At Chesterfield, we listen, understand, empathise & support families to attend school.

We value every child and their right to an education. It is essential that each child’s attendance does not fall below 96% due to the impact this has on their attainment and progress.  We strive to ensure all children are safe, healthy and successful individuals.

Improving attendance is in everyone’s interest and is everyone’s business. We work closely with the Education Welfare Officer to monitor absence and address poor attendance.

Start of day: Gates opena at 8:45 and close at 9:00

End of day: Gates open at 15:15 and close at 15:30

• The school day starts at 8:50am and we offer a soft start where pupils are able to come into school from 8:45am. All pupils should arrive at school on time, ready for learning.
• Registers are taken at 9:00am. Pupils arriving after the register has been taken will be marked as late (L).
• Pupils arriving after 9:30am will be marked as unauthorised absence (U).
• School finish times are listed below, and it is expected that children are collected promptly. If children are not collected by 3:30pm they will be taken back into school where lateness is recorded. 

Morning Nursery starts at 8:30 and finishes 11:30

Afternoon Nursery starts at 12:30 and finishes 15:30

All other year groups start at 8:50 and finish at 15:15

Please see our /page/?title=Policies%2C+Procedures+and+Arrangements&pid=95  for more information.

What should I do if my child is unable to come to school?

1. If your child is going to be absent due to illness, please contact the school office on 01992 760 678 Alternatively, you can email the school office at office@chesterfieldprimary.org
2. Please ensure you explain the reason for their absence, as we are required to keep records of why children are not in school. Please tell us the nature of your child's illness, for example - vomiting/high temperature
3. For hospital/dental/GP appointments, please provide a copy of the appointment letter/card to the office either before the appointment or once your child has returned to school.
4. If you need to request a day off for any other reason, please contact the school office and complete a request for absence form.

Impact of punctuality

We would like children to adopt good habits of attending and punctually. It is disruptive to your child and to the rest of the class when children arrive late. 

If your child is persistently late, a letter of concern will be sent. If your child's punctuality does not improve you will be invited to a meeting in order to discuss support. 

Click here to view our attendance guidance