Our attendance target for this year is 97%

We expect children to have at least 97% attendance, this gives them the best chance of making progress and ‘being the best they can be’.

We are dedicated to working in partnership with parents/carers and the Local Authority to improve school attendance.

Ensuring that your child/ren are in school each day, will give them the best possible chance to achieve their academic potential.

The importance of being in school every day

Being in school every day will enable your child to:

• access the learning needed to achieve their expected grades
• maintain friendships and develop new ones
• have access to social and sporting events offered by the school
• develop work habits such as good punctuality which are essential to thrive in the world of employment

The figures below give an idea of how attendance percentage affects the number of days of school your child will miss:

90% attendance means your child is missing 4 weeks in the year and they may be classed as a persistent absentee. By the time they leave school they will have lost a full year’s education.

80% attendance means missing more than half a term each year! Over the child’s whole school career they will miss over 2 whole school years.

The importance of being on time each day

Poor punctuality can lead to your child:

• missing the being of vital lessons
• missing important instructions for the rest of the school day
• feeling embarrassed in front of their friends when walking in to class / assembly late

Absence Process

If your child is not going to be in school, please call the office to report their absence. Please do this before 9.30am on the day of absence.

If we have not heard from you, we will follow the process below:

1. At 10.00am we will send you a text message.
2. If we have not heard from you by 10.30am, we will start to call all of the contact numbers that you have provided to gain an explanation for the absence.
3. If we have still not been able to find out where your child is, then we (school or Vicky Lynch, our EWO) will make a home visit.
4. If we still haven’t been able to get a response, we will report it to the police as your child will then be classed as a ‘missing child’. We will then ask them to do a ‘safe and well check’ by visiting your home.

This procedure is to ensure that we know where your child is and that you are all safe

If your child’s attendance starts to fall, Miss Rambini will be in touch to see how we can support you and your child. If your child’s attendance falls to 90% or below, Miss Rambini will be required to complete an attendance profile on your child and will arrange to meet with you. We will also ask you attend an attendance panel or ask you to provide medical evidence when your child has been absent.

To support your child’s attendance, please;

• contact us on the 1st day your child is absent from school
• let us know if your child is unsettled so that we can help
• do not take holidays in term time

If you are worried about your child/children’s attendance the first port of call is to discuss your concerns with the school directly. The school has an attendance team who may be able to help, and all schools work closely with health and council teams who may also be able to help if needed.

Should I keep my child off school?

Holidays in Term Time

Family holidays in term time are not allowed in law and will be unauthorised, unless you have exceptional circumstances.

If your child is absent and it is believed that they are on holiday, we have to complete a request for a penalty notice. This gets sent to the local authority, who are likely to issue a fine. A fine is issued to anyone with parental responsibility, regardless of whether they reside at the same address. The fine may also be issued to any person who lives with and looks after the child, irrespective of what their relationship is with the child.

The trigger for a fine is 10 sessions (equivalent to 5 school days) of unauthorised absence within a 10-week rolling period. This could be a mixture of unauthorised holiday as well as other unauthorised absences. Late arrival to school in certain circumstances may also be included.

A fine is £160. The first fine is reduced to £80 if paid within 21 days. A second fine within 3 years will be charged at £160 with no reduced rate. A 3rd fine will not be issued within 3 years and further unauthorised absences may result in prosecution.

If you feel that you have exceptional circumstances and need your child to have time off in term time, you can obtain a request form from school. This needs to be returned to school at least 2 weeks before the leave is needed. It is at the Head Teacher’s/Governor’s discretion as to whether to authorise the leave. Family holidays are not classed as exceptional circumstances.