Regular attendance is vital for your child's development – academically as well as in regard to their overall well-being.

We are aiming for 96+% attendance at Galley Hill.  

Attendance Expectations

Since August 2024, the new government legislation on school attendance reinforces that:

• Attendance is a legal requirement: All children are expected to attend school every day unless they are unwell or have a preapproved reason for absence.
• Punctuality is also very important and children should be in school on time to ensure they do not miss the beginning of lessons.  Any child who arrives after 9.15am is marked as having an unauthorised absence.
• Where a child is not going to be in school, parents or carers must inform the school before the start of each day, stating the reason.  This helps us to ensure that all of our children and families are safe and accounted for.

EVERY day truly matters in school and our aim for 96+% attendance is a fair expectation. This would mean that your children get the education they deserve as well as a number of days (in reserve) if they truly are not able to attend school.

Galley Hill Primary School Attendance Policy

Should your child need to be absent from school - 

You MUST inform the school of any absence BEFORE the start of the school day on our school phone number 01442 2406000 option 1.  This is so that we know that your child is safe and accounted for. 

In order to support parents with making appropriate decisions about children’s attendance at school, we are sharing the additional information.  On occasions, some parents are unsure about whether to send their children to school when they are showing certain symptoms, often related to the common cold.

As the NHS website/ guidance states:

‘It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold.’

 More information is available at:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/

Fixed Penalty Notices

In line with Department for Education (DfE) requirements, parents should be aware that a penalty notice may be issued if a child accrues 10 unauthorised absences. For full details, please refer to our Attendance Policy.

At Galley Hill, we greatly value the strong partnership we share with our parent community, and we remain fully committed to working with families in support of every child. We recognise and appreciate that the vast majority of our pupils attend school daily, arrive on time, and are ready to learn.

Together, let us continue to uphold these high standards so that every child at Galley Hill can enjoy the very best educational experience.