Attendance Information for Parents

Why does attendance matter?

Attending school on a regular basis is the key to your child doing well at school and will set them up with good habits for later life and the working world. It will also give your child the opportunity to:

-Make lots of friends and feel included

-Learn new things and develop many skills

-Increase his/her confidence and self esteem

-Improve his/her social skills

-Achieve their potential and fulfil their aspirations

We will.

-Provide a welcoming atmosphere for all children

-Provide a safe learning environment

-Ensure a creative and engaging curriculum

- Provide a sympathetic response to any pupil’s concerns

-Share data, information and concerns with parents and provide feedback on your child’s attendance.

We ask you to.

-Ensure your child attends regularly and punctually

-Contact school on the first day of absence before 9.30am (Messages can be left on the answering machine)

-Keep in frequent contact with school if the absence continues

-Request help from school when you have concerns about any issues affecting your child’s attendance

-Attend informal meetings if concerns are identified

-Support the school in agreed interventions/action plans to improve attendance

-Do not take any leave of absence during term time unless agreed in advance by the Head teacher to be under exceptional circumstances.

St Mary Magdalene’s RC will not grant any leave of absence during term time unless there are exceptional circumstances. Any request for leave of absence must be requested on the ‘Holiday Request Form’ available from the school office or website and must be submitted well in advance of the proposed leave and before committing to any expense. The Head teacher cannot approve holidays in term time and parents who take their children out of school, during term time, without prior arrangement with the Head teacher may be issued with a Penalty Notice.

FAQ’s

What happens if I keep my child off, and don’t contact school?

School will contact home to try and obtain a reason for absence- if no reason is

provided school may carry out a visit to your home- this is to check on the welfare of you and your child.

What is an unauthorised absence?

A child being kept off school unnecessarily or without good reason. Term time holidays is not a justified reason to take your child out of school. Children arriving after 9:25am will also get an unauthorised mark for the morning session as they have missed more than 30 minutes of learning.

What is PA?

PA stands for ‘Persistent Absence. This is when your child’s attendance is below 90%

What is risk of PA?

Risk of PA is when your child’s attendance is at risk of dropping below 90% - we aim to offer early intervention support at this stage.

What is an EPN?

EPN stands for ‘Education penalty notices’. EPNs are issued for unauthorised absences, this includes term time holidays. Children missing 10 sessions over the course of 10 weeks can be issued EPNs.

I’ll just go on holiday and pay the fine?

EPNs have now been capped nationally at TWO fines within any 3-year period. After this, other action like a parenting order or prosecution has to be considered- this could mean a fine of up to £2500 per parent, per child. For a family of 2 adults and 2 children this would be a £10,000 fine.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any further questions, please contact Miss Zollner.