To ensure that all pupils attend school regularly and punctually
To develop an attitude throughout the whole school community that values regular attendance at school.
To provide an effective but manageable means of monitoring attendance both for groups and individuals.
To be able to seek for school and/or provide for parents, effective and prompt support for families experiencing difficulties over attendance.
ORGANISATION
Class teachers will complete registers carefully and return to office by 9.15am and by 1.15pm.
On return of registers to the office absences will be checked. If a child is absent and no message has been received the office will telephone the given contact number to request an explanation for the absence.
The administrative officer will check attendance through the SIMS attendance module on a monthly basis. Any unexplained absences will be followed up with a letter to parents asking for an explanation.
The administrative officer will update attendance module weekly.
Any pupils with attendance below 90% will be noted. In the first instance of low attendance a standard school letter will be sent reminding parents/carers of the importance of regular attendance.
If the situation does not improve the parent(s)/carer(s) will be asked to attend a meeting with the headteacher to offer advice and assistance on improving attendance. Referral may be made to the Parent Support Advisor or the Educational Welfare Officer.
The school will work towards any attendance targets set by the LEA or DCSF. Children with 100% attendance will be rewarded with a certificate at the end of each term.
Children are expected to attend school for the full 190 days of the academic year, unless there is a good reason for absence. There are two types of absence:
Authorised (where the school approves pupil absence)
Unauthorised (where the school will not approve absence)
Authorised absences include:
Sickness, hospital appointments, dentist, religious holidays, clinic and funerals. Medical appointments should be arranged if possible outside the school day. Where this is not possible it is expected that pupils only miss part of the day.
Unauthorised absences include:
Shopping, visiting relatives, buying shoes, going for a haircut, parent/s unwell. .
Absence
If your child is not fit enough to participate fully in the school day's activities please keep him/her at home. In the case of sickness or diahorrea a child should not return to school until they have been clear for 24 hours.
Please notify us of any infectious illness. If your child is absent you should telephone, or call in on the first day of absence and write a note on his/her return to school. Please do not send verbal messages with children. If you do not let us know the reason for absence we are obliged to record it as an unauthorised absence. It is not necessary to telephone each day.
At present leave of absence may be granted for a maximum of 10 school days in a year, for a family holiday which cannot be taken during the school holidays, but it is not an automatic right and parents/carers need to make an appointment with the headteacher to discuss if the absence can be authorised. This must be done before booking a holiday. When considering the request the following points will be taken into account when reaching a decision.
The child's previous attendance history
The time of year
The nature of the trip
Whether parents are restricted in terms of leave from their employer
However, we do not recommend such absences as they can disrupt your child's education. The requirements of the curriculum are such that it is not possible to repeat teaching and learning for an individual to catch up. Consequently, a two week holiday will mean two weeks of learning missed.
If a child takes more than 10 days holiday in a year, or without the permission of the school, it is recorded as unauthorised absence. The total number of absences a child has in a school year is recorded on a child's Progress Report at the end of the year. The registers are monitored regularly by the Educational Welfare Officer who is likely to query with you frequent absences or late arrival or particular patterns of absence.
It is particularly important that Year 2 children should keep their absence to a minimum as SATs tasks and tests take place throughout the year. In particular, children should be in school for the whole of May when the national assessment tasks and tests are taking place. Year 2 parents should also try to avoid the end of the summer term when there are special events taking place, such as visits to St. Peter's.
Punctuality
It is important that children arrive on time at the start of the day as late arrival can make it difficult for a child to understand or settle to a task and learn successfully. Any child who arrives after registration for reasons other than a medical appointment will be recorded as late. Late marks are recorded annually on a child's end of year Progress Report.
Frequent late arrival will be picked up by the office and a letter will be sent encouraging improvement in punctuality. If it continues parents/carers will be invited into school to discuss how the situation can be improved. Again, referral may be made to the Parent Support Advisor or the Educational Welfare Officer.
What can parents do to help?
Let the school know as soon as possible why your child is away
Send a note when your child returns to school
Try to make appointments outside school time
Do not allow your child to have time off school unless it is really necessary
Collection of Children
No child is permitted to leave the premises during school hours unless accompanied by an adult. All children should be brought to school and met in the playground at the end of the day. If you are going to be late arriving please ring and let us know. If parents are late children are told by their teacher to sit in the library. Discuss this with your child so that they know what to do if you are not there. We will not release children to a different adult unless we have permission from the child's parent/carer.