Attendance
Ensuring that your child arrives in school every day, on time and ready to learn is the most important commitment that we ask of parents and carers. We understand that children get unwell and may need to miss the occasional day off school. However, where children are consistently absent from school for a day or even a morning every week there is a proven negative effect on their achievement, their friendships and their overall wellbeing.
The Importance of Monitoring Attendance and Punctuality
Once a child is registered at a school, it is the parents’ legal responsibility to ensure their child attends school regularly and punctually. We want the children to have the best opportunities available to them in life and having poor attendance levels has a severe effect on pupils’ progress and achievement.
Children who do not attend school regularly also find it difficult to maintain friendships. The school as a responsibility to monitor pupils’ attendance and concerns will be passed to the Education Welfare Service. Our expected minimum level of attendance for pupil’s is 96%. We trust that all parents will support us in our efforts to improve attendance at St Mary's Primary School.
What you need to do if your child is going to be off school
Parents/Carers must telephone or email the school by 8.45am on the first day of their child’s absence to inform the reason for non-attendance. If we do not receive a message by 9:30am, we will telephone you. If we are unable to speak to you, we will send a text message asking you to contact us. If we don’t have a response, we may make a home visit.
Where a child's attendance falls consistently below 95% we will request that their parent/carer comes in for a meeting to talk about the importance of good attendance. We will also seek to understand any ways in which the school is able to support families to ensure that children are in school every day and on time. Where the issue cannot be resolved at schools level and attendance does not improve, it may be necessary to involve the Local Authority, who have the power to take legal action as appropriate.
Lateness
Punctuality is extremely important as we want your child to have the best start to the day they can. Children that arrive late often feel anxious walking into the classroom. This also disrupts the learning of the whole class. Time in school is very limited and we need to ensure we use every learning opportunity available to us. It is your responsibility as a parent/carer to ensure your child is in school on time every morning.
Our gate opens at 8:40am and registration is at 8:50am. Please note that if your child arrives after 9:00am they will be marked as late and you will need to sign them in at the school office.
Regular or persistent lateness will be discussed with parents as late arrivals can lead to a child missing a significant amount of learning time; a child who regularly arrives 15 minutes late for school will lose over an hour of learning time each week, equating to a week of lost learning time over the course of the school year. Late arrivals also disrupt the learning time for other pupils.
Persistent Absence
Any pupil with less than 90% attendance will be deemed as a ‘Persistent Absentee’ by the Education Authority. Under the Education Act 1996, Section 444 (1A), the court can fine each parent, order payment of prosecution costs, impose a Parenting Order and/or sentence you to a period of imprisonment of up to 3 months. Being taken to court, could result in you having a criminal record. Please work with us to make sure you do not end up in this position.
Why school attendance matters
Missing a few days of school here and there may not seem huge, but research shows that it has a significant impact on children’s learning. Children who miss a substantial amount of school can fall behind their peers, and struggle to catch up.
- Every child has a right to education and to have the best possible life chances. By attending school daily and on time they learn the importance of commitment and being punctual, a life skill that will serve them well as they grow into the next generation of working citizens.
- It is hard to catch up enough on the work that is missed due to absence, therefore it will be hard for children to achieve their best results if there are gaps in their learning.
- Not being at school regularly also has a negative effect on the social aspects of school. It is hard for children to build and maintain good friendships if they are not in school regularly.
Illness
We encourage parents and carers to send their children to school whenever possible, however if they have sickness or diarrhoea, please keep them at home for 48 hours of being symptom free. If a child is off for a week, we would expect them to have seen a doctor and may ask for evidence of an appointment or medicine prescription. Medications can be administered in school to enable children to attend, please come to the school office to arrange this.
If your child is unwell, you must call the school office by 8:45 am to notify us of their absence. You must call to report each day of their absence.
If we do not have regular contact from parents of an absent child, this will become a safeguarding issue. We will call all contacts on our lists and we may carry out a home visit for a welfare check.
Appointments
You are encouraged to make children’s medical appointments outside of school hours, if possible. If this is not possible, we ask that parents provide the school with evidence of appointments (at least 48 hours notice where possible) in order that we can discuss with you.
Holidays
According to the law, parents do not have an automatic right to take their child out of school during term time as it is considered that any absence from school will disrupt your child’s learning. Any leave that is taken without the Headteacher’s permission may result in the Local Education Authority issuing a penalty notice or could lead to prosecution.
What should I do if I am worried about my child’s attendance?
In the first instance you should contact your child’s school and ask for advice on how you can work together to improve the situation. You can also access information on Herefordshire Council website School attendance and absences – Herefordshire Council.
If I have already booked a holiday for next year, could I receive a penalty fine at the new higher rate?
Yes, if the absence has not been authorised by the Headteacher of your child’s school. Schools can only grant a leave of absence during term time in exceptional circumstances. Please see your school attendance policy for full details.
Who can be issued with a penalty notice?
Each parent can receive a fine for each child who has had unauthorised absence from school. In education law, anyone who lives with a child and who has day-to-day care of the child is also considered to be a parent whether they are the biological parent or not. For example, this will include step-parents and partners.
Do the new rules only apply to holidays during term time?
No, it applies to all unauthorised absence from school including holidays. Unauthorised absence includes other absence that has not been agreed such as truancy, arriving late after the register has closed and failing to provide reasons for absence.
What happens if I am issued with a penalty fine and I don’t pay it?
Unauthorised absence from school is an offence under s444 of the Education Act 1996. A penalty fine is an opportunity for you to settle out of court. If you don’t take this opportunity, you can be prosecuted for the offence of failing to ensure your child’s regular attendance
We are working alongside Herefordshire Attendance Hub led by Herefordshire Attendance & Engagement.
Term dates
Before you plan your holidays please use the link below to check the term dates below. I you book a holiday in term time you may be liable to a penalty notice.