Term Dates and Attendance

Casterton School Day

The school day starts at 8.50. Children should be dropped off at the classroom door.

If you need child care before this time please see Shine Club for Details.

We have a split lunchtime:

Reception and KS1 have lunch at 12.00 until 12.45
KS2 have lunch at 12.15 until 1.00

The school closes at 3.20. Children should be collected from the classroom door.

(Total hours for week = 32.5hrs)

If you need child care after this time please see Shine Club for details.

Holiday List for 2025 - 2026

Term	School Opens	School Closes
Autumn 1	Wednesday 3rd September 2025	Friday 24th October 2025 at 3.15pm
Autumn 2	Monday 10th November 2025	Friday 19th December 2025 at 12.30pm
Spring 1	Monday 5th January 2026	Friday 13th February 2026 at 3.15pm
Spring 2	Monday 23rd February 2026	Friday 27th March 2026 at 12.30pm
Summer 1	Monday 13th April 2026	Friday 22nd May 2026 at 3.15pm
Summer 2	Monday 1st June 2026	Wednesday 22nd July 2026 at 12.30pm

School will also be closed for the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday 4 May 2026.

Holiday List for 2026 – 2027

Term	School Opens	School Closes
Autumn 1	Thursday 3rd September 2026	Friday 23rd October 2026
Autumn 2	Monday 9th November 2026	Tuesday 22nd December 2026
Spring 1	Wednesday 6th January 2027	Friday 12th February 2027
Spring 2	Monday 22nd February 2027	Thursday 25th March 2027
Summer 1	Monday 12th April 2027	Friday 28th May 2027
Summer 2	Monday 7th June 2027	Friday 23rd July 2027

School will also be closed for the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday 3rd May 2027.

Holiday List for 2027 - 2028

Term	School Opens	School Closes
Autumn 1	Thursday 2nd September 2027	Friday 22nd October 2027
Autumn 2	Monday 8th November 2027	Wednesday 22nd December 2027
Spring 1	Thursday 6th January 2028	Friday 11th February 2028
Spring 2	Monday 21st February 2028	Friday 31st March 2028
Summer 1	Monday 18th April 2028	Friday 26th May 2028
Summer 2	Monday 5th June 2028	Friday 21st July 2028

School will also be closed for the May Day Bank Holiday on Monday 1st May 2028.

New attendance guidance

You may be aware that the Department for Education has recently announced national changes to penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence in term time. These changes will come into effect on 19 August 2024.
The changes to be aware of are:

Penalty notices issued for offences that take place after 19 August 2024 will be charged at a new rate of £160 per parent per child. This can be paid at £80 if paid within 21 days.
Any second penalty notice issued to the same parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period will be issued at the rate of £160 to be paid within 28 days with no option for a discounted rate.
The threshold at which a penalty notice must be considered is set at 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absence within a rolling 10-school week period1. This may include absences as a result of arriving late after the register closes. The 10 school weeks may span different terms or school years.
A maximum of 2 penalty notices may be issued to a parent for the same child within a rolling 3-year period, so at the 3rd (or subsequent) offence(s) another course of action will need to be considered (such as prosecution or one of the other attendance legal interventions).
Only penalty notices issued for absences taking place after 19 August 2024 will count towards the above thresholds.

Attendance

It is important to help your child to get the most from their education by making sure that they attend school every day and arrive on time. At Casterton Primary Academy we expect children to attend school every day, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. If your child has been sick and cannot attend, it is important that you let us know between 8.30am and 9.00am on the first day of absence by telephone. Let us know your child’s name, class and the reason why they are not in school. When it is a good reason like illness, it will be authorised.

The school offers termly reward incentives to children and families who have good attendance and perfect punctuality.

Children can access school from 8.50am and are expected to be in class by 9.00am. Children who arrive between 9.00am and 9.30am will receive a late mark. Being just 30 minutes late each morning is the same as having 20 days or 4 weeks off school each year.

Appointments must be made outside of academy session times wherever possible. We do understand that there may be times when you need to take your child for an emergency appointment, but generally children should not miss sessions due to appointments.

Absences may be authorised (if the academy have agreed with the reason for absence) or unauthorised (if the academy have not agreed with the reason for absence, or have not been given a reason). A succession of unauthorised absences may lead to action being taken to ensure that your child’s attendance improves.

The academy’s Senior Leadership Team regularly monitors the attendance of all children. We work closely with the Local Authority Attendance Officer to improve attendance.

Requests for absence in Term Time

There is no automatic entitlement in law to time off in school to go on holiday. Requests for absence in term time must be made in writing using an Application for Absence from School in Term Time Form, which is available on request in the office.