Attendance Aim: 97%
The 2022/23 concluded with a whole school attendance of 96.05%
 

There were also impressive individual attendances too: 68 children achieved 100% attendance for the Autumn Term; 40 children for Autumn & Spring combined and 27 children for the whole year! Very well done everyone! Our school ‘Dashboard’ for absences says: "Overall absence in autumn and spring was low for all pupils (in the lowest 10%)".

The national expectation for schools (and individual children) is 96%.

The importance of having the best possible attendance:

We want all our children to have the best possible attendance at school to enable each and every child to reach their full potential. There is a strong link between good school attendance and achieving good results for children. Children who frequently miss school may fall behind in their work which may affect their future prospects.

If your child is between 5 & 16 years old and registered at a school, it is a parent/carers responsibility to make sure that their child has a suitable education either by regular school attendance or otherwise. Parental support is critical in ensuring that children achieve in education, and support and guidance is always available for our school.

We want all parent/carers to help their children by making sure they attend school every day and arrive on time. Doing this will ensure that your child feels confident, up to date with learning, and up to date with their circle of friends.

Our target this year:

Our target for this academic year is for our school average (and for children's individual attendance) is to be 97%.

The persistent absence threshold set by Government is 10%. This means that if a child’s attendance falls below 90% at any point throughout the academic year, he/she will be classified as persistently absent. This means that any pupil who is absent from school for 56 sessions (28 days) is classified as persistently absent.

To ensure we comply with this legislation, attendance is monitored closely. Any child whose attendance falls below our tracking threshold of 95% is flagged and discussed at our termly meetings to help prevent his/her attendance falling below 90%, classifying him/her as persistently absent. On occasion, parents may be requested to attend a meeting with the Headteacher to discuss their child’s attendance.

From August 2024 the government is introducing new rules that will increase the amount of money parents who are fined for taking their children out of school will need to pay - with County Councils expected to apply the measures comparably and consistently (under the current rules it is the responsibility of the local authority to decide when to issue fines to parents - which means the process can vary from council to council across the country). Please be prepared for a far stricter approach/enforcement by our Local Authority come September onwards.

Under the Education Act parents have a legal duty in England to make sure their child is getting an education when they reach compulsory school age. This is defined by law as the school term after they turn five to the last Friday in June in the school year in which they turn 16 by the end of the summer holidays.

From August 2024 all Local Authority schools will be obliged to consider a fine when a pupil misses 10 or more school sessions for unauthorised reasons. A session counts as either a morning or an afternoon in school. Therefore 10 missed sessions are the equivalent to five whole days of school.

Unauthorised reasons can include:

• Holidays;
• Days off;
• Feeling tired;
• Bad weather;
• Parent unwell to bring child to school;
• Child refusal;
• Birthday celebrations…
•  

As the Headteacher, I can only grant a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances.

The current penalty is £60 per parent, which rises to £120 if not paid within 21 days. From August 2024 when the new policy is introduced, the fine for school absences across the country will rise to £80 - per parent - if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days.

Under the new rules, education chiefs are also pledging to tackle repeat offenders and those who may choose to regularly allow their children to miss school in favour of paying the fine. If a parent is given a second fine for the same child within a three-year period, this fine will be charged at the higher rate of £160 with no option for a discount if paid early. Fines per parent will be capped to two fines within any three-year period. Once this limit has been reached, other action like a parenting order or prosecution may be considered. If you’re prosecuted and have to attend court because your child hasn’t been going to school, you could get a fine of up to £2,500.

The Department for Education expects children to attend school every day that it is open - unless they are ill; and if your child is missing - without permission in advance from the headteacher - then families may risk a fine if the number of absent days breaches the threshold.

The Department for Education says there has been a ‘worldwide rise’ in absence and persistent absence from school since the pandemic, which broke the habits of coming to lessons each week combined with other barriers such as mental ill health.

We love being part of your child’s life and want them in school with us every day. It’s an honour & a privilege to watch them grow… and it happens in a blink of an eye. We meticulously plan our curriculum so that it builds on prior learning & threads together various subjects to help children deepen their knowledge and appreciate how learning interweaves. Consistent attendance ensures the best chance at achieving the outstanding progress your child deserves.