Attendance Matters

SS Osmund & Andrew's RCP School wants to ensure that every child gets the very best education, maximising opportunities for each pupil to achieve their full potential. This can only be accomplished if children attend school every day.

All children have the right to an education.

Parents and carers have the responsibility of ensuring their children are on time and attending regularly.

 

Good Attendance

Having a good education will help to give your child the best possible start in life. We believe that children who do not attend school regularly are more likely to:

• Fall behind in their school work
• Find it difficult to make and keep friends
• Be unhappy at school

 

Setting good attendance patterns from an early age will also help your child later on. Employers want to recruit people who are reliable. Therefore, children who have a poor school attendance record may have less chance of getting a good job.

 

A whole year has 365 days. A school year has only 190 days. This leaves 175 days to spend on family time, visits, holidays, birthdays, treat, dentists, and hospital appointments. 90% attendance is equal to 1 day off each fortnight!

 

100% Attendance Very Good - Best chance of success. Gets your child off to a flying start.

90% Concern - Less chance of success. Makes it harder for your child to make progress.

85% or less - Serious concerns. Your child will find it difficult to make progress, learn new skills and build social networks.

 

 

If your child is absent

Please ensure that if your child is absent from school you contact the school office to give an explanation, otherwise it could result in the absence being recorded as unauthorised.

 

Attendance Awards and our School Attendance Data

At SS Osmund and Andrew's we celebrate good attendance.  Each Monday, attendance is celebrated in the whole school assembly, with the winning class receiving a reward. Class attendance is also displayed weekly in the school newsletter.  At the end of the school year, children with 100% attendance are rewarded.

 

Monitoring Attendance and Punctuality

We monitor attendance on a weekly basis and send letters to parents whose child's attendance is a cause for concern. Their attendance is then monitored weekly for improvements. All parents receive attendance reports at Parents' Evenings. Late arrivals are monitored on a weekly basis too. 

 

Fixed Penalty Notices

As of September 2013, the Local Authority have been instructed schools to issue Fixed Penalty Notices under Section 444 of the Education Act 1996 to parents/carers for failing to ensure regular school attendance for their child. The change in government legislation means that family holidays are no longer authorised absences. Family holidays taken in term time may result in a penalty notice being raised. This is also the case where there are high numbers of unauthorised absences within an academic year. Leave of absence during term time will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances and this is at the discretion of the Headteacher. 

 

A Fixed Penalty Notice Results in:

• A cost of £60 per parent/carer for each child. This will require payment to be made to the Local Authority within 21 days.
• The cost increases to £120 per parent/carer for each child if payment is not received within 28 days.
• If the penalty is not paid in full by the end of the 28-day period, the Local Authority will instigate Court proceedings and the outcome of a prosecution could be up to £1000 per parent/carer.

 

Please click here to view our Attendance & Holidays in Term Time Policy