Attendance

Attendance

The importance of attendance at Cupernham Infant School

Please review our Attendance Policy for further information.

 

  • Attendance

We believe that for a child to reach their full educational achievement, a high level of school attendance is essential.

We are committed to providing an education of the highest quality and work together to secure this for all our children. We endeavour to provide an environment where all children feel valued and welcome. Parents and children play a part in making our school successful. Every child has a right to access the education to which he/she is entitled. Parents and teachers share the responsibility for supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and punctuality for all.

It is our duty to consistently strive to achieve a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to children and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance.

For our children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered it is vital your child is at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. The routines children develop around attendance and punctuality at school are the same as the expectations of any future employer in the world of work.

Research shows that absence from school, for whatever reason, can disadvantage a child by creating gaps in learning, which affect a child’s ability to succeed. As such, we monitor all absence thoroughly and all attendance data is shared with the Local Authority. We will contact you if we have any concerns regarding your child’s attendance. If your child’s attendance level is falling towards 90%, then we will contact you to see if we can help. Please support us by giving your child the best opportunities through good attendance at school.

95% attendance means a child has missed 9 school days a year, if this continues across all 3 years they will have missed 27 school days. This is the equivalent to nearly a whole half term.

If your child’s attendance is only 90% they are missing half a day a week (1 session), this equates to 40 sessions an academic year. This will have a significantly negative impact on their learning, progress and being ready for junior school and beyond. This is the equivalent of over a term’s worth of learning.

For a child to reach their full educational achievement a high level of school attendance is essential. For our children to take full advantage of the educational opportunities offered at Cupernham Infant School, it is vital your child is at school, on time, every day the school is open unless the reason for the absence is unavoidable. Make sure that any absence is clearly accounted for by phone or email on the first and subsequent days of absence.

You can report an absence by calling the school office to speak to a member of staff (or leave a message – Option 1) on 01794 514494. You can also email absence notifications to: adminoffice@cupernham-inf.hants.sch.uk You must state the reason for the absence and your child’s name and class.

  • Punctuality

When your child is late, it is not only impacting on their attendance but also it is disruptive to the rest of the class when they are settled and starting their lessons. Arriving late at school means that your child is missing vital learning time, whilst 5 minutes here and there might not seem like a big issue, it soon adds up and being 5 minutes late every day adds up to a huge 3 days being lost over the academic year.

  • Registration Process
08:50 The classroom doors open and the school day begins.
09:00 Classroom doors close and the school day starts. The register is taken. Any children arriving after this time will need to go through the school office and will receive a Late mark (before registers closed) on their attendance record.
09:11 Any children arriving after this time will receive a Late mark (after registers closed) on their attendance record. This is an unauthorised absence (U)
09:30 If a child is not in school and there has not been any contact from parents to explain the absence, the office will telephone or send a text message asking for parents to inform us.
10:00 If staff have been unable to speak to parents to verify the child’s welfare, the Headteacher, Attendance Officer and/or Child & Family Support Worker will be notified and if necessary visit the family home to satisfy themselves that the child is safe.
  • Responsibility

Every child has a right to access the education he/she is entitled. Parents and teachers share the responsibility for supporting and promoting excellent school attendance and punctuality for all. Every opportunity will be used to convey to children and their parents or carers the importance of regular and punctual attendance. As a parent/carer you have a legal duty to make sure your child receives a full-time education and comes to school regularly. If you are finding it difficult to get your child to school you must speak to the class teacher and/or Mrs Hoath our Child and Family Support Worker. We will be able to help you.

  • Medical Appointments

Where possible, medical and dental appointments should be arranged for the end of the day, not the start of the day. Arriving late, even after a medical appointment, is unsettling not just for your child, but also the rest of the class.

  • Family holidays/school holidays (and Penalty Notices)

Children have 13 weeks annual holiday from school and school holiday dates are published well in advance online. As such, all parents/carers are expected wherever possible to plan and take their family holidays at this time so as not to disrupt their children’s education. Education law states that parents do not have a right to take their child out of school for a holiday during term time. Only in exceptional circumstances may a headteacher grant permission for leave; and it is the Headteacher’s decision on whether the absence is exceptional and how many days to approve.

Parents/carers who take their child out of school without the absence being agreed and authorised by written permission from the school can be issued with a penalty fine.

  • What can I do to encourage my child to attend School?
    • Make sure your child gets enough sleep and gets up in plenty of time each morning. Establish a morning routine that works for your family
    • Ensure that he/she leaves home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value his / her education.
    • Be interested in what your child is doing in school, chat to them about the things they have learnt, what friends they have made and even what they had for lunch.
    • Talking positively about the day ahead will ensure your child feels confident and in the right mindset to start their day.
 Useful Information From Hampshire County Council

For further guidance, you can visit the government website, which also details information on penalty notices for non-attendance at school: Gov.uk- Attendance guidance for parents

 

 

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