Attendance

Consistently good attendance makes a real difference to your child’s education, both academically and socially.

We understand that on occasion, children are too ill to attend school or have critical medical appointments that can’t be made in the school day.   However, please ensure your child is sent to school whenever possible and does not miss any time for minor illness or appointments that could be made outside of school hours.  If you have concerns about your child’s health or attendance, please come and speak with us.

We do not authorise term time holidays unless the circumstances are exceptional.  In the event that a child’s attendance is a cause for ongoing concern, we may send letters to parents and hold meetings to discuss how we can work together to improve attendance levels.

Did you know?

• National average attendance so far this year (2022-2023) is 94% for primary aged children.
• A child can miss up to 6 days of school over the year through illness or critical appointments and still have attendance of almost 97%.
• 90% attendance is equivalent to missing a day of school each fortnight.
• If a child has 80% attendance persistently then by the end of Year 4 they will have missed the equivalent of a whole school year.
• If you take a two-week holiday in term time your child’s attendance reduces to 95%.
• Research has shown that below average attendance at the Primary phase has an impact on GCSE attainment.
• Data shows that pupils with more than 95% attendance achieve GCSE at least one grade higher.

If your child is not well enough to attend school, then you must contact the school office and let us know.  Safeguarding guidance requires us to establish the safety and wellbeing of all pupils.  If we do not have contact from families to confirm the reason for absence, we are obliged to make a home visit and contact other authorities if necessary.