Attendance at Alderbury and West Grimstead C of E Primary School

At Alderbury and West Grimstead C of E Primary School, we place great importance on regular attendance because it lies at the heart of children’s learning, development and wellbeing. Consistent attendance helps pupils to access the full curriculum, settle into a reliable routine, form strong friendships and build positive relationships with staff — all of which contribute to confidence, progress and success at school.

Even a small number of missed school days can disrupt learning and make it more difficult for pupils to keep up with new concepts, lessons and classroom activities. We therefore work closely with families to promote regular attendance and ensure that every child is in school, ready to learn, make progress and thrive each day.

As part of our commitment to supporting good attendance, holidays during term time will not normally be authorised. Requests for an Exceptional Leave of Absence can be made by obtaining a request form from the school office.

Good attendance also helps pupils to develop key life skills such as responsibility, resilience and time‑management, setting foundations for future academic and social achievements.

Any absence can be reported to school via telephone or by emailing the office. Please keep us updated during every day of your child's absence.

We are part of the Pickwick Academy Trust and follow the Trust’s attendance expectations, which include clear communication with families, regular monitoring of attendance and shared commitment to supporting pupils to attend as fully as possible. Schools within the Trust work collaboratively with parents and carers to remove barriers to good attendance and to celebrate and improve positive attendance patterns.

We appreciate that occasional absence due to genuine illness is sometimes unavoidable. When this happens, we ask parents and carers to let us know promptly so we can record it correctly and support your child’s return to school. Guidance from the NHS can be found below.