Attendance

Individualised Strategies and Early Help Support:

Tailoring strategies to individual needs and providing early help support for persistent attendance challenges.

Higher Needs Strategies Support:

Furnishing specialised support for children, young people, and families with complex attendance requirements, including access to external agency support when necessary.

The Importance of School Attendance

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School attendance is not merely a requirement but a fundamental pillar of education. It plays a pivotal role in shaping academic success, personal growth, and future prospects, making it an indispensable aspect of any educational system:

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• Academic Achievement: Regular attendance directly correlates with academic success. Children who attend school consistently are more likely to keep up with the curriculum, perform better in exams, and improve their life outcomes.

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• Knowledge Acquisition: School is where children acquire knowledge and skills that are crucial for their personal and professional growth. Missing days means missing out on valuable learning opportunities.

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• Social Development: School provides a vital social environment for children and adolescents to interact with peers, develop friendships, and learn essential social skills. Consistent attendance ensures children remain connected to their peer group.

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• Building Routine: School attendance establishes a structured routine in children’s lives, teaching them time management and responsibility, which are valuable life skills.

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• Teacher Interaction: Regular attendance allows for meaningful teacher-child interactions. Teachers can provide personalised support, address questions, and assess individual progress more effectively when children attend regularly.

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• Preventing Knowledge Gaps: Frequent absences can lead to significant knowledge gaps, making it challenging for children to catch up with missed lessons, potentially resulting in long-term academic struggles.

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• School Engagement: Children who attend school regularly are more likely to engage in extracurricular activities, sports, and other enriching experiences that contribute to their overall development.

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• Legal and Parental Responsibility: Parents or guardians are legally responsible for ensuring their child's regular school attendance. Failing to do so can lead to legal consequences.

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• Community Well-being: High levels of school attendance contribute to the overall well-being of communities.

Recognition-Based Approach

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​Our attendance philosophy is rooted in a recognition-based approach that recognises both personal and collective achievements. This approach serves to thwart isolation, prevent victimisation, cultivate positive environments, nurture relationships, foster inclusivity, and ultimately cultivate intrinsic motivation among our children, families, and staff. We really appreciate the commitment that children and parents make to maintain good attendance and we like to celebrate this achievement in various ways:

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• Weekly Best Attending Class - Class receive a trophy on a Friday during the celebration assembly; class keeps and displays it proudly in the classroom for the next week.

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• Half Termly Raffle – Every week all pupils with 100% attendance are entered into a raffle where they have the chance to win a prize of their choice.

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• Attendance certificates - Children with 100% attendance are presented with a special certificate by our pastoral manager, Mr Grady.

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Too ill to attend school?​

Children can attend school with minor ailments (toothache, headache, stomach ache, cold, sore throat etc.) as over the counter medicines can be given before school. We will always contact home if they become too ill to remain in school and please feel free to contact us to see how they are getting on during the day. Children should be off school for 48 hours if they have diarrhoea and/or vomiting. Again, please contact us if you are unsure how long your child should be absent with an illness.​

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Medical appointments​

Where possible, all appointments should be booked outside of school hours. If this is not possible, the amount of time absent from school should be kept to a minimum and we may request that you provide medical evidence

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Getting to school late​

We employ a very flexible arrangement at the start of our school day. Classrooms are open from 8.50am and all children need to be in class no later than 9:00 am. At 9.00 am the school gate will be locked. If there is an unavoidable reason for your child getting to school late please telephone us to let us know. When you arrive, the school gates will be closed and you will need to take your child to the Main Office. Your child will then be signed into school.

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​Holidays​It is better for your child to take holidays during school holidays so they do not miss out on learning. However, if there are exceptional circumstances and you must take a holiday in school time, please obtain a holiday request form from the school administrator. Under normal circumstances we are now unable to authorise any holiday during term time, except in very exceptional circumstances.

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Please use the buttons below if you wish to read our Attendance Policy on the policies page or if you need to contact us.

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