Attendance

At Geoffrey Field we expect all children to have at least good attendance.
Our definition of good attendance is simple:

Being in school regularly

• We class good attendance as 96% or above.
• This means children being in school for at least 182.5 days out of the 190 school days a year.

Being on time every day

• This means being in school by 8.40am every morning.

Our aim is to work in partnership with parents/carers to ensure good attendance for their child. Where a child’s attendance is of a level of concern we want to have open and honest discussions with parents/carers about in-school and out of school barriers, medical or SEND needs that may be  affecting attendance and support the pupil and parent/carer to find solutions to these.

Parents/carers have a legal duty to ensure their child attends school regularly. This means their child must attend and be on time every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as the child being too ill to attend or being given advance permission for an absence by the school.

Reporting your child’s absence
If your child is unable to attend school, it is the parent’s responsibility to contact the school on the first morning of absence to explain the reason why their child is unable to attend school and how long they are likely to be absent for. Please be aware that notifying the school of an absence without a valid reason will result in an unauthorised absence.

Parents/carers can report their child’s absence from school in the following ways:

Before 8am or after 4pm

• Parent Mail app – absence notification
• Emailing absence@geoffreyfield-jun.reading.sch.uk

Between 8am – 4pm

• Phoning the school and leaving a message on the absence line 01189 375475 Option 1
• Parent Mail app – absence notification

Parents/carers can only apply for absence during term time in exceptional circumstances. We do not authorise holidays, extended visits overseas or study leave for entrance exams in term time. Fixed penalty notices may be issued for absences of 15 sessions (7.5 days) in a school year.

Useful Documentation

1. Attendance Policy
2. One Page Attendance Guide
3. Request for Absence Form