Attendance at Alphington

As I am sure you understand, it is important that children are in school for every session that they can attend, so it is important that we work together to get this right for you and your child.

We absolutely appreciate that some children find it harder than others to attend school. We also understand that there are times when your child is not well enough to attend school. However, we also recognise the impact and importance of children being in school as much as possible and the evidence is clear that this gives children the best possible start in life. Children with the highest attainment at the end of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 have higher rates of attendance over the Key Stage, compared to those with the lowest attainment. Therefore, we want to work with families to do everything we can to remove any barriers to attendance, so please do come and talk to us to see how we can support them.

• Alphington Primary School aims for all children to achieve a minimum of 97% attendance regardless of their year group.
• Every stage of a child’s education is of equal importance.
• Regular attendance at school is a legal requirement and it is vital if your child is to benefit fully from their education.
• Any absence can disrupt your child’s education, whether through illness or holidays in term time.
• It is very easy to fall behind with work, but very difficult to catch up.
• Having a full education will give your child the best possible strength in life.
• Two weeks’ absence means that your child loses 60 hours of learning which they can never get back. Your child could miss a whole topic which will not be revisited.
• Friendships suffer – during absence, social groups can change – and it can be difficult for children to settle back in quickly.

Parent Responsibilities

As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that your child attends school regularly.

The law states that children should arrive at school on time, every day. Your child should arrive at school between 8.45 and 09.00 each day. The register is taken during this time and any child who arrives after this time will be marked as late.

Children find it very difficult to settle into the school day if they arrive late, as lessons have often already started and social interactions with their peers have already taken place. Many interventions also happen first thing in the morning and children who are late can miss this work.

Children who arrive at school after the main gate has closed, must be dropped into the school’s main reception by a parent/guardian so they can be signed in. This is to ensure that accurate reasons for lateness are recorded and also to ensure that children arrive safely to school.

Holidays During Term Time

Taking your child on holiday when school is in session, means that they miss important school time and this can have a detrimental effect on both their learning and friendships.

Schools are closed for 14 weeks during the year so we ask that parents and carers should make every effort to ensure they only take children on holiday during this time. We do appreciate how expensive it is to take a holiday during the school holidays but we are unable to authorise absence during this time.

Only under exceptional circumstances will leave be granted. Please note that the school may ask to provide evidence to authorise leave under these circumstances. All decisions about leave will be made at the discretion of the head teacher who is not obliged to authorise any request.

Please can we ask that parents must apply to the school well in advance if they plan to take leave during the term time so that we know when children will be absent from school? Pupils taken on leave without permission will be marked in the attendance register as taking unauthorised absences. This may result in a fixed penalty notice being issued.

Top Attendance Tips

• Talk to your child about how important it is to attend school every day.
• Show an interest in what your child has done at school each day.
• If you think your child is trying to avoid school, try to find out why? Ask them, ask their friends, ask their teachers.
• Help your child to keep to routines, going to ttïed and getting up at set times, and completing homework on time.
• Unless unavoidable, please do not arrange medical or ttĭental appointments during school hours.
• Encourage after-school and extra-curricular activities.
• Rememttïer that habits are formed easily. It is much more difficult to get your child to school regularly if you have let them stay at home ‘just this once’.