The Federation of Darlington Nursery Schools

 

Good Attendance

There are no legal obligations to attend an Early Years setting, but we believe that good attendance is essential if children are to be settled and take full advantage of the learning and development opportunities available to them at nursery school, and in later life. Continuity and consistency from a young age are important contributors to a child’s well being and progress.

 

 

Although attendance at nursery is not statutory, authorised absence is only normally granted for emergency situations and medical appointments. All planned absences in term-time must be requested by contacting the Office staff. Holidays will be marked as such in the attendance register.

 

Once your child is registered with our nursery school we have:

  • A duty of care to ensure that the child is safe,
  • A responsibility to ensure value for money (each child is funded by the Local Authority to attend for 15 hours, or by the Government for the additional 15 hours entitlement)

 

We believe that what we offer is much more than this. Coming to nursery is often a child’s first opportunity to leave the safety and security of a parent/carer, build new attachments with new unfamiliar adults, experience space (and both of our nursery schools offer lots of space), spend time with other children, participate individually and as a group. It’s an opportunity to develop independence, independence in thoughts, ideas and actions.

 

We understand that learning and development can only begin when a child feels safe and when they are immersed in an environment that nurtures respect. We believe that children need love, and they need to play to develop the skills they need to grow, develop and flourish (Froebel).

We acknowledge that our children are born with immense potential and encourage all children to learn in their own ways, supported by educators who know them well and have their best interests at heart (Te-Whariki).

We provide a welcoming, well organised learning environment that supports and celebrates its learners. The care and attention we give to our environment is a core aspect of our pedagogy. It has the power to promote creativity, thinking, collaboration, problem solving, questioning, experimentation, and communication; the ‘third teacher’ alongside adults and other children.

 

Good attendance (above 96%) and punctuality promotes good outcomes for children. When children miss nursery, they miss out on the wonderful opportunities and experiences available to them, but they also miss out on vital learning and fun time.  

 

This year’s attendance is around 86% which is much lower than we would want it to be. We recognise, however, the impact the COVID pandemic has had on attendance in school and know that this year we have seen unprecedented levels of sickness absence. We hope that in September 2022 when we return to school, we will be fitter and healthier!

 Attendance Policy

Parents are asked to sign a Parental Contract of Agreement when their child starts nursery. This includes reference to attending school regularly and on time and notifying school of any absence. Please help us to achieve good attendance in our nursery schools!