Glencastle NS Statement of Strategy of Attendance

# Statement of Strategy for School Attendance

## Glencastle N.S., Bunnahowen P.O., Ballina, Co. Mayo

### Our Vision and Values in Relation to Attendance

The mission of Glencastle National School is to promote the fullest possible development of every child as a whole person. To help achieve this ideal, Glencastle National School provides a broad education in line with the curriculum guidelines for Primary Schools, including coherent and practical planning for the inclusion of children with special needs, allowing each child to reach the highest level of academic attainment consistent with his or her abilities or talents, so that the school community is enriched by the unique gifts and talents of all its students. Glencastle N.S. recognises that the parents/guardians are the primary educators and that it is only through co-operation between them and the school that our ideal can be realised. It also recognises that there is a clear and direct relationship between regular school attendance and pupil progress. Glencastle N.S. is aware of its responsibilities to those pupils who experience difficulties and through encouragement and support will assist those pupils to reach their full potential. School starts at 9:20 am for all children and ends at 2:00 pm for the pupils in both the Early Intervention class and the Infant classes and 3:00 pm for pupils in First to Sixth Class. Glencastle N.S. follows the standardised school year as laid out by the Department of Education and Skills.

### Expectations

Under the Education (Welfare) Act, 20005, parents /guardians are responsible for making sure their child receives an education. In this regard, the Board of Management of Glencastle N.S. has high expectations regarding attendance and punctuality. Children are encouraged to come to school every day and the school’s approach to, and promotion of, attendance is outlined below. Tusla and the Board of Management of Glencastle N.S. strongly advise that parents do not take their children out of school for holidays during term time. Holidays should be taken during the allocated holiday time as outlined in the school calendar. The Board of Management acknowledges that there are cases where a child has a genuine reason for absenteeism, including; illness, urgent family reasons, expulsion, suspension, or transfer to another school.

### How Attendance is Monitored

The Secretary and or class teachers take a daily roll call which is recorded on the school’s data software programme ‘Aladdin’. If a pupil does not attend on a day when the school is open, their absence will be recorded by the class teacher or secretary on the Aladdin system. If the teacher or the principal has been made aware of the reason for absence, this is also recorded on the Aladdin system. If a teacher is concerned about pupil absences, they alert relevant staff; i.e. the Principal or Deputy Principal. The roll call is taken at 9.50am each morning. The annual attendance of each pupil is recorded on Aladdin and is printed in the end of year school reports. Late arrivals and early departures are discouraged unless absolutely necessary. All late arrivals will be recorded on the Aladdin system. For early departures, a parent/carer must sign their child out of