Attendance
Our aim is to bring the best out of every pupil that attends St Christopher's
The Importance Of Attendance
The Department for Education has issued new statutory guidance for attendance called Working Together to Improve School Attendance. This came into effect on the 19th August 2024. It details what schools, parents and Local Authorities should do to improve pupils’ attendance at school.
There are some important changes to attendance management from the 19th August 2024 which will affect the support parents and pupils receive from schools, and the legal sanctions that are used in certain circumstances.
Schools are legally obliged to provide support and intervention for pupils who are at risk of persistent absence (90% attendance or below). This will take the form of meetings with parents, school-based interventions, and the offer of support from outside agencies and professionals.
We are very keen to identify the barriers to attendance that families face and will welcome opportunities to overcome these barriers together. However, when a child's attendance falls outside of the parental legal obligations to send their child to school, there are legal pathways that must be followed.
There is a trust-wide attendance policy that we adopt, written in line with statutory guidance which can be found here: https://www.demat.org.uk/policies
Being on time
It is important your child arrives to school on time.
In normal times the school
gates open at 8.40am and
close promptly at 8.50am.
Any children arriving after 8.50am will need to sign in at the main reception with their parent.
If your child is absent from school due to illness, you must telephone the school office before 9.30am to give a reason for the absence.
If the office have not received a reason for the absence by 11am, you may receive a home visit to check the welfare of your child.
List of services
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Punctuality to school is crucialList Item 1
Lateness causes disruption to that individual’s learning and to the other children in the class.
Daily telephone calls are being made to families whose attendance causes concern and calls are made to all families where the reason for absence has not been reported to us. Weekly checks on individual percentages are carried out, and pupils whose attendance has fallen below 95% or have increased sessions of illness or lateness are informed in writing and requested to attend a meeting with the attendance officer and the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO).
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Absence during school timeList Item 2
Please try where possible to make doctor and dentist appointments out of school hours.
If it has to be during the school day, booking an appointment between 9am -12.00pm and after 1.15pm will still make it possible for pupils to achieve 100% attendance and have medical/dental appointments during the school day.
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Leave of absence during school timeList Item 3
A leave of absence form can be obtained from the school office or downloaded below.
We request this form is completed and returned to school at least two weeks prior to the first day of absence. An absence now can only be granted in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and the parent/carer must provide a letter making a case for taking a child away from school.
Absence which has not been agreed in advance by the Headteacher will lead to the pupil being marked with ‘unauthorised absence’. If your child has 8 or more unauthorised sessions (half days) in a year, this may then be referred to the Local Authority for consideration of a Penalty Notice.
The Local Authority may then issue a £60 penalty per child, per parent. This must be paid within 21 days or it will increase to £120 per child, per parent. If this is not paid within 28 days, the Local Authority will refer the matter to Court, where the maximum penalty is £1000.
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Why we feel a child’s attendance is so importantList Item 4
Children’s learning in school is based on a build up of skills and knowledge.
This build up is continually planned by teachers on a day to day basis. Children that miss one session could miss out on a potentially important session and although every effort is made to catch children up when they return, this is usually not as effective and takes time away from the rest of the class.
If children miss out on a number of sessions this can significantly affect their overall progress.
Children that are away from school on a regular basis can miss out on opportunities to build strong friendships and can sometimes find it harder to build strong friendships within school