Attendance, Absence and Punctuality
Why Attendance is Important?
- There is a link between good school attendance and high level attainment.
- Pupil learning is uninterrupted.
- Promotes pupil welfare and safeguarding.
- Enables pupils to access the widest possible range of opportunities.
- Relationships with friends and teachers are maintained and can grow.
- Lowers stress levels as pupils feel they can ‘keep up’ academically.
- Attendance and punctuality habits often carry into later life.
Regular school attendance is an important part of giving your child the best possible start in life and is important to your child’s future.
Of the 365 days in a year, 190 days are in school and 175 days are non-school days to spend with family, friends, on holiday, shopping or appointments.
Our aim is to achieve 96% attendance for our pupils which represents good attendance and is shown in the traffic light graph below.
How we celebrate good attendance
100% attendance is celebrated during half term assemblies, all children who have achieved 100% to date are entered into a prize raffle and receive certificates and badges. Pupils who achieve 100% for the whole academic year will receive an attendance medal and be included in part of the '100 club.'
Each term the class with the highest attendance receives the attendance cup and a reward.
Your child’s attendance record will be included during parent consultation evenings and in their annual reports.
Persistent Absence – Below 90%
If your child's attendance falls below 90% they are considered to be a persistent absentee. This equates to 2 days a month, or 20 days of a school year. As a school we must report persistent absence to the Participation Team at our Local Authority, who may then decide on a panel meeting or legal action.
In the interim your child’s attendance will be monitored and you will be invited to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team to discuss ways to support and improve your child’s attendance.
What Parents/carers can do to help?
96% attendance is regarded as minimum satisfaction by the UK Government. Parents/carers are legally responsible for ensuring their school age child attends school on time every day.
- Check the website and school communication to find out what date each term starts and make sure your child is ready.
- Get as much prepared the evening before to save time in the morning and help have a calm start to the day.
- Check the alarm is set.
- Talk about the importance of regular attendance and how your child feels about school.
- Where possible all medical appointments should be booked after school hours, at weekends or during school holidays. The amount of disruption to learning time should be kept to a minimum if this is not possible please provide confirmation of the appointment to the school office.
- Build regular routines for bedtime and the morning.
Pupils arriving late may seriously disrupt not only their learning but also that of others. When pupils arrive late after the close of registers at 9.30am and fail to provide an adequate explanation they are marked as unauthorised for that session.
Should they arrive late please ensure your child is signed in via the screen at the main office and provide a reason for the late arrival.
Lateness may result in:
- Pupils being embarrassed or unsettled
- Missing important information shared at the start of the day
- Missing the start of learning
- Missing opportunities to socialise with their friends at the start of the school day
10 minutes late every day = 36 hours lost learning each year.
Late collection after school.
All children should be collected on time at the end of the day. In exceptional circumstances if you are running late a call should be placed to the office. Children who have not been collected on time will be taken to the Cloud Room and may be accessed via the playground. Repeat late collection may incur a fine and a meeting with a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Please call on day 1, 3 and 5 of your child’s absence on 01895 632 895 using option 1, giving their name, class and reason for absence. Please provide as much detail as possible rather than just saying 'they are unwell' as details of any infectious diseases or patterns of illness in class or year groups are required.
If more details are required you may be contacted for further information.
Please note that days off for birthdays, days out, family occasions, shopping or appointments for other family members will be recorded as unauthorised.
Patterns of absence are monitored including Mondays, Fridays, birthdays and repeat absence at the beginning and start of term.
If you are having difficult mornings with your child please speak to a member of staff. Our Learning Mentor or Inclusion Team can provide strategies and assistance to help with any issues that may be causing your child to be absent or late.
Illness - Too ill to attend school?
Your child can attend school with minor ailments such as headache, stomach ache, cold, sore throat. Please let a member of the Welfare Team know if your child feels slightly unwell when they arrive and they will be monitored throughout the day.
The school will contact you if your child becomes too ill to remain in school.
Only prescribed medication may be administered in school with the completion of a medical permission form.
Exceptional leave requests
Exceptional leave is the term that the London Borough of Hillingdon uses for absence requests from school, whether it is for holidays for an exceptional reason, to attend a wedding/funeral, visit a sick relative or seek medical treatment abroad.
There is no entitlement to any days’ absence from school per academic year and the right for your child to be granted exceptional leave cannot be earned through good attendance. The 1996 Education Act section 444 states that parents are responsible for ensuring that their child attends school regularly and punctually. The London Borough of Hillingdon advises Head teachers not to authorise exceptional leave requests in school time however have recommended two days authorised absence may be granted per academic year for a recognised religious celebration such as Diwali, Eid, and Hanukkah which fall outside of the usual school holidays. Please contact the office prior to taking the period of religious absence in order for the absence to be recorded correctly on the registers.
In an academic year, the terms are usually planned so that there are 190 teaching days in total. This leaves 13 weeks (Monday to Friday) and 52 weekends (Saturday to Sunday) where leave can be taken with no interruption to the teaching and learning for the pupil.
Exceptional leave is only granted in extenuating circumstance at the discretion of the Head teacher. Where a leave request is not authorised the absence will be recorded as unauthorised in the register; each day will record two sessions of absence. Schools keep strict records of requests for exceptional leave in term time across all year groups and log the dates and reasons for each request. Patterns of absence from previous years are carefully scrutinised. Requests for exceptional leave are kept in the pupil’s school file and passed from school to school, whether it is primary, secondary school or academy.
If you wish to apply for a period of exceptional leave you must do so in writing to the Head teacher explaining the reasons for your request, dates of the absence, planned return date to school and provide any other evidence as requested such as last minute flight booking.
Where the leave is unauthorised the letter will explain the implications if the leave is taken anyway, such as missed topics for learning by the pupil, fractured social relationships and the possibility of the parent/carer being issued with a Holiday Penalty Notice (HPN) by the Participation Team. A lack of response from the Head teacher does not imply that leave has been authorised. Exceptional leave cannot be approved retrospectively.
Where leave is authorised the Head teacher will notify you in writing of the decision and will confirm the number of days which have been authorised. Repeat applications for exceptional leave my result in your case being referred to the Participation Team.
Details of the child and parent/carer who take unauthorised exceptional leave can be notified to the Participation Team who may issue a Penalty Notice of £60 (rising to £120) per child per parent/carer. An attendance panel may also be convened. Penalty Notices will not be issued on more than one occasion. Repeated periods of unauthorised absences will result in summonses to Uxbridge Magistrates Court for prosecution.
Patterns of absence are monitored including absences on Mondays, Fridays, birthdays and repeat absence at the beginning and start of term.
As Headteacher I would like to welcome you all to our school. Ruislip Gardens Primary School is a very special place. Visitors comment positively about the school, from the children’s behaviour and their enthusiasm to the staffs ongoing commitment and dedication. We understand the power of education and take very seriously our duty to give your children the best start in life. I am personally very proud to be a member of this community.
The school recognises the value and uniqueness of each individual child and adult at Ruislip Gardens. We celebrate the talents and gifts of each child and enable them to develop to their full potential spiritually, morally, academically, socially and physically.
Our shared vision “Growing and Achieving Together” underpins all we believe in. Our core values
- Providing a safe and nurturing environment
- Establishing lifelong values
- Developing confident and independent learners
- Inspiring excellence
- Enabling everyone to succeed
show how Ruislip Gardens is dedicated to ensuring we help all our children become successful and happy young people. Their learning and personal development are our driving force.
With support and advice from all our stakeholders we were able to develop Ruislip Gardens 4 Life-long Values:
Each value has a definition, which you can read in the vision and values
section of the website.
I would like to extend an invitation to you to visit our school if you have
not already, where you are guaranteed a warm welcome. Finally I would
like to thank you for your continued support and for trusting us with the
privilege of educating your precious children.