Attendance

Attendance

Everyone in our school community recognises that good school attendance is vital to ensure that our children thrive, have the best education possible and achieve their full potential.

Teaching and learning doesn’t stop when your child is absent from school and so the impact of gaps in knowledge and skills can increase exponentially as your child moves through primary school, into secondary school and beyond. Therefore, it is important that your child attends school, unless they are too unwell.  Every day matters.

We value the support from our parents and carers which is why we want to be clear about our expectations, so you have all the information you need to support your child.  

The Department for Education (DfE) have made key changes to attendance expectations which come into effect from 1st September 2024 and so we have updated our policies and procedures to reflect these changes. We hope the following information will be useful.

My child is too unwell to attend school

Sometimes children wake up in the morning and feel under the weather and it can be difficult to decide whether to keep your child off school. At these times, you may find the following NHS advice useful. 

We do also know there are times when you know your child is too unwell to attend school and so they must get better and recover at home. If this is the case, please could we ask you tell us each day your child isn’t in school. This can be done in the following ways:

-       Telephone the school on 01980 670268 before 8.40am

-       Mark your child as absent via the Arbor App or send an email to admin@stmichaelsprimary.uk explaining a reason as to why your child is off. Please ensure you make the school aware on each day of your childs absence. 

Our administration staff must establish where a child is and so they will contact you if we have not heard from you once the registers have closed. 

Non urgent medical appointments for example a dentist appointment

We appreciate that getting a routine non urgent medical appointment outside school hours can be challenging. Please can we ask that you try to plan ahead and book routine appointments outside of school hours where possible.

Leave of Absence Requests

For the academic year 2024-25 your child will have in total 14 weeks of school holiday for family holidays and planned events. Therefore, leave of absence will not be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.

We also recognise that there may be times when there are expectational circumstances during term which means your child cannot attend school. We want to be clear with you about what exceptional circumstances are. Examples include illness, urgent medical appointments, observations of religious events, attending a school interview.

Please click here for a leave of absence request form

Leave of Absence requests for children from service families

As with all our children, including children from service families, good attendance is vital. The information detailed above applies to all children, including those from service families.

We do understand that there may be additional exceptional circumstances for children of  service families. At these times, a request for term time absence may be appropriate to support the wellbeing of the child and family during those challenging times and so these leave of absence requests will be carefully considered.  

My child’s attendance needs to improve

Firstly, please remember, you have continuous access to your child’s attendance information through the Arbor App. You can you see your child’s attendance, authorised absences and any unauthorised absences.

From time to time, a child may find it challenging to attend school regularly. We want to help and support you and your child so in the first instance, please contact and talk to your child’s teacher so you can talk about any potential barriers to your child wanting to come to school and what we can do to remove them.  You can also talk to Mrs Rutt who is our dedicated member of staff who overseas pupil attendance.

We also review pupil attendance each week and if we notice that your child’s attendance is falling below what we would expect, we will contact you to talk about how we can support you and your child with any barriers to good attendance. 

We always try to improve attendance by working with you because as parents, you know your child best. From time to time, we may decide that the best course of action for your child is to work with external agencies but if that is the case, we will fully involve you in that process.

Attendance Policy 2024-25

The Department for Education (DfE) has updated their policy around pupil attendance which is reflected in our school policy. Please take time to read this policy as there have been considerable changes.

Please click here for a link to our Attendance Policy 

Please note key changes to the following:

• Attendance codes we will now be using
• There is no longer any option for schools to authorise, under any circumstances, term time holidays
• Penalty notices issued for attendance

Penalty Notice 

Please read the Wiltshire Council Local Authority leaflet which explains Penalty Notices issued for unauthorised leave of absence during term time. Copies of this leaflet are also available via the school office. 

Attendance and behaviour - Wiltshire Council

If you have any questions about attendance expectations or supporting your child with attending, please contact Mrs Rutt or talk to your child’s teacher.

Please click here for a copy of the Leave of Absence Request Form