Why is school attendance important?

It has been widely proven that children who attend school regularly are far more likely to achieve their full potential and to be more successful.

Having good attendance at school is essential for children to get the most out of their overall school experience, including their academic attainment, wellbeing, and wider life chances.

How absence can affect your child.

  • It can seriously hinder your child’s learning by creating gaps in their knowledge which can be very difficult to fill, this is especially the case if your child has quite sporadic attendance.
  • It can affect their confidence to attempt new learning and their ability to work and learn alongside others.
  • It can affect their ability to make and sustain friendship groups.
  • It can cause disruption to the teaching and as a result affects the learning of other children in your child’s class.
  • Poor attenders at primary school are more likely to engage in truancy at secondary school. Unfortunately, children who engage in truancy are 6 times more likely to be unemployed when they leave school.

How you can help

  • Try to develop a good routine for the morning and the evening before school. If you can get everything ready for school the night before, homework, bookbag, uniform etc. it can make the morning run far more smoothly.
  • Getting a good night’s sleep will lead to your child feeling more awake and looking forward to school. Try to avoid TV and electronic devices for at least 30 minutes before bedtime to help your child drift off to sleep more easily. This is the perfect time to pick up a good book!
  • Having time for breakfast will start your child’s day in a positive way, starting their metabolism and helping them to feel ready to learn.
  • Try to be here on time every day, walking into class late can be a worrying prospect and will also mean that your child has missed out on some valuable learning as lessons start at 8.45am.
  • Don’t keep your child at home if they complain of illness but you see no physical signs, just let us know and we will keep an eye on them and contact you if their symptoms do not improve. This will help your child to develop good habits for the future world of work.

None of the reasons below are good reasons to keep your child away from school:

  • Holidays
  • Shopping
  • Birthday treats/trips
  • Looking after others at home
  • Non-urgent medical appointments- please book these out of school or at the start or end of the day so the rest of the session can be attended
  • Because brother or sister is off school ill

Help your child to be successful at school and work by emphasising the importance of having a good school attendance record. Reward your child for their good attendance at school- reinforcing that we are all part of the same team.

What should I do if my child is too poorly for school?

By law, we must record all absences and the reason given. Please contact school either via the Attendance Reporting account on Class Dojo or telephone (01744 678144), as soon as possible with a reason for absence, ideally before 8:30am.

Please make contact with school on every day that your child is absent, unless informed otherwise.

We will attempt to contact you if your child is absent and we have not heard from you. Without a reason for your child’s absence, we are unable to authorise it.

How we can help you.

If you are experiencing any difficulties in getting your child to school regularly, and on time, please get in touch with us via telephone or on Class Dojo. We monitor attendance carefully and if your child’s attendance gives us cause for concern, we will get in touch to see what support you may need. The Attendance Lead and members of the Pastoral Team are always here to help – this can include sessions with children and families, guidance and support or just some moral support and encouragement. When we work together, we always achieve so much more.