Our whole school attendance is currently 97.8% with Class 1 recording 98.03% and Class 2 97.76%. Well done everyone!
We fully understand that there are times when children are unwell and need to be at home rather than at school. As winter approaches, cases of flu, Covid and other childhood ailments are likely to increase and this will mean some children are unable to attend school. We also appreciate that occasionally things go wrong, like the car breaking down, which means that children can be late to school and that exceptional circumstances do occur.
Being around teachers and friends in a school environment is the best way for pupils to learn and reach their potential. Being in school is important to a child’s achievement, wellbeing and wider development. DfE research has found that pupils who performed better both at the end of primary and secondary school missed fewer days than those who didn’t perform as well. Interestingly, DfE data shows that in 2019, primary school children in Key Stage 2 who didn’t achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths missed on average four or more days per school year than those whose performance exceeded the expected standard.
There are only certain circumstances when school can permit a child to be absent, these are:
- The child is too ill to attend.
- Where permission has been sought from the school in advance and permission has been granted for the child to be absent on a specific day due to exceptional circumstances. School leaders will decide what counts as an exceptional circumstance. Holidays are rarely an acceptable reason for a school absence and are unlikely to be treated as an exceptional circumstance.
- The child is unable to attend on a specific day because they are observing a religious event.
- The LA is responsible for arranging a child’s transport to school and it’s not available or has not been provided yet.
- The child does not have a permanent address and you are required to travel for work. This exception only applies if your child attends their usual school or another school where you are staying as often as possible. This must be 200 half days or more a year if they are aged 6 or older.
