Attendance

EVERY DAY COUNTS… EVERY DAY MATTERS…

EDUCATION IS EVERYTHING

ATTENDANCE IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY

The best gift any parent can give their child is to ensure they attend school every day.

Regular school attendance is vital for your child to:

  • DEVELOP INDEPENDENCE AND RESILIENCE
  • MAKE AND MAINTAIN FRIENDSHIPS
  • EXPERIENCE A FULL SYSTEMATIC CURRICULUM
  • LEARN MORE AND REMEMBER MORE
  • ACHIEVE MORE
  • PARTICIPATE IN EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
  • BE READY FOR THE NEXT STAGE IN THEIR EDUCATION

It is a parent’s duty to ensure that their child attends regularly at a school where the child is a registered pupil and they are of compulsory school age;

It is a parent’s duty to inform school on the first day of absence of the reason for the absence*

The school is responsible for recording attendance and following up absence. (Department for Education)

At Two Gates we monitor attendance daily; we do all we can to encourage parents to ensure that their children achieve maximum possible attendance and any problems that prevent full attendance are identified and acted on promptly.

The chart below shows how absence relates to lost learning:


Please read our Attendance Policy to be fully informed of the school’s expectations and actions regarding attendance management.

Brief overview:

Punctuality and lateness

As well as regular attendance, it is really important that your child arrives at school on time-

For pupils in Reception to Year 6, gates open from 8.30 a.m. and close at 8.45 a.m.

Please aim to arrive at 8.30 a.m.

Nursery pupils should arrive and enter nursery at 8.50 a.m.

You’re late if you miss the gate!’

When your child is late for school they miss the start of the day with their peers. They miss registration and morning activities; they miss assemblies ; they may even miss learning – as we begin lessons promptly. Walking into a classroom late can be a stressful experience for your child.

Frequent lateness adds up…

Minutes Late/dayDays lost/year
53 days lost
107
1510
2014
3021

Absence Management

*If your child is going to be absent from school, we ask that parents telephone school on the first day of absence and leave a message (option 1) by 8.45 a.m. giving a reason for the absence and an indication of how long the absence is likely to last.

On receipt of the completed class register each morning, any absences are checked against messages received by office staff.  All absent pupils for whom a message has not been received will trigger a first day safeguarding call.  If there is no response, the school will continue to try to contact parents. If by the end of the second day, there has still been no contact made the school will send a letter of concern to the parent, inviting them into the school to discuss the concerns raised.

Persistent absence will result in further action. Initially, this will be about working with parents to improve attendance; if this is not successful then it may be necessary to escalate concerns to social care or consider issuing a penalty.

We consider a child to be persistently absent if their attendance falls below 90%.

Attendance was disrupted significantly during and immediately after the Pandemic; as the country is now living with Covid, we are working hard to reduce absence and in particular, persistent absence.

Leave during term time

School term dates are published a year in advance; holidays during term time are not permitted. 

If leave of absence in term time is required for exceptional circumstances, such as a death or serious illness in the immediate family a request for leave of absence form must be completed. Forms can be obtained from the school office. The Head Teacher will consider each request and decide whether or not to authorise the absences. Holidays during term time may incur a Penalty Notice.

Medical appointments

Wherever possible we request that parents try to arrange doctor/dentist appointments outside of school hours; if this is not possible, parents should inform the office so that it can be recorded in the register.

Useful link:

Is my child too ill for school? – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Education-welfare/Attendance.aspx