Why is good attendance so important?

At Christ Church C of E Primary School we aim for good attendance and punctuality from all our pupils. 

Good attendance is very important as it is closely linked to good progress and attainment.  If your child is not in school, they  will miss essential lessons and not achieve to their full potential.

What is good attendance?

In order to give a guide to your child’s

attendance it might be useful to consider the national and local grades for attendance:

        99%-100% - Outstanding

        97%-98% - Good

        96% - Satisfactory

        Under 96% - Cause for concern     

Your child’s attendance should be at least 96%.  This is the legal minimum requirement.  Parents of any child whose attendance falls below this will be asked to come into school for a meeting.

Rewards:

Good attendance in school is rewarded by weekly class certificates.  At the end of each term 100%  attendance badges  are awarded at a special prize giving assembly.

Unauthorised absence:

Unauthorised absence is recorded where the school  decides a valid reason with supporting evidence has not been given. For example holidays, overseas travel, family gatherings, social or political events are not considered good enough  reasons for absence. 

School staff have a duty to safeguard our pupils by following up unauthorised absences in the following way:

· Phone or write to a parent

· Invite a parent into school to discuss the absences

· Refer cases to the Education Welfare Service

· Seek professional support for parents having difficulties.

Absence due to sickness:

Pupils with regular sickness absence will be expected to provide us with medical evidence before we authorise any absences.

All absences must be supported with a written note and or  information from your GP.

Appointments:

Parents are encouraged to avoid making medical and dental appointments during school time.

Term time leave:

We have a policy of no term time leave under any circumstances.  Any request to take your child out of school during term time, including before and after holidays, will not be authorised by the Head Teacher. 

If you still decide to take your child out of school, it will be recorded as an unauthorised absence and a referral will be made to Brent Educational Welfare Service (EWS).        This may result in a fine from Brent EWS and even lead to prosecution.  It could also mean that your child’s place is at risk and that you have to reapply for a school place via Brent Admissions.

Punctuality:

Children who arrive late to school miss the start of lessons and this can significantly affect their learning. Maths Meetings start promptly at 8:50am. This is a lesson where children practise core maths skills in order to develop mathematical fluency.

Make sure your child does not miss out on essential learning! 

Whole School Soft Start: The school gate opens at 8:40am. Children are encouraged to go straight to the classrooms and engage in some morning reading! 

Any children who arrive after the school bell will be recorded in the school punctuality book. Lateness will be monitored and letters will be sent to parents concerned to arrange a meeting to review  punctuality and offer support to help parents get children to school on time. Should there be no improvement, the local Education Welfare Officer will be informed.

A child will be deemed absent if they are not on the school premises before  9.30am in the morning or 1.00pm for the afternoon.

Absences and lateness will be recorded according to the codes of registration.

The school aims to maintain 0% unauthorised absence through continuing close contact with parents. Individual attendance records are reported to parents annually.

If you or your child are having difficulties that impact on their attendance, please make an appointment with a member of staff to discuss additional support.

Late collection:

Please be prompt when collecting your child at the end of the day as repeated late collection will result in a referral being made to social services.

Support us in our drive to improve punctuality by reinforcing this with your child and demonstrating the importance of good time keeping.

- Bringing and Collecting your child -

All children must be brought to school and collected by a responsible adult. To protect children, we will not allow them to go home with anyone under 18 or anyone unknown to the school. If you want an unfamiliar adult to take your child home, it is your responsibility to inform us as soon as possible of the person collecting. If we are not notified we will not send your child home and will have to contact you. This can take time and be very frustrating for the person collecting.

- Sickness and Medicines -

If your child is taken ill whilst at school, we will contact you as soon as possible to collect them. Under normal circumstances, members of staff are not allowed to administer medicines to the children, unless they are prescribed by the doctor. If your child has a long-term medical condition requiring a specific course of treatment, please discuss this with the Head Teacher.