The school day starts at 8:50am and ends at 3:20pm.  

Gates will open at 8:40am for a prompt start at 8:50am. This means that the children are in school for 32.5 hours a week, including assemblies, registration, breaks and other school activities.

At Windermere Primary school, we believe in developing good patterns of attendance and set high expectations for the attendance and punctuality for all our pupils from the outset.  It is a central part of our school’s vision, values, ethos and day to day life.  We recognise the strong connections between attendance, attainment, safeguarding and wellbeing.

Any absence affects the routine of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning journey and ability to progress. Any pupil’s absence or late arrival disrupts teaching routines and so may affect the learning of others in the same class. Ensuring a child’s regular attendance at school is a parental responsibility and allowing absence from school, without a good reason, creates an offence in law and may result in prosecution. From 19th August 2024, new statutory guidance from the Department for Education and changes to penalty notices came into effect.  Full details are contained in the letters at the bottom of the page.  

Parents/carers must report every absence to the school:

• Contact the school on the first day of absence before 9.20am
• Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 9.20am
• Ensure your child returns to school as soon as possible

School will:

• Telephone or text you on the first, and every subsequent day of absence, if we have not heard from you.
• If we are unable to make contact by telephone, we will email, telephone emergency contact numbers, send letters home and a home visit may be made, or police welfare check requested, in the interests of safeguarding.

Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not by the parent), as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required. Each half-day is known as a ‘session’.

Authorised absences are morning or afternoon sessions away from school for a genuine reason such as illness (although you may be asked to provide medical evidence for your child before this can be authorised), medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been granted. This type of absence can lead to the school referring to the Local Authority for penalty notices and/or legal proceedings.

Unauthorised absence includes, (however this list is not exhaustive):

• parents/carers keeping children off school unnecessarily e.g. because they had a late night or for non-infectious illness or injury that would not affect their ability to learn.
• absences which have never been properly explained.
• children who arrive at school after the close of registration are marked using a ‘U’. This indicates that they are in school for safeguarding purposes, however, is counted as an absence for the session.
• shopping trips.
• looking after other children or children accompanying siblings or parents to medical appointments.
• their own or family birthdays.
• holidays taken during term time, not deemed ‘for exceptional purposes’ by the headteacher, including any arranged by other family members or friends.
• day trips.
• other leave of absence in term time which has not been agreed

Should your child need to miss school for any reason, you must complete an absence authorisation form. Each application is considered by the headteacher, taking into account the reason for the absence and the child’s attendance history. You will then be informed whether authorisation has been given.

Please see the school's Attendance Policy and other information below.