School starts at 8.45am and finishes at 3.10pm. It is important that pupils arrive at school before 8.45am.

Attendance

Regular school attendance is very important and any absence is detrimental to a child's education. Regular attendance reflects commitment, maximises potential educational achievement and presents a positive public image for an institution. Government research shows that 17 days lost learning in a school year can result in a drop of one grade at GCSE and SATs level.

We are keen to encourage and reward good attendance with certificates and commendations. Our attendance record as a whole school is excellent. The only valid reason for non attendance is illness.

Please contact school whenever your child is absent to explain the reason for the absence. If your child is absent for more than 3 consecutive days, please contact the school again to inform us of this. If you have not informed the school after 3 consecutive days absence the Education Welfare Officer is usually informed.
Whenever your child returns to school after an absence please give him/her a note written in the Planner, which should be signed and dated. If you do not send a note we will remind you by letter or telephone call.
If you know in advance that your child will be away (e.g. a visit to the dentist or clinic) please inform the attendance officer beforehand.

Attendance at St Wilfrid's is of a high standard, an achievement frequently celebrated in assemblies and recognised across Wakefield. From the 1st September 2007 our Attendance Policy has been amended so that holidays taken during term time are no longer authorised except in exceptional circumstances. This brings us in to line with other schools in the area and follows the guidelines given to us by the government and Wakefield Local Authority that states that 'only in exceptional circumstances will leave be granted' for holidays in term time.

If a parent feels that there are exceptional circumstances for a holiday to be taken in term time, written requests must be made to the headteacher. Please note that examples of exceptional circumstances include:

*Cases where a parent can establish that no other holiday (of any type) could be taken at any other time

*There are genuine medical reasons for the dates

*There is a very strong case that the holiday is desirable on compassionate grounds

We will request that Fixed Penalty Notices are issued for term time holidays that are taken without consent.

A Fixed Penalty Notice will be issued per parent/carer per child by post to a pupil's home. Payment within 28 days of receipt of a Penalty Notice is £50 and if it remains unpaid after 28 days the amount will increase to £100. If a Penalty Notice remains unpaid after 42 days, the case will progress to Magistrates Court for the original offence of poor school attendance; this can mean a fine of up to £2,500.

If you believe at any stage that your child's absence record from school may leave you liable to receive a Penalty Notice, it is extremely important that you take action to secure regular attendance.

Support and guidance is always available from the School and the Education Welfare Service, therefore if you have any questions regarding Penalty Notices or any other attendance issue please do not hesitate to contact us.