HOME OUR SCHOOL PARENTS & CARERS PUPILS NURSERY CONTACT US St Nicolas and St Mary CE Primary School Little Fishes Nursery Home»Parents & Carers»Attendance & Absence Attendance & Absence Introduction Most parents want their child(ren) to get on well in life. Children only get one chance at school, and their chance of a successful future may be affected by not attending school regularly. Poor attendees may not be able to keep up with school work or miss out on parts of the curriculum. This can affect their rate of progress and overall level of attainment. It’s not only the academic work: missing out on the social side of school life can affect children’s ability to make and keep friendships. Setting good attendance patterns from an early age will also help children later on at secondary school. Being on time is also vital. Arriving late at school can be very disruptive for the late child, the teacher and other children in the class. Governors and staff fully appreciate the challenges of absence from learning, for both the school and for families. There is a clear link between children who miss school and the progress that they make. Pupils who are “off” disrupt the learning of other children and cost the school resources as we try and help them catch up. Please see the Attendance policy for expectations of pupils, parents/carers, school and the Local Authority. Absence from learning The school strongly advises parents and carers to encourage good attendance in order to minimise any disruption to their child(ren)’s education. The procedure for requesting absence from learning will be: The parent or carer will obtain a "Request for Absence from School in Exceptional Circumstances" form from the school office or website prior to the absence. The parent or carer will fill in and return the form to the school office, prior to the absence, which should include a full explanation of why the request is exceptional. The Headteacher will decide whether to authorise the absence in line with the Attendance policy, local guidelines and DfE guidelines. Term Time Holiday There is no entitlement to take a child out of school for a family holiday. Fixed Penalty Notices The Pupil Entitlement: Investigation (PEI) team focus on pupils with 10 or more unauthorised sessions of absence in a 10 week period. This means that children who miss FIVE days of school are more likely to be referred for a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) or prosecuted in the Magistrates Court. Home School Link Worker's role in attendance The school's Home School Link Workers can assist families in improving pupil attendance at school. Close monitoring of attendance will be undertaken by Mrs Nisbet. When a child's attendance is a cause for concern, the Home School Link Workers will contact parents/carers and work alongside families to find strategies to raise attendance at school. Request for absence from school in exceptional circumstances form Absence in case of illness Please call the school office on 01273 454470 ring and inform the school office by 9am of any absence. The Education Welfare Officer has informed us that we cannot merely state that a child is unwell so if your child is poorly, please leave details on the answering machine of your child's name, class and reason for absence e.g. temperature, sickness. Alternatively, you can register with StudyBugs (https://studybugs.com/about/parents) and download their app which provides a quick and easy way to report your child's absence due to illness. Absence in case of medical appointments Please provide advance notice where possible of any medical appointments for your child. Slips (lime green) for this purpose are available from the school office which will then be passed on to teaching staff. It is also preferable to bring in or email a copy of the letter with details of the appointment. Link to Studybugs for reporting your child's absence Journey togetherGuided by GodTo do the best we can Eastern Avenue, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 6PE 01273 454470 • office@stnm.org.uk © 2015 St Nicolas & St Mary CE Primary School Website design by e4education View Sitemap • High Visibility • Privacy Policy • Cookie Settings • Governors Area • Staff Area Awards & Specialisms Cookie Policy This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Click here for more informationAllow CookiesCookie Settings