At Laurel Lane Primary School, we recognise that attendance matters. Good attendance and punctuality are vital to children’s learning, wellbeing and overall achievement. Our school aim is to maintain attendance of at least 96%.

If your child is absent or late, please notify the school as soon as possible by one of the following methods:

• Telephone: 01895 462360 (Option 1 – voicemail available at all times)

• Text: 07908 677175

• Email: attendance@fraysacademytrust.org

To help us accurately monitor attendance, a full reason for absence must be provided (for example, stating the specific illness rather than simply “unwell”). Please note that verbal messages passed on by children are not acceptable.

Any unexplained absence or lateness will be followed up by the school through a truancy call, text message, phone call and/or letter. Attendance and punctuality are closely monitored by the school’s Attendance Support Officer, on behalf of the London Borough of Hillingdon. School attendance is a legal requirement, which is enforced by Hillingdon Local Authority. Further information is available on their website.

If your child is diagnosed with an infectious illness, please inform the school as soon as this has been confirmed by a doctor.

If your child needs to leave school during the day, the school must be notified in writing in advance. For safeguarding reasons, children will not be allowed to leave the school premises unless contact has been made by a parent or carer.

Thank you for your continued support in ensuring all children attend school regularly and on time.

Remember to be punctual!

• Children need to be in school by 8.45am, ready for registration.  Breakfast club is open from 7.45am for all children from Reception to Year 6, at a cost of £3.00 per child.

• If your child is regularly late, even by three minutes every day, this can add up to over seven and a half hours of lost learning time in one month.  15 minutes late each day is the same as missing two weeks of school.

• At the end of the school day, children must be collected on time at 3.10pm for Reception and 3.20pm for all other children.

• Children must also be collected promptly when after school clubs finish.

Please note:

• The local authority are monitoring unauthorised absence.

• Holidays must not be taken during school term time.

• The Headteacher can only authorise certain absences in cases of absolute emergency.

Time out for family holidays

• The school will not authorise any time out for family holidays.  Only at the discretion of the school and in exceptional circumstances, may leave be granted, but parents must put their request in writing to the Headteacher.  If the absence is for an extended period, the school may seek to off-roll the pupil and the parents will need to apply for re-admittance to the school.

• Authorisation for absence for religious purposes will be considered on request.  The special circumstances code is to be used at the discretion of the school, e.g. death in the family, moving house etc. All requests must be discussed at least two weeks in advance with the Headteacher before authorisation and relevant evidence provided.