Attendance

We would like to see pupils as close to 100% as possible but understand that at times, we all get sick. We strive to-

• Maintain an attendance rate that is as high as possible.
• Maintain parents’ and pupils' awareness of the importance of regular attendance.
• Plan parent/carer meeting to talk about strategies to improve attendance where appropriate. 
• Display key information about attendance around the school and celebrate high attendance.                                

School attendance data

Our attendance for 2023-24 was 95.3%. The national average is currently 93.7%. 

The start of the school day

The school gate open at 8:30am and closes at 8:40am.  Children line up on the MUGA at 8:45m to start the school day.

Arriving late in school 

Although we understand that there are occasionally exceptional circumstances, it is important to be on time as the first few minutes of the school day are often used to give out instructions or organise schoolwork for the rest of the day.  If your child misses this short but vital session, their work for the whole day may be affected.  Late arrivals are disruptive to the whole class and can be embarrassing for your child. Arrival after the close of registration may be marked as an unauthorised absence in line with the DfE’s guidance. 

If you do drop your child to school after the gate has closed, please bring them to the school office and a member of staff will escort them to class.

Why does attendance matter?

Attending school on a regular basis is the key to your child doing well at school and will set them up with good routines for later life and the working world, as well as giving your child the opportunity to:

• Make lots of friends and feel included;
• Learn new things and develop new skills;
• Increase confidence and self-esteem;
• Improve social skills;
• Achieve potential and fulfil aspirations.

As the parent/carer you can help us by:

• Ringing on the first morning of all absences (by 9.30am)  or sending an email with the reason and saying when the child will be returning to school.
• Arranging non-urgent dental and doctor’s appointments outside of school hours or during school breaks.
• Keeping us updated by telephone, email or letter if your child has an extended period of absence due to illness.

We shall:

• Follow up on unexplained absences by a phone call on the first day of unexplained absence.
• Acknowledge and reward exemplary attendance. 100% attendance certificates are handed out each term and the class with the highest attendance is recognised each week.
• Report your child’s attendance rate on his/her and annual school report.
• Let you know if we have concerns regarding your child’s attendance.

90% Attendance

If a child attends school for 90% of the time they are absent from school for the equivalent of one-half day a week. Over a school year, they would miss four weeks (20 days) of lessons. If this attendance continued throughout eleven years of schooling, the equivalent of 209 days of school would have been missed, more than one year of school.

Our target for each child is a minimum of 96% unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Absences

By law, schools must record absences and the reasons given.  

Authorised Absence

Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if a child is ill, family bereavement, religious observance. We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent. 

Unauthorised Absence

There are times when children are absent for reasons, which are not permitted by law.  These are known as 'unauthorised absences'. Examples of unauthorised absence are: 

• Holidays
• Going for a family day out 
• Celebrating a child’s birthday or attending weddings/family birthdays
• Sleeping in after a late night
• Where there is no explanation for the absence or where the explanation or reason is considered unsatisfactory

Term Time Leave of Absence

• We are always concerned about the amount of school time pupils miss as a result of family holidays. There is no entitlement to time off in term time.  Leave of absence will only be granted where the Head teacher considers it due to exceptional circumstances, taking into account the nature of the event for which leave is sought, the frequency of the request, whether the parent gave advance notice, the pupil’s attainment, attendance and ability to catch up on missed schooling.
• Parents wishing to apply for leave of absence need to fill in an application form in advance. Please ask the school office for a form or it can be downloaded from this website. The Headteacher will consider your request and advise you on her decision, and possibly ask to meet with you to discuss it.

Please remember that the more time your child misses from school, the more difficult it is for them to catch up with their work.  Valuable learning time is lost. A good understanding of the work can only take place when the pupil is in the classroom. Other children in the class are also affected by absences as time is spent on a child’s return teaching the areas missed.

Governors

It is the Governor's legal responsibility to monitor and evaluate the attendance in the school.  The School’s attendance figures are presented to the Governing Body on a termly basis. The school has a legal duty to publish its absence figures and promote attendance. Equally, parents have a duty to make sure that their children attend.