Why is good school attendance important?

Regular and punctual school attendance is essential to supporting a child or young person to flourish, fulfil their potential and enables them to:

• learn
• make and manage friendships
• develop new skills
• have fun
• experience new things in the world around them
• develop awareness and respect of other cultures, religion, ethnicity, and gender differences
• build confidence and self-esteem
• achieve and thrive with a sense of belonging to their school community
• prioritise their well-being and happiness
• be given the best start in life, enabling the best possible choices in their future
• securing school attendance is a legal requirement

Please see the chart below which shows how absence impacts attendance and hours of learning lost. Below 95% begins to cause concern in the number of hours in lost learning. The table below breaks down the percentages of attendance and how many days/hours are lost in an academic year. 

1. When does my child need to be in school?

Every child should attend every day that they are required to attend. Your child should be at school by 8.50 a.m. but not before 8.40 am, unless they are attending a breakfast club . The register is taken twice a day. Morning registration is at 8.50 am and afternoon registration is at 1 pm. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of term dates. Term dates are published on our school website.

2. 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. Ensure that they leave home in the correct clothes and properly equipped. Show your child, by your interest, that you value their education. Your child will bring home a school diary each evening. Please ensure you look at it with your child and sign it ready for the next day. Please support your child.

3. My child is trying to avoid coming to school. What should I do?

Contact your child’s form tutor/teacher/pastoral support immediately and openly discuss your worries. Your child could be avoiding school for a number of reasons – difficulties with schoolwork, bullying, friendship problems, family difficulties. It is important that we identify the reason for your child’s reluctance to attend school earl and work together to tackle the problem.

4. Who do I contact if there is a problem?

• The first point of call is the attendance officer who can be contacted by telephoning
• 01544 318273
• Sarah Wallace is the attendance champion, senior leader responsible for the strategic approach to attendance in school and can be contacted at 01544 318273
• For attendance queries and information please see school contacts below:

Email: admin@weobleyprimary.co.uk

5. What happens if my child is late?

The register for the first session will be taken at 8.50am and will be kept open until 9am. The register for the second session will be taken at 1pm and will be kept open until 1.10pm. Pupils who arrive after registration should report to the school office. Arriving after the register has closed at 9am is an unauthorised absence. Arriving late can impact on the learning of your child and others in the class, this can equate to days of absence over an academic year.

We want to help families get their child to school on time.  Here are some things you can try:

• Have everything you/your child needs for school prepared the night before
• Ensure that your child goes to bed reasonably, so they are not too tired to get up in the morning
• Ensure your child has a good night’s sleep by minimising their use of devices at bedtime.
• Have a consistent bedtime routine for your child
• Set an alarm to allow plenty of time for your morning routine in getting to school on time
• Allow extra time for traffic
• Develop back up plans for getting to school if something unexpected comes up.  Call on a family member, neighbour, or another parent to take your child to school
• Bring your child to breakfast club

A series of unauthorised late marks may lead to referral to the EWO (Education Welfare Officer). The school may consider referring to Herefordshire Council for legal action if unauthorised absences continue and parents fail to engage with guidance and support. We wish to avoid this and support you and your child.

6. What should I do if my child is absent? Do I need to write a letter explaining my child’s absence, or can I phone or email school?

We expect parents to notify the school every morning of absence by 8.50am, unless the length of absence is known in advance or a request for a holiday needs to be in writing. We will contact you if your child has not arrived in school by 9 a.m. and no message has been left.  If we do not receive an explanation, or if the explanation is unsatisfactory, we will not authorise the absence. We have a duty to ensure your child’s safety as well as their regular school attendance. You may leave a telephone message or e-mail.

7. Why is it Important

• It is paramount that parent/carers keep school updated with all new contact details of change of
• address and landline or mobile telephone numbers. If you start a new job and have a work, contact
• number, please let us know immediately. This is to ensure we can contact you in an emergency.
• Please ensure you provide the school with more than 1 emergency contact number for your child.

8. First day absence

A child not attending school is considered a safeguarding matter. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required every morning. If we are concerned about aspects of your child’s attendance or punctuality, we will contact you to discuss the best way forward to work in partnership with you.

9. Third day absence

Please note: If your child is not seen and contact has not been established with any of the named parents/carers, after three days of absence the school we will make all reasonable enquiries to establish contact with parents/carers and the child, including making enquiries to known friends, wider family and siblings that attend other schools or educational establishments. At this point we may carry out a home visit to ensure the well-being of the child.

10. Tenth day absence

We have a legal duty to report the absence of any pupil who is absent without an explanation for 10 consecutive days. If the child is not seen and contact has not been established with the named parent/carer then Herefordshire Council is notified that the child is at risk of missing. Children’s Services staff will visit the last known address and alert key services to locate the child. It would be helpful if you could ensure that we always have an up-to-date contact number and notify us of any change of address or circumstances.

11. Fifteen consecutive or cumulative days absence using Code I Only

Schools are legally required to notify Herefordshire Council where pupils are coded I (illness) and who the school has reasonable grounds to believe will miss 15 days consecutively or cumulatively because of sickness.

12. What happens if my child continues to be absent?

A member of the attendance team will meet with pupils, and their families whose attendance is a cause for concern. Where necessary, home visits may be made to discuss ways attendance could be improved and the barriers that may need removing. This may be supported by the Education Welfare Officer

This could include:

• Agreeing an attendance support plan
• Signposting to outside agencies

In situations of persistent truanting, a parent / carer may be referred to Herefordshire Council, which we wish to avoid.

The following measures may be used for pupils of compulsory school age who are registered at a school and the decisions regarding legal actions are made by Herefordshire Council in accordance with their code of conduct: Herefordshire Council Penalty notice code of conduct.

• Attendance Plans
• Written Warnings
• Issue of a Notice to Improve
• Penalty Notices
• Education Supervision Orders
• Prosecution

13. What reasons will the school accept for absences?

• Illness. However persistent illness without medical evidence will not be authorised:  Parents will be expected to provide supporting evidence, so school are able to consider if the absence is to be authorised or unauthorised. If the authenticity of an illness is in doubt, the school may ask the pupil’s parent/carer to provide medical evidence, such as a doctor’s/consultant letter, prescription, appointment card or other appropriate form of evidence. We will not ask for medical evidence unnecessarily. If the school is not satisfied about the authenticity of the illness, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised, and parents/carers will be notified of this in writing. Repeat sickness absence days can be a cause for concern and we would expect contact to be made with a GP regarding medical investigations to rule out any underlying health issues.

• Emergency dental/medical appointment. (Please make routine appointments after school or during the holidays), appointment cards will be required to support the absence.

• Family holidays in exceptional circumstances and only if authorised in advance by the Head teacher in line with the school attendance policy.