Attendance
‘On Time, Every Day’
Attendance and punctuality are key life skills. It is essential that children come to school every day and on time—we know that good attendance leads to good progress and improved life chances. It is our aim for every child to have attendance of at least 97%
If your child is going to be absent, please inform the school on the first day of absence before 9.00am. This can be done by telephoning the school on 01629 732226 or sending an e-mail to: info@darleydale.derbyshire.sch.uk, or by calling in at the school office in person. If we don’t hear from you before 9.00am, then the school office will be in touch to confirm the absence – this is a standard Safeguarding procedure. It is important that you provide us with the details of the reason for absence.
We are unable to authorise any absence in term time except in exceptional circumstances. Parents do not have the legal right to take children out of school for holidays. Exceptional circumstances do not include holidays of any sort for any length of time. Exceptional circumstances include bereavement, family illness or crisis, weddings or special religious circumstances. All requests for absence (including exceptional circumstances) should be made to the Headteacher. Any unauthorised absence in term time will always be referred to the Local Authority who may impose a fine.
It is vitally important that children have as few days off school as possible maximise learning. Of course, children will become ill from time to time and there are certain illnesses that necessitate absence, for example chicken pox, diarrhoea and vomiting, etc. If you are unsure whether to send your child to school, please either contact the school office—they will be more than happy to give guidance and advice - or refer to the HSC Public Health Agency document below:
Timings of the School Day
The timings of the school day are as follows: Infant bell rings on the yard at 8.40am—children should be on the playground before this time. Likewise, junior pupils are able to enter school to begin learning at 8.30am. Registration begins for the whole school at 8.45am
Late Arrivals
Late arrivals (anyone arriving after 8:45am) should enter School via the School Office and are logged each day. The parents of pupils who are late more than occasionally will be invited to discuss the issue with the Head Teacher.
Lateness = Lost Learning (the figures below are calculated over a school year)
Did you Know?
5 minutes late each day = 3 days lost!
10 minutes late each day = 6.5 days lost!
15 minutes late each day= 10 days lost!
20 minutes late each day = 13 days lost!
30 minutes late each day = 19 days lost!