.Attendance information - Frequently Asked Questions

Regular attendance helps students to feel part of the school community and enables them to develop good relationships with their peers and other members of the school community. This can have a positive impact on their wellbeing and help them to feel more settled in school.

How does occasional absence affect my child?

Missing occasional days from school may seem unimportant at the time; however, this can have a significant impact on your child in the long term:

A pupil with 85% attendance is missing over half a term of learning time each school year. Late arrivals also add up over time – being 10 minutes late each day adds up to two weeks of lost learning time over the whole school year.

What about medical appointments?

We understand that pupils need to attend medical and dental appointments and that it is not always possible to arrange this outside of school time. However, we would request that any non-emergency appointments are made for outside of the school day as this keeps the disruption to a minimum and ensures that they do not miss important lessons.

Why is it important that my child is on time each day?

When children are late to school, they may initially feel unsettled and they might miss important information and activities. Schools are required to record late arrivals.

What are the different types of absence?

There are two broad categories of absence:

Justified absence:
Typical examples of justified absence include:

·  illness that means a child is too unwell to come to school;

·  following doctor advice regarding remaining off school following a period of illness (in the case of certain infectious illnesses);

·  an emergency medical or dental appointment;

·  the recent death of a close family member;

·  religious observance, as long as certain conditions are met.

Unjustified absence:
This is where a pupil’s absence is for a reason deemed to be unacceptable by the school/Ministry of Education or where the reason for a student’s absence has not been provided and cannot be established.

Some examples of unjustified absence include:

·  looking after a younger sibling;· 

.  time off for birthday celebrations;

·  a family holiday (unless there are exceptional circumstances);

·  oversleeping;

·  shopping trips or days out;

.  non-medical appointment or reason not stated

.  attending an older siblings camp/trip or relatives visiting

Truancy is also classed as an unjustified absence. 

Under new government policy we will be communicating with you if there are more than 5 unjustified absences in a term and working with you to see if any support or interventions needs to be put in place.

It is important you describe the absence when you notify us so we can class it

correctly.

What is school refusal?

If your child is refusing to go to school, this is known as ‘school refusal’. There are a number of different reasons for school refusal, including general anxiety, worries about leaving home, problems with friends or peers, academic problems and depression. Sometimes, the cause can be a combination of different factors.

If your child is refusing to attend school, you should let us know immediately so that we can work together to put a plan in place to deal with any underlying issues and get your child back into school. The longer school refusal goes on, the more difficult it is to address.

How do I request an absence in advance?

If you want to request authorisation for a planned absence, please email the office directly with details of the absence request.

Please submit any requests as early as possible as we may need to ask for additional information before we can consider your request. Please do not make any plans until you have been told the outcome of your request.

How do I report an unplanned absence to the school?

Unexpected absences should be reported to school by using the Hero app and selecting ‘reporting an absence’ or phoning the school office.

Who should I contact if I have any questions or concerns about my child’s attendance?

Firstly contact the teacher about any concerns. The teacher will then refer to leadership if needed.