Attendance and Lateness

Ryedene Primary School and Nursery recognises that positive behaviour and good attendance are essential in order to raise standards of pupil attainment and to give every child/young person the best educational experience possible.

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. It is the legal responsibility of every parent to make sure their child receives that education either by attendance at a school or by education otherwise than at a school.

Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly. This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

The DfE has produced guidance for maintained schools, academies, independent schools, and local authorities: 'Working together to improve school attendance'.

The times of morning, afternoon registers start and close of the school day for all pupils at Ryedene Primary School and Nursery are:

Gates open: 8.30am

Morning Registration starts: 8.45am

Morning Registration closes: 9:00am

Afternoon Registration starts: 12:50pm (Rec, Y1 & Y2), 1:20pm (Y3 & Y4) and 1:35pm (Y5 and Y6)

Afternoon Registration closes: 12:55pm (Rec, Y1 & Y2), 1:25pm (Y3 & Y4) and 1:40pm (Y5 and Y6)

End of the school day: 3.05pm (Reception, Yr 1 & Yr 2) & 3:15pm (Nursery, Yr 3, Yr 4, Yr 5 & Yr 6)

How we manage lateness:

• The school day starts at 8.45am when children can begin to come into school;
• Registers are taken at 8.50am
• Children arriving after 8.55am are required to come into school via the school office. If accompanied by a parent/carer they must sign them into our ‘Late Book’ and provide a reason for their lateness, which is recorded
• At 9.00am the registers will be closed. In accordance with the Regulations, if your child arrives after that time, they will receive a mark that shows them to be on site – ‘U’, but this will not count as a present mark and it will mean that they have an unauthorised absence
• The school may contact parents/carers regarding punctuality concerns
• A member of school staff will undertake a ‘Late Gate’ check, greeting late arrivals at the main entrance to the school.

Our Attendance Policy reflects the key principles of that guidance and can be found below:

 

ryedene pupil attendance policy 2025 2026.pdf

 

nursery attendance policy july 2025.pdf

 

Information for Parents (August 2024 changes to penalty notices)

helping parents understand penalty notice fines for school attendance.pdf

 

For further information regarding attendance and support available please follow this link: Attendance – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)