Attendance
Our aim is to bring the best out of every pupil that attends St John's
The Importance Of Attendance
We are sure you will agree that regular attendance at school is essential for your child's educational and emotional needs.
If your child is unwell, and unable to come to school, it is important that you contact the school office by 9:20 a.m. (01480 375026).
If we are not advised that your child is ill, their absence will be recorded as 'unauthorised'. In cases of unauthorised absence, significant absence or lateness, it is likely that our school's Attendance Officer will contact you to discuss this. Please be aware that penalty notices and fines are now issued in the case of persistent, unauthorised absences.
We, at St John's Church of England Primary School like to recognise when children achieve 100% attendance, and this is rewarded with badges and certificates, which the children love to receive!
We ask that wherever possible absences for medical/dental/hospital appointments are arranged outside of school hours, however we do appreciate that this is not always possible. If you do need to take your child out of school for such a appointment, we may ask to see written confirmation from you in the form of an appointment card or letter.
Thank you for your co-operation.
List of services
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Attendance figures explainedList Item 1
Attendance is based on a child being at school in time for the morning register as well as the afternoon register so being marked present for 2 sessions a day.
Both these sessions count towards their overall attendance figure which is simply a percentage of how many sessions your child has been present throughout the current academic year.
The only reasons a child will be marked as present when they are not in school are if they are being educated at a different location, or at a school event such as residential or sporting.
There are a variety of different reasons that a child may be absent from school and the school will assign an appropriate code on the register to make staff aware of the reason.
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Authorised AbsenceList Item 2
Absence from school can be authorised for the following reasons:
Medical appointments
Illness where the school has been notified by phone or in writing
Religious observance
NOTE: An authorised absence is still recorded as the child not being in school and will have a negative effect on their attendance figure.
Absence from school will be unauthorised in all other circumstances unless deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Headteacher. This does not apply to term-time holidays, which will always be unauthorised.
Please see the information below, from the Local Authority, regarding unauthorised term time leave.
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UNAUTHORISED TERM TIME LEAVE (includes Holiday):List Item 3
Any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave of more than 6 consecutive sessions over a 4 week period, not authorised by the school (under exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice. Such cases will have to be supported by evidence of previous unauthorised term time leave (more than 6 consecutive sessions over a 4 week period) taken in the last 3 years and evidence of parents being warned about a potential Penalty Notice.
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Why we feel a child’s attendance is so importantList Item 4
Children’s learning in school is based on a build up of skills and knowledge.
This build up is continually planned by teachers on a day to day basis. Children that miss one session could miss out on a potentially important session and although every effort is made to catch children up when they return, this is usually not as effective and takes time away from the rest of the class.
If children miss out on a number of sessions this can significantly affect their overall progress.
Children that are away from school on a regular basis can miss out on opportunities to build strong friendships and can sometimes find it harder to build strong friendships within school