is absent from school without permission.
We appreciate the challenges that some parents face when booking holidays, particularly during the school holidays. However, regular attendance at school is vital in helping children and young people to achieve their full potential and get the best possible start in life.
Punctuality
It is very important that all children arrive on time. School doors open at 8.40am every morning. If your child arrives after 8.50am then they are late and they will not be able to come into school via the usual morning entrance doors but should instead come through the main school entrance. Children arriving after 8.50am are marked as late in the register.
Please note that if your children arrive at school later than 9.20am, we are required to mark them as absent for that half day session and it is classed as an unauthroised absence..
If children are regularly late, a parent will be expected to attend a meeting to look at how punctuality can be improved.
