Absence Procedures 

If a child is absent from school, the parent must follow the following procedures: 

• Contact the school on the first day of absence before 9am and each subsequent day of absence before 9am. The school has an answer phone available to leave a message if nobody is available to take your call. Alternatively, parents can drop into school personally and speak to the office staff.  

• Contact the school on every further day of absence, again before 9am. 

• Ensure that your child returns to school as soon as possible  

If your child is absent we will: 

• Telephone or text you on the first day, and every subsequent day of absence if we have not heard from you, we may also visit you on the first day of absence, if we have not heard from you; 

• If we are unable to make contact with parents by telephone, we will telephone emergency contact numbers, send letters home and a home visit may be made in the interests of safeguarding; 

• Make a home visit to ascertain the safety of the child if we have concerns for their welfare; 

• Contact the police at the end of the first day’s absence if we do not know of your child’s whereabouts; 

• Write to both parents listed on school admissions forms if your child’s attendance is below 96%; 

• Invite you in to school to discuss the situation with our pastoral/attendance worker or Head of School if absences persist; 

• Arrange a formal school attendance meeting if attendance deteriorates following the above actions; 

• A referral will be made to Local Authority if no contact has been made with parents by the 10th day of absence (or sooner if deemed appropriate), at which point your child will be considered to be “missing from education. 

If absence continues we will: 

• Write to you if your child’s attendance is below 95%, or where punctuality is a concern 

• Invite you into school to discuss the situation with our School Welfare Officer, Child and Family Support Worker or Headteacher if absences persist 

• Create a personalised action/support plan to address any barriers to attendance 

• Offer signposting support to other agencies or services if appropriate 

• Refer the matter to the Local Authority for relevant sanctions if attendance deteriorates following the above actions 

Attendance

At Stratton C of E School we want all children to have the best possible attendance to enable each and every child to reach their full potential.

There is a strong link between good school attendance and achieving good results for children. Children who frequently miss school may fall behind in their work which may affect their future prospects.

Good school attendance also shows future employers that a young person is reliable, more likely to achieve well and play a positive role in their community.

At Stratton C of E we work closely with families to support them to achieve the best possible outcomes for their children.

There are 175 non- school days a year for enjoying family time, holidays, trips, visits, shopping, seeing friends, travelling and getting regular dental and optician checks

Attending school every day = 100% attendance

Attending 4½ days a week = 90% attendance = 4 weeks missed per year

Attending 4 days a week = 80% attendance = more than half a term missed per year.

Attending 3½ days each week = 70% attendance = more than a quarter of the school year missed.

An average attendance of 80% or less across a child’s school career adds up to missing a whole 2 years from school.

In primary schools less than 65% of children achieve good results in English and Maths with an average of 15 days absence a year compared to almost 90% where the average is less than 8 days. It can be surprising how quickly children can accumulate 15 days absence within a year.

Punctuality

Pupils can come into school from 8.45am and the school day starts promptly at 8.55 a.m. If a child arrives at school after 8.55 a.m. without prior arrangements having been agreed, he/she will be deemed late. Registers close at 9.00 a.m. and arrival at school after this time, without prior approval or extenuating circumstances, will be recorded as late after the registers close.

Pupils arriving at school after 8.55 a.m. must enter through the front door and report to the school office to be signed in by an adult. Pupils leaving school for any reason must report to the office before they go so that we can ensure that they are appropriately chaperoned and signed out. Registers are also taken when the children return to classes after lunch. Unexplained absences will be investigated by Mrs D Smith.

Every Minute Counts