Pupil attendance is one of the key factors in ensuring that your child is successful throughout their academic life and beyond. At Northwood Primary we pride ourselves on our school ethos and culture; creating a welcoming, inclusive and nurturing environment for all of our pupils. We ensure that our school allows pupils to feel safe, able to participate freely in all events, and to participate in all their learning and other school-related activities with as much help, encouragement and moral support as possible.

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1.A telephone call will be made or letter sent to parents/carers to make them aware that their child’s attendance has dropped and the % it stands at. Further support will be given if necessary.

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2.If the child’s attendance continues to drop a meeting will be arranged in school to discuss this further.

 

3.If the parent/carer fails to attend the meeting, home visits will be made to discuss the child’s low attendance.

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4.If the parent/carer fails or refuses to work with the school to improve attendance a referral to the Local Authority will be made which could result in legal action.

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An automatic referral will also be made to the Local Authority if your child’s attendance drops below 85%.

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Punctuality will be closely monitored and after 3 late marks or U marks (a U mark is an unauthorised absence when the child comes into school after close of register) the following procedures will be put into place.

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1.Initially a meeting will be arranged, by letter, with the parents/carers of the child to discuss the reasons for persistent lateness and support offered where deemed necessary.

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2.If the parents/carers do not attend for the arranged meeting, home visits and telephone calls will be made to discuss persistent lateness.

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3.If the child continues to be late or the parents/carers refuse to work with the school to improve time keeping a referral to the Local Authority will be made, which could result in legal action.

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Strategies put in place to improve school attendance and time keeping:

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·Weekly attendance raffle – for all children that have been in school and on time every day that week.

 

·Boy / Girl competition – currently the boys % attendance is much better than the girls!

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·Class competition – The class with the highest % attendance for the week will receive a special treat on a Friday afternoon. Where there is a tie, punctuality will be taken into consideration.

 

·Half termly and termly attendance certificates and prizes.

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·End of academic year – special treat for children with 100% attendance.

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Families taking holidays in term time has a big impact on lowering the school attendance. As a school we would advise you to take your family holiday out of term time. Holidays within term time will not be authorised and will be referred to the Local Authority which will result in a holiday fine been issued. Let’s all remember, that as working adults, if we were persistently absent from work or turning up late we would not have a job to go to!

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Your child’s schooling is very important to us and we would like to work alongside you to give them the best possible start in life. A good education will lead to a good job later in life!

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“Children with over 90% attendance at school are more likely to gain 5 or more A-C GCSE’s or equivalent qualifications”- we want your child to be one of these children

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If you have any questions or concerns regarding attendance issues, please get in touch via admin@northwoodprimary.org.uk or call us on 01325267222.