Our Attendance Policy
We believe that for a child to achieve his/ her potential attendance is important. Research has shown that a positive attitude to attendance and good attendance contributes to improving and raising standards. We aim to promote maximum possible attendance and to encourage punctuality. In this way we will help to prepare children for work in life beyond school when these are both important to achieve success.
By law children are expected to attend for the full 190 days unless there is good reason for absence. There are two types of absence:
· Authorised (Where the school approves of the absence)
· Unauthorised (Where the school will not approve absence)
Authorised absence
The following reasons are classified as authorised absence.
· The pupil was ill
· The pupil was attending a medical or dental appointment
· The pupil could not attend through an unavoidable cause.
· The pupil was attending a religious observance
· The absence was agreed by the governors or the Headteacher
Unauthorised absence
Only the school can authorise absence and therefore if the child is absent for any reason that differs from the above then the parents should contact the school and outline their reasons for keeping their child away. A decision will then be made taking all the correspondence into consideration.
Family holidays.
Parents are strongly urged to avoid holidays during term time. If this is unavoidable parent are asked to write to the Headteacher giving details and reasons for their vacation. Each case will be considered on an individual basis, and other aspects will be taken into account, for example – overall attendance.
The school may grant leave of absence of up to ten days. Although holidays are good for families, children often miss crucial parts of work and sometimes find it difficult to settle back into school afterwards.
This can have an effect on the child’s progress, even if the child takes work to do on holiday. They may miss a crucial introduction to a new topic or the lessons that prepares for a new section of work.
Holidays will not be authorised in May, as this is a very important time for assessments and in particular statutory end of Key Stage Assessments. Another unsuitable time for holidays is at the beginning of the school year, or just after a holiday. Again absence at this time can result in the child being unsettled. One of our school aims is to create a school that is happy and absence during this time can result in unhappiness.
Lateness
School begins at 8.45 a.m. and all children are expected to be in school ready for registration at this time. Any child arriving after this time should report to the school office where a reason for the lateness will be recorded.
Registers close at 9.00. a.m. After this time the reason for the child’s lateness will be reviewed to ascertain if it is authorised or unauthorised.
Again lateness can be difficult for many children. It means that they might have to enter a classroom with all the children working already. They may miss the introduction to a lesson and be unsure about the work. They can disrupt a lesson for other children too. Please help your child to have a good start to the day by being on time.
If a child is collected early from school the person picking up must notify the office and give a reason. This is very important for health and safety reasons and fire precautions.
What parents should do.
· Ring on the first day your child is absent. We will ring you if we do not hear.
· Send a note on the day your child returns to explain their absence.
· Try to make appointments out of school time.
· Do not let your child have time off school unless it is really necessary.
What can you do if you are worried about your child’s attendance?
· Talk to your child
· Talk to your child’s teacher or the Headteacher.
If your child is continuously absent or late ……..
· The school may refer their worry to the Education Welfare Officer.
· You may contact the education welfare officer, who will work with you and the school to resolve the situation. The number is available from the office.
Education Welfare Officer
The local education authority has the duty to enforce the law about school attendance for children of compulsory school age. To assist them in this role they visit the school once a term to look at registers and discuss patterns and trends of attendance. If they observe concerns these are followed up with a contact and visits.
Reporting school attendance
Recorded unauthorised attendance is written on the child’s end of year Annual Report.
The public are informed of the school’s rates of unauthorised absence in the school prospectus and the Governors’ Annual General Meeting report to parents.
In these reports the absence is expressed as a percentage.
Attendance matters!
Please help us to help your child to be settled, happy and achieve their potential at school.