Attendance and Punctuality
The School Day
The school gates open at 8.30am, with classroom doors opening at 8.45am and will close at 8.55am sharp. If you are running late and arrive after 8.55am, please make your way to the school office. Your child will be signed in at the office and their lunch order will be taken. If your child arrives between 8.55am and 9.15am they will be marked in the register with an 'L' mark. If your child arrives after 9.15am they will be marked in the register with a 'U' mark. Both these marks will effect a child's attendance, so we encourage families to leave plenty of time to travel to school. Irregular attendance can lead to a fixed penalty notice.
Illness
If your child is unwell, please contact school before 9.00am on the first day of absence. You can call 01244 455275 and leave a voicemail, stating your child's name, class and reason for absence, or you can email attendance@chesterbluecoatce.cheshire.sch.uk. If your child is absent for more than one day, please update us on each day of absence. You can find guidance on illnesses and when your child can return to school following illness below.
Vomiting and Diarrhoea - Can we please draw your attention to the guidance below following vomiting and diarrhoea. We ask that children do not return to school for 48 hours following the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea.
Medical Appointments During School Time
If your child needs to attend a hospital, GP or other medical appointment during school time, we ask that you provide as much notice for these appointments as possible. Children are expected to come to school before their appointment, unless the appointment is before 9.30am and must be collected from the school office by a parent/carer. We would ask that you please provide written confirmation of the appointment by presentation of an appointment card, letter or text reminder. Children are to return to school as soon as possible after their appointment.
Monitoring Attendance and Punctuality
Miss Myers our Attendance Officer monitors attendance and punctuality data weekly. If your child's attendance falls below 95% parent/carers will receive a School Spider message informing them of their child's attendance percentage. If you child's attendance falls below 90% you will be invited to an attendance panel meeting with Miss Myers and Mr Hover to discuss any attendance concerns and offer support if needed. If you have any concerns around your child's attendance, please contact Miss Myers.
Leave of Absence
If you wish to apply for a leave of absence for your child, please ensure that you have referred to our attendance policy and term dates. Due to changes in legislation, only absence requests with exceptional circumstances will be granted. You can also refer to Cheshire West and Chester Council's website for more information.
A Leave of Absence Form must be completed and returned to the School Office for the attention of Miss Myers. An editable version can be found below, or you can request a printed copy from the school office. You will be notified of our decision by email. If parents/carers make the decision to go ahead and take their children out of school for a family holiday this will be documented as an Unauthorised Absence and a fixed penalty fine may be issued.
Changes to the National Attendance Framework and Fixed Penalty Notices - September 2024
From September 2024 changes have been implimented in legislation around Fixed Penalty Notices. Schools can now only authorise absence where it is considered exceptional circumstances. This means we no longer authorise any term time family holidays. Fixed Penalty Notices fines have also changed. Please see the image below for further details.
Attendance Contact Details
We have our own Attendance Officer Miss Myers, who works in school each day between 8.30am - 3.45pm. If you wish to contact her regarding any issues or concerns with attendance and punctuality then please contact her on: 01244 455275, or email attendance@chesterbluecoatce.cheshire.sch.uk.