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Attendance

What happens if my child is too ill to come into school?

Attending school every day is very important. Absence can have a detrimental effect on your child’s learning. The aim is to achieve 100% attendance. If your child is very ill and cannot come to school, then it is important that you phone the school to let them know every day that your child is absent. Once your child has been off for three days, medical evidence will be required.

Medical Appointments:

If your child needs to take time off for medical appointments, a parent/carer will be required to provide evidence. Please organise medical appointments in the afternoon where possible to reduce impact on lessons.

Holidays:

Absence request forms can be obtained from your child's school; however, we are unable to authorise holidays in term time. Unauthorised holidays almost always end in penalty notices being issued to parents by the local authority.

Number of days off school Attendance % Attendance Value
0 days off school in a year
0 lessons missed
100% Perfect attendance
2 days off school in a year
10 lessons missed
99% Excellent attendance
5 days off school in a year
25 lessons missed
97% Good attendance
10 days off school in a year
50 lessons missed
95% Slightly below average attendance
14 days off school in a year
70 lessons missed
93% Poor attendance
20 days off school in a year
100 lessons missed
90% Very poor attendance

Punctuality to School:

Start times vary across individual schools, please check what time your child is expected to arrive at the school they attend. If children are late, they must be signed in at Reception. 

Being late not only disrupts the learning of other children in the class, but it also adds up to a loss of learning for the individual which can impact on achievement. Please see the table below from the Department for Education:  

Minutes late per day Equivalent of loss of learning
5 Minutes 3.4 school days a year 
10 Minutes 6.9 school days a year
15 Minutes 10.3 school days a year 
20 Minutes 13.8 school days a year
30 Minutes  20.7 school days a year