Attendance
Attendance
Promoting Attendance
Every school has a duty to promote attendance and we work hard to ensure that our pupils come to school every day, because every day matters. Attendance is rigorously tracked and we can see that pupils who have poor attendance make slower progress and experience greater difficulties in forming strong, supportive friendships. Parents/carers have a vital role to play in developing a positive attitude towards school attendance and we will do all we can to encourage the children to attend. We strive to make children's time at school a happy and rewarding experience and will also make the best provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to school. If, at any time, you have a problem with your child not wanting to come to school then please speak to their class teacher or to Mrs Howell If a child misses their school day we can never replace it for them, so we need them with us for the full 190 days per year.
Tracking Attendance
Registration takes place twice a day, at the start of morning school and at the start of the afternoon. Therefore, each day counts as 2 sessions. Any absence is recorded as authorised (when the school is aware of the cause of the absence) or unauthorised (when the school does not know the cause of the absence.) Authorised absence includes illness, medical and dental appointments and religious observances. Each term the Attendance Officer meets with the Headteacher to review attendance. Any pupil with attendance below 95% is closely monitored and Mrs Walsh, our Family Support Worker, may contact parents/carers if they feel that attendance is worsening. Where a child's attendance has fallen below 90% it is classified as 'persistent absenteeism' by the government and we we will ask parents/carers to meet with us to formulate a plan to improve attendance. Where attendance continues to fall in certain cases they may be referred to the legal process.
Sickness Absence
If your child is ill and not able to attend school then please telephone the school office before 9:10am. If you do not contact us, it will be necessary for us to carry out a first response call to ascertain if your child is safe. If we are unable to contact you, then the regulations state that the absence must be recorded as unauthorised. All unauthorised absences are reviewed by the Local Authority Attendance Officer and may result in further action being taken. If your child has been sick or had an upset stomach then they must not return to school for 48 hours since their last bout of illness, this is to prevent the spread of infections.
Leave of Absence During Term Time
In exceptional circumstances parents/carers may apply for permission for special leave of absence for their child/children. Please note that parents/carers are not entitled to take their child out of school for a term-time holiday and such requests cannot be authorised. All requests must be made on a Leave of Absence form which is available from the school office
All requests for absence are considered anonymously and on an individual basis. Decisions for leave of absence are based on the information submitted on the form but when reviewing requests for leave of absence we will take into account the likely impact of any missed time on educational progress and social stability. Requests for absence which coincide with statutory assessments i.e. Year 6 SATs, the Year 4 Multiplication Check or Year 1 Phonics will not be granted. If permission for term time absence is refused, and the child is subsequently absent from school, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised and reported to the Local Authority Attendance Officer in line with local and national guidelines. Any unauthorised leave of absence could result in a Penalty Notice fine being issued.