The beginning of the year is always an exciting, busy one. There is always a buzz in the school with the thrill of the forthcoming year. We are all looking forward to having the opportunity to enthuse, motivate and provide opportunities the children to learn. We have an inspiring, broad and balanced curriculum that provides the knowledge and skills the children need for the next stage of their education or life.  To benefit from this it is essential they have full attendance or at least an attendance of 95% or over. Any child who has an attendance of 90% or under is a persistent absentee.  We want to support the parents' legal duty to ensure that their child attends school regularly. To do this I would like to make the expectations clear.

Parents/carers are expected to:

• make sure their child attends every day on time before the register closes at 9.30am
• call or text the school to report their child’s absence before 9.00am on the day of the absence and each subsequent day of absence, and advise when they are expected to return
• provide the school with more than one emergency contact number for their child
• ensure that, where possible, appointments for their child are made outside of the school day

As Headteacher, I can grant leave in term time only in exceptional circumstances. Holidays will only be granted, on an individual basis, if no other arrangements can be made and only for a maximum of two weeks per academic year.  Holidays are not guaranteed and will be considered on an individual basis as, at the Shrubberies, we recognise the social emotional and mental health benefits they provide. Parents need to fill in a request form for exceptional leave, available from the school and Apperley office, at least two weeks prior to the first day of absence. Religious observance, where the day is exclusively set apart for religious observance will be granted. 

As a school, we understand the individual needs of our pupils and their families and aim to continue to work actively to remove and mitigate any barriers to good attendance. The school has a matrix of interventions that will inform avenues of support.  Please contact us if you need support or want to discuss attendance. Both the Attendance Matrix and Attendance Policy can be found on this page. These provide additional information as to the procedure we follow if a child’s attendance drops below 95%, when we will consider escalating on the grounds of welfare or seek legal proceedings.