At St Mary's Catholic Primary School, we take a positive and proactive approach towards school attendance, because we know that children that attend school regularly are more likely to achieve well, and have more opportunities to socialise and experience the wider opportunities on offer. 

We expect your child to attend school almost every day. This means their attendance should be above 95%. Although attendance of 94%, for example, may sound positive, that is actually 11 school days a year of absence. That is a lot of learning and a lot of social time missed! The documents listed below explain further about attendance percentages and the importance of attendance.     

If your child's attendance is begins to decrease, or is frequently late, we will let you know so that you are aware of the impact that their absence is having. Our approach is supportive - whatever barrier you or your child is facing to having good attendance, we will work with you to find a solution.

We aim to work proactively to prevent any child from becoming a persistent absentee - that is where attendance is less than 90%. If a child becomes a persistent absentee, school works closely with the Local Authority to address this and may eventually seek court action – parents/carers have a legal duty to make sure their children attend school.

For more information on our approach to attendance, please read our documents below, and our attendance policy, which can be found on the policies page here. 

Illness

If your child is going to be absent from school, please call the school office on 01895232814, or email attendance@stmarysuxbridge.org.uk by 9:00am on both the morning of their first day of absence, and on further absent days thereafter. If we do not receive notification about your child’s absence we will call you during their missed first session to enquire as to why your child is not in school. This is in line with recommended safeguarding procedures.

Sickness & diarrhoea – If your child has vomited, they should not return to school until 48 hours after their last bout of sickness or diarrhoea. This is in line with NHS recommendations and helps prevent the spread of infections through the school community.

There are a range of other conditions that cause children to be unwell. Please visit the following webpage for further information:

NHS Guidance – Is my child too ill for school?

Leave of Absence Requests

Absence requests for a session/particular event –  The Headteacher will not authorise requests for absence unless they are for unavoidable appointments, or for educational purposes such as music/ballet exams or arranged activities off site. An absence request form is available from the school office.

Absence requests for holidays – Please avoid taking trips or booking holidays during term time, as these cannot be authorised by the school. As a result, your child will miss important teaching sessions and will not receive work to take with them. We kindly ask that you complete an absence request form at least two weeks before the planned absence. 

Medical or dental appointments – We recommend scheduling non-urgent appointments outside of school hours. Parents must provide proof of appointment for any late arrivals or early departures. If no evidence is provided, the absence will be marked as unauthorised.

Types of school absence

Every half-day absence from school, by law, has to be classified as either authorised or unauthorised. This is why information about the cause of absence is always asked for.

Authorised Absences

These are mornings or afternoons away from school for a valid reason such as illness, emergency medical or dental appointments (routine appointments should always be made out of school hours) and emergencies.

Unauthorised Absences

An absence is classified as unauthorised if the reason was not recognised as acceptable. The Department for Education (DfE) and Local Education Authorities provide information for schools as to what is acceptable and what is not. Examples of reasons that would not be accepted: 

• A birthday

• A shopping trip

• Day trips

• Holidays

It is very important that all parents/carers understand that children with unauthorised absences, including holidays, and unexplained absences are at risk of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice from the Local Authority.

There are 175 non-school days a year. This is 175 days to spend on family time, visits, holidays, shopping and other appointments.

FAQ’s

Is 90% attendance good?

 An attendance of 90% might seem good but is equal to four weeks of school missed over a school year.

What is poor attendance? 

Poor attendance is when a pupil is persistently absent from school. Persistent absence is defined by the government as any pupil who is absent 10% of the time over one school year. This means that any pupil with an attendance of 90% or less is defined as persistently absent.

What types of illness should lead to keeping my child off school? 

High temperature, diarrhoea and sickness. There are other illness than may necessitate absence from school. Refer to the web-link under Illnesses above.

I need to make a dental/doctor/optician appointment during school time – what should I do? 

If at all possible you should avoid making these appointments during school time, however, we do appreciate there are times when this is unavoidable. If it is necessary to book an appointment in school time, please inform the attendance office/school office BEFORE  the appointment by calling .

We have a day specifically set aside for a religious observance. What should I do?

Please call the attendance officer/school office BEFORE the observation, so that the necessary arrangements can be made.

https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/back-into-school/resources-for-families/