Attendance

Regular attendance at school is crucial in raising standards of education and in ensuring every child can meet their full potential. Missing out on lessons leaves children vulnerable to falling behind. Children who are disadvantaged by poor attendance tend to achieve less in both primary and their secondary school. The Department for Education set out the expectations of school attendance and the important of it in Working Together To Improve School Attendance:

The Government expects Parents to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend early and ensure that all pupils are punctual to their lessons and attend school regularly.

(Department for Education - Advice on School Attendance (www.education.gov.uk) 2012).

Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 makes it a parental duty to ensure that children of compulsory school age are in receipt of a suitable education through regular attendance at a school or other alternative arrangement. 

This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.

Children are required to attend school for 190 days (380 sessions) in any single academic year (September - July). Any exceptions to this can only be taken with the full agreement of the Principal. This policy is informed by DFE. Circular 11/91 'The Education (Pupil registration) (England) Regulations 2006' and 'Education Act 1996 section 444 reminds us that: 'Only the school, within the context of the law, can approve absence, not parents. The fact that a parent has offered a note or other notification (telephone call, written letter) in relation to a particular absence does not, by itself, oblige the school to accept it'.

There is an expectation that over the course of an academic year a child’s attendance at St Mary’s will be 96% or more.

Absence that falls below 90% is categorised by the government as persistent absence. With this in mind, the following actions will be taken:

Please see our Attendance Policy for more information.

Please phone by 9:15am at the very latest on the first day of absence leaving your child's name, class and reason for absence. This needs to be done every day that your child is absent from school. These messages may be left on the school's answer phone or delivered in person, or alternatively you can send us an email.

If we have not heard from a parent by 10.00am as to why their child is absent from school, we will ring all of the contact numbers registered for that child until contact is made.

We request that medical appointments be made outside of the school day.

Please send a copy of your child's medical appointment card/letter to the school office beforehand if children have to attend a medical appointment during school hours.

Please sign them in and out of school at the main office.

Parents are requested not to take their children on holiday during term time. Holidays taken during term time are classed as unauthorised.

The school may legally authorise a request for leave where there are 'exceptional circumstances'. Please send a written request to the Principal, using the request form below, who will consider the request and reply in writing so that the leave can then be authorised and taken.

We cannot stress enough how vitally important good attendance is in ensuring your child makes good progress. If they are regularly late or missing days on a regular basis, this leads to the child falling behind in their learning.