The School Day

Attendance

The Hermitage Schools recognise the importance of regular school attendance and have worked closely with families to ensure our children attend school for all the days available.  

All data related to attendance figures from our own schools, schools in general and the government analysis, tells us just one thing… that children with good attendance achieve more in school and make better progress than children who miss school on a frequent basis. 

In our policy The Hermitage Schools will not authorise any leave of absence for holidays or similar activities during term time. Obviously, we recognise that there are sometimes exceptional circumstances that require parents/carers to take their child/ren out of school for short periods. An application form for leave of absence in exceptional circumstances needs to be completed to obtain authorisation from the Executive Headteacher. It is at the discretion of the Headteacher to authorise any absences from school.  The following statistics may help you to understand why we become concerned when attendance has fallen below a certain level.

365 Days in the Year

175 Non School Days A Year - Time to spend on shopping, appointments and family holidays 

Concerns

When we have concerns about absence we will arrange a meeting with parents/carers and put in place a support plan to improve attendance.  Where attendance issues cannot be resolved it may be necessary to involve the Education Welfare Officer for support.  If we cannot resolve the attendance issues the Local Education Authority may decide to take legal action, and issue a Penalty Notice. Details of the Penalty Notice are detailed below. 

Please note: from 19th August 2024 National Penalty Notices linked to school attendance have changed – see the poster or policy below for more information.  

Lateness 

On a similar note, if your child is continually late for school their education may be affected, and that of other children. We urge all parents/carers to make every effort to get their child to school on time. Registers close at The Hermitage Juniors at 8.45am and The Hermitage Infants at 9.00am.  Any child arriving at school after this time should be taken to the School Office and the parent/carer must sign in the late book to ensure their presence on site is noted, particularly in case of a fire drill. If your child arrives after 9.30am they will be marked as an unauthorised absence.  If your child is absent from school all absence should be reported to the school office 

Attendance Policy 

Summary of changes to Penalty notices poster