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Good school attendance is the single most important factor in ensuring that young people have the maximum life chances. Attendance is strongly linked to educational achievement. Promoting positive school attendance is everyone’s responsibility.

 

Good attendance is important in order for children to:

-      Achieve their potential.

-      Develop a positive attitude towards school and maintain good habits of punctuality and attendance.

-      See themselves as an important part of the school community and to value and respect school life.

Schools recognise that this can only be achieved through a close partnership with parents.

 

Questions to Consider:

• Do you know what your child’s current attendance and/or punctuality figure is?

• Do you know what this figure means?

• Do you speak to your child about their attendance?

• Do you communicate with The Grange when your child is not in school?

It is a legal obligation of all parents/carers to ensure their child attends school regularly. By law, all children of compulsory school age (5-17) must get a proper full-time education. Parents are responsible for ensuring children attend school regularly in a condition to learn.

Children should be in school by 8:40 a.m. and in class to register by 8:50 a.m. Parents should contact the school as soon as possible if a child is going to be absent or late for any reason, e.g., doctor, dentist. You must report your child’s absence by calling the school office on 01295 257861 before 9.00 a.m. when the registers close.

Parents may be required to provide medical evidence, such as some form of medical verification, to substantiate that their child’s illness required them to be absent from school.

Attendance below 90% is considered to be poor, and your child will be classified as persistently absent.

 

What does 90% mean?

90% attendance = ½ day missed every week. Over one school year this is a 4 weeks of learning lost.

 

Punctuality matters, too. Missed minutes = missed learning = missed opportunities.

Being frequently late for school adds up to lost learning:

-      Arriving 5 minutes late every day adds up to 3 days lost each year

-      Arriving 15 minutes late every day is the same as being absent for 2 weeks a year

-      Arriving 30 minutes late every day is the same as being absent 19 days a year

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Some strategies to improve punctuality:

Bedtime routines: Packing the school bag for the next day, getting to bed earlier, and setting a time for the television, iPad/computer, and other devices to be turned off.

Morning Routines: Setting the alarm earlier, not watching television until ready for school, and having breakfast before leaving home.

Coming to Breakfast Club for Breakfast at 8.00 am each day (small cost)

 

Key Messages

Your child’s attendance and punctuality are monitored constantly. Pupils with low attendance and punctuality will be highlighted and given extra support to improve.

 

At The Grange School, 97% or above is considered good attendance. Appointments should be booked outside of school hours.

 

Holidays are NOT permitted in the school term and will not be authorised.

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