Attendance
At Gosbecks Primary School, we strongly believe that every child has the right to an education because our assessment information shows us that good attendance links to good pupil attainment and progress. We celebrate the classes that achieve the highest attendance percentage and award a certificate to those children with exceptional attendance at the end of the school year.
We take attendance very seriously, so monitor it daily to help us identify early any support needed to help maintain a child’s high attendance percentage. Should a child’s attendance begin to cause concern we use our attendance monitoring policy to support them to return to regular schooling.
Attendance Monitoring Policy
- If your child is off school, it is your responsibility to contact the school. If we have not heard from you, we will contact you to discuss the reason and when the child will be expected back to school.
- When your child’s attendance becomes a concern, we will write to you.
- If attendance does not improve then a second letter will be sent and you will be invited to an attendance meeting at school to see how we can support you and your child. Sometimes a Local Authority attendance specialist may attend these meetings.
- After these steps have been taken and attendance still does not improve, then the matter will be referred to the Local Authority for relevant sanctions.
Penalty Notice System
We also employ a system of fines, issued in accordance with Local Authority guidance. These may be issued to the parent/guardian as a result of breaking the following school policies:
- If a child’s attendance falls below 90% in any half term period.
- If term time leave is taken
- If a child is absent during SATs examination period
- If a child continually arrives late after the registers have closed.
Each fine is £60 for each parent if paid within 21 days.
Punctuality
Parents/carers have the responsibility to ensure that their child attends school every day and arrives on time for school each morning.
All pupils must be at school by 8:45 am. Registers are taken by 8.50 am.
Pupils who arrive after registers close will be marked as unauthorised late (which affects their attendance percentage). Responsible timekeeping is one of the skills that children learn at school. If a pupil arrives late, they miss an important part of the school day; this can affect their self-esteem and learning.
Term time leave
We do not authorise any leave during term time except for exceptional circumstances.
Any plan to remove a child from school during term time must be first discussed with the school. Your child is only allowed to miss school:
- if they’re too ill to attend
- for medical appointments
- for special circumstances e.g. compassionate leave
- for religious observance
- because of extreme weather conditions
Failure to inform the school of a child’s whereabouts could result in the child being reported as missing from education to the local authority.
Reluctant to attend school
If a child is reluctant to attend school, then we will work with that family to understand the root problem and provide any necessary support. We will often work with outside agencies who can help with this such as the School Nurse, Local Authority Compliance Team or a Child and Family support Worker.
Any absence affects the pattern of a child’s schooling and regular absence will seriously affect their learning. Any pupil’s absence or late arrival disrupts teaching routines and so may affect the learning of others in the same class.
If you need any help with attendance, or any further questions, please do contact us as we may be able to support you and your child.