High Ham School Day: 8.55am – 3.30pm (with the option of booking paid wraparound care or pupils attending a club).
The gate opens at 8:45am. All children need to be in school at 8.55am (the side gate then closes) until 3.30pm. It is important that all children arrive at school on time.
Pupils who are taken out of school during term time may find it hard to catch up and this can have a detrimental effect on their learning. The law states that parents do not have the right to take their children out of school for holidays during term time. We would like to remind you that any request for term time leave must be made in writing to the Head Teacher in advance by using one of the ‘Request for Term Time Leave’ forms (found on the website under ‘Forms’). Please note that requests will not usually be granted and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances according to DfE guidelines.
Please remember if you need support getting your child into a good routine, please put a note in their pupil diary for the class teacher and they can see how they can help. Alternatively a member of the Senior Management Team and a Teaching Assistant are always at the gate on a morning and are happy to help.
Should your child be unwell and not able to come to school we have a 24hr answer machine, just leave a message before the start of the school day. If your child needs an urgent medical appointment (which is unavoidable during the school day) please email the office the appointment letter.
We aspire for all children to attain 100% attendance. Attendance percentages are shared with families once each term at parents’ meetings and also in the annual written report. To aid holiday planning we set our INSET days in the summer term before the start of the next academic year.
Information from Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is committed to providing all children with the best start in life and works hard to ensure that all children in Somerset attend school regularly. Reducing absence from school is a key priority both for Somerset and the Government. The majority of parents in Somerset ensure that their children attend school regularly.
Attending School on a regular basis is the key to your child doing well at school and will set them up with good routines for later life and the working world, as well as giving your child the opportunity to:
- Make lots of friends and feel included.
- Learn new things and develop many skills.
- Increase confidence and self esteem.
- Improve social skills.
- Achieve their potential and fulfil aspirations.
As a parent you are committing an offence if you fail to make sure that your child attends regularly, even if they are missing school without your knowledge. The details of parents with children who have unauthorised absence (including those who have taken an unauthorised holiday) will be passed to the school’s Education Welfare Officer.
