Amherst Primary School

Attendance

Attendance is essential for all children, so they can learn and flourish – this means coming to school regularly and on time. We expect our pupils to achieve attendance of at least 95% across the school year. Missed school days are days when gaps in learning start to appear, which makes children's learning difficult and can add to their anxiety about school. An attendance of 90% might sound positive, but it is actually the equivalent of half a day away from school every week! It is a parental responsibility to ensure that your child is on time for school, attending regularly and that any absence has a valid reason.

Absences due to illness / medical / dental appointments

In any of these cases, please contact our main school office directly on 01481 220989 or amp.office@education.gg

Please do not contact teachers through Seesaw, as they may not see these messages due to delivering lessons.

Being late for school...

Our school day starts at 8.45am following registration.

If your child is late, namely after 8.45am, they need to sign in at the Main Office. Schools are required to 'log' how many minutes children are 'late' in the register and share this information with parents periodically throughout the year. 

We would be grateful for your support in helping us to make your child's day happy and successful by ensuring they are 'on time' to begin their learning every day.

We understand that, occasionally, you may be 'running late' due to traffic diversions or other reasons. If this is the case, then please contact our school office on 01481 220898 to let us know, and we will inform your child's teacher accordingly.

Please note: as teachers and staff will be teaching from 8.45am, they will not necessarily see messages sent through Seesaw, so if you are running late, it is really important to contact the school office – not teachers or staff directly.

If your child is ill or unwell...

If your child is unwell, please phone the school office on 01481 220989 or amp.office@education.gg stating the reason for your child's absence. This will be logged in our school register and linked staff will be informed.

As above, please do not use Seesaw, as teachers and staff may not see the message as they will be teaching and supporting the other children in class.

If you do not contact the school, your child’s absence will be deemed as unauthorised.

Please note that if your child has been sick (vomited) or has had diarrhoea, they should not come back into school until 48 hours after the last time they have been ill.

Holidays in Term Time Authorisation

Under the Education (Guernsey) Law 1970, Education Services is responsible for providing education for children between five and fifteen years of age. However, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure their children receive full-time education and, as far as possible, avoid any disruption to that education.

Should pupils take one or two weeks' family holiday during term time, this is particularly disruptive to their learning, resulting in gaps in learning which may not be easily resolved when they return. One week taken during a term, for example, will also put that pupil’s progress at a disadvantage. Teaching staff are under no professional obligation to provide and mark work in these circumstances.

Education Services has held the following position on holidays in term time since 2016:

'You will be aware that schools and Education Services promote high levels of school attendance. With this in mind, it has been agreed by headteachers and education officers that from 1st September 2016 any holiday a pupil takes during term time will not be authorised.

If parents do intend to arrange for their child to have a holiday in term time, for safeguarding reasons they will be required to inform the headteacher of their intention and the dates of the holiday.  The difference from previous years is that the headteacher will note the absence as unauthorised rather than possibly authorised. Any holidays from September 2016 that parents have already informed the school about will now be noted as unauthorised absence.

Please ensure that our school and Headteacher are informed in writing of all periods of absence from school.

We value all our parental support, and thank you in advance for helping us to maintain excellent attendance across the school.