Attendance is the essential foundation to positive outcomes for all pupils and is everyone’s responsibility (parents, pupils and school).

Our school day begins at 8.50am and ends at 3.20pm. This equates to school being open for 32.5 hours in a typical week. Within the day all children have a 15 minute break in the morning (from 11.00-11.15 or 11.15 11.30 dependent on the age of the pupils) and lunch from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. YR - Y2 have an afternoon break for 15 minutes.

Late Procedures

The school day starts at 8.50am and it is vital all children arrive on time at 8.50am ready to start the day. Please see below the procedures regarding any pupils who are late to school:

• Registers will remain open for 10 minutes from the beginning of registration. In the event of bad weather this period can be extended. Registers close at 9.00am.

• Where a pupil arrives during the period when the register is open they may be marked present. If this is a regular occurrence (rather than a one off) then school will contact the parent/carer to discuss reasons for this and may start our escalation of interventions procedures as Appendix 1 of our Attendance Policy (please see our school website). It is vital for pupil well being and attainment that they are at school at 8.50am when lessons start so as to not miss vital learning.
• Where a pupil arrives after register closure without good reason, they will be marked with an unauthorised absence in red. If school has any concerns over this, eg a child is regularly late over a short period of time then school will contact the child’s parents/carers and discuss any reasons for this. 4.5 or more days absence over a 6 week period (9 lates after 9am) the school will ask the Local Authority to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. We acknowledge that there are valid reasons why a pupil maybe late on an occasional basis however it is vital that pupils arrive at the start of the school day on time.

Absence Procedures

• To ensure that they contact the school as soon as is reasonably practical whenever their child is unable to attend and to continue to contact school on each day their child is absent until they return to school. Any unexplained absence will be treated as unauthorised. Please do this by telephoning school on 01526 860786. You can leave a message when prompted to do so. Alternatively please email Mrs Rowitt on  lynne.rowitt@billinghay.lincs.sch.uk. You can also text school on 07726450513. In all cases please state your name, contact details, name of your child  and  reason for absence.