Attendance
Did you know that across the year there are just 190 school days?
That means that there are already 175 days set aside for weekends, holidays, family visits and rewarding days out. We believe every school day counts to give your child the greatest opportunity of attaining a good education and to support a happy and healthy future.
With 175 days already marked out as ‘non-school days’, you should have an exceptional reason to withdraw your child from school. The following are considered non-exceptional and are likely to be rejected and unauthorised, which could lead to a penalty notice being issued.
- Trips to visit family/friends • Cheaper family holidays
- Your child's birthday • Tickets to sports/cultural events
- moving house • Non-Urgent medical treatment
Withdrawal From Learning Request Form
100% attendance is recognised as an expected level of school attendance. If your child is out of school for 3 days each term, then their attendance is below 95% and they are spending more days out of school than in it!
Should your child then need time off for illness, this figure will quickly become even lower. Because 5 days of school equates to 25 hours of learning, catching up with extra work out of school is unrealistic.
From a young person’s perspective, missing school means:
Good attendance means that children usually make good, consistent progress in their school work.
We rely on our partnership with parents to ensure that this is achieved.
Parents must contact the school if their child is absent by phoning the school office on the first day of absence.
The school must be informed of any planned absence in advance. Any request for essential absence should be made to the school in writing. If a child needs to be taken out of school during the day for an appointment, parents must complete a form available from the school office.
Our children are praised for good attendance. The class with the highest attendance for the week is recognised in every Friday's Assembly (and celebrated on the website and via our App!).
Children achieving 100% for each term are awarded a Silver certificate; children achieving 100% for the whole the school year are awarded a special Gold certificate. Attendance is also noted on reports and is part of the information we pass on to subsequent schools.
Absence
If a child is ill or absent for any reason parents MUST contact the school by telephone (24hr answer phone) as soon as possible on the first day of the absence.
If the school does do not have prior notification of absence we will contact parents by phone and/or text to confirm the child’s whereabouts. If we are unable to contact parents we will escalate the matter with the Education Welfare Officer at Redbridge.
We follow the NHS guidance on Diarrhoea and Vomiting to try and limit the potential spread of tummy bugs. If your child has vomiting that is not related to coughing and/or diarrhoea, we ask that you keep them at home for 48 hours after the last occurrence.
NHS Guidance on Diarrhoea and Vomiting
The law requires that all schools must now show the difference between authorised and unauthorised absence.
Authorised Absence can be:
- Sickness
- Medical or dental appointments which cannot be arranged outside school hours
- Days of religious observance
- Holidays with parents – In exceptional circumstances only
Unauthorised Absence is:
- Truancy
- Staying at home to look after younger children or sick relatives
- Going shopping or having hair cut
- Any absence which the school has not been informed about, either by letter or telephone
- Any family holiday which the Head teacher has not authorised.
Please note that absence of 3 days or more on grounds of sickness will require medical evidence, or the absence will not be authorised.
Similarly, absence on grounds of sickness before or after a school holiday will require medical evidence in order to be authorised.
Lateness
Being late into school can be distressing for the child and disrupts the normal morning registration process for the whole class.
Our school day starts at 9.10am. Children line up in the playground at 9.05am and are taken to class to by their teachers. Registers are taken by the teacher at 9.10am. Pupils who are not present for registration will be marked as Late (before registration closes). If they arrive after 9.35am this will be changed to Late (after registration closes) which is an Unauthorised Absence.
Children arriving at school after 9.10am must be brought into school by the main entrance door and signed in at the school office.
We contact parents to raise a concern when 6 incidents of lateness of either type occurs. A letter will be sent to parents and a follow up meeting held if necessary to discuss ways to improve timekeeping.
Monitoring Attendance
Registers are taken by teachers at the beginning of morning and afternoon school.
Office staff then record absences that have been notified by phone or email.
We aim to encourage 100% attendance in school and have a target of at least 96%. We contact parents to raise a concern when cumulative attendance for the school year falls below 90%. A letter will be sent to parents and a follow up meeting held is necessary to discuss ways to improve attendance.
If necessary the Head Teacher will refer an individual issue with the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer.
