newSBytes 11th February 2016

11th February 2016 Dear families We have been reminding students that we are now half-way through this academic year. How time flies! It is not only the weather patterns that have perhaps surprised us this year but can I also remind all parents that our Easter break is somewhat unusual. We at Simon Balle are following the Hertfordshire County Council model which means that:  Good Friday (March 25th) is a school holiday  Bank Holiday Easter Monday (March 28th) is a school holiday  BUT every student is at school on Tuesday 29th March - Friday 1st April (inclusive).  Our 2 week Easter holiday is from Monday 4th - Friday 15th April. The reason for this decision being taken is that Easter falls very early this year and the decision helps schools to ensure better learning time. We published this and alerted you to this many months ago. We therefore expect all students to be in school. I, along with many other local Headteachers, have been getting increasingly frustrated by some parents’ attitude to school attendance. Having spoken to local primary heads, we want parents to realise that missing any school must be an exception. We expect children to be in school all of the time. Even illness means missing school. Our Governing Body recently discussed this, following a presentation from Hertfordshire local authority. County is recommending that they fine parents for children not attending school. This is for all absence but cases would be dealt with on an individual basis after ‘trigger points’ have been reached. Governors have yet to debate and agree our stance. The government expects attendance to be in the region of 97% for all students, authorised as well as unauthorised. Mike Moss explained this to parents in a previous newsletter. The school is penalised if the figures drop. Persistent absence is now deemed to be 90% and this is the point at which LEA intervention will trigger. I am grateful that most parents do actually request leave rather than simply take it. We are always sympathetic to special family events, sporting or cultural opportunities, funerals etc. However, I am worried by a few parents who are asking for ‘pure holidays’ or odd days to facilitate cheaper travel. Again, we do take the wider picture into context, look at previous attendance and how much the student has missed school including sickness. Apologies to the many for this small rant/reminder! The difficulties of recruitment of teaching staff continues to hit headlines. We too at Simon Balle, despite the fact that is is a great place to work, find it so difficult. We are attaching various flyers and information for you to pass on to others. We always advertise our latest vacancies on the school website. Wishing you all a safe and relaxing half term, Alison Saunders

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