Our Information
Attendance
Attendance Matters
At St Werburgh’s Primary School we are committed to providing all of our pupils with a full-time education which maximises opportunities for every pupil to realise their full potential. We do our best to provide a welcoming, caring environment, whereby each member of the school community feels like they belong and can thrive. It is important for us all to improve attendance at our school, which then improves the overall school experience for all our pupils. Our target for this academic year is to achieve 96% attendance.
Why attend every day?
Good attendance gives your child the best opportunity of success and helps develop skills for life. Your child should attend school every day unless there is an unavoidable cause. Evidence shows there is a clear link between a pupil’s attendance and their success.
Missing school damages pupils’ learning, disrupts routines for themselves and their classmates, and can make them feel isolated from their peers. Pupils should never miss school for reasons such as holidays, birthdays, tiredness, mild illness or to care for a family member.
The Education Welfare Service monitors our attendance. They become involved when any child has poor attendance.
Lateness and Punctuality
The gates are opened at 8.30 on Silver Birch site and 8.35 on Willow site so that children can arrive and greet their teacher and friends and prepare themselves ready for a day of learning. Classes start their day at 8.45 on Silver Birch site and 8.50 on Willow site. If your son/daughter arrives after these times then they are late. They will need to register with the office staff and go straight into their lesson. This means they would have missed out on this valuable social start to the day.
Absence from School
In order to safeguard the children in our school, we have a duty of care to follow up on any unknown absences.
If your child is not going to be in school please call the office on 0117 9031466 to report their absence. Please do this before 9am on the first day of the absence.
If we have not heard from you by 9am then we will start to call all the contact numbers that you have provided in order to gain an explanation for the absence. If we still have not been able to ascertain where your child is then we may make a home visit. In exceptional circumstances if we still haven’t been able to get a response then we may feel it necessary to report it to the police as your child will then be classed a ‘missing child’.
This procedure is to ensure that we know where your child is and that you are all safe. Similarly, if your child is absent with illness for a prolonged period, we may make a home visit as part of our duty of care to your child.
Holiday Requests
All requests for term time absence should be made in writing and in advance using the form below. Requests can either be handed in to the school office or emailed to school@stwerburghsprimary.com
Term time holidays will not be authorised unless there are exceptional circumstances. Unauthorised absences of 8 or more sessions could result in both parents receiving a penalty notice each from the council in relation to the absence. More information can be found on this below.
Penalty Notice Information
If you have any questions about attendance or require any support, please speak to Karen Haines in school office.
Improving School Attendance
We want to work together to support families where attendance for a child has become a cause for concern. We do this by:
- Sending letters to parents and carers to inform them when their child’s attendance or punctuality is becoming a concern.
- Making calls home to understand the barriers to good attendance and punctuality and offering support where we can.
- Inviting parents to meet with the Attendance Leader to discuss ways to improve attendance.
Persistent or Severely Absent
At St Werburgh’s Primary when a child’s attendance drops below 90% they are monitored as their attendance is then considered persistently absent.
We will then:
- Make sure that parents/carers are aware with letters or a call hom
- Offer support, whilst looking to understand the barriers to good attendance for the family
- Track and monitor this child’s attendance carefully
- Prioritise phone calls to follow up any absences
- Making home visits where appropriate to support a child in returning to school.
At St Werburgh’s Primary when a child’s attendance drops below 50% they are closely monitored as their attendance is then considered severely absent.
We will then:
- Offer attendance contracting meetings and attendance review meetings.
- Involve outside agencies where required such as the education welfare service, primary mental health practitioners and social care. 31 Attendance Policy & Procedures
- In some cases, look into irregular attendance prosecution, such as a penalty fine notice.
Our first response will always be to try and help and support our families where we can. Please reach out if attendance or punctuality concerns you.