Attendance & House Points

Attendance & Punctuality

We encourage all children to have excellent attendance at Ringway Primary School.

Research shows that good school attendance impacts upon children’s success in learning; good attendance helps them to fulfil their potential and gives them a chance of a better future. Every day that your child is absent from school is an opportunity missed. Schools and parents/carers have a shared responsibility to ensure that children attend school regularly.

Regular school attendance brings enormous benefits to individual pupils, their families, schools and the community as a whole. Without regular attendance, levels of attainment suffer and opportunities are missed to obtain maximum benefit from education.

Persistent absence and lateness will affect a child’s achievement and progress in school. Comprehensive research shows that there is a direct link between a child’s level of school attendance and their level of school attainment.

As a parent it is your legal responsibility to ensure your child receives a suitable full time education. It is your responsibility that your child attends school each day and is on time.

It is important to set the expectation of good attendance right from the beginning of school so children grow up with ‘good habits’

If your child is absent from school you must inform the school, by telephone or e-mail, giving a reason for the absence.  Absences once reported are either authorised or unauthorised by the school.

Authorised absences would include time off for religious observance, medical appointments and genuine illness. Please note that the school has the right to ask for proof of medical appointments and confirmation from a medical professional if a child’s level of absence is above that expected for a usually healthy child.

Unauthorised absences would include time off for birthday treats, family days out, holidays ….

If you need to make a medical or dentist appointment:

Medical appointments should where possible be made outside school hours.  When this is unavoidable, your child should be in school for the remainder of the school day, whether before or/and after the appointment.

Holidays & Leave of Absence

There is no legal entitlement to holidays or leave of absence during term time.

School holiday dates are published well in advance and parents are expected to plan and take their family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their children’s education.

A leave of absence can now only be authorized in exceptional circumstances. Holidays are not deemed to be exceptional circumstances and therefore will not be authorised.  If a parent wishes to request a Leave of Absence then a formal request must be made in writing stating the dates of the absence and giving details of the exceptional circumstances which they feel warrant the request. A form for this purpose is available from the school office and any requests must be made in advance of the absence.

Parents can be fined for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from the school.

Lateness

Having good attendance also means being on time and not being late to school. Children who arrive late can feel embarrassed, left out and miss out on important introductions to lessons. Punctuality is an essential life skill that needs to be taught from the very beginning. The school, by law, has to take a register of pupils first thing in the morning and the afternoon. If a pupil is late but the register is still open they are marked as late. If a pupil arrives late without a satisfactory explanation and the register is closed, it may be classed as an unauthorised absence. This may lead to legal action for not ensuring regular and punctual school attendance. As an example, if a child arrives late at school 15 minutes late each day they lose almost 2 weeks of education a year!

What happens if we are worried about your child’s school attendance?

Good attendance is 97% or more, if attendance is below 90% the child is classified as ‘persistently absent’ from school and this will have a negative impact on the child learning.

If we have concerns about your child’s attendance, we will contact you so that we can offer support and work together to make sure your child’s attendance is good. We work closely with an Education Welfare Officer (EWO) who will also work with families if there is concern about school attendance and punctuality.

What you can do to help your child?

• Ensure your child arrives at school on time—not late.
• Establish a good routine in the morning and evenings so your child is prepared for the school day ahead.
• Try to arrange dental and medical appointments outside school hours.
• Always inform the school if your child is absent due to illness.
• Take family holidays outside term time.
• Talk to your child about school and take an interest in their school and homework.
• Attend all parents evenings and school events where possible.
• Praise and reward your child’s achievements at school.  Always support school staff in their efforts to control difficult or challenging behaviour.
• Discuss any problems or difficulties with the school—staff are here to help and will always be supportive.

Please see Attendance Policy for full details.