Attendance
EVERY DAY COUNTS
Education is one of the most important gifts we can give our children and a day lost is a day too many. In our drive to support children and enable them to gain the best possible start to their education, we are continually looking at ways to improve our attendance level. We are hoping, with your co-operation, to improve attendance and punctuality, both of these areas are priorities in school.
Our school attendance target is 97%.
Attendance below 95% will result in a text being sent home.
Attendance rates which fall below 90% give us cause for concern and a letter will be sent home.
Attendance under 85% will be deemed as a serious cause for concern and may lead to working with Attendance Officers or fines being issued.
We feel that it is important that parents and carers understand their responsibilities and the consequences of their children being absent from school. Please support the school in its aim to raise the achievement of your child by ensuring that they attend school and arrive on time. Reading this information is a start to a joint undertaking to ensure the best for your child.
Why regular attendance is important:
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Every lesson really does count. Children can quickly fall behind if even one day is missed.
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Good school attendance gives your child the opportunity of success and helps develop important life skills.
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Good attendance is linked to achievement, better relationships with other children and better overall behaviour in school.
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Good attendance is not just about what happens in school absence when your child is young can limit future opportunities and create bad habits for work and life.
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The law states that you as parents are responsible for making sure that your child attends school.
School Procedures
Children should arrive at school from 8.45 for an 8.55am start.
Any children who are late must report to the main reception and give the reason why they are late.
Any child that arrives after 9.05am will receive a late mark.
Illness
We know that young children can be susceptible to illness and understand that if they are poorly they may need time off to recover. This is reflected in our school target for every child to have at least 97% attendance.
In all cases of absence parents should please:
- Only keep your child away from school if really necessary.
- Telephone school on the first day of absence. If no contact has been made by 9.30am from parents/carer, school will phone. If contact can still not be made, the information will be passed onto our Attendance Officers who may come and visit children’s homes to investigate why they are not in.
- Keep school informed if more than one day’s absence is necessary.
- Avoid medical appointments in school time, but if absolutely necessary, please bring your child to school before and/or after the appointment.
- Speak to the class teacher who will be able to provide you with work for your child if appropriate.
SCHOOL NUMBER: 01912746695
Holidays:
Holidays should not be taken during term time. In line with Government policy on school attendance, we will NOT authorise holiday absences.
Authorised and Unauthorised Absences
The school has, by law, to classify every absence mark your child has as either “authorised” or “unauthorised”. Schools have to report their absences termly to the Educational Welfare Service at the Local Authority who may contact parents about high rates of absence.
Authorised Absences
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Illness
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Medical/Dental ( We may ask to see an appointment card – every effort should be made to make appointments outside of school hours)
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Bereavement
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Agreed special occasion or exceptional circumstances
Unauthorised Absences
School cannot authorise absences for:
X Going to the shops or hairdressers
X Going on holidays
X Visiting relatives
X Children not wanting to come to school
X Staying off because a sibling is off poorly
X Birthdays
X Getting up late and not wanting to come to school for that day
X Keeping your child off because you are ill
X Taking the last day of term off
Punctuality (Lateness)
Being on time is very important – not just in school – but in all walks of life. We ask parents to set a good example to their children by being punctual. Whilst we are aware that most of our children arrive at school on time, we do have a small problem with lateness. Parents may not be aware of the difficulties experienced by their children even if they are only a few minutes late.
Have you thought…….?
|
Minutes missed |
Time lost in a week |
Time lost over a school year |
|
5 |
25 minutes |
3 days |
|
10 |
50 minutes |
6.5 days |
|
15 |
1 hour and a half |
10 days |
|
20 |
1 hour 40 minutes |
13 days |
|
19 days |
2 hours and a half |
19 days |
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A child will miss his/her teacher’s instructions for the first lesson.
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Coming late causes disruption to the whole class as well as the child who is late.
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Children are often very embarrassed and upset about walking into a classroom in front of all their friends who have already started activities.
Working with parents and families
Please remember that if you are experiencing difficulties with attendance or punctuality, do call in for an informal chat when we will do all we can to help and support you. These are some of the ways we could help if you have difficulties getting your child to school on time or attending regularly:
- Meet to discuss your needs with class teacher or headteacher.
- Contacting the school nurse about medical issues you may be worried about – 0191 2823305
- Working with your child to help them understand how important it is to get ready quickly in the mornings and not “playing up!”
- Putting you in touch with parenting advice groups who offer support.
- Rewarding children with good or improved attendance and punctuality with certificates.
Incentives
As part of our commitment to raising attendance levels in our school, we have a trophy which is awarded to the best attending class each week in Friday’s assembly. Children with 100% attendance for the week will be awarded a special sticker in the awards assembly each week.
BE COOL AND COME TO SCHOOL