Discussing life plans and ambitions with your child can be fun. You can open their minds to endless possibilities and opportunities; the world is their oyster and they can reach for the stars! Whether they want to be an astronaut, doctor, TV journalist, or teacher… what you do with your child now can really help them on the first steps of this journey.
Research has shown that if your child is absent for just 17 days a year this could mean they are far less likely to be able to read or write when they leave primary or lower school. If your child’s annual attendance is 85%, they have missed 29 days schooling, which approximately is half a term. Similar statistics relate to arriving to school late; arriving at school regularly 15 minutes late, can result in up to 10 days lost.
Your child’s attendance:
If you child has had time off during the early part of the school year (ie Autumn term) their % attendance will be low due to the fact that we are not far into the academic year. As we move into the Spring Term, with the children being at school longer (and assuming your child has had no further absences) then their attendance rate will improve.
Why is it important to attend school?
If students are to achieve their potential, good attendance and punctuality are critical. The link between attendance and achievement is well documented. We want all our students to achieve the very best results that they can. Irregular attendance, can, however, have a significant impact on student achievement.
Students with irregular attendance…
What is good attendance?
Parents/carers and students often become confused about what good attendance is. The school attendance target is 97% and above. The following is a useful guide for parents:
It should be remembered that 90% attendance is equivalent to one day of absence every fortnight. Over an academic year this amounts to four weeks of absence.
Lates:
Arriving at school on time is also very important and something that we encourage along side excellent attendance. Punctuality is significant to your child’s learning, in addition to developing a necessary life skill.
5 minutes of lateness every day = 3 days of school lost a year.
10 minutes of lateness every day = 6.5 days of school lost a year.
15 minutes of lateness every day = 10 days of school lost a year.
20 minutes of lateness every day = 13 days of school lost a year.
30 minutes of lateness every day = 19 days of school lost a year.
Appointments:
Whilst we discourage appointments during the school day, if your child does have an unavoidable appointment during the school day, a member of the school office team should be informed by letter/email (office@hcschool.org.uk) or by a phone call in advance of the absence.
Illness:
Parents/carers need to phone the school office before 9.30am, each morning that the child is absent from school due to illness so that this can be recorded daily in the register. Even if the staff expect the child to be off parents must still phone in to register their child’s absence each day.
Leave of Absence in Term Time
Amendments to the The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 make clear that Headteachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Headteachers should determine the number of school days a child/student can be away from school if the leave is granted.
Requests for leave of absence will only be authorised where there are exceptional circumstances.
It is for the Headteacher and Governing Body of each school to decide what constitutes an exceptional circumstance.
Any request for leave of absence in term-time must be made in writing to the Headteacher. A form is available from the school office.
If a leave of absence request is not authorised and the absence is still taken, there is the possibility of being penalised. The Penalty Notice can be up to £80 for each parent/carer and for each child absent from school. If the parent/carer does not pay the Penalty Notice it may lead to a prosecution.
Schools are not obliged to provide work for pupils during leave of absence taken in term time.
Finally, all requests for leave of absence in term time are considered on an individual basis and are at the complete discretion of the Headteacher.
