Attendance & Absence

Why is attendance important?

• There is a link between good school attendance and high level attainment.
• Good attendance promotes children’s welfare and safeguarding.
• It enables pupils to access the widest possible range of opportunities.
• It encourages good friendships with peers.

Regular school attendance is an important part of giving your child the best possible start in life and is important to your child’s future.

Did you know…

96% attendance is regarded as minimum satisfaction by the Government. Parents/carers are legally responsible for ensuring their child attends school on time every day.

What you can do to help?

• Find out what date each term starts and make sure your child is ready.
• Get as much prepared the evening before to save time in the morning. Check the alarm is set.
• Build regular routines for bedtime and the morning.  Primary children need about 10 hours of sleep each night.
• Talk about the importance of regular attendance and how your child feels about school.
• Where possible all medical appointments should be booked outside of school hours.  The amount of disruption to learning time should be kept to a minimum if this is not possible.
• Try to arrange a back up plan for getting to school if there are unforeseen circumstances.  Ask a family member, neighbour or another parent for help.