Attendance at All Saints’

All children should be in school, on time, each day our school is open. Good attendance ensures they gain the very best from their educational experience at All Saints’ where we work hard to make sure school life is interesting, fulfilling, worthwhile and fun. We are delighted with those children who demonstrate100% attendance and reward them in line with our Behaviour and Discipline Policy.

We work with our families to ensure children have high levels of attendance and remind parents of their legal duty to ensure their child attends school every day – there is no automatic entitlement to time off from school to go on holiday. We communicate attendance information to parents in their child’s end-of-year Record of Achievement report.

Regular Attendance

Any absence from school impacts on a child’s learning as they can miss important content which is built upon in later learning sessions. A child’s absence can also affect regular teaching routines and could therefore have a detrimental impact on the learning of others in that same class. It is a parental legal responsibility to ensure their child’s regular attendance at school and permitting absence from school without a good reason is an offence in law and could result in prosecution. Failing to attend this school on a regular basis could be considered a safeguarding matter.

Absence

Clear information (usually in written form) explaining every absence for any child will be requested from all parents, each half-day of absence needing to be classified by the school as either authorised or unauthorised dependent upon the reason.

Authorised absences: mornings or afternoons away from school for which there is a good reason i.e. illness, emergencies or other unavoidable issues. Medical appointments during the school day are discouraged, we ask families to try to make such arrangements for before/after the school day or during school holidays. On the rare occasions when parents cannot make appointments outside of the school day, the school may authorise time out of school for the child to attend.

Unauthorised absences: mornings or afternoons away from school which the school does not consider reasonable i.e. holidays taken during term time. Such time away from school will not be sanctioned and could lead to the involvement of the Education Welfare Officer with the potential for legal proceedings being initiated. The local authority can use sanctions such as Penalty Notices or prosecutions in the Magistrates Court. Full details of the options open to enforce attendance at school are available from the Education Welfare Officer.

Persistent absenteeism: Should a child miss 10% or more schooling across the school year, for whatever reason, they are classed as a ‘persistent absentee’. This level of absence could be causing considerable damage to a child’s educational prospects and the fullest involvement of families would be sought to tackle such. We would investigate all attendance which is causing concern and provide any support we could to improve the situation. The Local Authority would be informed of any cases of persistent absenteeism.

What to do if my child is absent from school: If your child is unfit for school due to illness or another legitimate reason you should contact the School Office on the first day of absence, in person or by telephone (leaving a message on the absence line if the phone is unanswered).

If the School Office has not been informed of your child’s reason for absence they will contact you for further information. Families should update the School Office each day their child is absent. Absence will not be authorised without this communication. Absences for other reasons must be discussed with the school i.e. one that is unavoidable or is an emergency. 

Making an application for authorised leave

Attendance at school is a legal requirement and the Governing Body at All Saints’ has decided that authorised absences during term time will only be considered on compassionate grounds and / or in exceptional circumstances.

Applications for authorised leave during term time must be addressed to the Headteacher in writing for her consideration. Each request will be considered individually, decisions being made in relation to whether the application can be considered as exceptional or compassionate circumstances. The child’s attendance record will be taken into consideration along with the length of time for which the absence is requested, and the timing within the school year (applications for authorised absence will not be authorised during SATs week). Applications will be considered and families informed of outcomes once decisions have been made.

Arriving Late

Our school doors open at 8:45am for children to make their way into their classroom and start their school day, we cannot take responsibility for children who arrive before this time. Morning registers are taken at 8:55am by which time parents should ensure all children are in school to receive a mark for the session. Arrivals at school more than 15 minutes late, without good reason, will be marked as unauthorised.