Attendance
What time does school start and finish?
Gates will open in the morning at 8.40a.m. for children to go straight up to class. They will close at 8.50a.m.
Registration in class will be from 8.45a.m.
Anyone arriving after 8.50a.m. will need to enter the school via the front office to register & collect a late slip.
Gates will re-open at 3 p.m. Children will come down at 3.15 p.m. Gates need to close at 3.30pm to allow after school clubs to begin.
If you are late to collect, you will need to go to the school office to sign your child out, with a reason for late collection.
We can not look after children for you after 3.15. School office closes at 3.30 p.m. After school childcare is available via Pioneer. Please contact them directly.
Reception parents will be able to bring their children into the playground and to the classroom door to start the term.
Unfortunately there is not enough room in the corridors for buggies, so please leave them outside when entering the building.
late arrivals?
When registering at the school office, your child will order their school dinner and will be given a slip to take to their class teacher to show that they’ve been marked in.
This is really important so that we have a record that your child is in the building!
We understand that, at times, everyone can be late due to unavoidable circumstances. PING reminders will go out if your child has been late.
Children who are frequently late can become anxious. They will miss the instructions for the day & will interrupt a class that has already started. A lot of interventions to help support children, are held first thing in the morning.
If you are find you are repeatedly late - adjust your morning routine by 20 mins & prepare for school the night before. You can ask to speak to our Attendance & Safeguarding Officer, Juliana, if you'd like to talk more about any issues relating to lateness, or absence.
The local authority can issue a FPN (fixed penalty notice) if a child is over 20 mins late on a number of occasions.
What happens if my child is absent?
If your child is going to be absent, you must let the office know by 9.00 am on every day that your child is absent. You can do this by downloading the Studybugs app (click below for details) on to your phone or pc. Alternatively you can call and leave a message on the absence line: 01273 601270.
- Please tell the office even if you have mentioned it to your class teacher or a member of staff in the playground, otherwise you may get a PING asking where your child is. Be aware that any absence you have not told the school about will be unauthorised. We are unable to authorise a child’s absence for a parent’s illness or appointment.
- The absence will be authorised if your child is unwell (see the Attendance Newsletter for details) or if your child has a medical appointment. If your child gets better during the day, you are welcome to bring them in to school at this point. If your child has vomited, or has diarrhoea, keep them off for 24 hours. If they have D&V, with a temperature, keep them off for 48 hours.
- Please try and make doctor and dentist appointments for after school where possible. A whole day will not be authorised for a medical appointment, unless this has been agreed due to a specific reason.
Can I take my child on holiday during term time?
Unfortunately not.
However, a limited amount of time may be granted if the circumstances are exceptional. This is decided by the Headteacher.
Any holiday requested during term time of more than 4 days will be referred to the local authority.
Please be aware this would only be granted if the child’s attendance was already very good, above 96%, for the current & previous school year.
If you need to request term time absence please click here for the leave of absence form, and email it to julianaashworth@fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk.
Please submit the form at least 2 weeks before the intended absence.
Anyone taking unauthorised term-time absence or not telling us about a term time leave of absence, will be liable for a fixed penalty notice of £60-£120.
Please be aware that from September 2019 any unauthorised absence in term time, of 3 days or more, could result in a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) from the Local Authority.
Over the past two years there have been an average of ten fixed penalty notices per year, issued for unauthorised holidays and for poor attendance.
The Local Authority, Department for Education and OFSTED are also very concerned about the impact of poor attendance on children's education and outcomes.
We have tried to be flexible and work within the guidance however are also concerned about the high number of children being taken out of school during term time, especially in the cases where those children have already got low attendance.
If you have any further queries, or would like to talk to someone about your child’s attendance please speak to our Attendance & Safeguarding Officer Juliana Ashworth in the School Office.
HOW TO AVOID A FIXED PENALTY NOTICE
Don't take your child out of school in term time.
All of the dates for School Holidays can be found here https://www.fairlight.brighton-hove.sch.uk/school-office/dates-for-your-diary
If you want to avoid a FPN and need further information about this, please arrange an appointment to talk to our Attendance Officer - Juliana, who can give you advice on this matter.
Please contact the School Office to arrange this.
We strongly advise you do this before booking a holiday or any other term time leave of absence.
Good Attendance
Every child, in year 1-6, who achieves 100% attendance will receive a certificate at the end of the term. Unfortunately we cannot give a certificate for 100% if there have been any absences at all, including for illness or medical appointments. However your child will have three terms to try and get one!
% ATTENDANCE - WHAT IT MEANS
The guidance below is sent to all schools from the local authority:
- Above 97%: Less than 6 days absence a year - Excellent attendance! These pupils will almost certainly get the best grades they can, leading to better prospects for the future.
- 95%: 10 days absence a year - These pupils are likely to achieve good grades and form a habit of attending school regularly. This allows for some periods of inevitable illness.
- 90%: 19 days absence a year - These pupils are missing a month of school per year. The Government classifies pupils in this group as “Persistent Absentees” and it will be almost impossible to keep up with work. Parents of young people in this group could face legal action being taken by the Local Authority.
aTTENDANCE CONCERNS
Pupils attendance is reviewed regularly throughout the school year. Parents will be contacted by letter or PING, if their child’s attendance falls below 93%. So parents are aware. A 2nd letter is sent out if your child's attendance continues to drop. At this point the school would need to have "medical evidence" for any further absences. This could be - copies of hospital letters, or discharge notes. A photo of a named and dated prescription. A text confirming a medical appointment. We would advise you at this point to bring your child in to school, following the guidance on the traffic light system on the Attendance Newsletter. We would like to reassure you that we have paediatric first aiders in every class, and we will not keep a child in school who is not well enough. Continuing falling attendance would lead to an ASM (Attendance Support Meeting) to discuss any issues preventing your child from being in school and how we can support you with that. After this an attendance target will be set and reviewed. If the target is not met, a fixed penalty notice will be issued by the local authority. For information – money accrued from the fines is kept by the local authority (L.A.), it does not come back to the school.
If your child has medical issues that you feel prevent them from being in school, please talk to us. We can liaise with the school nurse team to help support your child whilst in school, and with any necessary medications.
PERSISTENT ABSENCE
If you have received an attendance letter from us, &/or your child's attendance is dropping below 93%, see Persistent Absence Information.doc