Attendance is based on a child being at school in time for the morning register as well as the afternoon register so being marked present for 2 sessions a day.

Both these sessions count towards their overall attendance figure which is simply a percentage of how many sessions your child has been present throughout the current academic year.

The only reasons a child will be marked as present when they are not in school are if they are being educated at a different location, or at a school event such as residential or sporting.

There are a variety of different reasons that a child may be absent from school and the school will assign an appropriate code on the register to make staff aware of the reason.

Absence from school

If your child is ill and is not going to attend school, it is essential that we know as soon as possible.

Either drop a note in to school, or contact us by telephone after 8.30am.  It is a legal requirement that you let us know your child's name, their class, the reason for absence and how long you expect them to be away from school.

Medical / Dental Appointments

Please advise the school as soon as possible if your child needs to leave school to attend an appointment.  However, parents should try to make routine appointments out of school hours or in the school holidays if possible, as time out of school disrupts pupils' learning.

Holiday Requests

If your child is absent from school for another reason, please let us know.  We would strongly advise parents to avoid taking holidays during term time.  Permission to remove your child from school during term time must be sought by completing an absence request form well before the event (obtain this from the school office).  The head teacher will need time to consider your request taking into account your child's attendance record (and is not obliged to consent). You will be informed if approval has been granted.  Children will be asked to make up any work they have missed.

The Downham Market High School Cluster have adopted a common policy on holiday absence requests during term time.  Year 6 pupils will not be granted approval for absence during SATs week (usually early May).  Please note the DfE legislation on holidays taken during term time.

Children’s learning in school is based on a build up of skills and knowledge.

This build up is continually planned by teachers on a day to day basis. Children that miss one session could miss out on a potentially important session and although every effort is made to catch children up when they return, this is usually not as effective and takes time away from the rest of the class.

If children miss out on a number of sessions this can significantly affect their overall progress.

Children that are away from school on a regular basis can miss out on opportunities to build strong friendships and can sometimes find it harder to build strong friendships within school