Attendance
There is a clear link between good attendance/punctuality and academic success. Good habits and routines in primary school lay the foundations for low absenteeism in secondary school.
We have reviewed our attendance policy in line with national guidelines and would like to make you aware of the following ways in which you can promote high attendance for your child/children.
- Medical appointments should be made outside of school hours whenever possible – if this is unavoidable, your child should attend school both before and after the appointment to minimise missed learning. Such absences will be authorised.
- School must be informed of any planned term time absence in advance. Leave of absence forms are available from the office.
- Leave of absence will only be approved in exceptional circumstances.
If your child is unwell and unable to attend school, please inform the school office by 9.30am, on the first day of absence.
Government guidelines require schools to make contact with parents to establish reasons for absence on the child’s first day of their absence. Many hours of admin time are spent trying to contact parents, carers, relatives and neighbours – please help us out by giving us a ring as soon as possible. If we are unable to contact you, the absence will be recorded as unauthorised regardless of the reason for absence. Please ensure we are informed of any changes to your contact details.
If you are unsure whether your child is well enough to attend, please ring and speak with our Inclusion Officer, Mrs Kilpatrick, who will advise you on the best course of action.
Attendance reward system
To reward good attendance and punctuality, we have introduced the following for children from Year 1 to Year 6:
- Every child who records 97%+ (with no unauthorised absences) in either/both of the Autumn and Spring terms will receive a £5.00 book token to spend at our book fayres – end of December and the beginning of April.
- At the end of the school year, every child with 97%+ attendance and good punctuality will receive a £10.00 book token.
In the 2021/2022 school year, over 200 children would have earned at least one book token. These children were only absent for 5 days or fewer in the whole school year.
Thank you as always for your continued support
Firthmoor Attendance Policy
