Newsletters

Attendance and punctuality: A brief guide for families 

At Dunalley Primary School, we believe that good attendance is essential for children’s learning, wellbeing, friendships and future success. We want every child to feel safe, happy and included in school every day. 

We encourage positive attendance habits from the very beginning of a child’s journey with us, including in our nursery provision. 

This guide summarises the key information from our full Attendance Policy. 

Why attendance matters 

Children who attend school regularly: 

• Make better academic progress 

• Feel more confident and settled 

• Develop stronger friendships 

• Build positive routines and resilience 

• Are less likely to feel anxious about school 

Missing school regularly can affect learning, wellbeing and confidence. 

Our expectations 

We expect children to: 

• Attend school every day unless they are genuinely unwell 

• Arrive on time and ready to learn 

• Attend for the full school day 

We do not support flexi-schooling arrangements because we believe children benefit most from consistent full-time education and regular routines. 

School start and finish times 

Morning arrival 

• Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils should arrive by 8:40am 

• Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils should arrive by 8:45am 

The register closes at 9:00am. 

Children arriving after this time without an authorised reason may receive an unauthorised absence mark. 

End of day 

• Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 finish at 3:10pm 

• Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 finish at 3:15pm 

Reporting absence 

If your child is absent, parents/carers must: 

• Report the absence through Edulink One by 8:45am each day of absence 

• Give a clear reason for the absence 

• Keep the school updated where appropriate 

If we do not hear from you: 

• We will contact parents/carers on the first day of absence 

• We may contact emergency contacts 

• We may carry out a home visit if we have safeguarding concerns 

Medical appointments 

Where possible, appointments should be arranged outside school hours. 

If this is unavoidable: 

• Please notify the school in advance 

• Children should attend school before and/or after appointments whenever possible 

• We may ask for evidence of appointments 

Holidays during term time 

The Government allows Headteachers to authorise leave during term time only in exceptional circumstances. 

Family holidays are not normally considered exceptional circumstances. 

All unauthorised holidays are recorded using a national attendance code called Code G. 

Where a pupil has 10 sessions (5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10-school-week period, the school may request that Gloucestershire County Council issue a Notice to Improve or a Fixed Penalty Notice. 

These expectations are set by the Department for Education and Gloucestershire County Council. 

Honesty and fairness in attendance reporting 

We follow Department for Education and Gloucestershire County Council guidance when recording attendance. 

We are committed to fairness and consistency for all families and ask parents/carers to report absences honestly and accurately. 

Where information suggests an absence may have been reported incorrectly, schools are required to review and, where necessary, amend attendance codes. 

This may happen if: 

• Children discuss holidays with staff 

• Holiday information is shared publicly online 

• Information provided during the absence contradicts the reason given 

Where attendance codes are amended, families may be asked to provide evidence supporting the original reason for absence. 

Supporting good attendance 

We know that some children and families face barriers to attendance. 

We work closely with families to provide support which may include: 

• Meetings with parents/carers 

• Pastoral support 

• Emotional wellbeing support 

• Early Help referrals 

• Attendance support plans 

• Support for anxiety-based school avoidance 

• Multi-agency support where appropriate 

We always aim to work positively and supportively with families. 

Persistent absence 

A child is considered to be persistently absent if their attendance falls below 90%. 

We monitor attendance carefully and will contact families early if attendance becomes a concern. 

Punctuality 

Being late can: 

• Cause children to miss important learning 

• Affect confidence and routines 

• Disrupt the start of the school day 

We monitor punctuality daily and work with families to support improvements where needed. 

Working together 

Improving attendance is everyone’s responsibility. 

By working together, we can ensure children: 

• Feel safe and included 

• Enjoy school 

• Achieve their full potential 

• Develop positive lifelong habits 

If you are worried about your child’s attendance or need support, please contact the school as early as possible so that we can help. 

Thank you to those families who joined us at Cheltenham Lido last Friday for our annual Family Pool Party. It was great to see lots of Year 6s, amongst others, letting off steam after a week of SATs. It might not have been as warm as in previous years but the sun was shining and the cold air don’t seem to put the children off! We raised a modest £55 (as we didn’t sell out this year) but had a great evening as a community.

 

The PTFA were delighted to have supported the Dunalley Literature Festival again this year, paying for authors Peter Chand, Rachel Chivers Khoi, Emily Lloyd-Gale and Andy Seed to visit school.

It’s thanks to your support at our fundraising events that we fund these experiences for our children.

It was great to see lots of families at the Reading Cafe. And it was a pleasure supporting Miss Parker and Mrs Mackie who did a fantastic job of organising the week!

Don’t forget we’re selling ice creams and ice lollies after school every Friday.

Our Uniform Shop will also be open for you to buy pre-loved and new uniform (jumpers, cardigans, fleeces, summer dresses).

Find us between the field entrance to Year 3 and the School Hall!

Volunteers Needed

Our Summer Fair is just 6 weeks away. It takes a huge amount of effort behind the scenes to organise and we cannot run it without parent/carer, grandparent, teacher volunteers!

Can you volunteer 45 minutes of your time on a stall? Children are very welcome to help too! If so, please add your name to our signup sheet or drop us a message (dunalleyptfa@gmail.com).

We are a registered charity so if your company offers paid volunteering days, you may be able to use your time to support us.

We are thrilled to offer exclusive sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming Summer Fair 2026, reaching over 420 local students and their families.

We have already received fantastic support from WhiteMove, Beauty By Sas, and The Magnum Ice Cream Co., and we would love for your business to join them!

You can choose Option 1: Sponsor a Stand (ranging from £200 for entertainment to £900 for our headline Climbing Wall or Caving experiences), which includes prominent on-site branding, a half-page brochure ad, clickable links in our digital newsletter, and the opportunity to run your own promotional stand on the day.

Alternatively, Option 2: Sponsorship Donations (£50+) offer a great way to support the event while gaining valuable digital newsletter mentions, social media shoutouts, and brochure branding.

To secure your spot or discuss how we can showcase your business, please get in touch with us (dunalleyptfa@gmail.com).

14th June 2026 will be "ON YOUR BIKE", christening the new Cheltenham to Bishops Cleeve Cycle Path.  We are aiming to get 1000+ people of all ages and abilities onto the new cycle path from Cheltenham to Bishops Cleeve, finishing at the Bishops Cleeve Street Fair.  Could you bring the youngest person?  Could you be the oldest?  How about the fanciest dressed? The Street Fair in Bishops Cleeve will have stalls and events on the day including a fun fair, a teddy bear parachute, a dance show, a live band, a vintage car exhibition, food carts, stalls, a raffle.  The event will raise funds for 2 local cycling good causes - The Charity Bike Shop (Cyclists Fighting Cancer) and Wheel Good Vibes.  You can join the cycle route wherever you want, we really want the day to be a fun one and to make using the new cycle path a "thing". You could chose to start from Pittville Park next to the Prince of Wales Stadium.  This is home to Cheltenham Town Wheelers, where members from age 6 to 18 are coached each week.  You'll be able to see their riders practicing on their offroad course, and learn where the trail features are - rock garden, berms, roots, rollers, table top, drops, steps etc.  There'll also be a maintenance stand, run by volunteers from the Charity Bike Shop in Leckhampton, offering free adjustments to bikes if you need anything before the adventure!  We're hoping to see cyclists leaving here in waves, from 11.30 through to 13:30. The route goes into Pittville Park, past the Basketball Court, onto the new Cycling Spine across the back of the Playing Fields, across to Central Cross and the new "Toucan" cycle and pedestrian crossing.  Time and the opportunity to stop at the Central Cross Cafe for ice cream if you fancy it! The route then goes straight up the new cycle path past Pittville Park, the Lake, the Playground, the Aviary, the Racecourse, over the bridge where you can see the Steam Railway station, the Car Boot Sale, past the Garden Centre, Tigers Rugby Club, and all the way to the roundabout opposite GE at Bishops Cleeve.  Here you'll find the BMX pump track with all its challenges. Crossing the next new crossing across Evesham Road, the route uses the shared cycle and footpath around the Bishops Cleeve bypass, past the Capita offices, across Voxwell Lane where we'll have marshals, and then turning right through the cycle/pedestrian access to Stoke Road.  Straight along to the Tithe Barn car park.  We expect people to arrive here any time from 12 noon through 'til 3pm. On the route, you may be lucky enough to come across local cyclists such as Gerry McGarr or Mel Glass riding on old bikes, Gerry on a Penny Farthing!  There'll also be ride leaders from Wheel Good Vibes in fancy dress, as well as Cheltenham Town Wheelers young leaders on the route. Also on the route, you'll be able to get stamps to prove that you rode the route, courtesy of Cheltenham Town Wheelers! At the Tithe Barn Car Park, there'll be a maintenance stand offering free minor repairs and adjustments by Williams Cycles, a stall run by Wheel Good Vibes with games and sustainability themes, and THE CHANCE TO WIN AN E-BIKE!  There'll also be a presence from Active Travel groups to learn more about wheeling along the cycle paths as well as what's happening further afield.  Nip around the corner past Tesco and along to Church Road and the road will be closed, filled with the Street Fair activities! We expect local media coverage, so wear a smile and show your school or club colours in case you get caught on camera! We're also hoping to get a cycling celebrity along to be part of the celebrations. More will be revealed nearer the time.   For schools, we want to see as many students out as possible! Cheltenham and County Cycling Club have now checked and maintained 962 bikes at Bikeability Maintenance days at Dunalley Primary School, and we'd love to see the riders and their bikes out on the day. It's going to be an incredible day celebrating the convenience and safety of the cycle spine, allowing discovery of amenities on the route, and drawing wider media coverage to promote our new bike path asset.   Did we mention that it's on Sunday 14th June?  SAVE THE DATE! Best wishes,  Steve  Steve Smith  Chair, Cheltenham and County Cycling Club  07889 265425