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Attendance
It is very important that the children establish good habits of punctuality and school attendance.
Parents are asked to contact the school on the first day of an absence and then to confirm in writing the reason for a child being absent. Parents are urged wherever possible to take their family holidays in the school holiday periods as any interruption to the children’s schooling affects their education. Children in Years 2 and 6 have National Assessments during May and should not be kept away from school unless they are unwell.
We are required to report to the local authority cases of unauthorised absence or unexplained lateness. In certain extreme cases legal action may have to be taken.
Welfare and Attendance Officer
At the school we have a Welfare and Attendance Officer who works closely with the Headteacher and school staff to identify families and students who may need support to achieve good attendance. We work with families and students and offer them guidance to help them raise their attendance. The Welfare Officer can offer confidential home visits to further support and problem solve.
Their role, together with the school is to support you and ensure your child achieves good attendance, which in turn will help them achieve their full potential. Good attendance is so important for good attainment. We have an attendance policy that sets out how we promote good attendance, which is listed below.
My name is Matt and I am the Attendance and Welfare Officer at St Marychurch CofE Primary school.
I monitor and track all attendance regularly, in particular when it gets below 95%. If I notice that attendance has continued to drop then you may hear from me. It’s nothing to worry about but instead it’s an opportunity to talk to me about whether there is anything the school can do to support you and or anything we should know about that might be affecting your child.
Good attendance from the youngest age ensures positive outcomes for children in their learning and friendships. Where possible we expect all children to attend school on time every day to maximise their learning.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions about your own child’s attendance. The attendance policy for St Marychurch CofE Primary school can be found on the school website – this goes into more detail about the schools expectations for holidays in term time, unauthorised absences and government guidelines.
School Culture
As we seek to nourish and fulfil our pupils, we acknowledge that the establishment of a high performance culture must always strike a balance between levels of challenge, expectation and support. We use four ‘R’s as a framework to facilitate this, in order to minimise the risk of the pursuit of excellence resulting in an increase of unwanted behaviour:
Rights and responsibilities – ensuring that these are respected and enacted fully, especially with regards to learning and safety (See appendix 7)
Rules – absolute clarity about what is expected throughout the school, framed in a positive set of language all pupils can understand and apply
Routines – those aspects of the running of the school which promote orderliness, boundaries and structures, and which are upheld by all staff at all times
Relationships – exceptionally strong and supportive working partnerships between staff, children and parents, with all pupils having at least one member of staff who knows them very well.