Term Dates, Holidays & Attendance
RAPS term dates and inset days are set by the local authority. For most schools, the current school year is divided into three terms, autumn, spring and summer.
School Calendar
Our calendar shows upcoming dates and events to keep an eye on and are updated by all the teachers. Add this to your Google Calendar so you can monitor the dates on your phone.
Term Dates Calendar
The terms dates calendars for the current academic year display the school holidays, inset days, and bank holidays.
Attendance at Richard Avenue
By law, all children of compulsory school age must get a suitable, full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for making sure this happens.
The Local Authority (LA) is responsible for making sure that parents and carers fulfil their responsibilities and the school must inform the LA if your child is regularly absent from school.
As a result of this we continually monitor attendance across the whole school and follow set procedures outlined within our Pupil Attendance Policy.
To support our ability to look at any absence fairly it is essential that you as parents engage with the school regarding your child’s attendance.
As with everything else, we welcome open and transparent communication so please contact us.
There is a wealth of information within the documents on this page, including our Pupil Attendance Policy, and two information leaflets, one by Together for Children, and one by ourselves.
Reporting School Absence
We appreciate there may be times your child is unwell or unable to attend school.
If school are not informed and unable to contact you via telephone, text message or email regarding your child’s absence, the absence will be marked as unauthorised.
Only head teachers can authorise absence and it is at their discretion as to whether the reason provided is acceptable or not.
As a parent you have a responsibility to:
- Provide medical evidence if this has been requested by the school, you will receive a letter informing you that this is expected. This is usually due to previous issues regarding attendance.
- Contact school on the first morning of absence, providing a reason for their absence before 9am.
- Keep school informed on a regular basis if your child is absent for a long period.
Punctuality Matters
School starts at 9.00 am, this is when the gates close. Your child will receive a late mark if they arrive after this time. For safeguarding reasons, you must come into school to input the reason for lateness on the Sign In App at the school office so we know your child has arrived safely.
If your child arrives after the register closes at 9.00 am, until 9.30am they will be given a late mark (L); after this time, it will be an unauthorised late mark (U).
Letters are sent out on a half termly basis regarding lateness and will result in your child moving up the Stage procedures for absence if punctuality remains an issue. Persistent unauthorised late marks will result in a referral to the Local Authority School Improvement Officer for further intervention and enforcement action may be taken.
Leave of Absence (LOA) within Term Time
As a school we would not advise taking LOAs within term time as this is disruptive to your child’s education. Further information can be found in the Attendance Policy.
Any parent wishing to apply for a leave of absence must first make an application to the school by filling in the Authorisation for Leave of Absence Form.
Absence for Medical Reasons
We ask that whenever possible, medical appointments are arranged outside of school hours but understand this is not always possible.
If your child needs to be absent for a medical appointment, please inform the school office in advance with proof such as an appointment card, letter or text message. We can only authorise medical appointments if we have seen proof of the appointment, otherwise the absence will be marked as unauthorised.
