Attendance

Our school day begins at 8.45am and finishes at 3.15pm.

Good attendance is vital if your child is to achieve and make good progress. Poor attendance can result in slow rates of progress and lower attainment, as well as missing out on learning experiences and the possibility of problems socialising with other pupils. We monitor attendance daily. Term time holidays are not authorised and could result in fines being issued.

Please see below letter from Focus Trust about attendance and our attendance policy:

03 attendance letter to families annual sep 2023 1 1 .pdf

Please notify us by phone (01274 882458) or email (shibdenhead@focus-trust.co.uk) to let us know and explain your child’s absence. In order to ensure the safety and well-being of your child, we will contact you if we have not received notification from you.

We monitor attendance daily and send an attendance report home with each child’s end-of-year report to parents. If we have concerns about a child’s attendance or punctuality, we will contact you to discuss how this might be improved. Miss Harrison (deputy head) and Mrs Parnaby (Pastoral Lead) are keen to work with parents/carers to maintain good attendance at school.

Good attendance is encouraged and a certificate is awarded to the classes with the highest attendance in Key Stages 1 and 2 each week. Individual certificates are presented to all pupils who achieve 100% and 99% attendance across the school year.

Returning after an absence

If your child is returning to school part-way through the day, please take them to the main office to sign them in. If they are returning on a morning following an absence, please ensure that written confirmation of the reason for absence is provided (by letter or email) if this has not already been done.

Persistent absence – attendance below 90%

The threshold for persistent absence is below 90%. A letter alerting concern will be sent to the parent of any child whose attendance is in danger of falling to 90%. Any child whose attendance falls below 90% will be monitored closely and further action taken.

Punctuality

Being late for school makes it hard for your child to learn. If they are 30 minutes late each day it means they are missing a half day of school every week. If your child is late by 10 minutes a day he or she will miss the equivalent of one week’s learning in a year. If your child is late arriving at school, please take them to the main office to be signed in. If they are a few minutes late, they will receive a late mark. If they are very late, this will be classed as an absence for the session.

Punctuality is a good thing because:

•it gets the day off to a good start

•it establishes positive patterns for the future

•it helps your child develop

•it helps your child make and keep friends

•it leads to self confidence and success

•it is good training for adult life and work

Lateness is not because:

•it gets the day off to a bad start

•it can be embarrassing for your child

•it may damage your child’s confidence

•it can affect friendship patterns

•it disrupts learning for everyone

•it can hinder your child’s achievement

https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/supporting-others/childrens-mental-health/