Attendance

Regular school attendance is a vital part of giving your child the best possible start in life. Talking to your child and their teachers could help solve any problems you may have in getting your child to go to school.

Please contact the school office if you need any support or guidance relating to attendance.

Under the Education Act parents have a legal duty in England to make sure their child is getting an education when they reach compulsory school age. This is defined by law as the school term after they turn five to the last Friday in June in the school year in which they turn 16 by the end of the summer holidays.. 

School Times

School gates open: 8:40am

Children need to be in school by: 8:45am

Child marked as late after: 8:50am

Registers closed and child marked as absent: 9:15am

To request to take your child out of school please complete a request of absence form and submit via the school office; [email protected]

Holidays, unauthorised absences and fining

Schools cannot authorise holidays in term time except in exceptional circumstances at the Headteacher's discretion.

Please refer to the current West Sussex guidance regarding attendance by following this link: https://www.westsussex.gov.uk/education-children-and-families/schools-and-colleges/school-attendance-and-behaviour/school-absences/ 

The Department for Education states that children should attend school every day that it is open, unless they are ill.

How do we promote good attendance in our school?

Steyning C of E Primary School regularly promotes good attendance in school. We discuss the importance of attendance in school with the children, in collective worship and lessons. 

We regularly do attendance checks and any parent/carer of a child whose attendance is classed as persistent absence, at 91% or below, will receive a letter informing them of their low attendance. If your child’s attendance continues to fall, we will discuss this with you, to support you in improving it. Letters will also be sent out to parents/carers of children who have a poor level of punctuality.

If you wish to discuss anything at all concerning your child’s attendance/punctuality, please contact the school office. At our school, we recognise that there are a range of valid reasons for absence, and we look at each individual case as to best support the child and their family.