At Waterman Primary School we believe in developing good patterns of attendance and set high expectations for the attendance and punctuality for all our pupils from the outset. It is a central part of our school’s vision, values, ethos, and day to day life. We recognise the connections between attendance, attainment, safeguarding and wellbeing.

It is a rule of the trust that pupils must attend every day, unless there are exceptional circumstances. We expect every child to have at least 95% attendance. This means that children should attend school for at least 182 days out of a possible 190. Don’t forget that with school holidays, non-pupil days and weekends you have 175 days to take holidays, visit the dentist or have routine appointments.

Understanding Types of Absence

Every half-day absence from school has to be classified by the school (not by the parent), as either AUTHORISED or UNAUTHORISED. This is why information about the cause of any absence is always required.

Each half-day is known as a “session”.

Authorised Absences are mornings or afternoons away from school for a justified reason like illness (although you may be asked to provide medical evidence for your child before this can be authorised), urgent medical or dental appointments which unavoidably fall in school time, emergencies or other unavoidable cause.

Unauthorised Absences are those which the school does not consider reasonable and for which no ‘leave’ has been given. Unauthorised absences are coded with an O code. This type of absence can lead to the school referring to the Local Authority for penalty notices and/or legal proceedings.

Persistent Absenteeism (PA)

A pupil is defined by the Government as a ‘persistent absentee’ (PA) when they miss 10% or more schooling across the school year for whatever reason; this can be authorised or unauthorised absences. Absence at this level will cause considerable damage to any child’s education and we need a parent’s fullest support and cooperation to tackle this.

Absence Procedures

If a child is absent from school the parent must follow these procedures:

• Contact the school on the first day of absence before 9am and each subsequent day of absence before 9am. The school has an answer phone available to leave a message if nobody is available to take your call. Alternatively, parents can drop into school personally and speak to the office staff. If we do not hear from you we will make a home visit and, if necessary, contact the police or social care

• Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 9am.

• Ensure that your child returns to school as soon as possible

• Provide medical evidence if your child’s attendance falls below 90%, otherwise it will be marked as “unauthorised” absence and coded “O”.

Punctuality

Poor punctuality is not acceptable and can contribute to further absence. If a child misses the start of the day they miss work and do not spend time with their class teacher getting vital information and news for the day.

Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons, can be embarrassing for the child and can also encourage further absence. Good time-keeping is a vital life skill which will help our children as they progress through their school life and out into the wider world.

At Waterman Primary School Early morning work starts at 8.40am and school starts at 8.50am when the registers are taken. Children will receive a late mark if they are not in school by the start time. Children arriving after this time are required to come in via the school office where they will sign the Late Book and provide a reason for their lateness, which is recorded. The registers will close at 9.20am and children arriving after this time are marked using a ‘U’ code which marks them as present for safeguarding purposes but is counted as an ‘Unauthorised Absence’. 

HERO Timekeeping Poster 

Attendance Leaflet

School Guidance on Absence

Requests for holiday leave

In order to ensure that every child achieves the very best that they can, the Head of School will not authorise any holiday leave. If you have exceptional ‘once in a lifetime’ circumstances that require your child to be absent from school (other than when they are ill or attending a medical appointment) you must complete the request for exceptional leave form by filling in the form at the School Office. Any absences which are not supported by a message on the day of absence, medical evidence or a request for exceptional leave will be treated as a safeguarding issue.

Parents who remove their children from school for the purpose of a holiday may be subject to a fixed penalty notice. The penalty for each parent issued with a Penalty Notice is £120 for each child, however if paid within 21 days of receipt of the notice, it is reduced to £60.

If the penalty is not paid in full by the end of the 28 day period, the Attendance Compliance Team will either prosecute for the offence to which the notice applies or withdraw the notice. The prosecution is not for non-payment of the notice but is a prosecution for irregular school attendance – Education Act 1996 Section 4441.

Mrs A Michelow is the Trust Attendance Lead and can also be contacted via the school.

Our full Attendance Policy can be found here - https://irp.cdn-website.com/c7f3dddb/files/uploaded/Attendance%20Policy%20Revised%2013.09.23.pdf