Attendance

Good attendance is vital if pupils are to achieve their full potential. If a pupil is absent from school, a parent or guardian should phone the school on the first day of absence, on 01470 562 273.   

If a pupil needs to leave during the school day for an appointment etc, pupils need to bring with them a note from a parent or guardian or parents should phone the school in advance. Where at all possible, medical and dental appointments should be made outwith school hours. 

If pupils fall ill during the day, parents are contacted for them to collect their child, therefore it is essential that we have up to date day time contact numbers and emergency contact numbers for all pupils. 

Schools are required to keep an attendance register by law. We have a responsibility for the care and welfare of all pupils during the school day therefore need to know the whereabouts of absent pupils.

When parents are considering whether or not to remove their children from school for a family holiday, they should be aware that such a decision: 

  • will result in a significant loss in classroom experience; 
  • will result in a pressure to ‘catch up’ on missed work by pupils; 
  • could result in pupils missing assessments with consequential impact on pupils and teachers; 
  • could result in the loss of curricular activities; 
  • will affect school attendance records and efforts to raise standards of attendance; 
  • under the guidance issued at a national level, most family holidays will be coded as unauthorised absence, only in exceptional cases will the absence be recorded as authorised. 

In conclusion, we would ask parents to be aware of these considerations when making decisions on planning holidays during term time. We have enclosed a link to the school term dates on the Highland Council website to aid parents in planning any holidays they may be considering, 

https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/878/schools/32/school_term_dates

If parents decide to make holiday arrangements during school term, this should be confirmed in writing to the Head Teacher.