Attendance Expectations

Regular school attendance plays a massive part in giving your child the best possible start in life. Primary education provides the building blocks and foundations for future education. For your children to achieve the best in GCSEs and further education, they need to achieve well in primary and for this, they need to attend school regularly. 

Talking to your child and their teachers could help to solve any difficulties you have in getting your child to go to school -and there are other forms of support available. If you still have problems, please see Mrs Boggs (our Attendance Officer) or Mrs Foster (our Parent Partner) who will be willing to help.

The Law

By Law, all children of compulsory school age (starting from the term after they are 5) must receive a suitable full-time education. As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to make sure this happens.

Once your child is registered at a school, you are legally responsible for making sure they attend punctually and regularly. If your child fails to do so, you risk getting a penalty notice or being prosecuted.

Your child also has a legal right to attend school.

Attendance

Every day is a learning adventure and we do all that we can to support parents and carers in ensuring that each child’s attendance is as good as it can be. We are really proud of the fact that our overall attendance for the last academic year was 95.5% (National Average Attendance 92.4%).

School is required to keep detailed records of children’s attendance including any absence from school. We know that those children who establish good patterns of attendance in the earliest years of schooling, are more likely to continue this pattern as they get older. We also know there is a clear link between good attendance and the outcomes children achieve at the end of their time in school i.e. children whose attendance is higher are more likely to achieve 5 good GCSE results.

Good attendance and punctuality are recognised and celebrated at school using a range of different incentives and awards.

Authorised Absences

Authorised absences are those which the school does consider reasonable and for which leave is granted for a set period. This may include:

• Illness.
• Emergencies or other unavoidable issues.
• Weddings, funerals, graduations etc.

Unauthorised Absences

Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no authorisation has been given. This includes:

• Parents/carers keeping child off school unnecessarily.
• Absences which have not been properly explained.
• Children who arrive at school after the register closes (after 9.10am).
• Shopping, looking after other children or birthdays.
• Day trips and holidays in term time which have not been agreed.

Any request for absence must be made using the ‘Leave of Absence Request Form’. This can be obtained from the school office or downloaded from the school’s website. Each request will be assessed on an individual basis.

Any unauthorised holiday/absence of 10 sessions in 100 sessions (5 days in 10 weeks – term dates only) will incur a Penalty Notice. The Penalty Notice is a fine of £60 per child per parent. A child is only allowed one Penalty Notice fine during their whole school career (11 years). Any subsequent unauthorised holidays/absences will be forwarded to the Attendance Legal Panel who will decide whether to fine again or proceed with court action.

Illness

If your child is off due to illness, you must contact the school before 8.30am giving the reason for the absence. Please note that ‘not feeling well’ is not a valid reason for absence, a more detailed description of the illness e.g. cold, sickness, diahorrea is required. If no reason is received for an absence, a member of the office staff will contact adults from our contact list to obtain the reason for absence.

Parents of any child whose absence is beginning to cause concern and the reason given is ‘Illness’, will be asked to provide medical evidence for this absence. Medical evidence may be in the form of an appointment card, note from the medical practitioner’s reception, copy of a prescription, copy of any medication given or a compliment slip date stamped by the reception. Also, as contacting the doctors is difficult at the moment, a screenshot of the date, time and duration of a call to the doctors or a screenshot of the ‘e-consult’ form and the doctor’s reply.

Lateness

The school gates/doors open at 8.30am ready for the children to enter the classroom where the register will be taken at 8.40am. Any child arriving after 8.40am must enter through the school office and sign in using the Inventry machine. This will log the time they arrived at school. Lates are coded as follows: -

L – Late before register closes at 9.10am

U – Late after register closes at 9.10am (This is an unauthorised absence)

What can I do to improve my child’s attendance?

• Contact the school to report absences; sometimes having the school number stored in your mobile can save you time.
• Only keep children off for genuine illness.
• Never book holidays during term time.
• Be ready. Ensuring that you are aware of your child’s school routine and knowing on which day your child needs a PE kit etc will help you avoid any issues.
• Keep in contact. Our Attendance Officer, Mrs Boggs is always willing to offer support and advice on ensuring that your child maintains an attendance rate that exceeds Padnell Junior School’s target.