Attendance
Our aim is to bring the best out of every pupil that attends Stilton CofE
The Importance Of Attendance
Attendance Matters to each one of our children
In our school, attending every day is really important. It is important because every day there will be new learning, whether that is a new sound in phonics or an exciting investigation in Science and if this is missed it will not be repeated in that way again. We also know that children need time and practice to consolidate key skills in reading, writing and mathematics and so every day missed is a missed opportunity for your child to embed that skill. This is all lost learning and overtime, poor attendance will have devastating long term consequence for a child's academic outcomes and life chances as well as friendships.
We take a positive approach to attendance in the first instance and reward our children for good attendance. Each class has a virtual ‘piggy bank’ for them to earn money as a result of good attendance. During the school year, the children can decide whether to spend that money on their class or fundraise for a Christian organisation, recognising the implicit Christian nature of our school and our mission to reach out to people through our vision statement of ‘Flourishing Through Friendship.’
We also understand that there are times when children are poorly and of course might need a day or two during the school year; the table above shows that these occasional days would not have a significant impact on attendance overall and would not cause the school to be concerned. However, it also shows that more than 10 says absence is a cause for concern and the school have a duty of care to inform the Educational Welfare Officer.
Please also be aware that penalty notices from the Local Authority can be given for not only unauthorised absence for holidays but also for patterns of absence and for short periods of time when attendance falls below 90%. If penalty notices are given and the child’s absence does not improve then Local Authorities have the power to prosecute parents for anything between £1000 to £2500.
Please help us to help your child by not taking them out for holidays, including short breaks and long weekends during school time.
List of services
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Attendance figures explainedList Item 1
Attendance is based on a child being at school in time for the morning register as well as the afternoon register so being marked present for 2 sessions a day.
Both these sessions count towards their overall attendance figure which is simply a percentage of how many sessions your child has been present throughout the current academic year.
The only reasons a child will be marked as present when they are not in school are if they are being educated at a different location, or at a school event such as residential or sporting.
There are a variety of different reasons that a child may be absent from school and the school will assign an appropriate code on the register to make staff aware of the reason.
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Authorised AbsenceList Item 2
Absence from school can be authorised for the following reasons:
Medical appointments
Illness where the school has been notified by phone or in writing
Religious observance
NOTE: An authorised absence is still recorded as the child not being in school and will have a negative effect on their attendance figure.
Absence from school will be unauthorised in all other circumstances unless deemed to be ‘exceptional’ by the Headteacher. This does not apply to term-time holidays, which will always be unauthorised.
Please see the information below, from the Local Authority, regarding unauthorised term time leave.
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UNAUTHORISED TERM TIME LEAVE (includes Holiday):List Item 3
Any parent who takes a child out of school for term time leave of more than 6 consecutive sessions (3 days) over a 4 week period, not authorised by the school (under exceptional circumstances rule), may receive a Penalty Notice.
Please see the Cambridgeshire Local Authority website for more information about Penalty Notices and term time holiday leave.
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Why we feel a child’s attendance is so importantList Item 4
Children’s learning in school is based on a build up of skills and knowledge.
This build up is continually planned by teachers on a day to day basis. Children that miss one session could miss out on a potentially important session and although every effort is made to catch children up when they return, this is usually not as effective and takes time away from the rest of the class.
If children miss out on a number of sessions this can significantly affect their overall progress.
Children that are away from school on a regular basis can miss out on opportunities to build strong friendships and can sometimes find it harder to build strong friendships within school