Regular school attendance is crucial to ensure that children can maximise their education opportunities. Nationally, good attendance is defined as school attendance above 96% and students who fall below this level will not be able to fulfil their education potential.

Good school habits are best started early. Children learn from those around them and you as parents/carers set the standards and expectations for your child. By showing your child the importance of attending school every day it not only helps them to settle quickly when starting school but helps them to keep and maintain friendships and enjoy school.

Guidance for Parents

Orchard Primary School is committed to providing the best possible education for your child. We believe that children can only benefit from this through regular school attendance. We will therefore, strive to achieve the maximum possible attendance for all pupils and will make sure that any problems are identified and resolved. This will be achieved by school staff, pupils, parents, carers and external agencies all working together as a team.

How you can help to give your child a good education:

• Ensure your child attends school regularly and that they arrive on time and ready to learn.
• Contact the school office as early as possible on the first morning of your child’s absence. The school telephone number is (01623) 455939
• Arrange medical appointments outside of school time. We accept that for hospital appointments this may not be possible.
• Take family holidays outside of term time, there are 13 weeks each year which are outside term time.

• Help your child to prepare for the school day by ensuring they have done their homework, and they have everything they need for the day ahead, reading book, wearing PE kit on PE days, etc.
• Provide up to date contact details and telephone numbers for every adult with parental responsibility. If the details change then the school must be informed as soon as possible.

Holidays during term time

Orchard Primary School will be following Nottinghamshire County Council guidelines to proceed with enforcement for unauthorised absences due to holidays. This applies to all children of legal school age.

Absences in excess of 5 days/10 sessions over a 10-week period, for the purpose of a family holiday, will lead to a request to the Local Authority to issue a Penalty Notice.  Penalty Notices will be issued to each parent for each child of legal school age to whom unauthorised absence applies.

Penalty Notice fines are currently, £160 per parent, per child (this is reduced to £80 for payment within 21 days) for the first offence. 

Penalty Notice fine for the second offence within 3 years are currently, £160 per parent, per child to be paid within 28 days. No reduced rate will be offered.

Penalty Notice fine for the third offence and any further offences within 3 years will be presented straight to the Magistrates Court. The maximum fine for this offence can be up to £2500 per parent, per child. Cases found guilty in Magistrates Court can show on a Parent’s future DBS certificate, due to failure to safeguard a child’s education.