St Paulinus Catholic Primary School is committed to the continuous raising of achievement of all our pupils. Regular attendance is critical if our pupils are to be successful and benefit from the opportunities presented to them. Attendance and punctuality are important to allow children to achieve their full potential during their time at school.

As a school we consider attendance to be extremely important and would liike the continued support of our parents in ensuring their child attends school regularly and on time. We have a zero tolerance policy on parents taking their children out of school to go on holiday.  Kirklees Council will issue penalty notices or it may lead to fast track prosecution at the magistrate’s court, if you are convicted, you could be fined up to £1000 and you will get a criminal record, this is regardless of your child’s attendance percentage.

Where ever possible please arrange for your child to have their appointments after school or in the school holiday, if you are unable to make an appointment during this time can you please arrange the appointment after 2.30pm rather than morning.

The Process

If your child is absent from school you must telephone the office on (01924 488282) on the first day of absence before 9.30 am and provide a reason.

If we receive no confirmation of the reason you will receive a phone call home. If we are unable to get hold of you within 45 mins of school registers being taken we will contact the next person your child’s emergency list. If we are unable if we are unable to get hold of anyone we may arrange a home visit.

If your child is absent for more than 3 days then you will receive a phone call home to see if any support is required.

If your child’s attendance drops below 95% it will be monitored.

If your child’s attendance drops below 90% then your child will be put on the persistent absentee list.

Actions that could be taken

Letters sent home when attendance drops below 95%

Parents/carers will be invited to a meeting to discuss their child’s attendance and a formal contract will be drawn up)

After a while, if there are still no improvements your case could be passed on to the authorities for possible prosecution in either the Family or Magistrates court.

Punctuality

Your child must be on their playground for 8.45am to line up. Pupils arriving into classrooms at any time after 8.55am will receive a late mark.

Leave of Absence in Term Time

No leave of absence will be authorised for any pupils (unless in exceptional circumstances) as the lessons they miss will have a detrimental effect on their progress and academic success.

We recognise that financial pressures and work commitments sometimes make it difficult to take leave of absence outside of school time. However, you cannot avoid the fact that your children will only have one chance to receive an outstanding education and in order for the staff at St Paulinus Catholic Primary School to do their very best for your child we ask that you support us in this matter

If you choose to take an unauthorised leave of absence then you may be at risk of a £60 per child per parent fine from Kirklees Council, if fines are not paid within 28 days you may be prosecuted.

If two penalty notices have been issued to you on two separate occasions for term-time holidays taken in the previous 2 years, another unauthorised leave of absence would lead to fast-track legal proceedings at the Magistrates. If you are convicted, you could be fined up to £1000 and you will get a criminal record.