Attendance & Absence
Expected attendance level
All children are expected to attend school regularly. The expectation of schools and the Local Authority is that children attend school 100% unless they are ill. The Department for Education expects Junior schools to have attendance rates of 96%. The school's Attendance Policy can be viewed here.
Punctuality
At Norwood Green we are committed to working with parents and families to achieve high levels of punctuality in all year groups. Drop off at the school gates is between 8:45 and 8:55am. Children can enter their classes in a soft start fashion, ready for registration at 8:55am and to begin the days formal learning at 9.00am. The gates are closed promptly at 8:55am. Late arrivals after this time will need to enter though the front office and this will be recorded as late. Attendance is monitored by our Attendance officer. If you have any concerns regarding attendance, please make an appointment to discuss this with us.
Absence from school
If your child is ill or unable to attend school, you will need to report it to the school. This can be done by ringing the school office on 0208 574 1726 to speak to a member of the office staff, or alternatively, you can email us at office@ngjs.hounslow.sch.uk or parents@ngjs.hounslow.sch.uk. Please notify the school by 9am if possible. The school will only "authorise" this absence if it is appropriate to do so.
Acceptable reasons for absence are:
- Sickness
- Unavoidable medical appointments
- Religious observance
- Short term family crisis
Unacceptable reasons for absence are:
- Truancy
- Holidays in term time
- Shopping
- Birthdays
- Looking after siblings or the home
- Non-urgent medical or dental appointments.
If a parent fails to notify the school, the child’s absence will be marked as unauthorised on the school register. The Attendance Officer will contact parents regarding absence from school, this will happen on the first day of absence.
For sickness longer than 3 days, all parents are required to present medical evidence for example a medical appointment card or a prescription. Please be mindful about preventing the spread of infection. See the NHS website for more advice and information.
It is vitally important that the school holds the most up to date contact details for you on the system so you are fully contactable should any emergency arise.
Monitoring pupil absence
Norwood Green Junior School and the Education Welfare Service work in partnership to monitor the attendance of children. Where attendance is irregular or below the expected level without medical confirmation, Norwood Green and the education welfare service will send out letters, telephone or meet with parents to discuss any difficulties. Where attendance remains below an acceptable level without confirmed medical reasons, we will refer the matter to the local authority. The local authority has a duty to remind parents of their legal responsibilities regarding ensuring their children are receiving education appropriate to their needs. Ultimately, as a last resort, the local authority may have to consider taking legal action against the parents through the courts or issuing a fixed penalty notice in respect of the non-attendance.
