Our Lady's Catholic Primary School

Attendance

Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School Attendance: A Guide for Parents

Why is Attendance Important?

‘Every child has a right to a good education to help them fulfil their potential and to develop the skills required to access the world of work and other opportunities.’

Attendance and the Law

The law says that it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure the child attends regularly and on time to the school at which they are on roll. Failure to ensure regular attendance can result in legal action. Legal action can result in a court appearance, which may result in a fine or even court appearance sentence where appropriate. A Fixed Penalty Notice is a fine that can be issued to each parent for ‘each child’ in the event of persistent absenteeism and failure to pay the fine will result in further court action. Reference: Section 7 of the Education Act 1996

What is your Child’s Attendance?

My child’s
attendance is:		 How much Learning
has my child missed?		 What does this mean?
100%
attendance		 0 weeks of
learning missed		 Your child will be achieving their full potential.
Well done your child has excellent attendance
95%
attendance		 9 days across the year
1 week, 4 days of
learning missed		 Your child has good attendance and a great
chance of success
*90%
attendance		 19 days across the year
3 weeks, 4 days of
learning missed		 We are worried about your child’s poor
attendance.  Your child is missing out on the
learning opportunities at school
85%
attendance 		28 days across the year
5 weeks, 3 days of
learning missed		 We are extremely concerned about your
child’s attendance.  Your child is missing out
on the many learning opportunities at school
80%
attendance 		38 days across the year
7 weeks, 3 days of
learning missed		 This is very poor attendance and we are
seriously concerned.

The school will provide you with regular attendance reports in relation to your individual child to help you to monitor your child’s attendance.
* Your child will be deemed to be ‘Persistently Absent’ if their attendance is 90% or below.  This will mean possible legal action from the Local Authority. If you child’s attendance does fall into this bracket you will be required to attend meetings in school and may be subject to increased home visits from a member of the Attendance Team.

What to do if your child is ill

  • Telephone or text the school on the day of the absence and each day thereafter (if appropriate)
    Provide the school with medical evidence where it is available e.g. medicine bottles, prescriptions, Doctors note etc.
  • Ask the GP and/or school for advice on exclusion periods for illness.
  •  Don’t condone absence! Only allow time off if your child is genuinely ill

Authorised Absences

  • Any absence where medical proof has been provided to the school.
  • Attendance Officer/School has made home visits and they consider the child too ill to attend.
  • Your child has been seen in school by a qualified first aider.
  • Authorised absences have been agreed by school and will not result in any legal consequences for the parents/carers.

Unauthorised Absences

  • No medical proof is provided and your child already has attendance below 90%.
  • Holidays taken in term time, will not be agreed by school.
  • Unauthorised absences have not been agreed by school and can result in legal action being taken against parents/carers.

Attendance levels are monitored according to the school Attendance Protocol

Below is the attendance process that we follow.  The benchmarks detail what action
will be taken at each stage in relation to your child’s attendance levels.

Continued decline under 90%If attendance continues to decline a referral will be made to the Local Authority Attendance and Prosecutions Servicewhich could result in court action for parents.

96% and above

This is Our Lady’s Primary School’s attendance target.

Your child will be on course to reach their full potential.

92%

Initial concern letter will be sent to all parents as their child’s
attendance begins to fall.  Attendance will be monitored

closely to ensure that it begins to improve.

Still below 92%

Second concern letter will be sent and a request for medical evidence before any future absences will be authorised.

You will begin to have regular home visits from our school Attendance Officer to ascertain reasons for absence.

90%

Your child will be deemed to be persistently absent with attendance at 90% & below

Parents will be invited into school for a meeting to engage in a parent contract with our school Attendance Officer to

discuss the reasons  for declining  attendance.

Medical Appointments

  • Wherever possible avoid medical appointments in school time or arrange them for later in the afternoon.
  • If appointments in school time cannot be avoided, ensure an appointment card (or letter) is handed to the school prior to the appointment.
  • If parents do not have appointment card etc. ensure that the school have provided a slip to be stamped by clinic/dentist etc. to confirm appointment.
  • Wherever possible attend school prior to appointment and return to school following the appointment.
  • If your child does not return to school on the advice of the GP, always contact the school to inform them of the outcome.

Guidance on Infection Control in Schools

Punctuality
It is understandable and acceptable that any child can be late on an odd occasion for any number of reasons, all of which should be verified by the parent/carer. 

Lateness in school causes immense disruption and inconvenience and actively disadvantages the progress of pupils whose lessons are constantly interrupted by the arrival of latecomers. It is also often embarrassing for the pupil to be constantly arriving late.

5 minutes late every day = 3.5 days missed each year
10 minutes late every day = 7.2 days missed each year
20 minutes late every day = 14.4 days missed each year

Excessive lateness can result in legal action being taken against parents/carers.

Holidays in Term Time 
From the 1st September 2013, the law gave no entitlement to parents to take their child on holiday during term time. Any application for leave must now only be in exceptional circumstances and the Head Teacher must be satisfied that the circumstances are exceptional and warrant the granting of leave. Head teachers are not expected to class any term time holiday as exceptional, indeed parents can now be fined by the Local Authority for taking their child on holiday during term time without consent from school.

A family holiday is NOT an exceptional circumstance.

The school term dates are available on our school website. www.ourladys-primary.co.uk
Attendance Concerns or Worries – please contact the school on 01925 633270 or alternatively email school on: office@olcps.uk 

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