Absences

The Governors and staff at St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School are united in their belief that regular school attendance is a pre-requisite to good education and securing it is therefore a high priority.

It is the responsibility of parents/carers to inform the school by 10am on every day of their child’s absence.  If by 10am on the first day of a child’s absence the school has not been notified, the Attendance team will contact the child’s parent/carer. Please call us on 01926425958.  

Please can you ensure to advise of the reason why your child is off school, this will determine if the absence is authorised.

Where a child is absent, and no reason is given, we follow the guidelines set out by the Local Authority and attendance is recorded as 'unauthorised'.

If you would like to take your child out of school for any other reason, including holidays, you must submite a Leave of Absence request form.  If you are unable to print you can request a hard copy from the School Office.

For routine appointments during school times, such as doctors, dentist, hospital, an authorised adult MUST collect your child from school. 

We are very excited to be working with the MAC’s Welfare Officer, Mrs Barbara Andrews, who will be able to support families with attendance. Please work with the school to improve your child’s attendance.

Attendance

We have high expectations for attendance and expect children to be in school everyday.

Regular attendance at school is good for children. It helps their social development, health, and mental wellbeing. Pupils who attend school regularly improve their chances of being academically successful.

Poor attendance can have an adverse impact on, friendship groups, self-confidence, resilience, and social, emotional and mental health. It can have a damaging effect on a child’s education and most work missed during an absence may never effectively be made up. There is a proven link between poor school attendance and low levels of achievement.

Pupils are expected to attend school punctually every day they are required to be at school.

The school gates open at 8.40am and the school days starts at 8.55am. Pupils should be in their classrooms, ready to begin lessons at this time.

Monitoring of attendance 

Attendance is monitored weekly at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School. 

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School values all children. We work with families to identify the barriers to achieving and maintaining excellent attendance and offer the right services, at the right time, to resolve difficulties. The Senior Leader Responsible for Attendance (Ms Rutkowski) monitors attendance weekly and use attendance data to identify any patterns of concern, whilst also celebrating success.

Attendance concerns will be raised with parents (when reasons are not known by the school, e.g. recovery from an operation). This information may also be shared with the Local Authority.

Lates

The morning register will be marked by 9.05am. Pupils will receive a late mark if they are not in their classroom by this time.  Pupils attending after this time will receive a mark to show that they were on site, but this will count as a late mark.

Lateness can seriously affect a child's life chances and can result in;

• low academic attainment
• friendship difficulties
• low self-esteem

Please ensure your child is on time for school so they can make the most of every day.

Holidays