School Timings

At Ledbury Primary School we open the gates at 8.40am and close them promptly at 8.45am (8.50 for EYFS). If you arrive after the gate has closed, please bring your child to the front office where you will be asked to complete a form. Pupils arriving between 8.45 and 9.00 will be marked as late. If they arrive after 9.00, we mark this as an unauthorised absence.

School finishes at 3.15 for all year groups.

The diagram below shows how the number of minutes late can affect the number of hours lost in learning.  Simply being 5 minutes late every day of the academic year means 15 hours are lost.  Every minute in school is utilised, and this is from the very moment the children enter the school building.

At Ledbury Primary School, we recognise that academic success is attributed to good attendance and we have high expectations for attendance. We fully understand that there are times when children feel unwell and are not able to attend school. Sometimes it can be difficult to decide whether or not to keep your child off school when they're unwell. The following link can help parents and carers make these decisions. Is my child too ill for school?

There are government guidelines for schools about managing certain infections. These specify clearly when children should be kept at home and when they should be at school. If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a coldsore or headlice, please let the office know. Health protection in children and young people at educational settings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Some common examples are below:

Coughs and colds - It's fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold.

High temperature - If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it resolves.

Chickenpox - If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over. This is usually about 5 days after the spots first appeared.

Hand, foot and mouth disease - If your child has hand, foot and mouth disease but seems well enough to go to school, there's no need to keep them off.

Often when we look at attendance, we look at percentages. Anything below 95% begins to cause concern due to the number of hours of missed learning. The infographic breaks down the percentages of attendance and how many days/hours are lost in just one academic year. 

We will not authorise holidays taken in term time. If you wish to make a request for term time absence for your child, please complete an Absence Request Form and return via email to Kate Mason at kmason@ledbury.hereford.sch.uk.  

Once the request has been considered, you will receive a letter to inform you whether the request has been authorised or not. Please include as much detail as possible as to why the term time absence is an exceptional circumstance, along with ensuring the request is submitted at least 6 weeks before the requested time.