Attendance

 Welcome to our Attendance and Punctuality Page

My name is Mr. Bosnic.  One of my roles at The Victory Primary School is Attendance Lead. 

If you have any worries or concerns regarding your child's attendance or timekeeping, please don't hesitate to get in touch.  The sooner we know about it, the sooner we can support you.

 

Lost Learning due to Low Attendance:

Types of Absence

Every half-day absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for.

Authorised Absences

These are mornings or afternoons away from school for a valid reason such as illness, emergency medical or dental appointments (routine appointments should always be arranged out of school hours) and emergencies. Proof of medical appointments may be asked to be able to authorise the absence.

 

Unauthorised Absences

An absence is classified as Unauthorised if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as to what is acceptable and what is not.

Examples of reasons that would not be accepted:

• A birthday
• A shopping trip
• Day trips
• Holidays – unless have been agreed as exceptional circumstances

 

What to do if your child is absent from school:

Contact the school office by 9am and leave a message providing a reason for the absence, including specific illness details. Messages can be left on the answer phone. The message must include the full name and class of the pupil, the reason for absence (if the reason is illness, parents should include details of the illness) and the expected date of return. If the pupil is to be off school for more than one day then the parent/carer must call and leave a message on each subsequent day.

 

If school does not receive a notification on the morning of day one, a telephone call will be made asking for the reason for your child's absence. If there is no response then an email will be sent requesting a reason. If school has not received a response, then we will carry out a home visit.

 

Promoting Attendance and Support

We believe that working together with parents/carers is the best way to result in positive attendance outcomes for our children. We have a dedicated team available to support parents/carers with any challenges they are facing around attendance.

 

We have introduced a range of rewards and systems in school to promote good attendance and punctuality with the children. Please note that the competition conditions are adjusted to ensure that this is an inclusive system where all children have a chance to win.

 

Weekly Winner:

Every week, the class with the highest attendance will be awarded the Attendance Trophy and a sweet for each child.

 

End of Year Attendance Winner:

At the end of the year, any child with 100% attendance will receive a certificate and also win a special prize. 

 

Is it your Birthday?

Come into school on your Birthday and you’ll receive a Birthday sticker, a sweet and a personal Happy Birthday song from Mr. Hartley and the rest of the class!

 

Attendance Monitoring

As attendance and punctuality is so important to us, we cannot be complacent where there are instances of low pupil attendance, or if pupils are regularly late to school.

 

Our Local Authority is very supportive and therefore encourages our school to adopt measures and involve external agencies if the level of attendance requires us to do so. Attendance will be monitored frequently and letters sent to all parents where attendance is particularly low.

 

If there is not an improvement in attendance, then you may be asked to come into school for a supportive meeting to discuss ways in which we can work together to improve your child’s attendance. However, continued un-authorised absences could then result in a penalty notice being issued by and in some cases legal action being taken.

 

Leave in Term Time

As a school, we are not allowed to authorise any requests for children to be taken out of school for a holiday during term time.

 

Requests for leave can only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and a holiday would not be considered exceptional. Requests for leave must also be made to the school in advance. To do this, a leave of absence application form must be completed either by downloading from the website and emailing to the school office or by coming into the school office to complete the application form.

 

Parents may receive a penalty notice if their child is absent from school without permission.

 

We appreciate the challenges that some parents face when booking holidays, particularly during the school holidays. However, regular attendance at school is vital in helping children and young people to achieve their full potential and get the best possible start in life.

 

Punctuality

It is very important that all children arrive on time. Class doors open at 8.45am every morning. If your child arrives after 9:00am then they are late and will need to come through the main school entrance. You will then need to sign in your child giving the reason for their lateness. We will then be able to amend the registers and ensure your child is marked for a school dinner.

If children are regularly late, we may invite you to attend a meeting to discuss how we can support you and your child to improve their punctuality.

 

For further information regarding attendance and punctuality at The Victory Primary School, please see our school Attendance Policy.