Supporting good attendance

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To help ensure we support all pupils in attending school and that we know why pupils may be away from school, we are now using the following procedure in all cases of absence:

• Please call/text/email the school every day your child is absent to supply a reason and subsequent updates.
• If no reason is received, the office will call you, if no answer then this will be followed by a text.
• If after two days no reason for absence has been given the Educational Welfare Officer will be alerted.
• If after 4 days we still have not received any reason for an absence the Family Support Worker and Educational Welfare Officer will be alerted and on Day 5 a home visit scheduled to carry out a safe and well check.

Consistent unauthorised absences can be a trigger for further external agency involvement. Please avoid this by letting us know each day if your child is absent and why.

Please be aware that we cannot authorise absence for family holidays in term time. The governing body will be allowed to consider leave for pupils from school in very exceptional circumstances. This will not, however, include economic reasons or leave from work of parents.

The national average for attendance is 94%, over 5 years this would mean a quarter of a years education was lost, if it was averaged at 90% then its half a year of learning and at 80% over 5 years a child would have lost a whole years’ worth of school. So please think carefully before keeping your child at home.