At Sebert Wood we believe that good attendance and punctuality are vital for high attainment, progress and ensuring the best life chances of our pupils.  We are committed to providing an education of the highest quality for all our pupils and endeavour to provide an environment where all pupils feel valued and welcome. 

Parents and pupils play a part in making our school successful. Parents and teachers share the responsibility for supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and punctuality for all. 

When a child is absent from school, we ask for a telephone call on the first day of absence.  If no telephone call is made by 9am the Attendance Officer will telephone the family to ascertain the reason for absence. For every subsequent day that your child is absent, please ring or email the school to confirm that he/she will not be attending.

We ask that parents keep children at home until they are 48hr clear, if they have suffered from sickness or diarrhoea.

Absences without adequate explanation must be regarded as unauthorised. A record of absences is included in the children’s end of year report.

If you need to take your child out of school for a medical/dental appointment please inform the school in advance. 

Only in exceptional circumstances will leave of absence be authorised by the Headteacher.  It is our duty to consistently strive to achieve a goal of 100% attendance for all children and every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance.  If children are to gain the most from their education, they need to attend school every day, on time, unless the reason for absence is unavoidable. 

To ensure our pupils attend school regularly, and on time, we will:

• Make attendance and punctuality a priority for everyone 
• Ask that you to contact us by 9am to report your child's absence
• Report to parents on their child’s attendance and punctuality
• Put reminders in newsletters to raise the importance of regular attendance and punctuality 
• Contact parents when their child’s attendance or punctuality gives cause for concern 

Guidance/advice for determining if your child is well enough to attend school can be found here.

To see out attendance policy, please visit our policies page.

Further guidance on school attendance from Suffolk County Council can be found here. Guidance on school penalty notices can be found here.

To download a copy of our Leave of Absence form, please select here.