Why good attendance is important ... 

At Green Lanes, our aim is for all children to have good school attendance (96% and above) each academic year. This level of attendance is considered good-excellent. 

Children who attend school regularly and on time:-

• are more connected to their community and develop stronger social skills and friendships, which is invaluable now and in later life
• continue to make good progress in their learning, which in turn leads to further learning opportunities and better career prospects! 

Why punctuality is important ... 

Every minute matters. If your child regularly arrives to school late, their learning suffers.

Arriving to school on time and ready to learn .... 

• builds positive patterns for the future
• leads to good attendance
• allows your child to settle calmly into the school day 
• sets your child off to a good start!  

How being late to school each day affects your child...

• walking into class late can be embarrassing for your child and is disruptive to him/her and to those already settled and learning  
• your child may feel confused as they will have missed valuable learning time and information/instructions about the day ahead. 
• your child's academic performance will be impacted! 

Department for Education Working together to improve School Attendance (2024).

Click here. 

School Times

Foundation Stage & Year 1: 8.45am-3.10pm

Years 2-6: 8.45am-3.15pm

School gates are unlocked at 8.30am. Classroom doors open at 8.40am and close at 8.50am prompt. Registration takes place at 8.50am. Children arriving after this time will need to be signed in via the School Office and will receive a Late (L) registration mark. Children arriving after 9.15am will receive an unauthorised session mark (U) unless there is a valid reason for the late arrival.  

Late pick ups

We appreciate that there may be occasions where you might be a few minutes late to pick up your child from school due to emergencies or unforeseen circumstances. If this is the case please telephone the school office as soon as possible to inform them. If you are going to be more than a few minutes late or this is a regular occurrence then you will be asked to book your child into the after school club (Little Lanes) or arrange for another authorised adult to collect on your behalf.

Children collected late from school will need to be signed out at the school. 

IS YOUR CHILD TOO ILL FOR SCHOOL? CHECK OUT THE NHS WEBSITE FOR ADVICE. CLICK HERE.

Medical appointments

Whilst we appreciate that medical / dental appointments are necessary and that it is not always possible to receive an appointment outside of school hours, we ask that you keep these to a minimum and where possible try to make appointments before or after school. If your child will be late to school as a result of a medical appointment, please notify the School Office on 01707 262556. If your child has a hospital appointment during school hours please provide a copy of the appointment letter. 

Absences

Please report absences on our absence line by no later than 9am on the day of absence. Please call 01707 262556 and select option 1. Please note that as per the Department of Health guidelines, your child should not return to school for 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting and/or diarrhoea.  

Persistent Absence

We work closely with the Local Authority Attendance Team and we monitor closely those children who are persistently absent. If your child's attendance falls below 90% they a 'persistent absentee'. We will invite you to attend a meeting with the Headteacher and if necessary the LA Attendance Improvement Officer to look at ways in which we can help your child's attendance to improve. We reserve the right to request medical evidence for persistent absences. 

School holidays and Penalty Notices 

The Department of Education set out new national guidance on Working together to improve school attendance (August 2024).   

In the majority of cases, schools and local authorities will try and provide support to help you improve your child’s attendance first, but if this isn’t effective or the absence is for unauthorised term time holiday, parents may face paying a fine. 

Under the national rules, all schools are required to consider a fine when a child has missed 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons. 

From August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country will be  £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. 

In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160. 

Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution will be considered. 

If you’re prosecuted and attend court because your child hasn’t been attending school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.