Children's Attendance at School
At Ireby, we are dedicated to creating a loving community for all, where all are celebrated as unique individuals and where passions and talents can flourish. Children's attendance at school is vital to supporting our vision.
In-line with Cumberland County Council and Government policy, we would ask all children to attend school and not take days off unless it cannot be avoided. Below is a letter dated November 2024, which sets out the policy and procedures adopted by all Cumberland County Council schools.
Valid reasons may include:
- Illness/ sickness
- A special occasion (see below)
If your child is sick, please can you notify the school by calling the school office on 016973 71367 preferably before 8.30am on the morning they are absent or by email: office@ireby.cumbria.sch.uk.
At Ireby, we operate a 'First day of absence' procedure (see below) which means that we will contact you if your child does not attend school without prior notification. We will do this by telephoning the child's named primary contact, and then the secondary contact and so forth until contact is made and we know your child is safe.
Please note that Cumberland County Council monitor our school's attendance, and may contact parents directly if required. For more detail about Cumberland County Council and their policies on Fixed Penalty Notices, please click the logo link below.
Remember: Children who attend school nearly every day are 30% more likely to achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths compared to those who attend 90-95% of the time.
Click the images below to find the latest UK Government and Cumbria County Council information.
We would ask parents not to take holidays during term time and requests should be made to the Head Teacher for only special occasions. This could include:
- a funeral
- A wedding
If you are considering a term time absence, please complete the 'Request of Absence' form below and send an email (on office@ireby.cumbria.sch.uk), or paper copy to Mr John. Requests will be assessed by Mr John and the school's attendance governor, Mrs Karen Ford, against the school's attendance policy which can be found below.
Lateness:
At Ireby, our morning starts at 8.45am, and children are expected to be at their desks at this time. This is a vital part of our day. It settles children with a calm, purposeful routine with a focus on spelling, handwriting, grammar and times tables. It also teaches them the value of being on time and making a commitment to their education. If a child arrives at 9am each day, they would be missing 1 hour and 15 minutes of learning per week (or 47 ½ hours per year) compared with their peers who arrived on time. They would also learn that being late is an acceptable practice.
The front gate locks at 8.50am. Any children/ parent coming in after this time will need to use the buzzer and enter the school through the main Reception. The child can go through to class, and the parent (or the person who dropped them off) will then meet either with Catherine Long or myself in Catherine’s office, so that we can log the reason for the lateness on our data collection system. This will then be monitored by Cumberland County Council and fixed notices may be issued for persistent lateness.
