Bloxham C. of E. Primary School is committed to ensuring that your child receives the best possible education to best prepare them for the next stage of their life. Each school day is carefully planned, and each lesson informs a wider programme of learning. Therefore, every lesson really does count. Your child is a valued member of our school community and every day that they are not in school is a day missing valuable learning time which will impact on their progress.

In a typical week, pupils are in school for 32.5 hours, Monday to Friday 8:45- 3:45. Pupils who attend our extra-curricular office will be in school for additional hours. 

At morning drop off our school gates open at 8:30am and will close promptly at 8:40am.

All pupils arriving late will be required to report to the School office, where a late register will operate, supporting new attendance regulations coming into force from August 2024.

Once class teachers assume responsibility for pupils at 8:40am, they will be unable to have conversations with families and as such any morning messages should be given to Office Staff.

Please make sure your child arrives at school on time. In this way, he/she can appreciate the importance of punctuality and form good habits early.

Our attendance target is 100% and we expect pupils to attend every day.

If, for any reason, your child is too ill to attend school, please report any absences to the school office by 9am either by email: attendance@bloxham-pri.oxon.sch.uk or by telephone 01295 720224 stating your Child's name, Class and Reason for absence.

The link below is to guidelines from the NHS on whether you should send your child to school: 

Is my child too ill for school? - NHS

Penalty Notice for Term-time Holidays

It is the policy of this school not to authorise absence for holidays during term-time. While advance permission can be given in exceptional circumstances, this is rare and can only be granted by our Head Teacher. Any such request should be addressed to the Head in writing before the holiday is taken and it is likely that permission will not be granted.

If a term-time holiday is taken without permission, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and a referral will be made to the County Attendance Team. This may result in the issue of an Education Penalty Notice under section 444A Education Act 1996 in respect of each absent child, to each parent/carer. Penalty notices are intended as an alternative to prosecution.

The first Penalty Notice is a charge of £80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice, increasing to £160 if paid between day 21 and day 28. Where it is deemed appropriate to issue a second Penalty Notice to the same parent for the same child within 3 years of the first notice, the second notice is charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. If the penalty is not paid in full within 28 days, the usual consequence is a Magistrates’ Court prosecution for the underlying section 444(1) Education Act 1996 offence of failure to secure regular school attendance. A third Penalty Notice cannot be issued to the same parent for the same child within 3 years of the first notice, and so in cases where the national threshold is met for a third or subsequent time another action will be taken instead, which may include the local authority considering prosecution.

If further instances of unauthorised absence occur despite a penalty notice having previously been issued, or if the child’s attendance is a wider matter of concern, the local authority may consider prosecution in any event.