Attendance
Good attendance is key to your child being able to flourish and to make good progress in school. One of the most important ways a parent can support the education of their child and the child’s social, emotional and academic development is to ensure they attend every day and on time.
By law, all children of compulsory school age must get a suitable, full-time education. As a parent/carer, you are responsible for making sure this happens. Once your child is registered at Calthwaite CE Primary School, you are responsible for making sure your child has regular and punctual attendance at school.
The Local Authority (LA) is responsible for making sure that parents/carers fulfil their responsibilities, and the school must tell the LA if your child is regularly absent from school. As a parent/carer, you are committing an offence if you fail to make sure that your child attends school regularly. You run the risk of being prosecuted by the LA if your child’s attendance is poor.
Autumn 1
- School - 97.22%
- 100% attendance - 40 children (out of 66)
- EYFS - 98.85%
- KS1 - 98.56%
- KS2 - 96.02%
Autumn 2
- School - 97.44%
- 100% attendance - 27 children (out of 66)
- EYFS - 98.59%
- KS1 - 97.36%
- KS2 - 97.12%
Spring 1
- School - 97.42%
- 100% attendance- 39 children (out of 65)
- EYFS - 98.7%
- KS1 - 97.05%
- KS2 - 97.22%
Spring 2
- School - 96.98%
- 100% attendance - 27 children (out of 65)
- EYFS - 98.69%
- KS1 - 97.61%
- KS2 - 96.08%
Summer 1
-
School - 96.24%
100% attendance - 32 children (out of 65)
EYFS - 96.1%
KS1 - 95.61%
KS2 - 97.01%
Summer 2
- School - 97.07%
100% attendance - 25 children (out of 65)
EYFS - 96.5%
KS1 - 96.61%
KS2 - 98.1%
Reporting School Absence
We appreciate there may be times your child is unwell or unable to attend school. As a parent you have a responsibility to:-
- Contact school on the first morning of absence, providing a reason for their absence
- Keep school informed on a regular basis if your child is absent for a long period
- Provide medical evidence if this has been requested by the school
- If school are not informed and unable to contact you via telephone regarding your child’s absence, a text will be sent asking you to call the school office. If this is not returned and still no reason for the absence is provided the absence will be marked as unauthorised. Home visits will be conducted by the school to ensure the highest safeguarding of our pupils
- Only the head teacher can authorise absence and it is at their discretion as to whether the reason provided is acceptable or not. Below is a guideline for your information.
Acceptable Reasons:
- Illness
- Essential appointment
- Infectious disease
- Bereavement
- Exceptional circumstances (approved by Headteacher)
- Religious Observance
Unacceptable Reasons
- Birthdays
- Holidays (unless prior approval granted)
- Visiting relatives
- Tiredness
- Not wanting to go
Attendance Procedures
The minimum acceptable level of school attendance is 96%. We believe as a school that identifying poor attendance and issues affecting attendance early as well as working in partnership with parents we can significantly improve attendance and prevent a child becoming a persistent absentee and involvement with the Local authority. Below outlines the procedure that we follow to support and improve attendance:
- Notice to Improve Letter – sent home to indicate to parents/cares that attendance is starting to decline. This will be sent to students below 96% attendance.
- Medical Evidence Request Letter – could be sent home to request medical evidence to be provided to support an absence, without this future absence will be marked as unauthorised. This could be in the form of an appointment card or proof of medication given by the doctor
- Parent Meeting - Parents/carers to be invited to attend a school attendance meeting to discuss concerns and set targets to improve attendance.
If your child’s attendance falls to 90% or below, this is considered, by the Government, to be persistent absence. Where attendance falls below 90% and there are unauthorised absences a referral will be made to the Local Authority School Improvement Officer for further intervention and enforcement action may be taken.
Being frequently late for school means lost learning:
- Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to over 3 days lost each year.
- Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year.
- Arriving 30 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 19 days a year.
Lateness to School
School starts at 8:50 am. Your child will receive a late mark if they arrive after this time. For safeguarding reasons, you must come into school to sign at the office so we know your child has arrived safely. If your child arrives after the register closes at 9am they will be given a late mark. Persistent Unauthorised late marks may result in a referral to the Local Authority School Improvement Officer for further intervention and enforcement action may be taken.
Some Strategies to Improve Punctuality
- Bedtime routines – packing school bag ready for the next day, getting to bed earlier, setting a time for a television, IPad, computer, mobile phone and other devices to be turned off.
- Morning routines – setting the alarm earlier, no television until ready for school (and maybe not even then), having breakfast before leaving home, so no need to call in at the shop, meeting a reliable friend to walk to school with.
Holidays / Leave of Absence
Please think carefully before taking your child out of school during term time. The law states that you must ask permission for your children to miss school. Leave in term time will only be agreed where the Head teacher feels there are exceptional circumstances. On occasion we may ask for evidence to support the reason provided, particularly from employers if it is a work-related request.
If you are requesting a holiday during term time, you should contact the school Office, you will then be notified in writing as to whether or not the absence has been authorised.
Parents/Carers who take a child of compulsory school age on holiday without permission may be issued with a Penalty Notice from the Local Authority.
Why is it so important to attend every day?
- Learning is a progressive activity; each day’s lessons build upon those of the previous day(s).
- Reading at home and completing work independently does not compensate for direct interaction with the teacher.
- Many classes use discussions, demonstrations, experiments and participation as part of the daily learning activities, and these cannot be made up by those who are absent.
Are there other benefits to my child?
- Pupils with good attendance records generally develop academically as the whole child and enjoy school more.
- Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life.
- Regular school attendance patterns encourage the development of other responsible patterns of behaviour.
Leave of Absence in Term Time
From 1st September 2013, a change to government legislation means that schools are no longer allowed to authorise requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time. With the introduction of The National Framework for Penalty notices, the following changes will come into force for penalty notice fines issued for unauthorised holidays recorded by schools after 19th August 2024.
Requests for leave can only be granted by schools if there are “exceptional circumstances” and holidays are not considered exceptional. Requests for leave must be made to the head teacher in advance, as the Department for Education has told schools that they cannot authorise any absences after they have been taken.
A penalty notice is a fine to parents or carers if they fail to ensure that their children attend school regularly. Under the new framework, all schools are required to consider a fine when a child misses 10 or more sessions (5 days) for unauthorised reasons.
First Offence: £80 per parent, per child if paid within 21 days. £160 if paid between 22-28 days.
Second Offence: (within 3 years) Penalty fines are £160.00 per child per parent. If the fine is not paid, parents will be reported for prosecution.
Third Offence: (within 3 years) A penalty notice will not be issued and local authorities will need to consider other available measures-this may mean cases are presented before a magistrates court. Prosecution can result in criminal records and fines of up to £2500 and/or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months.
Attendance letter from Westmorland