Attendance
At. St. George's we want to support every family to be able to come to school every day. We know that excellent attendance has a direct impact on pupil attainment. We also know that good habits of attendance and punctuality are important skills for life.
Support for Parents
If you are struggling with your child attending school for any reason, contact the school office. They will put you in touch with Mrs Povey, our learning mentor, or Miss Wilkins, our family support worker, who will be able to support you.
We can offer:
- support with morning routines to help you get to school on time
- referrals to the school nurse if there are health concerns affecting attendance
- walking bus if you are unable to leave the house
- places at our breakfast club
Early Birds
When punctuality is an issue, children in KS2 will be given an Early Bird target card. This allows the children to collect stickers for attending on time and earn rewards. If children are placed on an Early Bird card, parents will be informed and asked to support the children with their time keeping.
In KS1 and Early Years, our school staff will speak to parents about the reasons for lateness and find solutions with you to promote good time keeping.
What happens if my child's attendance is poor?
Initially, we will work with you to identify the reasons for the low attendance and put support in to help you and your child. We would hope this means the attendance improves.
If poor attendance continues then your child will be recorded as a persistent absentee (attendance below 90%) and other actions will be taken. These could include:
- meetings with the Headteacher to discuss the cause of the absence
- referrals to health professionals to explore the absence (if medical related)
- meetings with the Local Authority Education Welfare Officer (EWO)
- fines and sanctions
- referrals to social care
What is excellent attendance?
We would like all children's attendance to be above 97%. Attendance Officers at school will meet half termly to look at pupils' attendance and will speak to parents when attendance is low. We know there will often be reasons for the absence and we will work with you to make sure that your children can be in school as much as possible.
What if my child is poorly - should they come to school?
Often children are well enough to come to school and, just like we all get up and go to work when we feel a bit under the weather, children should be encouraged to build this resilience. However, there are times when children should not come to school.
Time off in Term Time
Time off during school time is very disruptive for children, their class mates and their teachers. This should be avoided wherever possible.
In exceptional circumstances, children sometimes need to take time off during the term. This will need to be discussed with the headteacher and a leave form will need to be completed. This should only be for emergencies.
Children have 13 weeks school holiday and travel to home countries should be done within this time. Any travel outside of holiday time must be discussed with the headteacher and could result in your child losing their place at school.