Absence and Attendance

OUR AIMS

• To ensure that all pupils have  the maximum  of learning opportunities as a result of  outstanding attendance.
• To make attendance and punctuality a priority for all those associated with the school including pupils, parents.
• To provide support, advice and guidance to parents and pupils To monitor Safeguarding and wellbeing.
• To implement a system of rewards and sanctions.
• To promote effective partnerships with the borough’s School Attendance Officers and with other services and agencies as appropriate

Regular attendance at school is essential to promote the education of all pupils. 

The School’s ethos demonstrates that children feel that their presence in school is important and that they are missed when they are absent or late. The School will take appropriate action when necessary in order to promote the aims of the policy.

 

OUR EXPECTATIONS

From pupils:

• they will attend school every day
• they will arrive on time and prepared for the day

From parents:

• they will ensure their children attend school every day
• they contact the office before 9.30am either in person or by phone whenever their child is unable to attend and send letter of explanation to the class teacher on return. If a parent is unsure of when the child will return to school, contact should be made with the school office on a daily basis.
• they ensure their child arrives in school well prepared for the school day with homework completed

Pupils and parents can expect the following from the school:

• regular, efficient and accurate recording of attendance and time keeping
• contact from the school when a pupil fails to attend and the parents have not contacted the school within the requested time frame.
• early contact with parents when a pupil fails to attend without good reason
• contact with parents where there is a pattern of absences or an excessive number of absences or lateness. This may be by the class teacher ,Headteacher or other school Designated Safeguarding Lead.
• immediate action on any problem notified to us, in confidence if necessary
• positive measures to encourage good attendance
• a high quality education
• support and access to specialist agencies to address issues related to attendance

Whenever any scheduled meeting takes place with a parent, details of their child’s attendance will always be made available to them. A registration certificate for the current school year will usually be appropriate for this purpose

-annual reporting of attendance in July for that current school year

- a letter to parents at the end of the Autumn and Spring terms informing them of their child’s attendance in the case where it falls below the minimum expectation of 96%. 

Any child’s attendance falling below 93% is considered to be of concern and those falling below 90% or serious concern a meeting may be requested with the Headteacher.

-If poor attendance continues for any child, parents may be asked to provide medical evidence.

There may by times when persistent absenteeism continues or the child appears to be missing from education the school may feel that a referral to the LA Safeguarding team is required. 

- Times when persistent absenteeism or their child appears to be missing from education, the school may feel that a referral to the local authority safeguarding team is required. 

 

Parents Responsibilities

 Parents are responsible by law, for making sure that your children come to school regularly and on time, together with other responsibilities such as supporting the school’s policy on homework and discipline.  (Education Act 2011)

Requesting absence from school for your child

Apart from illness, permission for absence from school must be requested in advance.  Holidays are not permitted in term time and cannot be authorised.

To request permission for an absence please email the Head Teacher at the infant school; office@stmarysinfschool.org.uk and at the junior school; office@stmarysjunior.org.uk  To inform our decision, your child's previous attendance will be taken into account.  Please note that permission will not be granted where absence levels are already below 95%. Where relevant evidence of appointments will be required. 

Religious observance

Time for religious and holy festivals, including weddings, can be granted.  These are for short one or two day absences and not for extended periods of time.  The register code B is used for these authorised absences.  Permission needs to be sought in advance. Where relevant supported by evidence regarding the event. 

Travel for time with relatives - domestic and international

We are an international school population and therefore receive many applications to travel for extended periods of time, over long weekends and for extended periods over standard holiday times.  Many families travel to visit relatives.  Many requests are for travel to visit sick or elderly relatives abroad, often on an annual basis.  Leave for travel, in the vast majority of cases, is unauthorised on your child's record.  With a holiday period every six or seven weeks, the Government expectation is that all travel be completed in holiday periods.  Unauthorised absence does not present an immediate issue except for when a child is already a persistent absentee and the parent has received a notice of this.

Penalty notices may be issued where a parent has been notified that their child is a persistent absentee and has a poor attendance pattern with unauthorised absences.  Notices are issued by the London Borough of Sutton, not the school.  For more information see the information in the Penalty notice document below.

Registration

The Register is taken immediately every morning. It is taken again immediately after lunchtime break.

Absences require a letter to seek authorisation, otherwise the absence is recorded as unauthorised in line with Government requirements and will show on your child’s report.

The school governors will monitor attendance of pupils termly. 

Lateness

Pupils arriving after (8.45am at the Junior School and Infant School and 8.35am at the nursery) must report to the School Office so that their attendance can be recorded. If the register has already been taken the office staff will mark the child in accordingly

If a child arrives after 9.20am, the child's lateness will be measured in minutes after the bell has gone. 

This will be considered an unauthorised absence unless a satisfactory reason is given, for example a doctor’s appointment with notification.

Action to address lateness will be taken in line with the school’s strategy to improve punctuality.

 

Illness

Parents/carers are asked to contact the school on the first day of absence to provide the reason for the absence and each day following. Parents/carers should also provide a written explanation on their child’s return to school.

Parents should inform the school immediately if their child has an infectious disease and also if the absence is likely to be more than a few days.

If any member of staff is concerned about a reason for absence, named Designated Safeguarding Lead should be informed.

Medical or Dental Appointments

Absence from school due to a medical or dental appointment will be considered as an authorised absence. Parents/carers are requested to provide written confirmation of these appointments. If appropriate, the child should return to school after the appointment however Parents/carers are encouraged to make all medical appointments out of school hours. The school will then enter the code M if the child arrives late to school after an appointment.  Where the school is not informed in advance and a hospital or doctors letter is not provided without request, the code U will be used, late after the register has closed.

 

The School Day

	Nursery	Infant	Junior
School start times: Morning Session	8.35 - 11.35	8.35 - 8.45	8.35 - 8.45
Morning Break Yr 1&2 Yr 3&4 Yr 5&6		10.35-10.50	10.25 – 10.40 10.45-11.00
Lunch Break Reception Yr1&2 Yr 3& 4 Yr 5&6		12.00-1.00 12.10-1.10	12.15-1.15 12.30-1.30
Afternoon Session Nursery Reception Yr1&2 Yr 3&4 Yr 5&6	12.15-3.15	1.00-3.15 1.10-3.15	1.15-3.15 1.30-3.15

 

1. Children are expected to be on the playground  ready for school to commence at 8.35 - 8.45am for the Junior school and 8.35 - 8.45am for the Infant school .

 

1. Only under exceptional circumstances and with permission are children allowed on site before 8.35am 

 

1. Children should be collected promptly from school at the end of the school day unless a letter has been received from the parents requesting that they be released. 

 

Term Time Absence

All absence approval  in term time is at the discretion of the Headteacher and will only be approved in exceptional circumstances e.g. a day to attend a funeral of an immediate family member.

 

Holidays during term time are discouraged and holidays should be taken during the school holiday periods.

 

Extended absence

A pupil’s name can be deleted if they have not attended school in the ten days immediately after a leave of absence or if they have been continually absent from school for 20 school days.

Schools are permitted to remove compulsory-school-aged children from roll on the limited grounds set out in Working together to improve school attendance (applies from 19 August 2024)  as well as the Pupil attendance regulations – The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

 AUTHORISED / UNAUTHORISED ABSENCES

It should be noted that only the Headteacher, ,not parents or any other members of staff, may authorise pupil absences.

 

RESPONSIBILITY

In order for this policy to be successful every member of the school community must make attendance a high priority. We must share our enthusiasm for education, communicating its importance to pupils and all other members of the school community.

 

REWARDS

Children who achieve 100% attendance over their entire school life are presented with a 100% badge at the end of year 6. 

 

School Attendance Target

Each year the school’s Governing Body sets its own target to minimise overall absence as set out in the Education (School Attendance Targets) (England) Regulations 2014. This currently stands at 97.5%.

 

School Attendance Service

Whilst the initial responsibility to monitor, investigate and improve individual pupil’s poor attendance lies with the school, it must notify the LA if a pupil attends irregularly or is absent continuously without authorisation for ten or more school days.