Attendance

St. Margaret’s CE Primary School is proudly recognised as an Inclusive Attendance school. Our unwavering commitment to attendance centres around child-centric actions, evidence-informed practices, and a shared understanding of everyone's roles and collective responsibilities to promote exceptional attendance.

We are driven to making school attendance a top priority, fully integrated with every aspect of school improvement. Using the Inclusive Attendance Model – the first and only accredited programme providing the pedagogy of practice – we support children and families to connect, belong, and thrive.

To guarantee a comprehensive approach to attendance, we implement a Multi-Tiered System of Support. A Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) for school attendance involves three tiers of intervention, with roles for teachers, the school, children, parents, and external agencies – including the Local Authority. Data-driven decision-making and training requirements are pivotal to the implementation of the system. The system aligns with the Department for Education's (DFE) "Working Together to Improve School Attendance" guidelines.

Punctuality:

Morning registration is at 8.50am. This is the time your child must be in the classroom - the doors open at 8.45am. It is important that your child is on time as the first few minutes of the school day are often used to welcome the children into school, carry out morning learning activities, give out instructions or organise schoolwork for the rest of the day. Late arrivals can be unsettling to your child.

If your child is in school after the close of registration (9.00am), they may be marked as unauthorised absence in line with the DCFS (Department for Children, Schools and Families) government guidance.

The school office will text parents if your child is late.

We will let you know if we have concerns about your child’s punctuality.

Children who remain uncollected at the end of school time will be referred to a place of safety and parents/carers will be contacted.

Authorised Absence:

It is very important that all absences are reported to school. Some absences are allowed by law and are known as “authorised absences”. For example: if your child is ill, if there has been a family bereavement, or due to religious observance. We realise that there are rare occasions when there might be a particular problem that causes your child to be absent. Please let us know and we shall try to deal with it sympathetically. If a sickness absence is not reported then medical evidence will be required. A doctor’s note, stating your child is not well enough to be in school, will be asked for if a child’s attendance dips below a certain threshold (92%) or a child has three separate occasions of illness over the academic year. Previous attendance data will also be taken into consideration. A prolonged sickness absence of 5 days or more after first reporting will require a doctor’s letter.

Children who have a lot of time off due to recurring illness maybe referred to the School Nurse.

Sickness and Diarrhoea:

If your child has been vomiting or has experienced diarrhoea (or similar), it is our school policy that they should not be in school for 48 hours (NHS Guidance - Is-my-child-too-ill-for-school) following the last time they have had this to avoid spreading the illness. Please try to inform us as soon as you are able.                                               :

Unauthorised Absence

There are times when children are absent for reasons, which are not permitted by law - there is no explanation for the absence or where the explanation or reason for the absence is considered unsatisfactory These are known as “unauthorised absences”. Examples of unauthorised absence are:

• Going for a family day out
• It is your child’s birthday
• Going shopping or for a hair cut
• Sleeping in after a late night
• A fall-out with peers
• Unapproved Holidays

 Home Visits:

If your child is absent for three days or more and we have not been informed of the reason behind the absence, then we will aim to carry out a home visit to ensure that your child is safe and well, as part of our safeguarding responsibilities. If your child’s attendance is below 85% our allocated Children’s Welfare Officer – Mr Michael Roberts - will aim to visit everyday of the unexplained absence.