Why is attendance and punctuality important?
Good attendance and punctuality is vital if children are to do their best and make good progress.
Research shows that children are much more likely to meet age-related expectations if they have high levels of attendance at school, and we aim to promote this from the very start of their school career. This encourages children to form positive attitudes from a young age, which will influence their approach to work and life in later years. If children understand how important good attendance and punctuality is, they will achieve more in school and will develop good habits for the future.
What are our expectations?
It is statutory for children who are age 5 or older to attend school.
This means that all the children in our Key Stage 1 and 2 classes, and the children in our Reception classes who have already had their fifth birthday, must come to school every day. The Government’s minimum standard for a primary school’s attendance is 95%, however our expectation is much higher than this as a school, and our attendance target is generally 96% or over. We also work hard to encourage all the 3 and 4 year old children who attend our Nursery and Reception classes to come to school every day.
Absence from school will be authorised if it is due to illness or medical needs, however we do still encourage children to attend school unless they are very unwell. When children are not attending school because they are ill, parents/carers must inform us on the first day of absence, preferably by calling before school starts. If an absence is not reported by a parent then we are duty bound to investigate, and if no reason is given then it becomes an unauthorised absence.
Holidays in term time are not permitted, and the school complies with the national and Ealing Council policies where fines are issued to families if children are taken out of school for more than three consecutive days for a holiday or other reason.
All children are expected to be in school between 8:45am - 8:55am.
Any child arriving at school after 8:55am is recorded as late and parents are required to give reasons for lateness and to attend meetings with the Attendance Team if there is persistent lateness.
How do we manage attendance and punctuality?
We work closely with the Local Authority’s Attendance Officer assigned to our school.
The Attendance Officer makes visits every other week to monitor attendance and meet with parents. If there are a significant number of absences, parents are required to meet school staff and the Attendance Welfare Officer to discuss how this can be improved. Where attendance falls below 95%, children are tracked by the school for the remainder of the academic year. An official referral to the AO is made if attendance is below 90% at any given time. In cases of serious persistent absences then Court Orders are issued. Where children are late, if parents/carers are having difficulty bringing the child/ren to school on time, we will do whatever we can to support them in improving this.
Most of our classroom support staff have first aid qualifications and will look after your child if they are taken ill in school.
We do not administer medication to children, except to those who are asthmatic or diabetic. Parents who want children to finish a course of medication are welcome to come into school to give it to their own child.
If your child becomes ill or has an accident during the day and we feel that they need to go home you will be contacted by phone. On the rare occasions when an ambulance is needed and you are unable to reach school before the ambulance, a member of staff will always stay with your child until you reach the hospital.
You will be informed of less serious injuries when you collect your child at home time.
If your child has on-going health issues such as allergies or if we need to keep medication such as epipens on site for emergency situations, we will ask you to come and help us to write a health care plan for your child.
WE HAVE CHILDREN WITH SERIOUS NUT ALLERGIES SO PLEASE DO NOT SEND IN PARTY FOOD OR PACKED LUNCH FOOD WHICH CONTAINS NUTS
Please make sure that we always have your correct address and telephone number in case we need to contact you in an emergency.
If your child has an infectious disease please let us know as soon as possible. If your child is sick or has diarrhoea, they must not come to school for at least 48 hours after the last attack.
If your child is not able to attend school, please telephone the school on the first day of absence, otherwise we will have to telephone you.