Why is Attendance so Important?
Education lays the vital foundations of a child’s life. Regular and punctual attendance at school is key to both academic and social development, which in turn will improve the life chances of children and young people.
Good Habits It builds in young children, the idea that getting up and going to school is simply what you do. Children who attend every day, develop a feel for the rhythm of the week and gain a sense of security from regular routines. Underachievement is often linked to lower attendance. For some older pupils, this is linked to a steadily deteriorating trend in attendance which is traceable right back to Reception. Establishing good habits early is the key to future success.
Secure Relationships Young children find it easier to build and sustain a range of social relationships when they regularly attend nursery/school.
Self Esteem Children who rarely miss sessions as nursery/school and arrive on time are more likely to feel good about themselves. Children who regularly miss sessions, or are generally late, can frequently experience a sense of having to try a little bit harder just to understand whatr is going on and what other children are talking about or doing.
The Attendance Monitoring Team meet every 4 weeks to discuss every child’s attendance and reasons for their absence. Based on this analysis, we adopt the following steps:
Letter 0- to go out to all those parents whose children are on the attendance register being placed on it for attendance from the previous year and have attendance below 95%.
Letter 1– Letter detailing attendance, notice of on the register and stating there needs to be an improvement.
Letter 2a– Letter detailing attendance, notice of on register and that there must be an improvement.
Letter 2b– If on the register already and attendance is low, must improve.
Letter 3– No improvement request an attendance meeting.
Attendance Meeting- A meeting will happen to set out a Contract with the Parents, Children and School to set a target for attendance over the coming weeks and to identify any help and support which may aid improving attendance.
Attendance Contract Meeting- If after this meeting there has still been no improvement, we will invite you in to school to put a plan in place. This plan we detail steps to be taken by all parties to aid the improvement of attendance or punctuality.
If the child’s attendance does still not show any improvement, without an acceptable reason, they will be referred to the Education Entitlement Team where relevant.
As part of our whole-school approach to maintaining high attendance, we request that parents/carers:
- Only grant days at home for genuine illness. If you’re in doubt, bring your child to school; we can always call you if we feel your child needs to go home due to illness. And remember, we are able to administer antibiotics with a completed medical form.
- Notify the school by leaving a message on the absence line (01933 225888) every day that their child is unable to attend school.
- Avoid making medical/dental appointments during the school day.
- Do not take your child on holiday in term time and in the case of exceptional circumstances permission must be granted by the Headteacher by completing a form which can be found at the office and providing a letter.
- Promote the value of excellent attendance at home and follow the procedures set by the school.
- Talk regularly to your child about school and how they feel about it. They are more likely to attend school if they feel supported and their anxieties are listened to. If this raises any issues that need to be addressed in school, come and talk to us.
- Be aware that Section 444 of the Education Act states, ‘If a pupil of compulsory school age who is a registered pupil fails to attend school regularly, his/her parent is guilty of an offence.’
We do understand that children get poorly, and particularly our younger children in our school community. This illness may then cause your child to be too unwell to attend school. Please keep in mind that illnesses such as a slight sniffle and a normal cold, do not class as reasons enough to keep your child at home. If ever you are unsure whether your child should attend school, please take a look at this website which details very clearly a range of symptoms: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
At All Saints, we pride ourselves on being a very caring group of professionals, who know your children really well. Please be reassured that if you send your child to school and mention to a member of staff that they are slightly under the weather, we will keep a very close eye on them and if we feel they need to go home, we will of course contact you.
If you decide that your child’s symptoms mean they are unable to attend, please follow our absence procedure:
- Parents should contact the school each morning that their child is absent from school, by leaving a message on the absence line (01933 225888).
- If the school has not heard from you by 9:30am, parents will receive a phone call from a member of the Attendance Team. The whole contact list will be exhausted to gain contact.
- If we have still not received notification or communication from parents regarding their child’s absence, a home visit will be carried out.
A phone call should be made each day the child is absent, unless it is known in advance how long the child will be absent from school (eg chicken pox). On day 3 we will contact you to carry out a welfare call. The welfare call will be made throughout a period of absence and home visits may well be carried out after three days of absence.
At All Saints, we pride ourselves on high expectations throughout all aspects of school life. Part of this encompasses our high expectations regarding attendance at school.
Whilst we understand that we have children at All Saints who are not of compulsory school age,we make it explicitly clear that our high expectations also apply to these children.
It is important for us to note that despite being below compulsory school age, children at All Saints are still encouraged to abide by our school rules surrounding absences, therefore any reason we deem not a necessary reason for absence will be marked as an unauthorised absence.
Attendance at All Saints
Our school day timings are as follows:
- Staggered entry from 8:40am-8:50am
- Registration is at 8:50am
- Lunch 12:00pm – 1:00pm
- School finishes at 3:15pm
Parents are asked to bring or send their children to school for a prompt 8:50am start but no earlier than 8:40am. At 8:40 am the school doors will be open for the children who may then make their way to their classrooms.
The total hours in school per week for Reception/ Key Stage 1/2 are 25.25 hours.
(This includes registration time, playtimes and the daily collective worship but not lunchtime)
‘All Saints is a fantastic, nurturing school that seems to churn out children who are confident, polite and have a ‘can do’ attitude.’
Ofsted 2022