High levels of attendance and punctuality are crucial in securing the best possible progress for your child. National average attendance in the UK is 96% (this equates to 8 days absence or less in a school year). Any child who falls below 90% attendance, at any point in the year, becomes a ‘persistent absentee’, at which point the school or Local Authority will have already intervened to address this. At West Rainton Primary School we regularly monitor the attendance of all pupils and those below 95%, at risk of becoming ‘persistent absentees’, will receive intervention in the form of phonecalls, letters, meetings or referrals to the attendance improvement team at the Local Authority.
Traveller absence
The ‘T’ code for authorised traveller absence will only be issued when the absence is proven to be for economic purposes only. I.e. for a parent’s business/work. Traveller families must follow correct procedures of informing school of any absence and return dates. Pupils travelling must register with another school in their new area and become ‘dual registered’ to ensure their attendance is not adversely affected.
Planned training days for staff- school closures
Here is a list of our planned training days for 2021-22
- December 17th 2021
- January 4th 2022
- April 8th 2022
- May 20th 2022
- June 6th 2022
Please visit the Durham County Council website to view or download the school holidays dates for this academic year and next year for all community schools, special schools and voluntary controlled schools. Please note that voluntary aided (church) schools, foundation schools and academies may have set different dates and you should check with the school or academy to confirm their arrangements or view the PDF for schools not following the standard term and holiday dates.
School Holidays During Term Time
The Government has amended regulations for taking holidays in term time and these new regulations come into effect from September 2013.
Head teachers have the discretion to grant leave, but they should only do so in exceptional circumstances. If a head teacher grants a leave request, it will be for them to determine the length of time that the child can be away from school. This leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.
Parents can incur a fixed penalty notice for removing children from school during term-time for unauthorised reasons.
Any applications for leave during term time must be submitted in writing.
Please contact the school if you wish to discuss this with the Headteacher.
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