Attendance

Why it is important to attend school regularly?

– To give your child the best possible start in life.

– They will be able to keep up with their work.

– They will achieve better results.

–  They will develop friendships and social skills.

School attendance is central to raising standards in education and ensuring all pupils can fulfil their potential. The government has set a target of 95% attendance for all pupils. This rate allows for periods of illness or particular circumstances when absence from school is unavoidable. We want your child to attend school regularly as this supports their learning. If your child is not well or if you have a planned reason why your child cannot attend school, please inform the school at the earliest opportunity.

Children of compulsory school age must, by law, receive a full-time education.

Each person with day to day parental responsibility could be taken to court and fined for each child who is not attending school regularly or who is persistently late.

The Education Act 1996 states that all pupils should attend school regularly and punctually. ‘If a child of compulsory school age, who is a registered pupil at a school fails to attend regularly at the school, his parent is guilty of an offence.’

Some key attendance facts:

• Attending 90% of the time or less will have a serious effect on learning.
• One day’s absence every two weeks will give 90% attendance.
• Up to the age of 16, 90% attendance will mean losing over a year of school – more than half

Arrival at School

The school gates will open at 8.45 am. Your child should be in school by 9:00 am for the start of the school day.

The school gates will close at 9:00 am and if you arrive after 9.00 am you must enter the school via the school office.

Remember that persistent lateness can be legally counted as unauthorised absence.

Lateness

Persistent lateness can:

-Cause embarrassment to the child.

– Make it harder for the child to settle.

– Cause disruption to the rest of the class.

 

Unplanned absences:

Please inform the school before 9.30 am on the morning of the first day of absence.

Keep the school informed if the absence is to continue.

A written explanation of your child’s absence may be required on return to school. If we do not receive a satisfactory explanation we will not authorise the absence. This will show up on your child’s end of year report.

Authorised and Unauthorised Absence

The school can only authorise any absences in the following circumstances:

•  Genuine illness
•  Dental/medical appointments (these should be made out of school hours where possible)
•  Close Family bereavement
•  Recognised religious observance
•  Examination