School Attendance
Your child is expected to attend school on 190 days of the year.
Attendance Percentages
99% – 100% = Excellent
97% – 98% = Very Good
95% – 97% = Good
94% – 95% = Average
92% – 94% = Poor and requires improvement
92% or below = Unacceptable
A child below 90% is considered a ‘Persistent Absentee’ and will be closely monitored by the Local Authority well as school.
Punctuality
0 Lates Marks = Excellent
1 Late Mark = Very Good
2 Late Marks = Good
Up to and including 10 Late Marks = Developing
More than 10 Late Marks = Poor
Poor attendance or punctuality will be followed up by a visit from our Education Welfare Officer, who will offer support in order improve your child’s attendance.
We believe that children need to be in school for all sessions, so that they can make the best progress possible. It is essential that a child’s time at school is maximised and even short absences can have a detrimental effect on children’s learning. Any pupil’s absence or late arrival disrupts teaching routines, so, in addition to affecting your own child, it may also affect the learning of others in the same class. Early poor attendance habits follow right through from primary to secondary school and into employment.
We expect all children to be at school, and on time, every day that the school is open, as long as they are fit and healthy enough to do so. We do all we can to encourage children to attend.
At All Saints C of E Primary School, we believe that the most important factor in promoting good attendance is the development of positive attitudes towards school. To this end, we strive to make our school a happy and rewarding experience for all children. We will reward those children whose attendance is very good. Children receive encouragement from their teachers for being punctual and achieving good attendance. The staff respond to absence and lateness in accordance with the age and social circumstances of the child. Lateness and attendance is dealt with through parents rather than the child. We will also make the best provision we can for those children who, for whatever reason, are prevented from coming to school.
In the morning the school gates and classroom doors open at 8.45am to enable children to get into their classrooms ready for morning tasks. The pupil entrances/gates are locked at 8.55am prompt. If children arrive at school after 8.55am they need to come in through the main entrance and ensure that they are signed into the Late Book at the school office as they will have missed classroom registration. Please ensure your child arrives at school in good time as being late can make children feel different, unsettled and embarrassed. If your child receives 2 or more late marks in a week we may write to you, or our Education Welfare Officer may contact you to offer advice in ensuring you child arrives at school fully prepared and on time.
If your child is absent from school for any reason the school office should receive a telephone call before 9.30am informing school of the reason for absence. This should be followed by a covering letter on return to school. When a reason for absence is not provided the absence will be unauthorised and our Education Welfare Officer may visit your home to check on your child’s well-being.
No family holidays or extended leave are permitted during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Holidays taken during term time will be unauthorised. 10 unauthorised sessions (5 school days) will lead to a Fixed Penalty Notice. From 1 September 2013 each parent/carer must pay £60 per child within 21 days, or £120 within 28 days. For example a family of two parents with two children can expect to pay £240 in the first instance rising to £480 if not paid.
Helpful Guidance
- Encourage your child’s attendance
- Only keep your child at home for genuine illness (you will know!)
- Do not take holidays in school time
- Contact the school office straight away to give the reason for your child’s absence
- You cannot stay off school for
- birthdays
- shopping trips
- helping the family
- meeting people at airports
- oversleeping
- because your child does not want to come to school
- forgetting it was a school day
- because of the weather (e.g. raining, snowing, very cold)
- because the child’s parent is ill or their sister/brother is ill
For further information on school attendance visit: