Attendance
What is good attendance?
Good attendance is where a child has attended school for 96% of the available sessions. Ideally we would want all children to reach 100% but we have to be realistic.
Why is it important?
Good school attendance is crucial to a pupil's success in school. Indeed research suggests that children who regularly miss school do not do as well in their academic and social development.
When should I keep my child off school?
It is sometimes a tricky balance to decide whether to bring your child into school when they are feeling unwell but the link below may help. Of course if a child has Coronavirus symptoms or a positive test result, they should not come into school.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/
What can happen if my child is not meeting the 96% target?
We always aim to support parents to meet our attendance targets in a positive way and we are aware that some absence is unavoidable. We usually start the process by sending a trigger letter home to parents. The trigger letters are sent to parents of children whose attendance is a concern. If the situation does not improve after this, we may refer the case to Warwickshire Attendance Services who will take the matter further.
There may be occasion where the school needs to issue a penalty notice in accordance with section 444 of Education Act 1996 which states:
"Parents whose children are of compulsory school age and registered at school are responsible for ensuring that their children attend school regularly. If they fail to do this they are guilty of an offence and may be given a penalty notice."
This may apply, for example, where a holiday is taken in term time.
How do I report a child's absence?
If you make the decision that your child is too unwell to attend school then we ask that you contact the school by 9am on each day of absence. Should a child's absence go unreported then the school office will contact parents to establish the whereabouts of the child. If no contact can be made then school leaders may perform a home visit.
Where every effort has been made to make contact with parents but no contact can be made the school may initiate safeguarding procedures.
Punctuality
It is critical that children are dropped off punctually (they should be in the classroom for 9am at the latest) as lateness can have a negative impact on a child's confidence. It is also challenging for teachers, who will have already started the learning, to ensure the child is caught back up. Where a child is persistently late, they will receive a trigger letter and where this does not improve, parents will be invited into school to discuss the matter.
Leave of absence
If you feel that you have cause to keep your child off school for a reason other than illness, it is likely that you will need to complete a LOA and return it to the school office. The LOA forms can be found below. It is also important to read the accompanying documents relating what when LOA can be granted.
How we further support attendance at Northlands
All classes can earn letters for full attendance. Once the class has earned enough letters to spell out "Perfect attendance" they are allowed to come into school in non uniform the following day.