We believe that in order for a pupil to fully benefit from their education, good attendance is crucial. It is the policy of our school to celebrate achievement and full attendance is a critical factor to a productive and successful school career. 

Lateness 

A child is late if they arrive after 09:00. If your child is absent from school for any reason it is vital that you contact the school office by 09:15.   Failure to contact the school may result in the absence being classed as ‘unauthorised’. A child who continually arrives late after the registration period has closed is classed as an unauthorised absence. 

Attendance 

In September 2013, an amendment to the Education (Pupil Registration)(England) Regulations 2006 came in to force and greater clarity was introduced to the issue of schools authorising absence requests. In addition on 19 August 2024, an amendment to the Education (Penalty Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into force and set out a new National Framework for issuing penalty notices. These changes reinforced the Government’s view that every minute of every school day is vital and that pupils should only be granted authorised absences by the school in ‘exceptional circumstances’. 

A family holiday is not normally considered by the Government to be an ‘exceptional circumstance’ and therefore will not be authorised by this school. 

I must take this opportunity to remind you, that should you choose to take your child out of school without the authorisation of the school, then Parental Responsibility Measures could be instigated. This could mean receiving any of the following; 

• A Penalty Notice
• A summons to the Magistrate Court which could result in a fine of up to £2,500 and/or a term of imprisonment for up to 3 months. 

Schools are required to notify the Local Authority if a pupil has a number of unauthorised absences.  Unauthorised absences can be acquired when;  

1) Leave has been requested, but the circumstances are such that the school is unable to authorise the leave   and it is taken anyway. 

2) Leave is not requested and/or the school has grounds to believe that the child has been taken out of school for an avoidable reason (example – a family holiday). Only the Head teacher can authorise an absence. This year there have been occasions when schools have been notified that the pupil is sick, but the school later discovers and reasonably believes that the reason given for the absence is not genuine.  

3) A child continually arrives late after the registration period has closed.   

This school will be notifying the Local Authority in all of the circumstances listed above.  

Should a Penalty Notice be issued as a result of unauthorised absence then one notice will be issued to each parent/carer for each child involved. In addition to natural parents and any person with parental responsibility, any person considered to have day to day care and control of a young person is deemed to be a parent in matters relating to education and school nonattendance (s576 Education Act 1996).   

From 19th August 2024, following changes to secondary legislation, the amount charged in a penalty notice was increased. 

The first penalty notice issued will be charged at £160 if paid within 28 days. This is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. 

The second penalty notice issued will be charged at a flat rate of £160 if paid within 28 days. If a Penalty Notice goes unpaid after 28 days, then court proceedings will be initiated.  

We understand the disappointment that the refusal of a leave request may cause and we apologise, but as you can appreciate this policy represents the school's responsibility and commitment towards providing your child’s education and supporting their future life opportunities. We hope you will support us by ensuring that your son/daughter obtains the maximum benefit from their time at school by attending punctually for the 190 days each year that the law requires (unless prevented from doing so by unavoidable circumstances).   

Thank you for your anticipated support in this matter.   

Schools within the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust provide free education for boys and girls of all abilities. However, the Board of Directors reserve the right to charge in the following circumstances:

Where a parent wishes a child to learn a musical instrument

Where a trip is proposed which is not a compulsory part of the curriculum, parents will be invited to make a contribution to cover the costs involved. This will be on the understanding that if there is insufficient support the proposed trip will not take place.

School meals and optional activities outside of the school day (such as wrap around - if available) must be paid in advance.

Click HERE to view our Charging & Remissions Policy

Our full Complaints Policy can be found on the Trust Website,

in summary;

Concerns should first be raised with either the class teacher or headteacher. If the issue remains unresolved, the next step is to make a formal complaint.

If you are unhappy or have concerns about the School or a person associated with the School then you may wish to make a complaint, in the first instance complaints should be addressed to the Headteacher, Mrs Gail Holmes.

Contact details:

E-mail: woolacombe.sch@alumnismat.org
Telephone: 01271870551

If your complaint is about the Headteacher then contact the Chief Executive Officer via the Clerk

Email: trustclerk@alumnismat.org
Telephone: 01237 879382

We want our curriculum to represent the rich breadth of humanity’s creativity and achievements. Throughout our curriculum we celebrate equality and diversity and the significant contributions of a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds. Our curriculum aims to prepare children to thrive in a culturally and ethnically diverse modern Britain and develop a respect and appreciation of others. 

EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) ensures fair treatment and opportunity for all. It aims to eradicate prejudice and discrimination on the basis of an individual or group of individual's protected characteristics. 

Fundamentally, Equality and Diversity are about acknowledging that everybody has a right to fair and equal treatment, irrespective of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or any other characteristic. 

Alumnis Schools are fully committed to doing everything we can to provide a curriculum that is equitable in offer and diverse in representation. 

We aim to... 

• Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation 

• Ensure equality of opportunity and foster good relationships 

• Actively teach children to identify and challenge discrimination 

• Actively teach children how to be authentic allies 

The protected characteristics are not just something we reference in our policies and curriculum, rather they are the basis of our advocacy.  

The nine protected characteristics (Equalities Act 2010). 

• Sex 

• Race 

• Disability 

• Religion or belief 

• Sexual orientation 

• Gender reassignment 

• Pregnancy or maternity 

• Marriage and civil partnership 

• Age 

For further information please see the link to our policy. 

 Click HERE to review our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 gives the public right of access to information produced in the course of the Trust's work.

There are exemptions to this right. In particular, data about living, identifiable people ('personal data') continues to be covered by the Data Protection Act and is not generally publicly available except to the "subject" of the data - that is, the person whom the data is about.

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust has developed a Freedom of Information Scheme which lists all the documents which the Trust will make public as a matter of routine.

If the information you are looking for is not available on our Freedom of Information Scheme which can be found further down the page, you can make a request for the information you require in writing, please make sure you read our charging policy for information about the costs you may be liable for.

For the email address for the DPO please go to our contact us page.

Alumnis Multi Academy Trust

The contact details for the central office are:

Alumnis MAT

Studio N

Caddesdown Business Support Centre

Clovelly Road

Bideford

Devon

EX39 3BE

Tel 01271 440895

alumnisoffice@alumnismat.org

For annual reports and Trustee information and duties please click here

The Local Schools Committee for Combe Martin, St Helens and Woolacombe Schools

Known as “Coastal”; Combe Martin, St Helens and Woolacombe schools are all members of the Alumnis Multi Academy Trust and collectively form one Local Schools Committee (LSC). A Local Schools Committee is a sub-committee of the Alumnis Multi-Academy Trust Board of Directors. The Board delegate functions to the LSC, in particular, the LSC is key in providing the Board with stakeholder voice. Members are appointed by the Board, Parents and Staff.

The LSC plays a crucial role in enriching community relationships and communication, contributing to the collective effectiveness of schools and Alumnis MAT as a whole. The aim is to support, inform, advise and challenge provision; working together, empowering excellence and improving outcomes for all children. Working with the Head Teacher, Executive Team and Trust Board, the LSC is a local voice and a link with local communities and churches (church schools) as well as being advocates for all schools within our School Trust. For our Church of England schools, the LSCs will also ensure that the school’s Christian distinctiveness is recognised. 

The LSC are responsible for:

• Approving policies: Agree on policies for the school, such as those relating to Healthy Eating.
• Overseeing the school: Supporting the implementation of the school's improvement plan and working as the voice for the Directors. 
• Building relationships: Working with head teachers to establish and maintain relationships with the local community 
• Ensuring effective use of resources: Monitoring the use of resources for SEND and Pupil Premium 
• Implementing safeguarding policy: Monitoring the effective implementation of safeguarding policy and procedures 

The Chair of our Coastal LSC is Sharon Beckwith and can be contacted via the schools.

If you would like to contact the LSC on any matter please email: trustclerk@alumnismat.org

Trust Details, Scheme of Delegation and LSC Members found here

Woolacombe School

This link will take you to the government School Data Dashboard which provides a snapshot of the School’s Performance at the most recent  Key Stage 2 Statutory assessments which are taken at the end of Year 6.

If the number of children who sat their End of KS2 assessments was lower than 6, results are not published by the government to protect individual privacy.

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/145765/woolacombe-school/primary

Click HERE to view Woolacombe Schools Performance Data

Our Pupil Premium Strategy Statement is available HERE

Safeguarding Statement

Alumnis Multi Academy Trust recognises our moral and statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils and expects all staff, board members, and volunteers to share this commitment. We recognise that all children, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or SEND have an equal right to protection from all types of harm or abuse.  We endeavour to provide a safe and welcoming environment where children are respected and valued. We are alert to the signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective support, protection, and justice. We listen to our pupils and take seriously what they tell us, children are aware of the adults they can talk to if they have a concern. When there are concerns for a child’s welfare, we may need to share information and work in partnership with other agencies.  We will ensure concerns are discussed with parents/carers first unless we have reason to believe that by doing so would be contrary to the child’s welfare. Our  Child Protection and Safeguarding policy underpins and guides our safeguarding procedures and protocols.

The Importance of provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities

Woolacombe School is a mainstream school that believes everyone has the right to be educated and to be part of our school community. We are committed to the promotion of equality and diversity. In so doing, we realise the valuable contribution, that all members of the school community can make to our school.

In recent years approximately 15% of children within our school have been deemed to have a special educational need or disability of one kind or another. Children have a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty, which requires additional or specific provision to be put in place for them.

The curriculum and learning environment

Every child at Woolacombe School will access high quality teaching which takes account of pupil’s differing needs. We are proud of our creative curriculum throughout the school which allows children to learn in a variety of ways, become independent learners, thrive in areas of strength and gain confidence in areas they need to develop. Where appropriate, the curriculum will be adapted and reasonable adjustments will be made to meet the range of special educational needs and disabilities in our school. Where children are in need of additional support, this will be provided within the classroom setting to allow for full inclusion. It may also be given through small group sessions in addition to their usual classroom provision. Teachers and teaching assistants will provide a tailored and personalised approach in line with a child’s EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) or ‘My Plan’. As a school we will endeavour to secure the special educational provision required by the child.

School trips are an important part of a child’s education we make every effort to provide these opportunities to every child in our school. Where necessary we will seek support of parents or other appropriate adults to support children with SEND to take a full and active part in school trips, as well as extra curricular activities. Arrangements will be made to ensure all children can fully contribute to every aspect of school life.

Supporting the overall wellbeing of children with SEND

Children’s emotional wellbeing is vital to great learning in the classroom. All staff at our school work hard to support the wellbeing of every child through our ’10 a day’ School Philosophy to support mental Health and wellbeing.  We also ensure we develop caring and honest relationships with all children and ensure there are opportunities for children to talk to adults for support. Our staff are available every day to support parents in helping their children at school. The SENDCo will, where appropriate, share information with staff to ensure a holistic approach for children and parents.

Parental Involvement

The role of parents and carers is very important and we seek to support the partnership between school and home. Parents are encouraged to become involved, or are included in their child’s learning, in the following ways:

~    Learning that is sent home;

~    Regularly meeting with the class teacher and SENDCo where appropriate;

~    Consultation with parents regarding targets and next steps for their child;

~    Attendance at, and contributions to, review meetings about their child’s learning;

~    Volunteering to support learning and activities within school, on school trips and through extra curricular activities;

~    An annual report is provided on each child’s progress as well as two consultation meetings each year.

SEND information report 2024_25

To view our Whistleblowing Policy please click here for the Alumnis Trust Website