Attendance
Attending school and arriving on time are vitally important in enabling our children to get the best out of their education at The Lantern. We expect all children to be at school, on time, unless there is a valid and understandable reason. Learning opportunities start from 8:50 and it is wonderful to see the children arriving in time for the gates to open and then excitedly go to their classes.
The school gates open at 8:45 where families can wait on the playground. Doors open at 8:50 and the children are welcomed in by familiar adults. The school day starts at 9:00 when the register is taken. If your child arrives after 9:00, they must enter through the main office and will receive a late mark. The school day ends at 3:30pm.
If your child is not at school, please let the office know as soon as possible. You can do this via email to office@lanternprimary.org or by calling the school on 01353 664 174. Please state your child’s name, class and the specific reason for their absence.
The office will call you if we do not know why your child is not at school or you have not contacted us.
Arriving and Leaving School
All children enter and leave the school from the front playground. There is a member of staff on each door to welcome the children in.
Reception children use the doors straight to their classrooms though their outside classroom.
Year 1 children enter through the cloakroom door between the Year 3 classes.
Year 2 children use the doors straight into their classrooms from the playground.
All other children use the double door Atrium entrance and walk along the corridor to their classrooms.
At the end of the day, all children are dismissed from the front playground. Children will only be handed to the adult responsible for collection. Please ensure that the school is informed if someone else is picking your child up from school. If, for any reason, a parent has not arrived to collect their child, the child will return to school with their teacher and wait at the main office who will then contact the parent/carer.
In the case of an emergency please let the school know by telephone if you are going to be delayed at the end of school or if someone else is going to collect your child.
Term Time Exceptional Absence from School
Family holidays or absence due to recreation or leisure purposes are not allowed to be taken during school term time. While family holidays are enriching experiences, the school year is designed to give families the opportunity for these breaks without having to disrupt their children’s education (175 non-school days).
As set out in The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, headteachers continue to have the power to authorise leave of absence, but only when requested in advance and for exceptional circumstances; each case should be considered on its own merits. It is for schools to consider the specific details and relevant context behind each request. If the absence reaches the national threshold of 10 unauthorised sessions of absence in a rolling 10 school weeks a legal sanction can automatically be considered. See below Penalty Notices and Legal Sanctions Section.
NB. To clarify, the ‘10 weeks’ is not fixed, and is a trigger period for schools to identify if there may be a concern with attendance. Any legal action that is subsequently taken may be for a longer period if addressing multiple absences but it may be shorter if dealing with a specific single period of absence of 10 sessions or more e.g. for an unauthorised holiday of 1 week.
The 10 sessions can be made up of any combination of unauthorised absence, examples of this are:
- 4 sessions of ‘holiday’ taken in term time plus 6 sessions of arriving late after the register has closed (U codes) within a 10-week period.
- 10 sessions within one week or spanning over the end/start of 2 weeks.
- 6 sessions of ‘holiday’ in week 1 followed by 4 sessions of absence on subsequent weeks.
- 4 sessions at the end of one half-term or term, followed by 6 sessions at the start of the next half-term or term. Terms can also be in different academic years.
- 10 sessions taken as individual or consecutive days over a number of weeks but within a 10-week period.
An absence is classified as unauthorised when a child is away from school without the permission of the school. To request any leave during term time a Term Time Exceptional Absence Request Form needs to be completed in advance (we ask for 3-weeks to allow for full consideration and response). You may add an additional letter and/or documentations with the form, if you feel more information will support your request.
For more information please see Meridian Trust’s site, here: