Our School: Admission and Attendance

Admission to the School

Foundation Stage

Children can start at Dry Sandford in the September following their 4th birthday. All children with birthdays in the autumn term can attend full time. Children with birthdays in spring and summer terms are offered part time places until January.  The admission of Foundation children is administered by Oxfordshire County Council. The application form is in the Starting School Booklet, available from schools in September or on-line at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/admissions. Confirmation of a place is sent directly from the County in the following February.

In-Year Admissions

The school holds a common application form, which needs to be completed and sent to County.  If you are considering Dry Sandford School for your child, please telephone and make an appointment to visit the school. Our catchment areas are Dry Sandford, Cothill, Gozzard’s Ford, parts of Wootton and Whitecross. If you live outside our catchment area and there are places at the school then you may also apply for a place.

Attendance

It is very important that you help your child to maintain regular patterns of attendance at school, as frequent absence or lateness can cause children to feel that they are getting 'left behind' with their work. Children can often feel very embarrassed by arriving in class after lessons have started. Parents should bring their children into the main office if they are late in the morning as the doors are locked at 9 am to ensure the safety of the children in the school.

It is vital that parents explain why their child is away from school either by writing a letter, telephoning us or calling in before the school day starts. Due to recent Government legislation we have to record an absence for which we have received no notification as an ‘Unauthorised Absence’ and these are recorded on a child's annual report.

It is crucial that we can contact either a parent or guardians quickly should a child become ill or have an accident. We therefore need home and work telephone numbers of both parents so that contact can be made as quickly as possible. If your child has a bad cough, cold or sore throat please keep them at home until any infection has cleared.

Medication

If a prescribed course of medicine needs to be completed by a child returning to school, any containers must be clearly labelled with the child’s name, the precise dose and frequency and handed in to the office. Medicines can only be administered with the completion of Parental agreement for school to administer medicine. This form is available at the school office. Only prescribed medicine can be administered (i.e. not Calpol, Piriton, etc). Please let us know if your child has a particular allergy or if he/she needs to carry an inhaler.

Family Holidays and Leave of Absence

We are very concerned when parents take children away on holiday during term time, as prolonged and repetitive absences can seriously damage a child's education. The Government advises that parents cannot take their children out of school for holidays without the permission of the Headteacher, and that permission must be gained before the holiday is booked.