School Attendance
Read on to learn more about the importance of good school attendance.
Good attendance and punctuality are vital for success at school and to establish positive life habits that are necessary for future success. Through regular attendance, pupils can:
Build friendships and develop social groups.
Develop a sense of belonging
Build life skills and resilience.
Engage in essential learning and other school social events.
Achieve to their full potential.
Minimise risk of engaging in anti-social behaviour or becoming a victim/perpetrator of crime in future.
All children of compulsory school age, between the ages of 5 and 16, must receive a suitable fulltime education. As a parent, you are responsible for ensuring this happens, either by registering your child at a school or by making appropriate alternative arrangements. Once registered, you are legally responsible for making sure your child attends school regularly. If you fail to do this – even if your child misses school without you knowing – legal action can be taken against you by the Local Authority. It is an offence to fail to make sure your child attends school regularly. Legal action can involve a penalty notice or court action. In extreme circumstances, parents can face the risk of imprisonment and parenting orders. A penalty notice of £60 may be issued as an alternative to prosecution, but this rises to £120 if it is not paid within 21 days. Failure to pay a penalty notice will usually lead to prosecution.
Attendance at Mugginton
At Mugginton Church of England Primary School we expect parents and carers to make sure children attend school regularly and arrive on time.
We ask that parents/carers contact the school office immediately (01335 360261, leave a message on the answerphone if there is no answer) to alert us to a child’s lateness or absence.
When a pupil is absent from school, this will be classified as either ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’. The governing body and headteacher decide which absences are recorded as authorised. Authorised absences are permitted for valid reasons such as:
lllness.
Medical or dental appointments.
Religious observances.
Family bereavement.
Wherever possible, we ask parents to arrange medical and dental appointments during school holidays or after school hours.
Unauthorised absences are those which the school does not consider essential or reasonable. Unauthorised absences can include:
Forgetting school term dates.
Oversleeping.
Absences which have not been explained.
Arriving at school after the register has closed.
Leaving school for no reason during the day.
Truancy before or during the school day.
Keeping pupils off school unnecessarily or without explanation.
Day trips or family outings.
Problems with uniform/clothing.
Birthdays and holidays
Reporting to Parents on Attendance
When teachers report to parents at parents evening appointments and the December progress update form, as well as at the end of the academic year, they will give a percentage figure to represent the child’s attendance. Concerns will be raised if the child’s attendance falls below 90% for a sustained period of time. We will recommend support from the Early Help team if attendance remains a concern.
If your child has time off school look at the table below to show the impact on their learning. One day of absence is equivalent to approximately 0.5%.
If you require more information, the school policy for attendance is available on this link.
Illness
If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please contact the school office (01335 360261) as soon as possible each morning they are absent. If we do not receive an explanation for a child’s absence, we will contact parents to confirm the child’s whereabouts and why they are not in school. The law on attendance demands that unexplained absence must be recorded as an unauthorised absence.
Late
If your child is late for school i.e. after 9.10am, parents should press the buzzer by the main entrance to report their child’s arrival so the school register can be updated. Your child will then be accompanied to class by a member of staff.
There will be an ‘L’ (late before registers close) put into the registers if your child is late but before 9:10am. A ‘U’ (late after registers close) will be put into the register if your child arrives after this time.
Appointments and Collections
We encourage parents to make medical and other appointments outside of school hours wherever possible. Should your child need to attend an appointment during the school day we ask that you ring the school office or send a letter or email to your child’s teacher letting them know the nature of the appointment and the time of collection. Please collect your child from the school reception area as they will need to be signed out by Mrs Horobin. On return to school, your child will need to be signed back into school via the office.
Holidays during term time
The school cannot be expected to authorise an absence for holidays during term time. Unnecessary school absence means children miss important school time – both educationally, socially and for other school activities. It will be difficult for pupils to catch up on work when they return to school. Only in exceptional circumstances may a holiday be authorised during term time – this will be decided by the headteacher.
Exceptional circumstances do not include cheaper costs, family availability or weather conditions. You can be fined if you take your child on holiday during term time without permission from the headteacher.
Requesting absences
The authorisation of planned absences is at the discretion of the headteacher. All absences, including for holidays, must be requested as far in advance as possible. If you think your child needs to be taken out of school, you should discuss the reasons with the headteacher as soon as you can. If the headteacher is satisfied with the reasons, the evidence and the notice period, they will authorise the absence.
How can I help my child?
Encourage good attendance by making sure your child comes to school regularly
Take an interest in your child’s school work
Make sure your child understands that school absence is a ‘last resort’ only when they are too unwell to attend
Ask us for help if you struggle to get your child ready for school
Inform us on the first day of your child’s absence, and keep us updated throughout the absence period
Provide us with more than one emergency contact for your child, to make sure that if we receive no response from one number, we can try others you have provided
Cooperate with us to make sure your child overcomes any attendance problems
Discuss planned absences with the headteacher and apply for permission well in advance
Only take your child out of school during term time where the absence has been authorised
Follow all Covid-19 guidance regarding isolation
Further advice is available here:
